MDV has always been known as the place for casual players, and it certainly still is. But even casual players like to let their competitive side out a little bit. For that, we have the new MDV league. The following FAQ will explain exactly how this all works.

How do I play?
To get in the league, first you must be a registered member of the forum. After that, send a private message to lionden_56. You’ll be given 100 Vortex Tokens (Texens for short…Tynion came up with it). The private message should contain any instant messaging contact info you have. This will be posted and will allow other players in the league to contact you for matches and challenges.

Texens?
Texens are the unit of “currency” for lack of a better term. They are the measure of your success in the MDV league. Texens can be used as buy-ins to our larger tournaments, as wagers for solo matches between players, and to purchase byes in select tournaments. At the end of each season, whoever has the most Texens will be named the MDV league champion. Note that Texens have no actual monetary value outside of these forums, and should not be used for anything other than this league (I shouldn’t see the word Texen in our Bazaar).

When are the tournaments?
We will have a schedule of events located in the League sub-forum (located under Magic General). That will give you the info on any upcoming tournaments. We’ll also have “running tournaments” that are constantly going. Those will be explained a bit later. Finally, TO’s have the option to open tournaments whenever they want, so if you randomly pop on one day there may be a new tournament for you to play in.

How many Texens do I need to get into tournaments?
That will vary from tournament to tournament. The running tournaments will be “free” to enter, but have very small prize payouts, and those payouts will be only to the top 2. Other tournaments will have smaller entry fees (say 5 texens) but the payout for those will be small also. Payouts will be equal to the number of total Texens in the pool (think a poker tournament). One or two tournaments season will be larger buy-in, larger pay-out tournaments.

How long does a season last?
The current season will run from September first to February 28th. We will start season two on March 1st.

What programs do I need?
We run our tournaments on Magic Workstation (MWS) is the standard for online Magic tournaments just about everywhere on the web.

How do tournaments work?
Again, this will depend on TO, but the tournament structure and format will always be announced beforehand. I’ll be running primarily swiss tournaments, with rounds and cut depending on number of players. Tynion is running a format he calls “redeemed”, which will be explained in detail when he starts one. The running tournaments are single-elimination brackets.

The TO will post the pairings, and you’ll have 3 days to schedule a match with your opponent. It’ll usually be Mon-Wed and Thurs-Sat, with Sunday being considered an off day. If you can’t make it for one round, let the TO and your opponent know. You will receive a loss for that round, but you will not be dropped. If you just no-show you will be dropped from the tournament. If you and your opponent both make an effort to meet but schedules conflict so much that you can’t, then you’ll receive a draw.

What are these running tournament things?
Running tournaments are tournaments that are perpetually happening. When one begins, registration for the next begins. The formats are standard and sealed.

What types of format can I expect?
For the most part we’ll be running Constructed format tournaments. The season will kick off with a Legacy tournament. There will be sealed deck tournaments sprinkled in, however. It will also be more than just the DCI sanctioned formats as well…don’t be surprised if you see an EDH tournament or MYOS tournament. If a tournament like that is scheduled, advance notice explaining the format will be given, so you have time to build your decks.

Anything Else?
The league is not limited to you simply playing in tournaments. Say you were playing against someone in a tournament and got mana screwed and that cost you the match. If you feel you can beat that person, challenge them to a match, and place a friendly wager on it. Players are allowed to challenge other players for Texens. I am, however, capping the amount of Texens you can wager on a single match to 50. After the match, you both just send a PM to me (lionden_56) with the following info:

Player vs. Player (ex: Lionden_56 vs. Tynion)
Who won: (ex: Tynion)
What format was it: (ex: Standard)
For how many Texens (ex: 15)

Also, wagering on matches taking place in tournaments is not allowed, and is ground for dismissal from the league.

How do I see how many Texens I have?
I’ll be keeping a master sheet of everybody and their Texen count. This list will be posted as an attachment to a thread in the League forum.

If you have any other questions, email me (lionden_56@magicdeckvortex.com) or send me a PM in the forums. Signups for the first Legacy tournament started on September 1st. Hopefully we’ll see you there.

You can discuss this article in the MDV forums here.
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