Star Trek CCG Returns to Talos IV in 2023!

by Brian Sykes, Keeper

1st January 2023

Happy New Year!

As we begin the 16th (!) year of the Continuing Committee's stewardship of the game, it's good to look back over the years and see where we've come from and where we're going. While answering the latter is more difficult (as a lovable pointy-eared character from another franchise once said, "Difficult to see, the future is"), hindsight has the benefit of being 20/20. And what better way to look back than with the tournament series that does just that: The Return To Talos IV (RTT4) series!

When deciding whether or not to make this commitment for the next year, I ran a poll, gauging interest in another RTT4 series. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of positive response I got, and subsequently ran two more polls to gauge interest in specific events. These polls were crucial in informing me which events people really wanted to play in, and before I get into the details, I just want to take a moment to thank everybody who participated in these polls - your voice was heard and had a direct impact on determining which events got scheduled.

Without further ado, here is the RTT4 Schedule for 2023:

January 6: PAQ Era: The Next Generation (Constructed)

March 3: OTSD Open (Sealed)

April 7: TNG Only (Constructed)

June 2: Golden Age 1999 (Constructed)

July 1: Deep Space 9 (Sealed)

August 4: Voyager Only (Constructed)

September 1: Voyager Warp Speed (Sealed)

November 3: Virtual (Constructed)

December 1: Rainbow (Sealed)

All events are already in the system, properly tagged, and open for registration, so feel free to find as many events as you can that are to your liking, and get yourself pre-registered!

As you can see, this is a full year of events - nine events all told - with five Constructed and four Sealed deck gigs of different flavors. I did, however, leave a couple of spaces open. In February, I'm looking to celebrate my first foray into 1e Design by hosting a release event for the soon-to-be latest 1e Expansion, Nemesis! Specific release and tournament legal dates haven't been announced yet, but as soon as the set is out and legal, I'll be getting the release tournament on the calendar. Additionally, I left the month of May open for an in-season online Regional if anyone wants to run one. Finally, I left October clear for an online Chair's Challenge event for those around the world who aren't able to make the trek to England for Worlds, but still want a shot at the Worlds Promo swag. As for the other 9 months, there will be RTT4 action to be had!

Now for the really fun part: PRIZES! When I decided to run this series again, I reached out to our 1e Director, Charlie Plaine and asked him what the art of the possible was. Like a champ, he made some things happen, and now I'm happy announce that there will be a NEW RTT4 PROMO card for this year's series: Talosian Cage! I've been told that the promo is in final development and will either get magically edited into this article or Charlie will post it in the related thread for all to see, but from what I've seen in behind the scenes previews, it looks AMAZING and definitely worth going after. So what do you have to do to get one of these exclusive promos? Simple: Play in RTT4 events! After all, what's the point of a tournament SERIES if there's nothing tying all of the events together?

I'll be using the same points system I used for the 2020 series, as it seemed to work well. Here's how it works: For each RTT4 event you win, you get 3 points. For each RTT4 event you finish second in, you get 2 points. For each RTT4 event you finish 3rd in, you get 1 point. And most importantly, for each RTT4 event you participate in, you get one point for each event you've participated in. In other words, you get 1 participation point for the first event you play in, you get 2 participation points for the second event you participate in, you get 3 participation points for the third event you participate in, and so on. Participation points are only awarded to players who play in ALL rounds of an event. Byes are ok, missed games are not. (I reserve the right to make exceptions to this rule on a case by case basis).

All players who accumulate a total of 10 points through a combination of participation and/or placement will receive a copy of the exclusive Talosian Cage RTT4 promo. If you're doing the math, that means you need to participate in AT LEAST THREE events (Winning two events only gets you to 9 points). But that also means that even if you finish dead last in every event you play in and get no placement points, you can accumulate 10 points just by participating in FOUR events. That's it. Play in any four events and you are guaranteed a foil. Doesn't get any easier than that, especially with nine events to choose from! You can even do it with a minimum amount of deckbuilding time, as there are four sealed deck events on the slate - just playing in those gets you a foil, no super-fancy teched out constructed deckbuilding required!

And while I can't make any additional guarantees at this point, there may be some other prize offerings in the works, and I'll announce them if/when they come to fruition. However, as a general rule, if prizes are your thing, your best move is to play in as many of these RTT4 Series tournaments as you can.

I hope you all will join me in a fun 1e look back as we continue moving forward into The Undiscovered Country of 2023 and beyond.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

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

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