Our LGS just posted this on his Facebook page: "Wizards instituted a new policy regarding prize support. EVERY player will get at least 2 booster packs for playing in this event."
And then he discussed getting extra prize support. Anyone else hear of this? Is this blowback from people's general dissapointment over the Helvault contents?
Our store only charges $20 for pre-releases, so 8 packs minimum is a pretty sweet deal.
I'll have to check with my LGS, but last I heard they were adding 2 packs per person into the full prize pool. That doesn't necessarily mean that each player will receive 2 packs; more likely that the top players will receive multiple packs while most of the players will receive none.
I'll have to check with my LGS, but last I heard they were adding 2 packs per person into the full prize pool.
This is likely what they mean... 2 packs INTO THE POOL. How the shop wants to handle that is up to them. So it doesn't mean Mr. Last PLace gets 2 packs, it means higher payout for more people spread across everyone.
I'll have to check with my LGS, but last I heard they were adding 2 packs per person into the full prize pool. That doesn't necessarily mean that each player will receive 2 packs; more likely that the top players will receive multiple packs while most of the players will receive none.
That's quite possible. Maybe it's not Wizard's policy, but our store has guaranteed it. They're limiting it to 40 bodies due to store size. 4 boxes of prizes = 144 packs, and they're breaking it down as follows: Top 8 will get this booster breakdown: 36-18-7-7-3-3-3-3 (80 packs). The remaining 32 players get 2 packs each (32 x 2 = 64 packs, plus 80 packs = the full 144).
I guess the guarantee is just a local thing, it doesn't need to be in the Rumor thread. I was just wondering if it was policy. Sorry.
And Smitch, it says "playing in this event", so I'd assume only the pre-release.
The statement from Wizards that came out with the pre-release kit was that instead of your prize pool being exactly two packs per person of the new set, you are now allowed to put more than that into the pool. There was no guarantee that every player would receive packs just from being in the event; how the packs are allocated as prizes is still up to the LGS.
The statement from Wizards that came out with the pre-release kit was that instead of your prize pool being exactly two packs per person of the new set, you are now allowed to put more than that into the pool. There was no guarantee that every player would receive packs just from being in the event; how the packs are allocated as prizes is still up to the LGS.
This makes more sense. Good news for smaller shops though. We have one shop in town that is very generous with prizes partly because they are long established and popular (like a local SCG), and the smaller and newer shops in town just can't give as good of prizes. This will likely help.
This is the standard my LGS works to for pre-releases/releases (not necessarily those exact numbers, but the fact that everyone gets 1 and then the other half goto the top ranked players.
However, the 2 packs in the pool thing isn't new, it was in effect for my first prerelease, which was Alara Reborn.
I wish that was how my LGS worked. Last 5-6 prereleases I went to there, only about the top 3 people got stuff (that could also be cause at most there are 30 players, that I've seen at one prerelease. Also there generally were some raffles, but that was other stuff, like play mats/those metal life counters. I'm usually in the bottom half, just cause I usually get crap stuff and can't build a competitive deck, so getting at least another pack would be cool. Can anyone else confirm what the OP stated (for their LGS)?
For every win in the swiss, we get a pack. The winner of the tournament gets a nice little bonus. Our drafts and pre-releases are dirt cheap compared to other LGS that i've heard of in MTGsal and locally. Generally, a decent player can net 8-9 boosters for $30 at the pre-release which includes the 6 original packs. I'm not sure what the TO of our LGS will do with the 2 extra pack rule...
My LGS does 1 pack per win in the swiss + 1 pack for everyone for entering
Plus on top of that the top 8 get.
1 - Box
2 - 18 packs
3/4 - 9 packs
5/6 - 5 packs
7/8 - 2 packs
All this for $25. That means the winner gets 43 packs for $25 assuming undefeated in swiss.
unfortunatly around here most of the stores do 3 prereleases and the only get 4 boxes of support. One store added M12 for the last prerelease but who wants M12 pack at a DKA prerelease?
PEOPLE! Read your release!! The rule was you were to only give out 2 packs of NEW product per person in the total prize pool. Any other prize support was to be OLD product. They have changed the rule to read that ALL you rprize support can now be NEW product.
and we usually got 3 boxes for prize support for one event, this time WOTC gave us ONE box for ONE event...
PEOPLE! Read your release!! The rule was you were to only give out 2 packs of NEW product per person in the total prize pool. Any other prize support was to be OLD product. They have changed the rule to read that ALL you rprize support can now be NEW product.
This. The 2 packs per head thing has been in place since at least ISD's release, and i'm pretty sure it's been recommended for a long time before that. The only change is that TO's can now give out more new product, instead of having to supplement the new product with old or other prizes.
I didn't know that was a wizard policy. Does "new product" include INN and DKA or just Avacyn Restored in this case? Most LGS in my area let's you choose any booster packs or all of whatever was just released so I'm just wondering.
