Hello, Vs. System lovers. It’s been a while since I wrote an update, and you are certainly due some news, so let’s get right to it!

The player packet for Pro Circuit: Los Angeles, to be held November 17–20, should be live very soon. It will be linked on the Pro Circuit page. Here are some highlights:

• Last Chance Qualifiers will be held in the Grand Ballroom in the Anaheim Marriott, not in Hall D, where the PC will happen. We will have signage onsite to point you in the right direction.
• Thursday registration for the Pro Circuit will also be happening in the Grand Ballroom in the Anaheim Marriott, but Friday late registration will be at the AnaheimConvention Center outside the Gen Con So Cal TCG hall.
• There will be 10 rounds of Swiss play for Friday’s Golden Age Constructed format. Yes, we had previously added more rounds of Swiss to help with concerns about the one-game format, but we want Constructed and Draft to be more balanced in their impact on your Day 3 chances. We also want to give the players and judges some much-needed rest on Friday night. We think you will agree this is better for the players.
• The Day 2 Draft format will be Avengers for all three drafts. We made this change for multiple reasons.
• We want players to be able to spend more time preparing for fewer formats.
• The JLA set will only have been available for a very short period before this Pro Circuit. We want to ensure that you’ve all had an equal chance to prepare for the Draft format.
• Avengers Draft is really fun. There will be plenty of time for JLA drafts at PC: Atlanta in March.

Marvel Vs. DC Comics Showdown

Some of you may have read this portion of a post from Jeff Donais, last February:

The champion of Pro Circuit #3 (using his or her PC-winning Marvel deck) and the champion of Pro Circuit #5 (using his or her PC-winning DC Comics deck) will both be flown, courtesy of UDE, to Gen Con So Cal to compete in a special match at Pro Circuit #6.

During that finale match, spectators will be encouraged to support their favorite team by wearing one of the many Vs. System t-shirts. PCQ winners from the Marvel-only and DC Comics–only PCQ rounds are particularly encouraged to wear those t-shirts, because whoever wins that finale match will double the prize money of all PCQ winners for the appropriate PCQ round (Marvel or DC Comics).

I will personally hand each PCQ winner in attendance his or her extra prize money immediately following the final game. To be eligible, you must be supporting your "champion" by wearing the appropriate t-shirt, and you must be present at the match as the final game ends. If you are lucky or skilled enough to have won a PCQ of both formats, then you get to choose which player you support, but you can't support both.

Sound pretty nice? There's more. The winner of the final match will be handed a cool $5,000 in cash immediately following the match and will also receive a piece of original DC or Marvel art based on the team he or she represents—and I'll personally make sure it's a hyper-cool piece of art.

Crazy? Yep. That’s why we love Jeff. Basically, if you haven’t yet won a PCQ, you still have about four weeks before the Pro Circuit. This is a decent chance for you to double up on your PCQ winnings this time around—yet another good reason to come to Gen Con So Cal.

Next Pro Circuits

I have already mentioned Pro Circuit: Atlanta, coming up on March 24–26. The Constructed format for that tournament will be Marvel Modern Age, using the Avengers and X-Men sets, and the Draft format will be JLA for all three drafts. The next one after that will be in June, in a location that is currently being finalized. For those of you who remember my announcement at Gen Con Indy, we had planned to have PC: New Orleans in June 2006, but external forces have prevented that. We were all saddened by the destruction from the hurricane, as many of us have historical ties toNew Orleans. We are currently developing plans for some fundraising tournaments to help out with GulfCoast relief efforts.

UDE Judges

Many players are also judges for UDE games. Last week, we launched the Player Management Level 1 exam. This exam was developed over the course of months by top-level judges from multiple TCGs. The answers to many of the questions in this exam are in the UDE tournament policy and game-specific policy documents, but there are some questions to which the answers can only be found through practical participation in judging tournaments. This is a little controversial, but ultimately this exam is meant to test people who actually judge. If you are an active judge but are still unable to answer all the questions on this exam, I recommend that you ask one of the expert-level judges at a $10,000 Championship or at the Pro Circuit. You can also post questions on the UDE forums in the Player Management section.

$10,000 Championships

Most of you are aware that we have increased prize payouts at $10,000 Championships over the last few months. We are actually giving away $13,800 in prizes now, including the amateur awards. I thought $13,800 Championship sounded catchy, but cooler heads prevailed, so the name is unchanged for now. Things to look for at upcoming $10Ks include Day 2 Scholarship Circuit Championships, as well as the presence of Demo Team staff onsite to help teach new UDE games to your friends.

We launched the Vs. System in Japan in August, and on October 9–10, Japan had its first $10K tournament. The format was Avengers Sealed Deck using Japanese language product, with the Top 24 drafting on Day 2. I was lucky enough to be in attendance, and I provided some brief coverage, which is available on Metagame.com.

Sneak Previews

The Avengers Sneak Previews broke records all over the place, and some areas are already selling out of Avengers product. R&D has cooked up another hot set with JLA, and I expect attendance at Sneak Previews to jump again. Don’t forget to bring your friends—even if they don’t know how to play. PTOs should have someone available onsite to teach new players, and because a Sneak Preview is such an exciting and memorable occasion, people tend to keep coming back after attending one. JLA Sneak Preview tournaments will be held on October 29–30.

Thank you for your enthusiastic support of the Vs. System game—and thanks for reading.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Gen Con So Cal in November.

Scott Elliott

Organized Play Program Manager

Upper Deck Entertainment