Suggestion for change to qualifier rules/status

KevinM wrote:

vtesocrates wrote: Are there a lot of players who are failing to qualify? Is there a problem here that needs solving?

The "problem" I see and the benefits which I believe would result were outlined in my OP.

You seem to define the problem is that vtes is stagnant and/or in decline, sure. Does changing how easy/hard it is to qualify address that problem? Are players losing interest or failing to generate interest in vtes because it's too hard to qualify? I'm genuinely asking.

KevinM wrote: "Get a GW and you qualify" is too low a requirement, because people could play a S+B deck just to guarantee they get 1GW, and then they could play improperly afterwards, since the rest of the tournament "doesn't matter". I don't see this behavior at qualifier tournaments, so while it *may not happen* I don't see a reason to take any chances.

Why is it a bad thing that players would try to get a GW ?
Of course, if you assumte only S/B can get GWs, your argument is valid. But I'm pretty sure there are other ways.
Also, define "improperly", "doesn't matter", and "rest of the tournament" as these notions are quite vague. Would "improperly" include "not respecting PTW" ? Would "doesn't matter" include "not respecting PTW"? Would "rest of the tournament" include the finals?

It isn't a bad thing that players would try to get a GW. I don't know where you got that from. You're extrapolating from what I said to something that I didn't say or mean.

I was using S+B as an example, not as a summation.

My response to "Get a GW and qualify" is clear: Players could play a deck with which it is fairly easy to obtain a GW and then play improperly afterwards.

Definitions: Yes. Yes. Yes.

players might win one tournament and then play improperly for the rest of the year

I sometimes do that.

You mean one has to win a tournament before playing improperly? Doh!

KevinM wrote: "Get a GW and you qualify" is too low a requirement, because people could play a S+B deck just to guarantee they get 1GW, and then they could play improperly afterwards, since the rest of the tournament "doesn't matter". I don't see this behavior at qualifier tournaments, so while it *may not happen* I don't see a reason to take any chances.

*rolls grenade*

So, back in 2005, the only time I made it to GenCon, there were 50+ people in the NAC(?) and 14 people in the Shadow Twin. I didn't feel bad about not qualifying, since I hadn't planned on being there, and I ended up winning the Shadow Twin, but if these numbers are representative of most of the major tournaments, I wonder what the point is of having qualifiers at all.