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2023 Return To Talos IV Series Wrap Up

by Brian Sykes, Keeper

17th January 2025

Happy New Year!

This is the third time I've said that in the context of a Return to Talos IV (RTT4) tournament series article. The first two times were in 2020 and 2023 to announce a new series. This time, it's to play some catch up. 2024 was a year of catching up on a lot of fronts, both for me personally and the Continuing Committee more broadly. However, I never forgot about the 2023 series and promises made to encourage player participation, so I'm taking this opportunity to not only bring this series to a formal close and square the books, but also take a look at what's coming up in 2025.

First, to old business:

Here are your final standings for the 2023 Return to Talos IV Tournament Series:

Jarrod Cafaro 46
Matthew McCalpin 46
Joseph Wisniewski 45
Thomas V 42
Michael Van Breemen 34
rtiger32 28
Maggie Geppert 22
Brian Sykes 19
Matthew Zinno 16
Paddy Tye 16
Brad Snyder 15
Stefan Slaby 11
Jon Carter 11
Dan Hamman 10
Matthew P 9
Chris Lund 7
Kris Sonsteby 7
Brad W 6
FranklinKenter 3
Stephen R Sanders 3
Niall Matthew 3
Julius Melhardt 3
Stephan Allhoff 3
Edwin Latrell 3
Richard Laurie 1
Manuel Rupprecht 1
lotjx2 1
Austin Chandler 1
Joe Kallstrom 1
James Monsebroten 1

Talosian Cage

I would like to offer a BIG congrats to our points co-champions, Jarrod Cafaro and Matthew McCalpin. It's not easy to pile up that many points, and it can really only be accomplished by playing in almost all of the events. Also, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank everyone who played in any of these events during the series run. As you can see from the standings above, we had THIRTY different players record at least one point in this series over the course of 2023, which matches our point-scorer trunout from 2020. That kind of sustained enthusiastic participation tells me that people really enjoy this series and want to continue with it into the future (more on that momentarily)!

Now let's get to the good part: PRIZES!

As announced in the original 2023 RTT4 article, Charlie worked with the Art Department to create a special promo version of the Dilemma Talosian Cage. I'm pleased to announce that these cards have been produced and are ready to ship! To recap the prize structure, any player that scored 10 RTT4 points across the series earned one copy of Talosian cage. Additionally, any player who earned 20 points would receive a SECOND Talos IV promo. Originally the plan was to offer up the choice of either a second copy of Talosian cage or a copy of the Talos IV mission promo from the 2020 series. Due to logistical considerations, we are simplifying that to either one or two copies of Talosian Cage based on points. So in practical terms, that means that everybody who's name is in gold above will be receiving a full Modern play set of TWO copies of Talosian Cage, while everybody who's name is in silver above will be receiving ONE copy. If your name is on that list, please make sure that your address is correct in the CC's system (or update as needed), as those will be the addresses that the cards will be sent to. A big THANK YOU to Maggie Geppert for her work on both promo assembly and promo shipping. Look for these prizes to hit your mailbox in the near future!

Again, a hearty congratulations to Jarrod and Matthew, along with all of our other prize winners and a big thanks to everyone who helped make the 2023 Return to Talos IV series a great success!

Now, to new business. One of the reasons that I'm so thankful for all of the enthusiastic participation in this series is that the success, enthusiasm, and turnout this series has generated has been noticed by the Continuing Committee Powers that Be, and there's a desire to keep building on it. As announced during the CC 30th anniversary live stream and the 30th Anniversary Celebration Article there will be a new series of Talos IV events in 2025 called Voyage to Talos IV. I don't want to spill any beans that aren't mine to spill, as Charlie is running this series, but needless to say there will be repeats of some of the biggest hit formats from the last two RTT4 series and probably some sort of point/participation/prize system to encourage turnout - look for more details to come down soon. While I won't be running things this time around, I have plans to play in several of these events, so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone across the virtual table for some of these classic throwback formats!

One last time, a big THANK YOU to everyone who has participated in this series, either in 2023 or in previous years. The Return to Talos IV series wouldn't be anything if the players weren't there for it, and now with the Voyage to Talos IV series in 2025, the opportunity to play in some really fun formats will continue to be part of the CC's tournament fabric now and into the future.

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


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