If you’re like many Vs. players, you probably learned to play the game with your friends. Maybe a friend taught you, or perhaps you and a buddy picked up the starter set and pored through the rulebook together. Either way, there was no pressure to perform and no anxiety about doing well. You were simply playing to have fun.

 

It’s one thing to play Vs. System with a circle of friends and quite another to play in an organized tournament. Friends laugh at each other’s mistakes. Friends let each other take back stupid moves. Friends don’t get upset if you have to take a bathroom break in the middle of a match, or if you elect to order a pizza just when your opponent is going to finish you off.

This is not necessarily the case at an organized Vs. tournament, especially when there are prizes at stake. Many players are downright serious, and for the casual Vs. player, that can be intimidating. Not only will you be playing against people you don’t know, but you also have to learn the ropes of tournament play. Little things like how to register, where to sit, where to report wins or losses, and other details can seem daunting.

But don’t let all those particulars unsettle you. Being involved in organized play is kind of like being part of a club. Despite the seriousness of the play, it’s a very social setting for adults and teenagers, and even for kids. You chat. You make friends. People know who you are, and you know who they are. Once you know where you’re supposed to be and what you’re supposed to do, you can forget all those other worries and enjoy yourself.

Finding a Tournament

How do you know if you’re ready for your first tournament? Let’s put it this way—if you know how to play the game, you’re ready. I’m not saying you should start off by trying to win a Pro Circuit Qualifier or a $10K Championship, but you can get your feet wet by attending a local Hobby League tournament or by finding a store near you that’s certified to hold official Vs. System tournaments.

You’ve found a comic store down the block that hosts tournaments. Now all you have to do is show up: with a deck if the tournament is Constructed, or with cash to pay for the cards if the tournament is Sealed Pack. If you’ve never been to a tournament, then you probably don’t have a UDE (stands for Upper Deck Entertainment) number, but you can get one when you register for the tournament. You’ll receive a little card to fill out, half of which you’ll keep (it has your number on it so you can reference it at future tournaments) and half of which you’ll turn over to the tournament organizer (it has your name and address on it, as well as your UDE number). And just like that, you’re official. Tournament reps use the number to keep track of your wins and losses and to match you up with players who have a similar win-loss record. You can also use your number on ude.com to find out how you rank in comparison to other players all over the world.

If you’re playing in a Constructed tournament, you will receive a decklist on which you’ll need to write your name, UDE number, and all the cards in your deck. Once your deck is on file, judges can make sure you’re not swapping in cards that may help you out during the tournament. (As a note, this is called cheating.) Judges may do random deck checks, where they’ll make sure your deck contains the cards that you listed and also check for marked cards or sleeves.

If you’re playing in a Sealed Pack tournament, you’ll be issued packs of unopened cards. You will receive a checklist that lists all the cards in the set or sets that you’re playing with, and you must check off each card in the packs that you open. There are two columns on the checklist: one is to register all the cards you open, and the other is to mark off the cards that you’re actually playing with.

But before you decide which cards you’re going to play with, there’s another step. To deter players from adding in a few choice cards they brought from home, your checklist and cards will be collected by a tournament official. He or she will then issue those cards to another player. A few random players will probably keep the cards they registered. This is to dissuade players from slipping in weak cards and thinking that someone else would be stuck with them.

Once that’s all done, you’ll be assigned a seat at a table. (Seat assignments are usually posted on the wall.) Now it’s time to study the cards that you’ve been given and build your deck. Sealed Pack decks, unlike Constructed decks, only need to have thirty cards. You can add more than that, but it’s usually not recommended. Though you may be tempted to discuss your cards with the people near you, don’t dawdle—you’ll only have a half an hour to build your deck and check off the cards you’re playing. This should be plenty of time, as long as you’re not chatting with your neighbors.

Time to Play

Before the tournament begins, a judge or other volunteer will go over general rules for the tournament, explain any new card mechanics, and announce how many rounds the tournament will have. The number of rounds is based on how many people are playing. The more people are at the tournament, the more rounds the tournament will have.

When the rounds are over, the eight players with the best records will play in the single-elimination finals. (If you’re playing Sealed Pack, you may have to draft a new pool of cards from which to make a new deck. See my “Don’t Dodge the Draft” articles for more information about drafting.) The eighth-place player will be paired with the player in first place. Seventh place will be paired with second place, and so forth through the rest of the bracket. The player who wins two out of three games is the winner of the round, though sometimes the final matches in smaller tournaments consist of only one game. Because the finals are single-elimination, you’re out of the tournament once you lose a round. The last player standing is, of course, the champion, but prizes are usually given to everyone who makes the Top 8.

Hobby League

If you join a Hobby League, the tournament will work a little differently. A Hobby League is a month-long event in which all the players who join the league play each other in scheduled league sessions. The format could be Constructed, Sealed Pack, or Booster Draft, depending on the league. The winner of each match receives three points, and you’ll receive one point even if you lose. This is to reward you for participating—the more games you play, the more points you receive. Also, some Hobby Leagues may hand out prizes if you participate in three sessions each month.

At the end of the month, special, highly-collectible Vs. cards with “extended art” (the frame around the picture is larger, allowing you to see more of the painting) are issued to the four players who have the most points. The first-place winner also gets a Vs. System t-shirt. Alternately, prizes may be awarded at the end of each week.

No Excuses

Now that you know the ins and outs of tournament play, what are you waiting for? Even if you don’t have a deck put together, you can still play in a Sealed Pack or Booster Draft tournament. Get out there and make some new friends. If you play well, you might even win some prizes!