Advice on starting a league/tournament?

[Gunstarheroes]

So i have been playing Heroclix for about 2 years now. I came in right when Hammer Of Thor was being introduced. Now here in my hometown of Oswego NY, we have a store that sells heroclix, but never had anyone to run any kind of games. As such, we still have DC 75th, about 20 boosters, and 2 bricks of GSX just waiting to be bought. I buy there a lot, but end up going to another hobby store to play the tournaments, out of town. However recently, we've had better sales and more players crop up, and i now have the knowledge and equipment to start running events, so we have decided to start in the near future. Sadly, we don't have an OP kit for GSX, and the store owner really doesn't wanna spend the $50+ a kit is going for on a chance, nor do i. My few questions are these....

1) Would it be smart to get, say, a DC 75th or Spider-Man OP kit that is much cheaper and use that as a start til Cap. America comes out?

2) Do non-Booster Draft/Sealed Deck events go over well at the places you guys play?

3) If using an older OP Kit isn't a good idea, what would be for the time being, besides store credit, obviously. That's a give-in.

4) What's the best way to get people into it with a learn-to play event? Pre-made teams? Bring a selection of popular characters from my collection? Or anything else?

Any help you guys can lend would be hugely appreciated. I may not have posted that much yet, but i've already fallen in love with the boards and features here and know i'll be here for a while!

[hclixinarcadia]

I just recently started running tournaments as well and have run into similar problems with prizes.

1. Unless they are really good LEs (Arkham), it may not be a good idea to give out old prizes. If you'll notice based on your own tournament-playing experience, attendance drops off towards the end when the first round of LE prizes have been given out hasn't it? That's because almost everybody already won or bought the LEs from the OP kit.

2. I would say that non-sealed events go well. Usually, the first week after release of a new set are sealed or floor events. After that, it's just regular constructed events and the attendance is pretty good until the first round of LEs have been given out.

3. I think the best thing to do is offer to open boosters per # of participants. Then, depending on their place finishes, they pick from the pieces in the opened booster(s). I've furnished SRs as prizes as well. You can charge $5 and get reimbursed for the SR. It's a bit risky though because if only a few people show up then you're SOL. If you are giving out SR's, it is best to advertise a selection from which the winner can choose. You will draw more people this way as opposed to advertising one SR as the prize. Some people may already have that SR and therefore not be as inclined to play.

4. I haven't had luck with learn-to-play events although I will say this, the key to making this game big is to draw in new players. And I don't think I see enough learn-to-play events.

[Gunstarheroes]

Well, we don't sell singles at our store, so i think free boosters just might be the best idea. I mean, unless i'm missing something, why wouldn't they just want the whole pack? Though i think will offer a free Green Lantern Fast Force when it hits, and give a few of the singles away from the gravity feed (Even if i have to get them somewhere else, if hobby stores really won't be able to get them)

As far as the rest though, that's really helpful. I may still get an OP kit just for more maps. I personally only have 6-8 maps, with no duplicates. I could still run it with different maps, but i've never seen that in a tournament that i've ever played in. Hopefully will get it running soon and then if i have more questions or anyone else leaves another response, i can take that in!

Finally, i think i'll have the learn to play occur before a tournament, maybe an hour before, as the game really isn't that hard to teach, or takes that long.

[hclixinarcadia]

Well, we don't sell singles at our store, so i think free boosters just might be the best idea. I mean, unless i'm missing something, why wouldn't they just want the whole pack?
oh, that's cuz I like to give a prize to everyone. And, if you end up with one booster with rares and commons only and the other with an SR, then 1st place will get the correct prize.
As far as the rest though, that's really helpful. I may still get an OP kit just for more maps. I personally only have 6-8 maps, with no duplicates.
Yeah, you'll need duplicates soon enough as your maps wear out. That is, unless you laminate them or something.
I could still run it with different maps, but i've never seen that in a tournament that i've ever played in. Hopefully will get it running soon and then if i have more questions or anyone else leaves another response, i can take that in!

