Locations
After Pro Tour: Return to Ravnica (#PTRTR), I decided to revisit this article and this article and examine how people did at #PTRTR based on how they qualified. Just like Pro Tour: Avacyn Restored (#PTAVR), another important aspect going into #PTRTR was the formation of a number of teams, and I decided to look into how the various teams performed as well.
Multiple Invite Hierarchy (with Changes)
For this analysis, each player could only be counted for one invitation category, which necessitated the creation of a hierarchy to deal with players who had earned multiple invitations to the event. The goal of my hierarchy was to count the primary way the player was invited and avoid counting invitations gained incidentally in obtaining that invite. The hierarchy I ended up with (after consultation with a few other people) was:
- Pro Player Club (PPC) Gold or Platinum
- Pro Tour Top 25
- Grand Prix Top 4
- Pro Tour Hall of Fame
- Pro Tour Qualifier Wins (both online and paper)
- World Magic Cup Top 4
- Special Invite and Sponsor’s Exemption
- Relic Invites (players who were invited based on their PPC level from last year but who are not gold or platinum)
Legend to the Charts
Before the charts are presented, here is a legend for them:
Number (#) – Number of players who qualified (and showed up) from that invitation category
Percent (%) – The percentage of players in the Pro Tour who were invited from that invitation category
# Day 2 – Number of people who made Day 2 from that invitation category
% Day 2 – Percentage of players in the invitation category who made Day 2
# Cash – Number of people who cashed from that invitation category
% Cash – Percentage of players in the invitation category who cashed
# Top 50 – Number of people who made Top 50 from that invitation category
% Top 50 – Percentage of players in the invitation category who made Top 50
# Top 8 – Number of people who made Top 8 from that invitation category
Average Constructed – Average number of Constructed points earned by players in that category
Average Limited – Average number of Limited points earned by players in that category
Average Points – Sum of Average Limited and Average Constructed
Average Money – Average amount of money earned by players in that category
% of Money Won – Percentage of the overall prize pool won by players in that category
% Money Won/%Composition – This is % of Money Won divided by %.
Pro Tour: Return to Ravnica
Year: 2012
PTQ Format: Standard
Constructed Format: Modern
Limited Format: Return to Ravnica ×3 Draft
| Pro Tour: Return to Ravnica 2012 | # | % | #Day 2 | %Day 2 | #Cash | %Cash | #Top 25 | %Top 25 |
| Pro Player Club Platinum | 30 | 7.85 | 25 | 83.33 | 14 | 46.67 | 7 | 23.33 |
| Pro Player Club Gold | 40 | 10.47 | 32 | 80.00 | 8 | 20.00 | 3 | 7.50 |
| PT Top 25 | 8 | 2.09 | 6 | 75.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| GP Top 4 | 44 | 11.52 | 29 | 65.91 | 7 | 15.91 | 2 | 4.55 |
| Magic Online PTQ Winner | 16 | 4.19 | 14 | 87.50 | 7 | 43.75 | 1 | 6.25 |
| PTQ Winner | 194 | 50.79 | 100 | 51.55 | 27 | 13.92 | 10 | 5.15 |
| Hall of Fame | 6 | 1.57 | 4 | 66.67 | 2 | 33.33 | 1 | 16.67 |
| Special Invite | 3 | 0.79 | 2 | 66.67 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sponsor's Exemption | 5 | 1.31 | 5 | 100.00 | 1 | 20.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Relic Invite | 24 | 6.28 | 20 | 83.33 | 7 | 29.17 | 1 | 4.17 |
| 2012 World Magic Cup – Top 4 | 12 | 3.14 | 7 | 58.33 | 2 | 16.67 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total | 382 | 100.00 | 244 | 63.87 | 75 | 19.63 | 25 | 6.54 |
| Pro Tour: Return to Ravnica 2012 | #Top 8 | Avg Constructed | Avg Limited | Average Points | Average Money | % of Money Won | % Money Won ÷ %Compostion |
| Pro Player Club Platinum | 3 | 15.77 | 9.50 | 25.27 | $3,033.33 | 39.22 | 4.99 |
| Pro Player Club Gold | 1 | 13.98 | 8.60 | 22.58 | $537.50 | 9.27 | 0.89 |
| PT Top 25 | 0 | 11.38 | 7.88 | 19.25 | $0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| GP Top 4 | 0 | 11.23 | 7.50 | 18.73 | $238.64 | 4.53 | 0.39 |
| Magic Online PTQ Winner | 1 | 15.31 | 9.38 | 24.69 | $1,062.50 | 7.33 | 1.75 |
| PTQ Winner | 2 | 9.71 | 6.01 | 15.72 | $340.21 | 28.45 | 0.56 |
| Hall of Fame | 0 | 13.00 | 9.50 | 22.50 | $750.00 | 1.94 | 1.23 |
| Special Invite | 0 | 11.00 | 8.00 | 19.00 | $0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Sponsor's Exemption | 0 | 14.40 | 9.60 | 24.00 | $200.00 | 0.43 | 0.33 |
| Relic Invite | 1 | 15.21 | 9.04 | 24.25 | $729.17 | 7.54 | 1.20 |
| 2012 World Magic Cup – Top 4 | 0 | 11.33 | 2.33 | 13.67 | $250.00 | 1.29 | 0.41 |
| Total | 8 | 11.59 | 7.21 | 18.80 | $607.33 | 100.00 | 1.00 |
As you can see, Platinum players performed extremely well, with three placing in the Top 8 (and one winning the whole thing) and had the highest average Constructed, total points, money earned, % cash, % Top 25, and % money won/% composition, taking almost 40% of the prize pool from a pool of under 8% of the tournament. The Gold-level players didn’t perform as well, but they still performed above average in most categories besides those dealing with the amount of money won by players in the group. Players who earned a relic invite performed better in every category besides what % of them made it into the Top 25.
