Organizing Local Tournaments?

[Lone Signal]

Hi all. Me and a lot of my friends who have dusted off their old magic cards want to start playing regularly. Since we mostly have old cards, we want to start going to 1.5 tournaments, and have contacted our local store about getting some sanctioned tournaments going there.
However, due to general unpopularity of 1.5 and the store generally wanting to do T2 and Limited in general, I was thinking about organizing our own tournaments so we can have a reliable source of 1.5 games and to not rely solely on the store for them. Don't get me wrong, I like the store and we will attend their tournaments over our own, but it's not going to be held as regularly as we'd like, so this is why I was thinking about forming this.
So I was wondering, from people with experience doing this sort of thing... any tips and pointers on how to go about doing this? Any do's and don'ts? Are there any articles on this subject?

Some general notes:
- We want it to involve prizes, most likely by using pots.
- Me and my friends aren't exactly poor, but we really don't want to overextend either. Although we don't want to turn this into a business-profit type deal, we do want to play and we do want to make money, if one of us wins.
- Between me, my friends, and some people from the store, we should be able to field 8 people interested for 1.5 at least. Once some of my out-of-town friends come back for summer, there'll be more.
- We really don't want to go update to T2. We could do drafts and such from time to time, but we would like to focus on 1.5.

Thanks fellas.

[umbowta]

... due to general unpopularity of 1.5 and the store generally wanting to do T2 and Limited in general, I was thinking about organizing our own tournaments
There are more nights in a week than there are "popular" formats. If the store doesn't want to run regular events right away, that's fine. You'll need to show them there's interest in the format. Try by convincing them to use their gaming space for Legacy play once a week, or once every two weeks. For prizes, you could do a rare pool to start with, then, if the store owner gives permission, you could do a cash pool or whatever.
Legacy isn't unpopular, it's underplayed. Increasing a player base is as simple as rewarding newcomers. Unfortunatley, many elitist players see newcomers as noobs, make fun of them, and drive them away, to the detriment of the format. Keep in mind, some noobs are so obnoxious that they need to be driven away, as are some elitists.



So I was wondering, from people with experience doing this sort of thing... any tips and pointers on how to go about doing this? Any do's and don'ts? Are there any articles on this subject?
I wish there were lists of do's and dont's. I wish there was a readily available standard procedural guidline for community building in some article. For the last two years (give or take) I've been working on building a community in southeast Michigan. Sometimes my efforts are rewarded with a big turnout at a local event, othertimes it can be downright demoralizing. Yet I remain, with the simple goal of seeing a self sustaining group formed.


- Between me, my friends, and some people from the store, we should be able to field 8 people interested for 1.5 at least. Once some of my out-of-town friends come back for summer, there'll be more.

- We really don't want to go update to T2. We could do drafts and such from time to time, but we would like to focus on 1.5.

Thanks fellas.
The only reason to worry about having 8 or more players is if you plan on sanctioning events. With that said, one of you will have to apply to be a Tournament Organizer and, just so you know, TO's are NOT allowed to play in their own events. Attempts to circumvent this rule can result in DCI bannings. My suggestion is either run unsanctioned events, or get the store owner to be your TO.

As far as type two goes...I use it as an avenue to promote Legacy. I have a T2 deck built so that I can play occasional games and talk to my opponent about the awesomeness that is Legacy, i.e, not having to lose money on my good cards when sets rotate.

Good luck man.

[hi-val]

A good way to start up a scene is to just all plan to show up and play Legacy at the store when other people will be there, like on a game night. Go, have fun, cast spells, talk to people. Get a buzz going about Legacy. Also, have a couple of decks on you. That way, if someone is watching, you can invite them to join in if they'd like. Simple decks like Threshold, Goblins, Landstill, etc. are all easy to construct and have around if you are playing. Getting people to sit down and play games is the best way to start a community, because then they will have an actual idea of what the format is, instead of just assumptions.

[TheAardvark]

My playgroup actually began our own tournaments 2 years ago after breaking away from the local store and it has worked out well. A few notes:

1. We have an entry fee of 2 Standard legal booster packs which we have available for $2.50 each. That can be altered to $5 cash, or singles, or whatever. All the packs are distributed to the T8. One of our guys is in charge of buying the cases of product we need for this (as we draft also), so that's a big help.

2. My wife registered as the TO for sanctioning purposes. If you want sanctioning, that's probably what you will need to do. Well, not have my wife do it, but someone else who doesn't really play.

3. Like what was said above, try getting a buzz going around about the format. Tell the T2/whatever players that frequent the store that Legacy is really deep and interesting, and that they could borrow cards if necessary starting out (if that's possible with your collections). This is especially effective when talking to either long-time players who have sold/traded off older stuff or returning players who liked to play Plow, Ritual, etc. Networking is where it's at.


Hopefully that was helpful. No matter what, don't give up, and if you can't get a lot of people interested at first, just play with your friends and continue to network. It'll pay off eventually.

[Finn]

This is in South Florida. I was in a very good position to push the format. I have a very extensive collection, and beginning in 2001 I had been running sealed deck in a store. It was early 2004 when I finally began the move to Legacy.

1. In my position of quazi-authority I started to tell people to bring 1.5 decks (not even Legacy yet) for packs (supplied by the store owner) if they beat me on the side. The free packs work VERY well. And they are going to fail with just T2 crap, so there is incentive.
2. I posted the B+R list on the door under the advertisement for the tournament.
3. I built a lot of decks for this featuring plenty of older cards and played different ones on different weeks. After a few months like this there were more than a dozen people with a working knowledge of the format.
4. I convinced the store owner to buy some staples and duals.
5. A different store had a big Mox Sapphire tournament for Legacy just after the Sept 2004 split from Vintage (this part was blind luck), and I talked it up a lot as it approached.
6. I began a new Friday Night Legacy tournament to pick up from there.

I hope you gained more than just a story from all that.

[jazzykat]

I continually struggle with this as tournaments pop up and then people go, stop going, tournaments begin to suck ass, people become whiny bitches etc.

As said before, network and buzz. Then pick a time and a place and BE CONSISTENT! Then advertize the tournament. Don'change times, entry fees or anything else UNLESS it is demanded by the player base itself. Your buzz becomes useless if people don't know if the information is still useful.

Also, put up an attractive prize at a reasonable ratio. Even if you are running a store trying to make money on a tournament entry fee is RETARDED. I tried to explain this to a local TO and I don't know if he understands that. Although a few months of no one showing up to his tourneys may have drilled that through his head. You make money selling candy bars, sleeves, singles, playmats, boxes, dice, and random other things your store may sell.

I wish you the best of luck.
JK

[Firebrothers]

We has pretty much a similar situation after the split of legacy and vintage. All the players ran off and did their own thing while 2-3 dedicated guys(me and my teammates) went around school, stores and wherever trying to get people to play legacy. We finally have dedicated showings at tournaments with 12-ish regulars and sometimes more. Just keep trying, get in good with the store owners and do not give up.

[umbowta]

As said before, network and buzz. Then pick a time and a place and BE CONSISTENT! Then advertize the tournament. Don'change times, entry fees or anything else UNLESS it is demanded by the player base itself. Your buzz becomes useless if people don't know if the information is still useful.
This is sooooo true. I've personally watched a regular group of 16+ players destroyed by a day/entry fee change. Players showed up on the old day only to find nothing going on. Obviously, and understandably, they got pissed off and many of them quit coming. Trying to rebuild on a different night has been really hard.