In conjunction with it's "Play Big" ad campaign, Wizards of the Coast announced the addition of a new prize structure for tournaments in the Magic Online environment. In addition to the 4-3-2-2 payouts to which MTGO users have become accustomed, casual players will have the option of joining a draft with a flatter prize schedule. The new 3-2-1-1-1-1 prize structure will be available starting just after Worlds wraps up in Berlin.

"We aren’t going to take away any of the existing 4-3-2-2 queues," said Wizards spokesman Randy Buehler, "but a number of customers have told us they would prefer the option to play in a tournament where more players are awarded prizes. So we’re going to make both prize schedules available and then watch closely to see what players actually prefer."

Casual MTGO players greeted this announcement with enthusiasm. "I know they have an 1800+ room here, but I keep running into people who beat me senseless and take my cards," said casual MTGO player, Gizzard Needs Food. "I mean, I usually end up with tons of rares after a draft, but don't I deserve a piece of the prize pie too?"

Apparently, Gizzard is not alone in this view, as thousands of posts have flooded the offical 3-2-1-1-1-1 thread on the Wizards.COMmunity Boards. "I think this is my chance to Play Big," one poster noted, in a comment that seemed to capture the mood. "I've never won a pack in my life, but now: how can I go wrong?"

One dissenting voice, a poster calling himself "Bob," took the time to log a scathing review of the move, ending in what seemed to be the babbling of an incoherent lunatic:

"You all are a bunch of Lemmings. This is the most cracked proposal Wizards has come up with, yet. It will never work, and if it does it will spell the end of MODO as you know it. Wizards is sure to come up with some excuse for canning the 4-3-2-2 draft. It's all been done before. History is repeating itself. You can't have your caked and eat it too, but that's not going to stop me from a night of drunken debauchery, you piss-ant circle-jerk dopehead drug-addicted slobbering lice-infested freakshow. The lights. My God, the lights. They're coming. Holy bejesus, they're coming. Please, help."

Wizards did not have an official comment on allegations that 4-3-2-2 drafts would be dropped. "This isn't the first time Magic players have predicted the end of the world," said Mark Rosewater, in a rare candid comment. "But they have always been wrong. You see, R & D loves this game. They love it more than me, and they certainly love it more than you. I can say without a doubt that a move like this has the best interests of the game at heart."

Perhaps Randy Buehler's official commentary sums it up best: "In addition to these changes there are some really cool special events being planned as well, but that is a subject for another time. Suffice it to say that next week’s 3-2-1-1-1-1 release is just the tip of the iceberg."

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

In conjunction with it's "Play Big" ad campaign, Wizards of the Coast announced the addition of a new prize structure for tournaments in the Magic Online environment. In addition to the 4-3-2-2 payouts to which MTGO users have become accustomed, casual players will have the option of joining a draft with a flatter prize schedule. The new 3-2-1-1-1-1 prize structure will be available starting just after Worlds wraps up in Berlin.

"We aren’t going to take away any of the existing 4-3-2-2 queues," said Wizards spokesman Randy Buehler, "but a number of customers have told us they would prefer the option to play in a tournament where more players are awarded prizes. So we’re going to make both prize schedules available and then watch closely to see what players actually prefer."

Casual MTGO players greeted this announcement with enthusiasm. "I know they have an 1800+ room here, but I keep running into people who beat me senseless and take my cards," said casual MTGO player, Gizzard Needs Food. "I mean, I usually end up with tons of rares after a draft, but don't I deserve a piece of the prize pie too?"

Apparently, Gizzard is not alone in this view, as thousands of posts have flooded the offical 3-2-1-1-1-1 thread on the Wizards.COMmunity Boards. "I think this is my chance to Play Big," one poster noted, in a comment that seemed to capture the mood. "I've never won a pack in my life, but now: how can I go wrong?"

One dissenting voice, a poster calling himself "Bob," took the time to log a scathing review of the move, ending in what seemed to be the babbling of an incoherent lunatic:

"You all are a bunch of Lemmings. This is the most cracked proposal Wizards has come up with, yet. It will never work, and if it does it will spell the end of MODO as you know it. Wizards is sure to come up with some excuse for canning the 4-3-2-2 draft. It's all been done before. History is repeating itself. You can't have your caked and eat it too, but that's not going to stop me from a night of drunken debauchery, you piss-ant circle-jerk dopehead drug-addicted slobbering lice-infested freakshow. The lights. My God, the lights. They're coming. Holy bejesus, they're coming. Please, help."

Wizards did not have an official comment on allegations that 4-3-2-2 drafts would be dropped. "This isn't the first time Magic players have predicted the end of the world," said Mark Rosewater, in a rare candid comment. "But they have always been wrong. You see, R & D loves this game. They love it more than me, and they certainly love it more than you. I can say without a doubt that a move like this has the best interests of the game at heart."

Perhaps Randy Buehler's official commentary sums it up best: "In addition to these changes there are some really cool special events being planned as well, but that is a subject for another time. Suffice it to say that next week’s 3-2-1-1-1-1 release is just the tip of the iceberg."

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!