It’s been almost 2 weeks since I first discussed Planeswalker Points (PwPs) in my article here:
At that point, I pointed out some of the pros and cons that I could see arising from the new system, but thought to myself: “Let’s try and stay positive and give it a chance… maybe things will work out OK?”. I will now state that PwPs have failed in more ways that I had originally thought, but not for the reasons WotC was trying to fix…
PwPs are causing competition among LGS to the point where (I predict) in the end, only one will survive per region. I witnessed this “phenomenon” first hand last Friday for FNM. We have three LGS that all run FNM’s: World’s Away, Imperial Hobbies & L.A. Mood, and they were ALL starting to / had built up their own respective followings. Since PwPs were introduced, it seems that most players have all funneled into ONE store (L.A. Mood in this case), as since it always had the highest turnout, it offered the most “participation points”, and therefore had the biggest “draw” for people looking to earn the most PwPs. As a result, when I went to play at Imperial Hobbies this Friday to give another store a chance, and play with some different people, they only had 8 players (including myself and Dobbs), which is a significant reduction from their regular turnout. Meanwhile, a few blocks east, Worlds Away had reduced participation which they attributed to GP Montreal.
Where were all the players? Yes, some were at the GP, but what about those that weren’t willing to travel the 16 hours round trip or just straight wanted to chill and play FNM?
“Ummm… L.A. Mood had > 30 players this week AND last!!”
Oh, THAT’S where they’ve all been “hiding”.
In plain sight.
Racking up the PwPs.
It is my observation that PwPs are inadvertently causing players to funnel to whichever LGS has the highest turnout, leaving the other stores wondering where their regulars have disappeared to. I had stopped into L.A. Mood to trade and just hang out for a bit before heading to Imperial Hobbies, and there were players there in droves. I recognized many of the regulars who typically play at the other stores milling about tuning their decks, which surprised me, as we magic players are a fiercely loyal bunch. When I showed up at Imperial Hobbies and saw that there were only 8 people instead of the regular, it got me thinking…
From a player perspective, what was the benefit of going to a store that had a smaller turnout? Instead of earning a 2-3x participation point multiplier, I was now earning a meager 1x. My record of 2-0-1 (Tied for 1st with Dobbs) was worth (6+1+1)*3 = 24 at Imperial Hobbies, but I could have had that same record at L.A. Mood and earned (6+1+3)*3 = 30. I would have also been able to play 2x more rounds at L.A. Mood, meaning that I would have had the chance to earn up to 6*3 = 18 MORE points! Clearly the “Participation Points Multiplier” is going to affect more than just players PwPs… it’s going to affect what store you go to play at as you try to maximize those points!
So when we start to evaluate our PwPs and our Planeswalker levels, and we’re looking to “level up” and brag to our friends about how we just became Spellshapers or the like, what are we to do? Are we to purposely sacrifice potential PwPs by playing in a smaller venue while remaining loyal to the stores that we’ve been frequenting (in many cases for years and years), or do we drop them like a plague-ridden blanket now that they don’t offer us the most benefits?
Wizards claims that PwPs are the greatest thing ever for the players (which remains to be seen IMHO), but on the other hand they’ve created a HUGE competition between neighboring LGS that didn’t exist before. I feel the new competition for player participation that will result from the creation of PwPs is going to cause a “Highlander Effect” because in the end there will “be only one” LGS left with any player participation, as everyone is looking to max out the PwPs they will earn so will play at the venue with higher participation points!!
Now take this idea global. We can bitch and moan about how terrible PwPs are here in North America, but think about the rest of the magic card playing world. I somehow doubt that Egypt is pulling in the same attendance as the USA. Since WotC is based in the USA, and so is SCG and the tournaments they create, the amount of events run there are going to be MUCH more frequent than anywhere else. So when we’re looking at PwPs as the “quantifying factor” for invites and the like, I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up w / Pro Tours consisting solely of North American residents. The international community is just not going to be able to keep up with the “grind” it will take to stay competitive since there aren’t enough high level opportunities to compete in their region!
The fix for this is blatantly obvious: Just remove the “participation points” multiplier altogether and fix the events multipliers to be worth the values they should be at higher levels! You’ll get more actual ROUNDS in higher turnout events, and those extra rounds will result in more points because you’ll be playing more, and therefore have more opportunity to win and earn points!
Going back to my Imperial Hobbies (3 rounds) vs. L.A. Mood (5 rounds) example, this would make it look like this if I won all my rounds:
3-0 @ Imperial Hobbies right now (8 players) = (9+1)*3 = 30
3-0 @ Imperial Hobbies (modified) = (9+1)*3 = 30
5-0 @ L.A. Mood right now (32 Players) = (15+3)*3 = 54
5-0 @ L.A. Mood (modified) = (15+1)*3 = 45
You would only earn 45 points @ L.A. Mood (instead of 54) under the proposed system which is still more than Imperial, but if you DID play at Imperial and went 3-0 at least it would be CLOSER (30 vs. 45 or 66%). You are rewarded for going to L.A. Mood by getting extra rounds and therefore extra OPPORTUNITIES to earn points instead of just being “given” them for participating!
How do YOU feel about this proposed change?
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I want to touch again on a problem that I’d pointed out as MY main concern with PwPs in my last article: The fact that there is no measurable for the SKILL LEVEL of your opponents. I could play the best player in the world and crush him, only to earn 3 points either way. On the other hand, I could grind a different tournament Mon-Sun, finish poorly, but end up with a really high rating due to the sheer volume of wins, even though none of them might have been 1st places. So does this system reward the best players? MOST DEF NOT! It rewards the person who plays the most.
I am guilty… Guilty of apathy. I USED to care about my rating… now I don’t. Winning against a skilled opponent once filled me with pride… now it’s just “meh”. That’s right, it’s “meh”. That’s the best way I can describe the feeling. It’s not that I’m not glad to win, it’s just that, you know, there’s really nothing to it. It’s just another 3 points, the same 3 points that I get for beating down Scrubby McScruberton and his mono-green-beasts.dec. And what do I care if I lose? What is my incentive to play my best… it’s not like anything happens if I don’t win, right? I just don’t get a couple points, not a biggie.
When I beat Randy the week before last he said: “I really don’t care anymore.”
When I was offered a draw in the finals last week I said: “Sure, why not, I’ll get to leave sooner.”
^^ Wizards may have ensured that more people are playing, but how much are those same people enjoying it?
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TALKBACK!
How do YOU feel about PwPs? Better or worse than the old ELO system?
Did YOU change stores in order to earn more PwPs? Why / Why not?
Do YOU even CARE about your rating anymore?
Hope to hear a few opinions from store owners and players alike! And don’t forget about the contest! J
Cheers,
Carl Szalich
I'm just glad enough people actually showed at Imperial to have an FNM... i would have been sad if it was a no go. i hope things go back to the way they were where all stores can have a good showing.
ReplyDeleteMike: I really hope you're right! My concern is that the players who were only interested in "winning" / getting invites aka: the true competitive players are all just going to try and maximize their points by playing in whichever venue has the highest turnout!
ReplyDeleteCtrlMjollnir: I'm also glad enought people showed to have a tourney at Imperial, because it's a nice store that deserves it's own player base! Circumstances like that one are preciselt the reason why I was prompted to write this article. Going from 16+ to barely 8 is quite the change!