I just found out that my LGS isn't giving out any boosters as prizes in our pre-release events. I took off work for this weekend so I could go to the events,so I am super disappointed. Does this sound right? I mean,I live in a pretty small town and its a fairly new shop. We usually have a turnout of about 30 or so people at FNM on average. Zero prize packs from a pre-release just seems so fishy.
While I am on the topic of prize support,what is the average prize support for a FNM? My LGS charges 5$ entry fee with an average of about 30 people. Prize are as follows:
1st-20$ store credit
2nd-10$ store credit
3rd-5$ store credit
I just found out that my LGS isn't giving out any boosters as prizes in our pre-release events. I took off work for this weekend so I could go to the events,so I am super disappointed. Does this sound right? I mean,I live in a pretty small town and its a fairly new shop. We usually have a turnout of about 30 or so people at FNM on average. Zero prize packs from a pre-release just seems so fishy.
While I am on the topic of prize support,what is the average prize support for a FNM? My LGS charges 5$ entry fee with an average of about 30 people. Prize are as follows:
1st-20$ store credit
2nd-10$ store credit
3rd-5$ store credit
At my lgs it's $10 entry and a guaranteed 2 boxes worth of prize support. I don't get to go to too many fnms but the ones i have been to have had 25ish people
I just found out that my LGS isn't giving out any boosters as prizes in our pre-release events. I took off work for this weekend so I could go to the events,so I am super disappointed. Does this sound right? I mean,I live in a pretty small town and its a fairly new shop. We usually have a turnout of about 30 or so people at FNM on average. Zero prize packs from a pre-release just seems so fishy.
While I am on the topic of prize support,what is the average prize support for a FNM? My LGS charges 5$ entry fee with an average of about 30 people. Prize are as follows:
1st-20$ store credit
2nd-10$ store credit
3rd-5$ store credit
That's the thing about capitalism I guess. But as a consumer in the capitalist society, you have the right not to play FNM or to go to another store.
Now for prereleases, I do believe that there is a minimum payout that is supposed to be given. I would talk to the show owner about it, and if nothing changes I would send a message onto WotC.
tbh I wouldn't worry too much about pissing off the store owner. If he deliberately doesn't give out product, you should report him anyway as he is cheating you and a lot of others out of prizes. If this is the case, he will be pissed anyway since he probably won't get to host future prereleases. But that's in the interest of all the Magic players I think.
If he has a reason for it (no prize support delivered or whatever), he probably won't be annoyed (at you at least. If WotC messed up he might be angry with them)
Just keep a level tone and ask something along the lines of 'I heard you were giving out store credit/cash for prizes. I was under the impression all prereleases had boosters as prizes." and so forth.
Also don't be afraid to tell him you will report him if he says something weird. It's better to tell him in advance that you think something is wrong than to send a letter to WotC without talking to him.
That's just how I'd do it. If you are scared you can always do it by phone instead of face to face.
How do I approach this without causing unwanted drama or pissing of the store owner?
From experience, anyone cheating the system is going to be pissed when they are called out on it, no matter how delicately you put it. I advise you to talk to the manager one-on-one, and ask why he's chosen not to give out boosters as prize support. It also helps to play ignorant as opposed to accusing him of stealing from WotC, i.e. "I heard Wizards actually ships boosters to you guys for pre-release prize support - is that true?". If he lies, report him. If he changes his tune, but doesn't follow through for the pre-release, report him.
How do I approach this without causing unwanted drama or pissing of the store owner?
You shouldn't worry about what he thinks. It is Wizards policy that shops hosting a pre-release provide new prize support for the players. Wizards GIVES the shop the prize support for these events. If the shop is keeping the prize for them selves and giving store credit, they are cheating the players and stealing from Wizards. I think Wizards should know this is happening.
We had this issue at a "new" LGS a few years back. Several people reported him to Wizards and he got "yelled" at by them, but because he changed his policy to properly reflect what he was supposed to do, they didn't pull his privileges. He's still a douche bag, but he gives out the proper prize support.
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You shouldn't worry about what he thinks. It is Wizards policy that shops hosting a pre-release provide new prize support for the players. Wizards GIVES the shop the prize support for these events. If the shop is keeping the prize for them selves and giving store credit, they are cheating the players and stealing from Wizards. I think Wizards should know this is happening.
Depends on how whiny the player base is. We often agree to take credit from our LGS until he gets the release shipment so we can have additional tournaments on the prerelease weekend with the sealed product.
(Granted he asks everyone if we want to go that route - so no one accuses him of being shady)
I'd rather play more than worry about cracking packs a week early.
And then he discussed getting extra prize support. Anyone else hear of this? Is this blowback from people's general dissapointment over the Helvault contents?
Our store only charges $20 for pre-releases, so 8 packs minimum is a pretty sweet deal.
Did he say anything more than what you quoted?
As in where this new policy will be used?
Only prereleases?
