(1) Pokemon Announces 2013-14 Season Changes: Entry Fees, More Prize Support, and More! [8/22]

I hope they only have fees for joining for this season. It's my last year as a Senior and I don't really want to pay fees for previously free tournaments. More prizes for lower places is pretty cool though.
 
Will world's invites be earned the same way? Also, a top 8 top cut for any event regardless of size? That is terrible.
 
I do like the changes to the Professor Program because it will make it so Professors are ranked based on how frequently they judge and the exams they take. I am hoping there is a special exam for judging the Video Game since most Professors do not have deep knowledge of game mechanics.
 
DNA's thoughts:

~Sanctioned League tournaments. Hm, pretty interesting idea, actually. Not bad.
~As it turns out, the best-of-3 Swiss play is only for States and higher, not for Battle Roads or Cities. I was kinda dreading BO3 in Battle Roads and Cities, because as a judge, the tourney could quickly turn into a long day for everyone involved. I'm pleased that BO3 isn't for lower level tourneys.
~VGC is going to start as BW2, and transition to XY. Makes sense. They did this last year with BW1 to BW2.
~Entry fees for Masters? Before you guys complain, hold your horses. To compensate, Masters get more prize support. Therein lies the trade-off. It is not like this thing is unheard of; YGO does it all the time. The reason their prize pools are so large is because their tourneys require entry fees. This could, however, be a hassle at registration, and could drag the tourney out longer than it needs to be.
~I find it odd that the prizes for Nats for TCG for Masters do not go by powers of 2. It's 16, then 30, then 60, then 100. This makes it theoretically possible that you could get a lower prize if your resistance/seeding in top cut turns out badly. Just as a prediction, I don't see this as being fair for players. Just extend it to 32 and 64. Is it that big of a deal?
~Player Rewards are now gone. I am disappointed but in no way surprised.
~The Professor Program is being tiered now? Huh. Wonder what that will portend. Will it mean those who have been Professors for longer will have access to more goodies? Will it mean run-of-the-mill judges get Professor Points? Will it mean that judges have to be 18+ now in all cases? Only time will tell.
 
Entry fees were a turn-off until I saw that there is a larger prize support. Hopefully the entry fee will only be around $5 or so. (I have NO idea how realistic that is, because I've never given thought into anything like that before, so don't bash.)

What about Play! Points? Will you still need 15 to get into Nats this year?
 
...can someone explain the Battle Roads thing to me? I am at a completely loss as to what they're getting at .-.
 
SO what exactly do I have to pay for now?

Also I welcome best of three, there has been many a time where I have lost just by a sliver because we each had one or situationaly 2 price cards left and the other person took like 5 minutes to realize what they should do after we've already gone 123, maybe less people will be inclined to play the waiting game if they know its only one game of 3, its also allows me to maybe take down a deck I was unprepared for like that dang gothitelle/accelgor locking troll deck.


Salamencetrainer34 said:
What does

Battle Roads will now be integrated into Pokemon Leagues, allowing for more opportunities to play in the tournaments (and giving Pokemon League more of a function).
mean?

Yeah, Isn't this exactly how they were suppose to be, as far as I know all the leagues were the ones doing the battle roads, was it a seperate entity for some reason this whole time?
 
Entry fees? Count me out. Even with extra prize support, this is but making the "rich" "richer".
 
BO3 sounds like an awesome idea, and I don't get the thing about Battle Roads.

As this being my first season as a Master, I'm worried about the whole money thing and what not. Seeing as I have a hard time making money as it is (not many places in my area hire at 15, the closest place is 45 minutes away, I can't drive and the only other person who can won't take and/or would be at work themselves).
 
Jay said:
Entry fees? Count me out. Even with extra prize support, this is but making the "rich" "richer".

yeah, more prize support is only good for people who can gaurantee that they get these prizes, some people would rather play for fun and then take the small prize if by some miracle they managed to get one.

then again, how far down the lines does this prize support go, I can t imagine it would be everyone gets something because that would mean you are either breaking even or losing money, otherwise then if you still didn't manage to get a prize then not only did you lose big time you paid for someone else's satisfaction and got nothing, that's an encouraging thought that welcomes attendance.

We need more details.
 
I think they're trying to make the Masters division more serious and competitive, but honestly free entry was one of their best aspects...
 
I suppose if I were a player and not a judge, I'd be extremely conflicted. But I only play at 2, maybe 3 tourneys a year. And if I have to play at a BRs or Cities, maybe my TO would be nice and let me play for free, since I judge for him all the time. \o/
 
The Pikachu Mafia said:
I think they're trying to make the Masters division more serious and competitive, but honestly free entry was one of their best aspects...

At least its not kids, when I was little I found about my local league and when I begged my mom to take me their is just so happened it was a prerelease day and I asked my Mom to spend $60 out of nowhere on me and my brother, which made me feel really bad after because she had no idea how it worked and neither did I so I didn't actually play the tournament nor get all the packs I was alotted. It turned me off from the card game because it was all so scary and confusing and I wasted my moms money so I felt bad.

I know that's a really specific case but I'm glad kids don't have to go through that, and when I first got back into the game last year I was surprised how actually simple it was and how all the parents and kids knew a lot more then me. Imagine If another kid comes along like I was and suddenly he has to pay for these regular tournaments, and its almost gauranteed he would get nothing. Its not very encouraging for first timers.
 
ECHOxLegend said:
The Pikachu Mafia said:
I think they're trying to make the Masters division more serious and competitive, but honestly free entry was one of their best aspects...

At least its not kids, when I was little I found about my local league and when I begged my mom to take me their is just so happened it was a prerelease day and I asked my Mom to spend $60 out of nowhere on me and my brother, which made me feel really bad after because she had no idea how it worked and neither did I so I didn't actually play the tournament nor get all the packs I was alotted. It turned me off from the card game because it was all so scary and confusing and I wasted my moms money so I felt bad.

I know that's a really specific case but I'm glad kids don't have to go through that, and when I first got back into the game last year I was surprised how actually simple it was and how all the parents and kids knew a lot more then me. Imagine If another kid comes along like I was and suddenly he has to pay for these regular tournaments, and its almost gauranteed he would get nothing. Its not very encouraging for first timers.

Exactly, paying to play is really unhealthy for the newer players or just the ones that want to play for fun. This is a risky move from TPCI that might not pay off...
 
OK, sorry, I didn't see this thread.
I enjoy these changes except the fee. It's fine with me.
 
I don't like the Top 8 Top Cut either. So only Top 8 get into Top 8 at Nat's and Regionals? Seems legit.
 
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