Star Trek CCG Returns to Talos IV and Farpoint in 2020

by Brian Sykes, Unofficial TrekCC Historian

1st January 2020

Happy New Year!

It's the start of a new decade. As the 2020s get under way, I'm continuously amazed that the card game I picked up in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school is still going strong a quarter century later.

In recognition of the journey that this game has taken, I thought this would be a good time to revive a couple of my favorite tournament series: First Edition Return to Talos IV (RTT4) and Second Edition Return to Farpoint (RTFP) for this year.

I put out polls on the forums in November and December, and based on the responses I got, I will be running 10 RTT4 events and 8 RTFP events throughout the year.

The first 1E event - PAQ Era: 1996, PURE Format is already posted in the system. It kicks off on January 10th and takes us back to the old school days before free reporting engines, massive card draws, and a time where getting the wrong character killed by a dilemma could hurt. A lot. In addition, we'll be trying out a format idea that was suggested a couple years ago: PURE Format. You get 60 cards. Period. Will you go with a full complement of dilemmas or trade some off for additional personnel, ships, or support cards? Choices must be made! The twist: it's OTF, and all current errata and banned cards are in effect, so we'll get to see what happens when an old school card pool meets the new school rules.

From there, the rest of the RTT4 Schedule maps out as follows:
February 2020: OTSD Sealed - OPEN
March 2020: Golden Age: 1999 OTF Constructed. Premiere through Rules of Acquisition
May 2020: Deep Space 9 SEALED - OTF
June 2020: Golden Age: 2000 OTF Constructed. Premiere through Mirror, Mirror
July 2020: Enhanced Premiere Warp Speed Sealed
September 2020: Voyager Constructed OTF. Voyager and The Borg
October 2020: Voyager Warp Speed Sealed
November 2020: PAQ Era: The Next Generation Constructed OTF, a remix of old and new TNG era cards
December 2020: Rainbow Sealed OTF, a fun holiday event with lots of packs to open and special rules for an interesting deck building and play environment.

On the 2E side, the RTFP schedule is just as diverse:
February 2020: Worlds 2003 - Premiere + Energize
March 2020: Premiere Sealed Deck
April 2020: Worlds 2004 - Premiere through Necessary Evil
June 2020: Fractured Time Sealed Deck
July 2020: Worlds 2005 - Premiere through Strange New Worlds
September 2020: Reflections 2.0 Sealed - With Starter Draft!
October 2020: Full Traditional (All Decipher era sets)
November 2020: Rainbow Sealed - With Starter Draft!

I'll be working with the Department of Organized Play to get these events in the system and flagged appropriately, and will post a follow up on the message boards once everything is in place.

For all sealed deck events, the event date is the cutoff for registration. I will be generating and sending out cardpools for all entrants, and they will have a week to build a deck. I will announce Round 1 Parings when I send out the card pools and give 2 weeks for results to come in for the first round so if two players are good to go, there's nothing holding them back from proceeding with their game.

Now the best part: Prizes!

Playing in all of these scenario events and sealed events requires effort. In order to encourage participation, I have devised a point system. It's pretty straightforward: Winning a given event is worth 3 points, placing 2nd is worth 2, placing 3rd or lower is worth 1 point. In addition, for every event you participate in, you get a point for each event you've participated in. (e.g., first event gets you 1 participation point regardless of placement, second event gets you 2 additional points regardless of placement, third event gets you 3 additional points regardless of placement, etc.). In order to receive participation and placement points for an event, you must finish all rounds of the event. Dropping early will result in no points awarded and no participation credit for the event (though any VPs earned will still go toward standings in that tournament).

Players who meet certain point thresholds qualify for prizes at the end of the year. Obviously winning helps, but the big points go to those who participate throughout.

So what can you win? Well, I'll be investing in prize kits, but I'm also working a deal with the TCC Higher Ups to get some EXCLUSIVE prizes. Some of the details are still being worked out, but the number of these exclusive prizes I get will determine the point threshold cutoff for who gets them, so the more you participate, win or lose, the more prizes you'll get.

And just to clarify: I'll be tracking RTT4 and RTFP points separately, so 1E- or 2E-exclusive players dont need to worry about getting crowded out by crossover players.

Hopefully this appeals to you and you're looking forward to participating this year. I know I am.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

Again, Happy New Year, and as always, Live Long and Prosper!

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