This is likely what they mean... 2 packs INTO THE POOL. How the shop wants to handle that is up to them. So it doesn't mean Mr. Last PLace gets 2 packs, it means higher payout for more people spread across everyone.
So for 30 players, 60 total packs are prizes.
For example:
1st - 14
2nd - 10
3rd - 6
4th - 6
5th - 4
6th - 4
7th - 3
8th - 3
20-30 - 1 each
That's quite possible. Maybe it's not Wizard's policy, but our store has guaranteed it. They're limiting it to 40 bodies due to store size. 4 boxes of prizes = 144 packs, and they're breaking it down as follows: Top 8 will get this booster breakdown: 36-18-7-7-3-3-3-3 (80 packs). The remaining 32 players get 2 packs each (32 x 2 = 64 packs, plus 80 packs = the full 144).
I guess the guarantee is just a local thing, it doesn't need to be in the Rumor thread. I was just wondering if it was policy. Sorry.
And Smitch, it says "playing in this event", so I'd assume only the pre-release.
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Columbus, OH
This makes more sense. Good news for smaller shops though. We have one shop in town that is very generous with prizes partly because they are long established and popular (like a local SCG), and the smaller and newer shops in town just can't give as good of prizes. This will likely help.
I wish that was how my LGS worked. Last 5-6 prereleases I went to there, only about the top 3 people got stuff (that could also be cause at most there are 30 players, that I've seen at one prerelease. Also there generally were some raffles, but that was other stuff, like play mats/those metal life counters. I'm usually in the bottom half, just cause I usually get crap stuff and can't build a competitive deck, so getting at least another pack would be cool. Can anyone else confirm what the OP stated (for their LGS)?
For every win in the swiss, we get a pack. The winner of the tournament gets a nice little bonus. Our drafts and pre-releases are dirt cheap compared to other LGS that i've heard of in MTGsal and locally. Generally, a decent player can net 8-9 boosters for $30 at the pre-release which includes the 6 original packs. I'm not sure what the TO of our LGS will do with the 2 extra pack rule...
Plus on top of that the top 8 get.
1 - Box
2 - 18 packs
3/4 - 9 packs
5/6 - 5 packs
7/8 - 2 packs
All this for $25. That means the winner gets 43 packs for $25 assuming undefeated in swiss.
and we usually got 3 boxes for prize support for one event, this time WOTC gave us ONE box for ONE event...
This. The 2 packs per head thing has been in place since at least ISD's release, and i'm pretty sure it's been recommended for a long time before that. The only change is that TO's can now give out more new product, instead of having to supplement the new product with old or other prizes.
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While I am on the topic of prize support,what is the average prize support for a FNM? My LGS charges 5$ entry fee with an average of about 30 people. Prize are as follows:
1st-20$ store credit
2nd-10$ store credit
3rd-5$ store credit
At my lgs it's $10 entry and a guaranteed 2 boxes worth of prize support. I don't get to go to too many fnms but the ones i have been to have had 25ish people
That's the thing about capitalism I guess. But as a consumer in the capitalist society, you have the right not to play FNM or to go to another store.
Now for prereleases, I do believe that there is a minimum payout that is supposed to be given. I would talk to the show owner about it, and if nothing changes I would send a message onto WotC.
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If he has a reason for it (no prize support delivered or whatever), he probably won't be annoyed (at you at least. If WotC messed up he might be angry with them)
Just keep a level tone and ask something along the lines of 'I heard you were giving out store credit/cash for prizes. I was under the impression all prereleases had boosters as prizes." and so forth.
Also don't be afraid to tell him you will report him if he says something weird. It's better to tell him in advance that you think something is wrong than to send a letter to WotC without talking to him.
That's just how I'd do it. If you are scared you can always do it by phone instead of face to face.
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From experience, anyone cheating the system is going to be pissed when they are called out on it, no matter how delicately you put it. I advise you to talk to the manager one-on-one, and ask why he's chosen not to give out boosters as prize support. It also helps to play ignorant as opposed to accusing him of stealing from WotC, i.e. "I heard Wizards actually ships boosters to you guys for pre-release prize support - is that true?". If he lies, report him. If he changes his tune, but doesn't follow through for the pre-release, report him.
You shouldn't worry about what he thinks. It is Wizards policy that shops hosting a pre-release provide new prize support for the players. Wizards GIVES the shop the prize support for these events. If the shop is keeping the prize for them selves and giving store credit, they are cheating the players and stealing from Wizards. I think Wizards should know this is happening.
We had this issue at a "new" LGS a few years back. Several people reported him to Wizards and he got "yelled" at by them, but because he changed his policy to properly reflect what he was supposed to do, they didn't pull his privileges. He's still a douche bag, but he gives out the proper prize support.
Depends on how whiny the player base is. We often agree to take credit from our LGS until he gets the release shipment so we can have additional tournaments on the prerelease weekend with the sealed product.
(Granted he asks everyone if we want to go that route - so no one accuses him of being shady)
I'd rather play more than worry about cracking packs a week early.