Yep, you heard it and may have read about it already. Wizards of the Coast has made a major announcement regarding changes to the PRE Release's and some of the upper level tournaments that were exclusively being hosted by specific tournament organizers.
We were blown away when the email and announcement came yesterday! Retailers have been working hard to get Wizards to offer a change to the old format of running these tournaments.
We attended a very important meeting regarding this when we were at GAMA where several of us expressed our concerns and suggestions. It has been a hot bed issue for some time and I won't go into all the details but suffice it to say that this is AWESOME! My hat is off to Wizards to allow us the chance to prove we can do it.
We have reviewed the qualification criteria for the various levels and depending on Wizards final say, we feel we already qualify for the Gateway, and Core Levels which would allow us to run a Pre Release. We are very close to qualifying for the Advanced level which would allow us to hold a Grand Prix or other such tournament.
This is great for the local players as they will no longer need to drive clear to LA, San Diego, or other out of town location and save time, gas, and other expenses. And allow those who simply could not go out of town to be able to attend a special event.
The link to the article at wizards is
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/20080618 We are so excited about this change and look forward to working with the local players to make this happen! We would appreciate any support and suggestions as this comes together.
Thanks!
Curt
Paladins Game Castle
