Gentry Arena: First update

Thanks and foreword

As the first event of the MTG Arena Gentry leaderboard draws to a close, I felt it would be appropriate to do a little write-up about it, to give you all a look behind the curtains.

I should start this of with some thanks though. First and foremost, a huge thank you to my friend and colleague, fellow Magic player Brecht Ryckaert for providing much needed assistance in getting the website up and running and working on a new proprietary system to handle the tournaments in the future. Secondly, to all those who, during the couple of weeks between release of Direct Challenge and the start of the first round, helped me test the various functionalities regarding the events. Lastly, a thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who played in the first event, who were very understanding and patient with the inevitable issues we ran into. Getting this whole thing up and running has been a monumental task with a crazy amount of little things going on behind the scenes.

How it started

The idea for Gentry events on Arena has been in my mind for the longest time, so when WotC finally added Direct Challenge, I had an entire tournament format ready to roll out with only the logistical side to figure out. So when Niels announced he wanted to do a Gentry Leaderboard on Arena I gladly took full control of the project. It was incredibly hectic to get everything worked out and I definitely made some mistakes but all in all it went pretty well and a lot of feedback was gathered. A new leaderboard has begun, which will eventually crown a winner and provide a bye for the Gentry Open.

Lessons learned

A lot of little things went wrong and they have been addressed in the January update:

-Players can now register themselves on Battlefy and report their own scores if they’ve done this. This is the first step towards a fully automated system where delays due to human actions will be almost entirely eradicated.

-Joining the Discord is now a requirement, if a player does not, the onus is on them to contact their opponent to schedule their match.

-Best of one, while the only format realistically attainable right now, is a lot less fun than best of 3 would be. Luckily MtGA devs have announced it is a priority.

Results:

The first event concluded yesterday and we have 2 people undefeated and leading the online ladder. Congratulations to Sythokhann and Draegy! If you would like to join in on the fun, feel free to sign up! Links down below.

A look ahead

We’re working on a proprietary platform for pairings, registration and the leaderboard. There is no current ETA on this platform as it is still in it’s early stages, but it IS coming.

Sooner than that though other Gentry tournaments will be hosted, feel free to follow the Gentry Facebook page or our Discord for announcements on when these are happening.

It has been a wild ride, but I have enjoyed it immensely. I hope you all have as well and until the next update, good luck and have fun!

Sander

Discord link: https://discordapp.com/invite/UV5ZH96
Website: https://arena.gentrymagic.com/
January Battlefy Page: https://battlefy.com/gentry-mtga/january-leaderboard/5c27b43fedafa103c92f2dc1/info?infoTab=details