Finally, i think i'll have the learn to play occur before a tournament, maybe an hour before, as the game really isn't that hard to teach, or takes that long.
Good luck with the tournaments. It's really important to promote them weeks in advance. And, teaching an hour before is a good idea. You may even want to run a separate section for those students only. But, you'll have to give out extra prizes for that section. Since they are just beginners, regular rares and even commons of well known characters may suffice.

[Gunstarheroes]

Sounds good. Will test it soon. I'm gonna work out the logistics this week with the owner, then start it in 2-3 weeks and get some flyers out ASAP after that. Also, make sure she gets OP Kits ordered for this round so we are ready for the Cap!

[spawn10]

We have been doing a Heroclix League for each set release, and we are on our 3rd Season. Everyone seems to be enjoying it quite a bit as we have been getting 20+ players for each league so far. Here is our League format:

* Duration: March-April
* Time & Day: Fridays, 8:00pm-11:00pm
* Cost: $25 initial entry (1st tournament you play in; you get 2 boosters of your choice); each week thereafter, entry will be $15 (you get 1 booster of your choice) each week
* Format: Constructed (300pts-500pts)
o you can only use the figures you pull from the boosters you get each week
o you can only use Feats and Special Objects from the boosters you open
o standard objects are legal
o no trading allowed with the pool of figures you opened for the league
o Swiss rounds, maximum of 3 rounds; 40-55 min rounds; EoM: "Last Action"�
o Each league event will have a different constructed format
* Prizing: A small amount from each entry will go into a prize pool which will be given out at the end of the league; each league event will have minimal prizing; awards will be given out at the end of the league, in the form of store credit, boosters, LEs, Graphic Novels; Awards for the following categories will be given out at the end of the season:
o Top Finishers (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
o Most Wins
o Highest Win Percentage
o Most Points (will be determine through our point system)
o Fellowship
o Iron Man Award (most appearances; this also includes participation at non- league tournaments, but non-league tournaments count as 1/2)
* Eligibility: Anyone can join, but in order to be qualified for Awards, you must enter a minimum of 4 league events
* Tracking: Each player will be responsible for keeping track of their booster pulls. Each player will receive a sheet to document each figure/feat/token/special object. That player must write down all items at the beginning of each event, and turn it in to the Commissioner (me!) at the end of that event. The information will then be put into a database. Random checks will occur throughout the season, and the list of items MUST match the list in the database.
* Penalty: Any discrepancies will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and penalties can and will include disqualification from the current event, deducting league points, and forfeiting wins.
* Point-System: We will be using the following chart to determine league points:
o Event entry: 1pt.
o Game played: 1pt.
o Game Win: 1pt.
o KO at least 50% of opp. Force: 1pt.
o KO ALL of opp. Force: 1/2pt.
o Your entire Force surviving a game: 1pt.
o Going 3-0 at event: 2pts.
o Going 2-1 at event: 1pt.
o Playing in 4th League event: 1pt.
o Playing in 6th League event: 1pt.
o Playing in ALL League events: 1pt.
o Playing a Theme Team for all games of an event: 1pt.
o Defeating "Defending Champion" in a League event: 1pt.
o Defeating "2nd or 3rd Place Finishers": 1/2pt.
* The Top Finishers will be determined by the Overall average (in ranking) of Wins, Win Percentage, and Points (ie, 1st in Wins, 2nd in Win Percentage, and 2nd in Points means you have an Overall average of 1.67; lower the number the better) A Bye gets you 2 pts. (Match Win & Match played)
* Initial entry to the League is $25, and can be made up until the 4th week
* If you miss a League event, you can make it up by paying for the missed event no later than the following week, but you will not receive the 1 entry pt.
* If you are going to miss a League event, you can pay for it in advance and receive the 1 pt. for entry

If you want to see some pics/results/recap of prevous leagues, check this out:

http://www.majestixccg.com/eventstournaments/heroclix-results/

I hope this helps.