Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Flights VS Swiss -1 (Playing one less round)

Flights were ok due to time, however I think it should have been top 16 from both flights, then the first couple of rounds are single game elimination then like top 8 do best 2 out of 3. Also start earlier like registration begins at 8am then begin promptly at 9:30am..
 
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XxMarcTx said:
I would have to agree with billy
the old farts and the young bucks masters
I think an over 21 division is long over due and instead of scholarships we could win trips to vegas or tickets for two to a superbowl or a carnival cruise nudge nudge (I gots all the edgamacation I needs anyways)
.....
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I read THAT much and, immediately, jumped on that bandwagon ...

Sign me up for MarcT's opinion team! :tongue:

Anyway...

A 21 and older division would be kinda cool. I think it could help with community building efforts whereas our familiarity among the masses would be greatly improved. PokeDads/Pokemoms knowing each other better is ALWAYS a plus. We, generally, play slower and think through moves more whereas the younger - college-age kids are like "C'MON ALREAY MAN!" 15+ to INFINITY seems to be a pretty big net and, certainly, captures a large percentage of the masses.

So, this would be a pretty cool age division.
 
As long as we play the same number of rounds that we normally would, Pods would be ok. Example 64 players- 7 rounds for each Pod and top 8 from each Pod. It is terrible when you get 59-60 players and you only have the top 8. It changes the game to a lot of luck on who make's the cut.

My son had the same record as most of the people who made the cut at both States he played and the one Regional. He only made the cut in one of them because of how the rating system worked out. Ga State took the top 8, he finished
9th. Florida state made the top 16, He finished 4th. Ga Regional finished I think 12 or 13, top 8 made the cut. He had the same record as most of the other kids that made it in.

As the numbers grow, it will take more luck with the match ups to make it in. I like to believe Pokemon Tournaments are about finding the best players. I would like to find a fair solution for those working and running the events, without sacrificeing the intent of the tournaments to find out who the best players are. My son is a great player and wants a chance to prove it without having to get lucky to make a cut. I understand the other side. I was a Judge at the Ga Regional and I got in bed about 3:00 Sunday morning!!!!!

Hundreds of hours go into building, testing, and playing decks, so I don't want to short change the players with fewer rounds, smaller top cuts, or shorter time limits. I also don't want to make it impossible for Tournament organizers and thier staff to run an events.

I think more age divisions would help

Juniors 10-under ------------ - Juniors 12-under
Senoirs 11-15 -------------- - Seniors 13-17
Adults 16-20 -------------- -- Adults 18-25
Masters 21-up ------------ -- Masters 26 up

It would require more Staff and Pokemon would have to shell out more money for the staff and prizes, but I think it would really help the game!!!

I don't know what the best solution is, but I hope we can find one that is fair to everyone.




Ken
 
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im against making the masters @ 21 i say something higher like 30 or 35 if youre making a pod for pokeparents you need to set it at their age. also i say players that fit into the 30 or higher should have a choice if they want to play in the harder 15-29
 
vanderbilt_grad said:
To add to what Cyrus said, I was looking at the rankings ths AM ... it's amazing how many games some of the WA players have played for instance. Just looking at NW Regionals numbers, it was huge ... and I suspect that their states and such are similarly large.

This has got to be the flipside of limiting States dates. Instead of the East Coast having an unfair advantage in terms of numbers of events folks could get to now we have the places with huge events really getting an advantage.

When you start talking about Pod Play or Swiss-1 on top of that in some of the not largest areas the disadvantage becomes even stronger ranking wise.
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WA States, OR States and NW Regional all went -1 round of Swiss for Masters. NW Regionals had, almost what I would consider a perfect top cut. There were two undefeated players at the end of swiss. They met again in the Finals.

I think I prefer the Swiss -1. I don't like the easy flight/hard flight argument that will likely come up with the random seeding.
 
pokeMATHter said:
WA States, OR States and NW Regional all went -1 round of Swiss for Masters. NW Regionals had, almost what I would consider a perfect top cut. There were two undefeated players at the end of swiss. They met again in the Finals.

I think I prefer the Swiss -1. I don't like the easy flight/hard flight argument that will likely come up with the random seeding.
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There is no likely come up, it DID come up at VA. One pod had all the top ranked players from each state (for the most part) the other pod had fairly few top players. I'm not saying that the other pod had no good players, but that the one pod had significantly more.

Random side note- It REALLY sucks when not only do you wind up in the "hard" pod, but when it also has several more players than the other pod. I'm still not quite sure what was up with that... :/
 
I'd like to see two day events (when necessary) with the top cuts moved to another location (such as a local card shop that already hosts city- or state-level events).

For example, Missouri regionals had its main event in a rented out section of the mall. All of the dismantling could have been done at the end of swiss, the tournament saved in TOM, and decks turned in for the night. Then all of the finalists could return the next morning to the mall, and have their top cut matches in the mall's games shop. Or for regionals held in stand-alone convention centers or meeting areas, at the nearest available games and comic shop.

That way, everyone gets a break at the end of the long day of swiss, and is well-rested for the next day. The event is over right after swiss, so the number of rounds appropriate to the amount of players at the event can be played and still end at a reasonable time. This means that all regional events can be held under the same standard - run the number of rounds TOM reccommends, without pods or swiss minus 1 - but the number of rounds can still deviate based on attendance. Bigger tournaments can be more challenging so it makes sense for them to have the added incentive of an extra round.
 
The "hard flight / easy flight" is a fabrication based on the limited knowledge of who people know and have heard of.

For those recommending a "veteran's division," I tried pushing the topic into a discussion on the POP forum a few months back. The idea was defeated by Mike L himself, saying that the costs to maintain another division were bigger than we know. Pokemon's OP prizes are divided among 3 divisions. Take the same budget and divide it by 4 instead and the idea of another division no longer looks that appealing, especially with people complaining that the current prize support is getting smaller each year.
 
While the "difficult"/"easy" pod argument may be subjective, one of the flights at the "Southern Plains" regional had far fewer players finish all 7 rounds than the other. Assuming both flights started with roughly the same number of participants, this would imply that the flight with the greater number of finishers consisted of more "serious" players; those playing out the rounds for points, or just downright willing to play the Pokemon TCG for 8HRS+ straight.
 
As unlikely as it is to happen, a two-day Regionals makes so much sense when you consider:

- It is worth as many points as Nationals (and since the point angle is being brought up, a case could be made to stretch out States into a 2-day event also)
- How absurd it is to expect any given player to spend an entire day-- a day which very well may begin before the sun every fully rises, and which may involve a long car ride to the event-- playing game after game in a grueling field, and then somehow miraculously enter the top cut, where the competition is generally expected to be fiercest, and when there are the most things on the line (trips, money, points), and play better than, or as good as, they have played all day. It just does not follow any sort of logic. A person tends to "deteriorate" over time (weird word, I know), due to fatigue, sensory overload, and all the myriad other deadening effects of a day spent hunkered over cards in crowded, noisy spaces, trying to outplay people. You expect the best players to play their best at 3 am after a full day of action? I've read innumerable reports from players who say things about their top cut matches like, "I made so many misplays because it was 2 in the morning and I could barely see straight." Again, this is crazy.
 
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