At the risk of sounding like an infomercial:
If you have worked a Limited Grand Prix before, how many times have you been asked the following questions on Saturday morning?
Judge, what are the announcements saying?
Judge, can I start doing ?
Judge, if both me and my partner are done registering, can we swap back and start building?
Judge, I just got my pool and it isn’t alphabetized. Can I have a time extension?
Or, you may have struggled to hear the announcements yourself, and scrambled to find another judge who hopefully did. One extreme example came earlier this year, when the PA system was so bad that it would cut out every few seconds, and when it was active, was so soft that nobody could understand. The system became to use judges as loudspeakers and hope that everyone was in the same general area of doing the same thing.
Let’s face it, no matter how you slice it, or how good the PA system happens to be (often not very), information gets lost all the time when hundreds of people are trying to all get the same information from a magical voice in the sky. What can we do to minimize confusion, save time during the most hectic part of the day, and make player and judge experiences better during what is the most difficult part of any Grand Prix?
Introducing the Sealed Process ChecklistWith the introduction of the Madison Maneuver or the Sydney Swap or however you prefer to refer to the new process for Sealed deckbuilding, it has become exponentially simpler to detail the exact mechanics of the beginning of the day for any Limited GP. Many Tournament Organizers have, for Limited, begun handing out deck boxes or baggies that contain the players’ packs, tokens, decklists, waivers, and other goodies. It is my thinking that, included in this packet, should be a detailed checklist for the exact procedure that the deckbuilding process will follow.
This checklist should be numbered with each step. This way, the directions that need to be understood by the Head Judge are minimized, eliminating confusion if players miss an announcement or are victims of the PA system. Players instead can refer to their sheet whenever they are confused as to what is supposed to be happening. As more and more Grand Prix clocks switch to projections or monitors, the step that the room is currently on should also be displayed in a location that is easy for players and judges to see.
Here is a rudimentary example, using an optimized process from Grand Prix Atlanta:
Grand Prix Atlanta - Sealed ProcedureDo Not Perform Any Step in the Process Until Instructed. Please refer to the projector if you become lost, or call a judge if you have any questions.Once you open your deck box:
1) Check to make sure you have six packs of Battle for Zendikar, a GP Promo Griselbrand, an SCG goodie pack, and a sheet that is a decklist on one side and a waiver on the other.
DO NOT SIGN THE WAIVER YET. Fill out your name where it says “Player Registering Deck” at the top of the decklist.
2) Players facing the stage should open their packs and show their partner the contents. Place the cards back into the deck box when you are done.
3) Players facing away from the stage should repeat Step 2.
4) Exchange pools with your partner. The cards are still the property of whoever opened them. You have twenty minutes to register this pool, which should be sorted by color and alphabetically within each color. (Include a tip about best practices for efficiently registering the pool)
5) Give the pool and decklist back to the player who originally opened it. Once you have your pool back, fill out your name where it says “Player Using Deck”. Then, turn the decklist over and fill out the waiver. You now have thirty minutes to register and build a forty card minimum deck, using the cards in this pool and basic lands.
6) When you are done, give your decklist to a judge. Good luck!
Potential IssuesLanguage BarrierI realize that this process may not be able to be implemented in places that have a player base where player speak many different languages, such as many European GPs. It may not be feasible to provide instructions in all the languages that may be required. This process should be used only at the discretion of the Tournament Organizer and the Head Judge.
Increased Infrastructure in Assembling the Sealed KitWith the addition of any new material comes increased cost to the Tournament Organizer (paper, staff to fold and insert the sheets, etc.). I believe that this system will enhance communication and the player experience enough to offset these potential costs, but realize that it may not be prudent for this system to be used universally. A “watered-down” version could also be used by only displaying the step in the process on a projector or other monitor, as well as a brief description of the step, such as “2 - Player A, Open Packs”.
Skipping AheadSean Catanese raised the point that, if we provide players with a list of the procedure, they will skip ahead of the rest of the event, similar to students skipping ahead in a list of problems in math class. This is a valid concern, but many players in the event have the means already to “skip steps” because of the new system. Those who are inclined to do so have already been trying, and I do not think that providing this list will markedly increase the players who will try to save time. Additionally, with the instruction not to skip ahead provided on the sheet, players run the risk of a penalty if they try to skip steps.
How Much Value Does This Actually Add?Right now, this question is impossible to definitively answer. I think this will help communication and the dissemination of information in an area that is badly needing it. More than anything, the Sealed Process Checklist helps newer players, especially those who may be playing in Competitive REL Sealed for the first time. Sealed brings in more new players to Comp REL because they don’t need to bring cards, which makes the format more accessible. The experience of being surrounded by hundreds of excitable Magic players while having to pay close attention to the announcements (which can generally be very hard to hear or understand) can make a daunting experience downright scary. This process is geared towards those players, and had the additional benefit of combatting what can be the biggest hurdle in getting the process that is the Limited Grand Prix underway - simply making sure players understand what is happening.
I would like to see the Sealed Process Checklist tested soon, and hope that it can be as big of a boon to events as I think it can be.
Edited Elliot Raff (Dec. 1, 2015 08:05:10 AM)