First Pick:
Platinum/HoF changes
Announced:
“The Dream”
Changes:
Platinum pros will receive an appearance fee of $250 for competing at Pro Tours (previously $3,000), an appearance fee of $250 for competing at the World Magic Cup (previously $1,000), and an appearance fee of $250 for competing at a World Magic Cup Qualifier (previously $500)
*Patreon Subscriber Topic - International Magic impact *
Article by Sperling: http://sperlinggrove.blogspot.com/2016/04/platinum-pro-club-changes-corporate.html
Article by Kibler, Finkel
“Player’s Union”
Reverts:
“We also fully understand the impact our decision had on the level of trust both pro players and the Magic community have in us, and we will continue to work hard to earn that trust back.”
Desperate Ravings
There was also a PT…
100th Pro Tour - No fanfare at all (same for 20th anniversary)
#SCGINV: Humans, Bant CoCo
#PTSOI: Seasons Past, Steve Rubin, quality top 8
PT locations announcement: Back to Japan! Back to Dublin! Nashville? Albuquerque?
GP Charlotte bathroom situation/announcement
Gather the Townsfolk
https://www.netflix.com/title/80104065 - Enter the Battlefield from Nathan Holt and Shawn Kornhouser
Judges vs. Wizards (lawsuit in CA)
Helene article: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/message-magic-community-2016-04-20
Official press release (“fans”)
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/wizards-responds-lawsuits-2016-04-20
Legal Solutions Blog: http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/top-legal-news/magic-card-game-judges-sue-for-lost-wages-claim-to-be-employees/
It’s important to note for the purposes of the lawsuit that Wizards regulates all judge certification. It administers the tests and training for certification, and imposes certain duties and responsibilities on active judges. A violation of any of Wizards’ rules and regulations for judges can lead to a number of disciplinary actions, up to and including the loss of one’s judge certification.
Throughout most of the history of the judge program, Wizards has provided promotional cards (some extremely valuable) to judges, as an implicit “thank you” to them for their service.
The Red Zone
Kibler - most are pro writers..
Splash Damage http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/plane-shift-zendikar-2016-04-27
D&D meets Magic for the first time
The Finisher:
Professional poker pro and Grand Prix champion David Williams will one of the 30 or so competitors on the upcoming season of MasterChef with Gordon Ramsay. Hopefully this opens the door to more Magic players being selected for reality TV, so which shows and pros would you like to see paired in the future?