I don't think anyone has said word one about it being the deciding format for anything that matters. Even Nate said that it sounded like a fun idea... and Stags that special rules tournament WAS a lot of fun. People were playing with interesting and innovative decks trying to abuse their house rule as much as possible. Tournaments that are always about trying to win to the point where people are purposefully trying to game the system to ensure they makie the final cut shouldn't be the end all be all of play. Tournaments with themes, special rules, extra conditions etc. are fun precisely because you don't HAVE to take them seriously, but at the same time they stretch different muscles, they make you think differently about the game, about your deck building, challenge basic assumptions, and in the end may give you insight that carries over into the true game proper.

It can be no different than pro-football player playing flagfootball at a family reunion. It isn't about the win, but the camaraderie. Or a pro-football player taking Tae Kwon Do or Ballet, it isn't about getting a black belt or the lead in Swan Lake, it is about having fun and stretching yourself in new ways some of which may be applicable to their sport.

Some people have a hard on for a specific house and would refuse to play anything else, some people the idea of playing in anything that uses the term tournament must be about dominating and crushing the field. The rest of us recognize that just because you take a game seriously and play to win, doesn't mean you can't fart around with it and blow off steam, loosen up, and just enjoy the moment for what it is. Heck someone truly competitive could even look at it as an opportunity to demonstrate their prowess with any house, and someone who only plays one house could most certainly loearn a lot by building decks for other houses, that would improve the way they strategize, if nothing else.

But anyway, thanks for voicing your opinions... how about setting aside the negativity now and let us toss this idea around a bit for a fun side tourney somewhere?

Whatever. Count me out.

Stag Lord said:

lawl, I'm so glad to be in the same meta as you

Stag Lord said:

Wow. You really ARE an old curmudgeon....

JeffK said:

When we have a regular meetups, players are welcome to switch up decks during the evening, even when we're counting results for League play (which, admittedly for NYC, is just a fun meta game overlay on what are essentially pickup games since we don't structure evenings as tournaments). I think there's a place somewhere between casual meetups and high-end competitive tournaments where a tournament format that had players bringing multiple decks could be fun. What if you had a tournament where each player had to bring 3 decks (no repeat Houses) and to be champ you had to post a win with each deck? Essentially, as you have success, your deck choices get whittled down so you're only as good as your 3rd best deck. That might push players to try building decks that they might not otherwise and to win with possibly different styles. I'm just throwing that out, as there are obvious challenges with how to structure it and keep it in a predictable allotted amount of time and not make it impossible for people with smaller card pools. (Maybe that idea or a mod of it would work better as a League format done over multiple sessions.)

dormouse said:

You should probably start a new thread. You'll have a better chance getting opinions and ideas about a new playing format; rather than having it buried in this thread.