 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh! news, tips, strategies and more! | |||||
|
|
|||||
 |
|||||
 |
|||||
|
Card Game Featured Writers Releases + Spoilers Anime Video Games Other
Magic
This Space |
 |
Anteaus'
History of Yu-Gi-Oh!
Are you one of the many
people who want to play Goat Format in a competitive, live
tournament, but lack anywhere to play it? It’s not a fun
position to be in - I was there myself, not long ago. If
you’re stuck playing with just your friends in a casual
environment, but want to play in a real live tournament,
chances are it’s going to be up to you to get something
going. But how do you go about that? Well, don’t worry -
this article is going to talk a bit about how to get Goat
Format events going at your local game store. Let’s dive
right in, shall we?
Step 1: Be the “Goat Guy”
Every store has a player
or two who is totally into older formats. Whether you’re
playing Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon, it doesn’t matter;
there’s always that one person who wants to go back to “old
school.” If you’re trying to get a Goat Format tournament
going at your LGS, you have to be that guy.
This means investing in
the format a little bit. As of this writing, the most
expensive cards in Goat Format are Delinquent Duo, Gatling
Dragon, Metamorphosis and Tribe-Infecting Virus. And the
biggest reason why they’re expensive is due to a lack of
reprints. So if you’re wanting people to start playing with
you, you have to make it worth their while. This means
building not one deck, but two or three. This way, you’re
ready to go when someone wants to play you.
This is a great way to get
your friends into playing. Don’t be afraid to build a couple
of decks and let your friends use one of them. Of course,
this can mean dropping a bit of cash to get it started, but
you can always proxy cards until you’re able to get them.
But by being “the Goat guy,” and getting your friends
involved, you stand a much better chance of getting a
tourney started.
Step 2: Play Goat Format
at the store
The best way to get
started is to actually bring the format into the store. If
you play modern, taking some time either before or after the
tournament or between rounds to play Goats with a friend is
a good way to get some attention. People walking past will
stop after they see Delinquent Duo or Sinister Serpent and
say “oh, is that Goat Format?” Not all of them will, but
there’s a good chance that at least someone at the
store will recognize it.
And that’s one of the best
ways to actually get some attention. Because that’s what’s
needed before anything - attention. Once you get the
attention of a few people, and offer to play some Goats with
them, chances are they’ll take you up on it. And that’s
really the best way to go about it. Getting people involved
and playing will show any tournament organizer or store
owner that there is at least a modicum of interest in an
alternative Yu-Gi-Oh! Format.
Don’t expect everyone to
just clamor up to your game and start watching, especially
if you’re at a modern tournament. It’s going to take time to
really pique enough interest to take the next step. But
that’s okay. Patience, as they say, is a virtue. But by
playing Goat Format matches with a friend at your LGS, you
at the very least put it on the radar. And once it’s on
everyone’s radar, things get a whole lot easier.
Step 3: Gauge interest
So you’re in the store,
playing some good old Goat Format with your friends, and you
start to see people looking in on your matches. Maybe
they’re silent, or talking amongst themselves, or they’re
just taking a glance before they head to their next match.
Regardless of what it is, you need to start paying attention
to who is paying attention to you.
Gauging interest is a
crucial step, because if there’s not enough interest, any
Goat Format tourney you’re trying to start is going to be
harder to get off the ground. And it goes beyond just
watching people watching you - take some time and interact
with them. Discuss the format with people who are willing to
engage. When it comes to resurrecting an older format
(regardless of how popular it is) and getting tournaments
going for it, networking is incredibly important.
Usually all it takes is a
few people getting into the format to start seeing it
snowball. You get one person to play, and then their friends
start looking on to see what their friend is doing. Then you
can pitch the whole Goat Format spiel to those friends, and
pretty soon you end up having a solid group of people
willing to participate in an older format.
Step 4: Talk to the
Tournament Organizer
The first three steps can
be summed up in one simple phrase: gain a reputation. You
want to have the reputation of being serious about Goat
Format (without being too serious, of course -
remember, it’s unsanctioned, after all). Once you have that
reputation, though, you should have some clout at the store,
especially if the resident TO is interested in Goat Format
as well. You see, gaining a reputation will help you draw
more people to the tournament. Of course, if you’re not Kris
Perovic this is going to be a bit more difficult, but it’s
not impossible by any means. You just need to be the guy
that’s willing to talk to the TO and maybe the store owner
about getting a tourney off the ground.
Getting those people on
board is almost always going to be the biggest hurdle, so
you need to have your things in order. If you’re starting to
gain a reputation and you’ve been able to get more people to
start bringing Goat Format decks to the tournament it should
be a lot easier because more people are going to be willing
to go to bat for you. That’s when you want to approach the
TO. If you can sell your TO on Goat Format chances are
they can sell it to whoever runs the shop.
