Council of Elrond

Greetings, community of MECCG players:

From the Council of Elrond we want to start organizing this year's MECCG Worlds, in a face-to-face format. So far, we have tried to follow a Europe-Europe-America pattern every three years, to try to give the whole community a viable and not too expensive option to attend, depending on the proportion of players on both sides of the Atlantic. However, this is entirely up to the organizers. These are the last places where they have been organized:

2022: Spain (Llinars del Vallés, near Barcelona)
2021: Germany (Bacharach castle)
2020: No Worlds due to COVID
2019: France (Lille)
2018: The Netherlands (Heemskerk, near Amsterdam)
2017: Germany (Cologne)
2016: Switzerland (Jenins)

As you can see, it has been a long time since it has been held west of the Atlantic, so it would be ideal if a fan with initiative and ability would be encouraged to organize it, preferably in a place where a good number of players can be concentrated.

For those who are thinking about it, the requirements that the rules of the Council request for the organizers are collected in https://meccg.com/rules/tournament-policy/ However, this could be a good recommendation for any organizer:

- The event is weekend-long, from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. This way the trip is better utilized with as many games as possible.
- The official games are two-deck games. Of course, the organizer can hold other types of games, the most usual being a quick tournament with "wizard only" single-deck alignment, sealed tournaments, drinking game, etc. However, the only championship sanctioned by the CoE is the "General Opponent" (any alignment, two decks).
- There must be a possibility of accommodation, sufficiently adequate, and preferably affordable. This is usually achieved if organized in hostels or similar places, although any hotel with a rate that is not expensive is feasible. It is preferable that the lodging be in the same place as where the games are held, although it is not indispensable as long as the distance between one place and another is short (preferably to do it on foot).
- There should be the possibility of eating on site, or nearby, so that meal breaks do not impact on the schedule of the games.

As an example, this is the usual schedule for these events:

- Friday PM: Wizards-only tournament (one deck)
- Friday late night: Some sealed or casual play.
- Saturday AM: General Opponent semis (2 decks)
- Saturday PM: General Opponent semis
- Saturday late night: Drinking Game / Sealed / Casual play
- Sunday AM: General Opponent finals (if 16+ players in semis) / sealed for the rest
- Sunday PM: long way home

And that is all. In the past, this type of event has brought the community together, just like the Lure of MECCG does every year. Now is your chance to put your city on the map of Middle-earth, it's your turn!

Thank you Mordakai, for issuing the call. I, for one, am answering.
I've made it my goal to get something happening again in the Western United States. For years prior to the pandemic we had a small community across the state that would usually gather at gaming conventions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. I've generally handled the northern events and another handled the southern.
And now we are restarting. We had a couple of small conventions in Sacramento last year that we attended and drew 5 or 6 people. My friend in the halfway point between LA and Sacramento, Red Arrow had a convention event that had six as well.
Slowly we are waking up the coastal Ents and calling them to a Moot. I've started a Friday night play event (sitting next to those MTG players with all that new shiny Middle Earth goodness) located at the There and Back Again Cafe in downtown. We are also starting a monthly Sunday morning casual tournament at the same cafe (Hero Decks only for now with all proxy cards welcome). Each month another returning or hidden player is located in San Francisco or San Jose and they are starting to make the trip. I'm hoping we can get to a point when we have 8 regulars. Then we will open it up to Minion decks as well.
I'm tracking down passionate players from across the state and some of the have great ideas and resources for creating prize support like custom dice, custom promo cards, or how about MP trackers? (Anyone know of someone who can mass produce steel versions of the Wizard Ring like ICE used to produce? If so let me know. Let's do it!)
Meanwhile I'm talking with Theo in Colorado and I'll be heading out there to play on Saturday, August 19th. Let's form an alliance. Want to meet us there? Let's get a serious conversation started. Let's make this happen.
Goblin King

I may have good news, soon.

Hi Guys,

I have the feeling that western US might be a bit too far away and expensive for getting there for most of the european players, east coast would be much better! It might be a good alternative to play in/or near Cologne (as we did in 2017). I am willing to organize again if no one else feels in duty . Would be great to get feedback from all that are willing to attend because we are quite late in the year for starting the orga ?!

Cheers

Heiner

Folks,
It occurs to me that getting FROM Europe TO the Western United State is just as expensive and difficult as getting TO Europe FROM the Western United States. So maybe we just have a tournament out here in California (or Colorado or Washington) and if you don't want to call it Worlds, then we won't do that.

We just call it a tournament and a good time and if people (USA or otherwise) can make it, that would be swell!

Honestly it is better to not call it Worlds because the USA has many players who are ents that have been sleeping too long. We need them to not be concerned with taking on the best in the world. We need them to wake up, dust off their old cards and not worry about remembering volumes of rules! If some of the World's best can find it in their hearts or their wallets to visit us -- that would be amazing! I'll be the first one to buy them a round! Most of the American players need to rekindle the spark they have for the game with some friendly competition (I know the Worlds are friendly too, very much so).

They just need to gather, play and have fun. I really hope to announce something soon for late October/early November. If it comes together the way I think it can, it will be a great time.

Thanks,
Goblin King aka Ralph

Hi Ralph,
that is indeed true, the travel effort is equal . So if you can arrrange worlds this year great. I just wanted to offer an alternative and speed up things a bit. It would great to have an offical announcement with concrete dates very soon so players could look for holidays, flights etc. The experience showed the later the announcement, the less players are able come to worlds. What worries me a bit is, that until now there only 4 likes on the posts, may be not only the US players are entish

Cheers

Heiner

Goblin King wrote: ↑Fri Jul 28, 2023 5:34 am Folks,
It occurs to me that getting FROM Europe TO the Western United State is just as expensive and difficult as getting TO Europe FROM the Western United States. So maybe we just have a tournament out here in California (or Colorado or Washington) and if you don't want to call it Worlds, then we won't do that.