For the first time, the performance of Magic Online PTQ winners greatly deviated (over three match wins on average) from that of their real-life equivalents. This difference was further bolstered by one Magic Online PTQ “winner” making it to the Top 8 of the event. Overall, the Magic Online PTQ winners had the second-highest average points earned for the event, making them a force to be reckoned with. Although Magic Online PTQ winners did much better than their real-life counterparts, only one made Top 25 (and he made Top 8); therefore, the others did not earn their ways into other PTs unless they are qualified by other means. Those who achieved their invites through sponsor’s exemptions or special invites continued their excellent streak from #PTAVR, and none of them managed to secure an invite from a Top 25 berth.
Having a 4–4 cut to Day 2 made over 60% of the event make it to the second day of competition, but that didn’t help live PTQ winners, as they barely managed to break 50% making it to the second day of competition. They did make up 40% of the Top 25, but given that they made up over half (!) the whole PT field, this showing is also not especially strong. The PT has basically reached the point at which almost 70% of the invites come from the PTQ/GP system, with the remaining 30% being rewards for those who have performed consistently well on the PT.
Teams
| Pro Tour Return to Ravnica, 2012 | # | % | #Day 2 | %Day 2 | #Cash | %Cash | #Top 25 | %Top 25 |
| ChannelFireball | 11 | 2.88 | 9 | 81.82 | 5 | 45.45 | 2 | 18.18 |
| SCGBlack | 14 | 3.66 | 10 | 71.43 | 5 | 35.71 | 4 | 28.57 |
| SCGBlue | 4 | 1.05 | 3 | 75.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Team ManaDeprived | 7 | 1.83 | 6 | 85.71 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Team Panic | 10 | 2.62 | 8 | 80.00 | 5 | 50.00 | 1 | 10.00 |
| Norwegian–British Alliance | 6 | 1.57 | 5 | 83.33 | 3 | 50.00 | 2 | 33.33 |
| Team Madison | 10 | 2.62 | 8 | 80.00 | 1 | 10.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| The Color Purple | 6 | 1.57 | 4 | 66.67 | 1 | 16.67 | 1 | 16.67 |
| Team Brazil | 6 | 1.57 | 6 | 100.00 | 3 | 50.00 | 2 | 33.33 |
| Total | 382 | 19.37 | 59 | 63.87 | 23 | 19.63 | 12 | 6.54 |
| Pro Tour Return to Ravnica, 2012 | #Top 8 | Avg Constructed | Avg Limited | Average Points | Average Money | % of Money Won | % Money Won ÷ %Compostion |
| ChannelFireball | 1 | 15.73 | 9.55 | 25.27 | $1,636.36 | 7.76 | 2.69 |
| SCGBlack | 0 | 15.07 | 7.29 | 22.36 | $892.86 | 5.39 | 1.47 |
| SCGBlue | 0 | 11.25 | 8.25 | 19.50 | $0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Team ManaDeprived | 0 | 14.00 | 6.86 | 20.86 | $0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Team Panic | 0 | 14.00 | 10.20 | 24.20 | $850.00 | 3.66 | 1.40 |
| Norwegian–British Alliance | 1 | 17.33 | 10.17 | 27.50 | $2,250.00 | 5.82 | 3.70 |
| Team Madison | 0 | 13.90 | 7.80 | 21.70 | $100.00 | 0.43 | 0.16 |
| The Color Purple | 0 | 10.00 | 5.00 | 15.00 | $333.33 | 0.86 | 0.55 |
| Team Brazil | 2 | 19.67 | 10.00 | 29.67 | $3,500.00 | 9.05 | 5.76 |
| Total | 4 | 11.59 | 7.21 | 18.80 | $607.33 | 32.97 | 1.70 |
ChannelFireball
|
SCGBlue
|
Team Madison
|
Team Panic
|
The Color Purple
|
Team Brazil
|
Team ManaDeprived
|
Norway-Britain
|
SCGBlack
|
The performance of Team Brazil in this PT was quite solid, with the average player on that team taking home more than the average player on ChannelFireball and SCGBlack combined. In addition to this, they also had the highest average points earned of all the teams submitted to be looked at.
For the second PT in a row, team Panic had the best Limited record of all the teams, quite an impressive feat given their competition, and it will be interesting to see if this trend continues into the future and can maybe help one member eventually cross the Top 8 threshold. Both team ManaDeprived and SCGBlue had put up impressive numbers at #PTAVR but failed to deliver here, earning a combined $0.00. Some new teams, such as the Norweigan–British Alliance (thanks to Mani Davoudi for pointing this play-test group out) performed extremely well, but members of the two other new teams, Team Madison and The Color Purple, were not helped out much by being part of a play-testing team, with most members performing below the average competitor.
Conclusion
The importance of being on a team is growing, as half the Top 8 is from just this limited selection of playgroups (basically any team submitted to me via Facebook or Twitter), but picking out the right team is important. The best-performing teams have either worked with each other extensively in the past or have been based on geographical location, which means familiarity with other players in the group, along with their individual strengths and weaknesses, seems to be an important aspect of building a successful team.
A Very Brief Aside: Angle Shots and Disqualifications
If you plan on taking advantage of a system of rules, you probably want to make sure you understand them first.
-Chris Mascioli
@dieplstks on Twitter
