What is a Release Event?

Release events are some of the most exciting times in StarChamber. There is always a buzz when something new is being revealed and even more so when it is new cards. Nothing brings players out of the woodwork like a new set. This was true even pre Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). In the most recent releases something new was added to releases of new sets. True to form, this new thing is very exciting.

With each release there is a release event weekend long party with the sealed tourneys using cards from the new set just released. This time these tourneys will feature only Maelstrom cards.

How Release Event Sealed Tournies Work

In the past, release tournies have an entry fee of 20 EP. All players are given one of the new pre-made Starter Decks and 3 Maelstrom packs with which to make their decks. Players not only get to keep these cards but they also get at least 2 packs as prizes and a special release event promo. The past release event promos have been quite sought after, even after the release event. For The Atok Incident we got Threat of Force. The promo for Descent was the fairly decent Promo Resolution Mode Gamma.

Why Anyone Can Win a Release Event

Sealed and Draft tourneies make for some of the best tournaments in the game. This is because a player that cannot afford a large collection is on the same footing as a suitcase (a player that collects every card in the game). Deck building is key in these events and because of the limited card pool, creativity is king. In the Atok Incident release events one of the best decks I saw (and the one that beat me in the finals) was Jmart's Ferrier starter with a two cyber splash. This allowed him to utilize Mass Driver which he used to set up a nice barricade outside my Home World. It also gave him access to some Kej ships like Corona Runner and Peacekeeper Corvette. Splashing is not needed as often in Sealed as it is in drafts, but it can provide for some variance in the paths the pre-made decks set out.

The Math

Release events are also a great source of cards at low prices. You are guaranteed 2 starter rarity cards, 1 Promo, 3 Maelstrom rares and 5 Maelstrom packs (3 to deck build with and 2 as minimum prize). All this for only 20 Event Passes ($20). Without sounding like a SOE sponsored rant let me just say that you get the better deal here. I talked it over with SilverGryphon in the Mezz (casual lobby for those not familiar with the old server) and we figured out the math.

Lets just say that you are going to play in one event, I'll use the council prices for this calculation. The deck is worth $6.62, plus 5 packs at $2.21 is is a totaly of $17.64. That's 2/3s of your $20 right there. In addition you get a council promo which is often worth between $5 and $7.

Another way to look at this is that you get 2 Starters, 3 rares, and 8 UCs with your Starter Deck as well as 5 more rares and 15 UC from the packs. Using prices in Kit's DB we have $3.60 in starters and an average of $14.50 in rares and $4 in UCs for a total of $22.10, add in the promo and your talking about ~$28 in card value for your 20 EPs.

The value you get becomes even clearer if you do the math with the assumption that you are going to play in all 3 events. The total spent rockets up to $60, but you get back cards if the newest set worth about $84. SOE also ensures the value of the Promo because it only gives out at most 3 to any one player (only 3 tournies) and as every suitcase knows you need 4 to have a complete set.

See You There

Now that I've hopefully made you see the light of the cost benefit of release events and how different they are from other tournies let me just end with telling you how fun they are. Releases always get a good turn out. This means they are almost always more than 3 rounds and some diversity in who you play against. You get to see a lot of ideas in game and even more discussed about the new cards in between rounds. Plus SC has a lot of interesting people in it and this leads to great conversations in the lobby as people wait for the tourney rounds to move on. Come out and play, you'll have fun, and you'll see me there!