The announcement earlier this week that the West Coast would finally be getting a major event came as quite a shock to the community. I have been inundated with questions for the past few days and decided it was time for a Facebook Poll. Wait, no. I mean a FAQ! Behold: The FAQ.



If you have questions not answered by this FAQ, send an email to events@artificery.com.







Will Covert Missions Be Legal?

Yes.

When did you start working to get a Grand?

I started working on it in June after Matt Holland put out a call for events and venues to contact organized play if they were interested in hosting a Grand Championship. Nick Nelson, aka TheGandork, joined the effort in August when the Grand started to seem like it would be a reality.

Why the Las Vegas Open?

Three big reasons: the con is player-run, has very low cost badges (only $30 for the 2-day badge necessary for Destiny play), and is centrally located to most Western cities. It seemed a great fit to work with them to add Destiny to their existing list of FFG Grand Championships.

Why does Las Vegas make a good destination for a Grand Championship?

Las Vegas checks all the boxes I was looking at for a Grand Championship. It is centrally located and has very inexpensive flights for most Western cities – usually sub $200 round trip. The lodging is also very inexpensive and the city is easy to traverse, with the airport just minutes away from both the convention and numerous hotels and airbnbs. Last, but not least, Las Vegas has stuff to do besides attend the convention, with world-class entertainment and restaurants the whole family can enjoy!

When is the Las Vegas Open?

January 24th – 26th.

What venue is hosting the convention?

Bally’s Las Vegas. Check it out and book a room. It is Zion’s favorite Vegas hotel, but he won’t tell me why.

Who will be the tournament organizer?

While I enjoy making events happen, I also like to play in those events. Add to that my often dubious understanding of the game rules and that makes for a poor TO. Fortunately for all involved Nick Nelson, arguably the premier Destiny judge and TO, will be on hand to run the event. If you’re interested in helping him as an assistant or scorekeeper, send an email to events@artificery.com.

Where do I buy a convention badge?

You will need a badge for at least the day your heat is on, and an additional badge for Sunday if you plan to make top cut or play in the side event. A 3 day badge is $40, and individual badges for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are $15-20 each.

How do I register for the Grand?

Players will need to register for one of two heats, one on Friday the 24th and another on Saturday the 25th. Players may only register for a single heat.

What is the player cap?

Each heat caps out at 96 players for a total cap of 192. Boom, math.

How many rounds of Swiss will be played in each heat?

Each heat will consist of 7 rounds of Swiss followed by a best of 3 play in round, if needed, to a top 16 that will advance to day 2.

How will the top cut be determined?

Players with a record of x-2 qualify for day 2 play in. If less than 16 players are X-2, top ranked X-3 players by Strength of Schedule will be added to bring the total up to 16 players advancing to day 2.

Day 2’s top cut will consist of 16 players from Heat 1 and 16 players from Heat 2 to make a 32 player single elimination bracket played in best of 3 matches.

Who came up with this format?

Agent of Zion, TheGandork and I spent a lot of time figuring out the best format for the Grand. We hope what we came up with satisfies the majority of the community.

When do I submit my deck list?

You’ll have to submit your deck list before the beginning of play on Friday, regardless of which heat you’re signed up for. Nick Nelson will contact registered players on how to submit their deck lists.

Will Covert Missions be legal if it releases before the Grand?

The legal products in the Grand Championship will be the ones specified in the latest Star Wars™: Destiny Tournament Regulations.

Will there be side events?

There will definitely be a side event on Sunday while the top cut is being played. This will most likely be the new Alliances format. As for Friday and Saturday, it depends on if the convention winds up having extra space. We will have more details in the coming weeks including information on how to register for side events.

I’m interested in streaming at the event, how do I do that?

The details are still being worked out on how much room we will have and the cost of power and internet. If you’d like to stream, send an email to events@artificery.com and I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop.

Why is the Grand at a convention?

I’ll be upfront, I’m not a huge fan of tournaments at conventions. This is especially true when the convention doesn’t have additional content that lines up with my interests – the wargaming cons of NOVA and LVO fall into that category. Having to pay a badge fee that I won’t get any use out of beyond a single event feels bad, but Grands at conventions are going to be the reality until OP changes their policies.

Why did you wait so long to announce?

Because I am risk averse (ironic for a dice roller) and wanted to make sure this thing was really going to happen before spreading the news. Email inboxes were refreshed every few minutes for weeks waiting for final word so I could announce ASAP.