Any Interest in a Storyline at Origins (NAC 2011)?

Hello everybody!

Currently working on the next storyline project, details of which will hopefully be revealed soon.

In the meantime, I was wondering if there might be any interest in a one-off storyline event (that would segue with the upcoming storyline project) at Origins this year (where the NAC 2011 will be held). Previous one-off storylines have included "Black Miracles and Lies" (NAC 2008 in Montreal) and "Friday the 13th" (EC 2009 in Palma de Mallorca).

I have been talking to Kevin Mergen about holding a storyline event at Origins, and the date we're currently eyeballing is either Sunday at 10 A.M. or maybe Thursday at 1 P.M. Overall, the Origins schedule is pretty packed:

Thursday has the U.S. Championship (which is also LCQ) starting at Noon
Friday has NAC, Day 1, starting at Noon [Shadow Twin starts at 1]
Saturday has NAC, Day 2, starting at Noon [Shadow Twin starts at 1]
Sunday has a First Chance Qualifier at 10 A.M.


People will probably want to prioritize the two days of the NAC. Running a storyline in the evening of Friday or Saturday is a faint possibility, but lots of people do seem to enjoy watching the finals.

Thursday is another good possibility, especially since many players will already be qualified (and many of them often play silly decks anyway, so maybe they can instead have fun at a storyline). A storyline could potentially be an alternative "Shadow Twin" for those already qualified. We could even have a staggered start (at 1 P.M.) so that people who missed the LCQ would still be able to participate in a VTES event. A Thursday evening storyline is also potentially feasible.

Sunday might work, but some people may need to leave early. Plus, more people will have an incentive to play in the First Chance Qualifier (since they have to prepare for next year).

The current hope is for the storyline event to be sort of an informal (unofficial) event. You'd still need a badge to be in the area, but it wouldn't require any tickets (or entry fee).



So my questions (for Origins attendees only, please) are:


#1. Would you be interested in playing in a storyline event?


#2. If yes (above), then what day(s) or time(s) would you prefer?



*** For the non-North American players who love storylines - I'd certainly be receptive towards seeing official storyline events at the other Continental Championships (Asia, Australia, Europe, South America). If you want to see a special official storyline at your Continental Championship, then e-mail the organizers and have them request one (and find someone willing to help out and run it in case I won't be able to fly out and attend)!



With regards,
Eric Chiang
VEKN Storyline Coordinator

Here is what I have interest in: Origins being moved a week later in the summer. As I can't ever go again if it continues to be on the weekend that it is (i.e. that last weekend in June). See if you can do something about that.

If you're planning on having the storyline tournament be a non-Origins event anyway, why not organize with Jay or Mark or one of the other Ohio princes to make it an event during the pre-Origins Week of Nightmares?

Kushiel wrote:

If you're planning on having the storyline tournament be a non-Origins event anyway, why not organize with Jay or Mark or one of the other Ohio princes to make it an event during the pre-Origins Week of Nightmares?

I briefly considered that possibility, but my main concern was that such an event would be mainly available just to the local Ohio folk (since many non-Ohio players may only attend for the long weekend and not the entire Week). If, however, a significant majority of the interested players will be in Columbus for the duration of the entire Week of Nightmares, it might be a more feasible option.

I'm all for seeing a Storyline event show up either at Origins itself or during the Week of Nightmares.

This is off-topic from Eric' post but I feel the need to vent a bit.

This was the last mention I had seen of the US Nationals. It was only through recent conversation that I learned that the tournament had been moved from Origins to the Masquerade.

When and where was this decision made? Did I miss the conversation or was it ever open to debate?

I have ben hyping Origins as both US Nationals and NAC to my play group for months now. Further, while I often travel for events, this requires a fair amount of lead time to both secure the time off and be certain it will work with family obligations (as I'm sure it is with most folks). It seems something as significant as this change of date and venue should have been more obvious.

What are the plans for 2012? WW/CCP has cut us loose...do we need to tie our events to theirs?