Oftentimes you’re going to
have to jump through some hurdles. Some TO’s may want you to
have a physical piece of paper signifying that there’s
enough interest (like a petition, for instance). Some may
just take your word for it, or read the mood of the players
and gauge their reaction. Regardless, once you start getting
some people involved in playing Goat Format casually, make
sure you start talking to the TO about getting a tournament
started.
Step 5: Start discussing
logistics
This step assumes that
there’s enough interest in Goat Format tournaments at your
LGS, and it can also be woven somewhat into Steps 3 and 4
because some TO’s may only give the go-ahead if the entry
fee structure and prize payouts are kosher.
If there’s real interest
in tournaments, you’re going to have to work out a time and
a date. The way we did it was we gave players a full month
from the day we decided to host one. This gives you ample
time for word to spread. And advertising is important -
having a post on an event calendar, advertising the
tournament in-store, and talking to other players at modern
events is a good way to go about it. You can discuss
advertising with the TO or the store organizer as well.
But it’s important to set
it up. Is it going to be a one-time thing to gauge interest
and go from there? For instance, my LGS started with just
one tournament, and we used that to gauge interest for
future tournaments. And there was enough to start hosting
Goat Format tournaments once a month. And then that
increased to twice a month. Who knows, maybe some time soon
we’ll start hosting them weekly. But that’s going to be up
to the TO and the store owner, so start with just the one
tournament and see how it goes.
Step 6: Establish rules
for the tournament
Will your tournament
include Exarion Universe, or no? How often will they happen?
Are they going to be early morning, or later in the evening?
Are they going to be on weekends, or weekdays? This step is
important because this is where you coordinate with all the
people who are interested in playing. A good idea is to give
people a few weeks’ heads-up before you actually start it,
and this is something you can coordinate with your TO, too.
Regardless, giving people time to ready themselves and
prepare is a great idea.
Something else to keep in
mind is whether or not you’re going to allow proxies. Now,
proxies are a double-edged sword; on the one hand, it can be
frustrating when you roll up with your nice, shiny,
fully-built Goat Control deck just to get stomped by someone
who has nothing but written-on cards. But proxies are also a
great way to allow people to play if they don’t have all the
cards.
Let’s face it, Goat Format
can be expensive. While most common versions of staples are
under a dollar, some cards - like Delinquent Duo, for
instance - can cost someone a pretty penny. So if you’re
more worried about turnout as opposed to having the actual
cards, proxies can be a good way to go. Again, talk to your
TO about it and establish some rules. Our goal is to simply
get as many people into the shop as we can, and if that
means we allow proxies so be it. At the end of the day,
regardless of whether the cards are real or not, the matches
are, and that’s really what counts.
Step 7: Discuss prizes
And then there’s prizes,
because what’s the point of a tournament if you’re not
winning anything? My LGS has a $5/person entry fee, with a
full payout to the first place finisher (usually $50 if
there are up to 12 players). They don’t offer entry packs
(and they don’t have to, since the tournament is, by its
nature, unsanctioned by Konami). You shouldn’t expect any
entry prizes or anything like that. Honestly, if Goat Format
isn’t around in your area, but there’s enough demand for it,
people will almost always pay $5 for a chance to play in a
real tournament. You’d be surprised at how big the draw of
real life competition for the format can be.
Really, cash prizes are
going to bring the most people, but not all LGS’s are going
to be willing to offer cash payouts. Right now, interest is
high enough in my area that we can get away with in-store
credit, but many shop owners are hesitant to give away real
cash as a prize. It’s a lot easier to give people in-store
credit, especially from a financial standpoint. Remember,
most card shops don’t make a lot in terms of profit, so
in-store credit is one of the better prizes out there.
What prizes your LGS gives
away is up to them, of course, but you can have input
on it, especially if a Goat Format tourney is your
idea to begin with. Bigger stores with more interest can
give out more in prizes, of course, and better prizes will
often lead to better turnouts.
Step 8: Have fun!
It might be a little
daunting to get them started, but once you actually get a
tournament going is when the real fun begins. You can
discuss specifics with your tournament organizer and I
definitely recommend you do so. But at the end of the day,
getting a Goat Format tournament going - so long as there’s
interest - is a great way to get bodies into your LGS, which
is only going to help the store.
And that’s a great pitch
to an owner, too - bodies in the store means more than just
entry fees. Players may need to buy some singles to finish
their decks, or buy some sleeves so they aren’t looking like
a new player. Maybe they’ll see a comic book they like, or
pick up some packs. Maybe they stick around for a modern
tournament later (or stick around after playing in a modern
tournament). Regardless, a store needs bodies in it in order
to function properly, and a Goat Format tournament can be a
nice, easy way of getting people into the store.
That’s pretty much it for
this time. If you have specific questions or would like some
help or advice in approaching players or TO’s about a
possible Goat Format tournament, you can always contact me
through email at
anteausonyugioh@gmail.com.
|
|||
|
Copyright© 1998-2016 pojo.com This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site. |
|||||
