What DCI means to Heroscape

With National Heroscape just a week and a half away, there's lots of excitement in the air. Recently there was a little controversy about Wizards and their support (or lack thereof) of the event itself. Coming off of a less than impressive Gencon presence, Wizards initial reaction to not offer any sort of support for NHSD left a bad taste in many mouths.

Fortunately, things change. And now Wizards is going to support NHSD in two very important ways. There will be prizes, Skahens mostly, but there is another kind of support - DCI Sanctioning.

I was registered with DCI for a number of years when I played Magic: The Gathering, and when I heard Wizards was going to put Heroscape into the program, I got very excited. DCI, for those that aren't already familiar, is a method by which event participants can register themselves and enter into a ranking system based on tournament results. It's a great way to see where you stand in your region, and it also lets you keep track of your tourney standings and record. In addition, it's a way to increase the legitimacy of the tournament setting we love so much. As great as our private tournaments are, we suffer a little from the lack of formal structure right now.

Now, I've heard a number of people venting and frustrated about this idea and frankly, I don't get it. Some people claim that DCI is an elitist club, or that it only benefits the most hardcore players. Others take exception to how the organization ranks players, or cite obtuse rules, or flaws in the system.

Maybe DCI is some of those things, maybe not. But whatever else DCI is, we should recognize that first and foremost it is a way to clearly and decisively show Wizards that people love and play their game.

There's been doomsaying a plenty this year about the End Times of Heroscape. And how, with the Wizards transition, we need to make sure that our favorite hex-based addiction doesn't become the forgotten red-headed step child of the Mother of all Gaming Companies. I can't think of a better way to show Wizards how much we love their game then by filling out that little card and registering each time we play in a sanctioned tourney. It shows Wizards that people want to see their product, and will pay to do so. And repeated attendance shows a long term commitment.

These are the kinds of things that decision-makers at Wizards want to know. And this solid documented information will allow them to make the right decisions for their company and for us the fans.

So this NHSD, don't poo-poo the DCI - sign up! Write Wizards a little love-letter each time you fill that card out and get it punched. It's your way to tell Wizards "I love this game, and I want to keep playing it for a long time!"

Take it easy,
-CL