Sealed tournament format
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Flyingpenut
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2023 2:39 am
As I am just now getting into this game I was not around in the hey day. I was wondering if there was a big sealed tournament format scene. I know in other games ie. Magic and Star Wars ccg they had a lot of sealed tournaments. Did this game as well? If so how was it set up? Like one wizards starter and a couple Dragons and Dark Minions boosters or something?
Hi there,
I cannot personally recount how popular the sealed format was in the late 90' when the game was officially alive, but since then sealed has been a staple of both in person and on-line gathering and tournaments. E.g. sealed is always present at Lure of Middle Earth (now at its 24th edition) and there has been lots of on-line sealed tournaments since COVID brought many back to the this game. Typical sealed would involve a METW starter + 2 METW booster and 2 METD boosters but we have been quite inventive lately. For instance, we have now come to the end of what I like to call the "Fifa-like" MECCG World Cup (final this Sunday, see related post on this forum), which involved 16 players and was a progressive sealed tournament, starting with METW only cards with players receiving cards from subsequent expansion as they progress through the tournament.
I cannot personally recount how popular the sealed format was in the late 90' when the game was officially alive, but since then sealed has been a staple of both in person and on-line gathering and tournaments. E.g. sealed is always present at Lure of Middle Earth (now at its 24th edition) and there has been lots of on-line sealed tournaments since COVID brought many back to the this game. Typical sealed would involve a METW starter + 2 METW booster and 2 METD boosters but we have been quite inventive lately. For instance, we have now come to the end of what I like to call the "Fifa-like" MECCG World Cup (final this Sunday, see related post on this forum), which involved 16 players and was a progressive sealed tournament, starting with METW only cards with players receiving cards from subsequent expansion as they progress through the tournament.
“The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.”
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Flyingpenut
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2023 2:39 am
Oh that’s a really neat idea. Did you start with a starter deck and then just get a couple booster packs each round?
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Goblin King
- Posts: 239
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:49 am
Sealed deck rules from Lure of ME website:
'Sealed Deck Rules
In a so-called sealed deck tournament, players need not bring a deck: They get a starter deck and a few booster packs at the tournament. They then build decks with these cards and play with these decks during the tournament. This negates the advantage of players with huge card collection over others and forces players to play with cards they normally never play with, which leads to interesting games and sometimes to the discovery of a vastly underrated card. Before tournament you have to decide, if you want to play Wizard or Ringwraith Sealed Deck. It is no good idea to mix them!
When playing Sealed Deck Tournament normal rules apply with the following exceptions:
• In sealed deck, a player's deck needs to consist of at least 25 resources and hazards
instead of 30.
• Only 18 MPs are required to call the Free Council.
• The required number of hazard creatures in a deck is lowered from 12 to 10.
• All cards you didn ́t use for the deck build your sideboard.
• You play with the site-cards you get from your starter or boosters. Normally you are
allowed to add another one or two sitecard at your choice (you can ́t choose it during tournament). Sometimes it is decided to use all sitecards.
Booster Draft Rules
• All players get a starter and a few boosters (either for a Wizard or a Ringwraith player).
• Every player opens the fixed set and puts the Wizards in a Wizard pool. Every player rolls dice. The one with they highest result may choose one Wizard as his Avatar. After every player has one Avatar, every one draws a second one, but this time in opposite order.
• Every player keeps his fixed set. Site card from the starterdeck are also kept.
• Players should sit in a circle and a direction is chosen.
• Every player takes to cards at his choice from the remaining starterdeck and gives the
rest to his neighbour (according to the direction chosen before).
• Go on with this procedure till all cards are drawn (some may have more cards then
than others, since you put aside a different number od sitecards at the beginning).
• Then you open a booster (everyone one of the same kind!) and take one card. Then
you give the rest to your neighbour again (opposite direction this time). Go on, till all
boosters are drawn.
• Finally you build your deck according to the Sealed Deck Rules.
Please note, that drafting cards will take a lot of time. Be prepared to spend 1 hour for it. If it is agreed before, you may choose, that you do not draft every pack to the last card, but to keep th elast ones of every pack just as they are. It won ́t change much, since these left-over cards probably won ́t make it into the deck anyway.
Building the deck afterwards shouldn ́t take too much time then, cause every player has an idea of his deck in mind yet.
'Sealed Deck Rules
In a so-called sealed deck tournament, players need not bring a deck: They get a starter deck and a few booster packs at the tournament. They then build decks with these cards and play with these decks during the tournament. This negates the advantage of players with huge card collection over others and forces players to play with cards they normally never play with, which leads to interesting games and sometimes to the discovery of a vastly underrated card. Before tournament you have to decide, if you want to play Wizard or Ringwraith Sealed Deck. It is no good idea to mix them!
When playing Sealed Deck Tournament normal rules apply with the following exceptions:
• In sealed deck, a player's deck needs to consist of at least 25 resources and hazards
instead of 30.
• Only 18 MPs are required to call the Free Council.
• The required number of hazard creatures in a deck is lowered from 12 to 10.
• All cards you didn ́t use for the deck build your sideboard.
• You play with the site-cards you get from your starter or boosters. Normally you are
allowed to add another one or two sitecard at your choice (you can ́t choose it during tournament). Sometimes it is decided to use all sitecards.
Booster Draft Rules
• All players get a starter and a few boosters (either for a Wizard or a Ringwraith player).
• Every player opens the fixed set and puts the Wizards in a Wizard pool. Every player rolls dice. The one with they highest result may choose one Wizard as his Avatar. After every player has one Avatar, every one draws a second one, but this time in opposite order.
• Every player keeps his fixed set. Site card from the starterdeck are also kept.
• Players should sit in a circle and a direction is chosen.
• Every player takes to cards at his choice from the remaining starterdeck and gives the
rest to his neighbour (according to the direction chosen before).
• Go on with this procedure till all cards are drawn (some may have more cards then
than others, since you put aside a different number od sitecards at the beginning).
• Then you open a booster (everyone one of the same kind!) and take one card. Then
you give the rest to your neighbour again (opposite direction this time). Go on, till all
boosters are drawn.
• Finally you build your deck according to the Sealed Deck Rules.
Please note, that drafting cards will take a lot of time. Be prepared to spend 1 hour for it. If it is agreed before, you may choose, that you do not draft every pack to the last card, but to keep th elast ones of every pack just as they are. It won ́t change much, since these left-over cards probably won ́t make it into the deck anyway.
Building the deck afterwards shouldn ́t take too much time then, cause every player has an idea of his deck in mind yet.