We just call it a tournament and a good time and if people (USA or otherwise) can make it, that would be swell!

Honestly it is better to not call it Worlds because the USA has many players who are ents that have been sleeping too long. We need them to not be concerned with taking on the best in the world. We need them to wake up, dust off their old cards and not worry about remembering volumes of rules! If some of the World's best can find it in their hearts or their wallets to visit us -- that would be amazing! I'll be the first one to buy them a round! Most of the American players need to rekindle the spark they have for the game with some friendly competition (I know the Worlds are friendly too, very much so).

They just need to gather, play and have fun. I really hope to announce something soon for late October/early November. If it comes together the way I think it can, it will be a great time.

Thanks,
Goblin King aka Ralph

Do you guys hear that? I think I hear the rumblings for the genesis of the Americas' version of Lure . Let's go for it! I want to call it "Muster of Middle Earth". We choose to come we are not lured we Muster
Let's get Ready to Muster!

Hello friends! I wanted to share my opinion with you in case anyone is interested

To me, the World Championship is a true celebration of MeCCG, and what I enjoy the most is meeting other game enthusiasts, just like me. For several years, I've attended the World Championship without the intention of winning, but simply for the pleasure of playing and crossing paths with some of the best players who are present here.

But undoubtedly, what gives prestige to the World Championship is knowing that the winner has truly stood out as the best of the tournament, having had to defeat the best to achieve victory.

On the other hand, I recognize that it's challenging for players to travel from their continents just to play cards. Therefore, it's natural that the championship mainly attracts participants from a particular continent, which is understandable.

I propose making a call-out in the usual channels (Facebook and Discord) and inviting them to come to the forum and indicate who would be interested in attending in the USA or Germany, or wherever it may be.

Personally, I'd like to see the USA call-out be successful, even though I may not be able to attend. With all my respect and not wanting to sound negative, it would be good to truly see the interest it generates and not end up with a World Championship of only 10 people who just returned to the game...

Kodi

Hello Kodi,
I agree with some of your opinion. The World Championship is a celebration of MECCG and the best part is meeting other game enthusiasts that share my passion.
At its core, this is exactly what There and Back Again tournament will be all about in 2023. It will not matter if people consider it the World Championship for 2023 or not. For me personally, it will be the first step in making a dream come true. That dream is to see a vibrant tournament scene re-emerge in the United States of America.

I’m gathering lists of all current and former players that I can in the Western United States and Beyond. I have 15 in California and I’m told there may be another dozen or so in Colorado. (Headed there to meet many of them this month!) All told, I have about 45 known players in the states of California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. I’m reaching out to all of them and personally inviting them to Sacramento to play. My contacts are a lot thinner in the Central and Eastern United State, but I’ll be doing what I can and also using social media to spread the word. (Have one confirmation from Delaware! He’s coming for sure!) My vision is annual tournaments, first in Sacramento then in Denver and perhaps other places.

I want to go on a little side quest right now and talk about my own experience with Worlds, which was very limited. I participated in tournaments in the 1990s and have one ring trophy and one coin trophy to prove it. But the only time I could manage a Worlds was 2014 in San Francisco. It was a small affair (16 attendees) but there were several of the best from the USA like Mark, Joe, Brian, Gene, Sean & Skye. There was also Heiner and a couple other Europeans. I got kicked around by the best that weekend! My only victory was vs a 6-year-old. (You can read a whole report on this forum if you want to.) I had a great time!

But I know for others, that experience was not the greatest with such a low turn-out. And that experience for some may have done a lot to end the tournament experience (and the prospect of sponsoring one) in the USA.

Well the time has come to move beyond that experience, to learn from it and to begin anew.

Of course, I would be thrilled if Mark, Joe, Brian, Sean & Skye (and let us add Brian Wong too) would all come out of whatever retirement or Entish slumber they have been in. (Who am I kidding? They are all busy working their tails off like the rest of us!) But the reality is all the current superstars of this game are in Europe. We still have a few hidden masters (like Gene and Tom) tucked away and building complex and amazing decks (and hopefully coming to Sacramento), but all of the currently ranked folks are in Europe.

This is why I’d really love to see some Europeans in November. Sure, I understand if your wallets and schedules don’t allow it. But you are the best ambassadors of this game right now! Please join us! I think we are going to have a decent turnout. And Sacramento is a neat city in a Tolkien-ish sort of way. I think of it as New Dale, after the gold had been mined out, after the dragon’s desolation had ended. The city is rising, rebuilding.

It's going to be fun!
Goblin King
aka Ralph

Hello Ralph, I love your stories! It seems like you're akin to an old Ent, a witness to the history of the game in the USA. I wholeheartedly share your enthusiasm for rekindling interest in the USA, because I'm like you in that regard. For my part, if there's genuine motivation and interest in awakening the American community, I'm more than delighted that you succeed in your call and I'm here to assist however I can.

The truth is, the tournament you describe in San Francisco sounds like a gathering of grandmasters. I've also taken a beating from these guys, haha.

Regarding what you mentioned about European players, there are also great South American players in the Latin community, like Marcos, Fisilva, or Syrainad. Ultimately, I believe there are excellent players everywhere, but the world is too vast for us all to come together and play in person.

In the long run, I think the future of the World Championship, as the tournament that crowns the best player in the world, should shift to being exclusively online. And perhaps we should enhance physical meetups to make them a celebration of the game, serving to foster loyalty and attract lost players.

Best of luck with your mission!

Kodi