As artists sign up for the GP I will be posting here. Keep in mind that the events almost a year out so all artists are tentative and will need to be confirmed as the event comes closer – however I promise an amazing list of artists.
First artist to sign up is – RK Post.
This is going to be amazing folks.
I live in Portland. I love Portland and last night Wizards of the Coast web site went live with the news that Portland Oregon is going to get a GP. Thats right – Portland Oregon is getting a Grand Prix.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/other/110509a
For years players have been asking me – ”When will Portland get a GP” and I have never had a good answer – well now I do. The Grand Prix Portland will be Sept 11 and 12th.
So Good. So flipping good.
I can’t wait to show off Portland – easily one of the best cities in the world to everyone at the GP.
I know everyone wants details as soon as possible and I have been working for months on getting this event together and will be ready to announce things like location, hotels, artists and side event schedules over the next weeks.
But for now – I’m just so happy to announce that Portland gets a GP.
Tim
I haven’t posted for several weeks. I’ve been on the road a lot and just haven’t had the time. I ran events at Anime Expo and the San Diego Comic Con – as well as a bunch of PTQ’s.
While I was at the Comic Con I saw the masquerade which I loved and my favorite was the Disney princess show. Check out this link to the youtube video of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0-N-bd9OGY
I should get back into the swing of posting now. Expect more soon.
Finally – take a look at the PAX Magic schedule. If you have not been to PAX before its really cool show. If your in Seattle you really should stop by and say hi.
Tim
I have confirmed with Richard that he will be signing at the Grand Prix on SUNDAY only. He plans on arriving at 12:00 – 12:30 and will be at the event for several hours.
I can’t tell you how great it is to have him at the GP. This event is going to be amazing.
Tim
I have just faxed the paperwork to the next closest hotel – as the marriott is sold out. The new hotel should have a room block set up with discounts for GP players.
“Reservations can be made through our dedicated property reservations team at (253) 238-8000 or toll free at (888) 862-3255. Please advise your guests to ask for the “Magic – Grand Prix Tournament” group to ensure they receive the special room rate. Guaranteed reservations must be cancelled by 24 hours prior to arrival to avoid No Show/Same Day Cancel charges of one night’s room and tax.”
http://www.hotelmuranotacoma.com/
Looks pretty nice.
Tim
At long last I have finalized the negociations for the Seattle Prerelease location. I will spare you the details but it was a real pain. Seattle Center and all my usual locations were booked. However I did manage to get the Ellis Pavilion at Seattle Mariners/Safeco Field 1250 First Avenue South Seattle, WA 98134
If your going to GP Seattle we have arranged for a discount at the hotel next to the venue. They are currently holding 100 rooms for the GP. These could sell out in which case they will not be able to add more.Hotel Reservations – Courtyard Tacoma Downtown
To book reservations for the event call: Marriott reservations at (800) 321-2211 or Courtyard Marriott hotel directly at (253) 591-9100
Please request the special rate for “Grand Prix Seattle”. Reservations by attendees must be received before 5:00pm, Friday, May 1, 2009
Magic players – how deep do you want up to publish decklists? Currently top 8 are on the wotc site. We could go deeper and publish to 12, top 18, top 20, top 40, all of em.
Just let me know and I will take your input into account as I make my decision.
Tim
This is briliant. Helps the YGO winners. Makes Magic Nationals even more fun. Adds drama to Magic Nationals. Wizards looks great. Only question I have is how does someone prove they qualified.
Also I have not seen anyone from Konami sat that YGO Nationals are canceled. So that part may or may not be correct. It seems likely to me that Konami WILL hold Nationals, but I don’t know for sure.
http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Press/?doc=20090302
March 2, 2009 - Renton, WA – Wizards of the Coast today announced that invitations to the Magic: The Gathering® Nationals tournament will be extended to qualified Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game players in response to the recent announcement that their National Championships are cancelled.
“We respect the accomplishments of all high-level tournament players,” said Chris Galvin, VP of Organized Play for Wizards of the Coast. “We’d like to do what we can to honor their achievements and keep them gaming.”
Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game players who hold an invitation to the Yu-Gi-Oh! US or Canadian Nationals that were scheduled to take place this year will be welcomed to come play Magic at the equivalent Magic: The Gathering Nationals in summer 2009. Interested players can simply contact the Wizards Game Support team by visiting customer support or by calling 1-800-324-6496.
Wizards of the Coast is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC: THE GATHERING®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.
The trademark Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Shueisha, Inc. in the United States and may be pending or registered in other countries. Wizards of the Coast is not endorsed or sponsored by, or affiliated with, Shueisha or Konami.
From http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/14392.html
I’m really curious how magic players are going to respond. It seems like a good idea to me – but the players are the ones who really matter.
Tim
WotC Revamps ‘Core’ SetsAnnual Releases Starting This SummerPublished: 02/23/2009 02:27pm
New Card
Wizards of the Coast has announced a complete revamping of its core set releases for Magic: The Gathering. Starting this July the core set releases will no longer be identified by edition number–like new cars (with their forward-looking year-by-year designations), the July 2009 M:TG core set release will be known as Magic: The Gathering 2010 Core Set or Magic 2010for short. Also starting this July WotC will release one new core set per year (instead of one every two years). ThusM:TG will now be on a regular yearly schedule that will see the release of three expert-level expansions and one core set every year.
 Unlike previous core sets, which were composed of all reprints, the Magic 2010core set will have approximately 50% new cards–a huge departure from past practices intended to make the core sets attractive a wide range of Magic players. New cards such as “Silence” and “Wall of Frost” use game terms that both new and experienced players can understand and employ to great effect in card combat. As was the case with Tenth Edition, all core sets going forward (including the Magic 2010 set) will be black-bordered. Magic 2010 will include 249 cards including 15 mythic rare cards (9 of the 15 mythic rares are reprints, while six are brand new cards).
Since the Magic 2010 core set contains so many new cards, Wotc is, for the first time with a core set, planning traditional Prerelease and Launch party events on back-to-back weekends in conjunction with the Magic 2010 debut on July 17th. Previous core set releases have largely been ignored by the enfranchisedM:TG player base, which looked at the core sets primarily as lists of cards that are legal in Standard tournament play. The revamped M:TG core sets are geared to appeal to both newcomers and experienced players. In order to put more focus on the Magic 2010 release, WotC is making sure that Grand Prix events in Boston, Niigata, and Prague will feature Magic 2010Limited play events, an indication that going forward core sets will be an integral part of high-level organized play.
WotC is also changing its rotation policy to accommodate the more rapid release of core sets. While 10th Edition will rotate out when Magic 2010 is released this July, Magic 2010 will remain legal until the fall of 2010 when the large release codenamed “Lights” is released. That will mean that from July of 2010, when the Magic 2011 core set is released, until the debut of “Lights” in late 2010, there will be two core sets legal at the same time (another first for M:TG). This pattern of approximately 15 months of “legal” status for core sets will continue into the future.
 While the central concept behind the “core set” as being a “jumping-on” place for new players remains, the Magic 2010 set also includes five Lorwyn “Planeswalkers,” which are promoted to their proper place as “mythic rares,” and should also help to make this core set more attractive to highly skilled M:TG players. The Planeswalkers cards are so cool that the designers behind the Magic 2010 core set are confident that newcomers to the game will do the work necessary to learn the rules behind the complex cards (the powers of these premierM:TG Characters can’t be explained on the cards themselves). |
