United States National Championship 2009

Presented by Legion Events
www.legionevents.com

Date: July 23-26, 2009
Event Location: Hyatt Regency Crown Center
Address: 2345 McGee Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
crowncenter.hyatt.com
(816) 421-1234

Cutoff date is 7/3/09 to reserve at the $139 group rate.
Group name is "Magic the Gathering US Nationals"

Eligibility
The Magic: the Gathering United States National Championship is an invitation-only event, open to citizens or permanent residents of the United States who have won an invitation to Nationals through DCI ratings or from qualifying events such as Regional or City Championships.

• Link to Invitation List
• Link to Regionals

Registration Requirements
Players must have a signed waiver and consent form to compete in US Nationals. The form can be downloaded on the Wizards website and will be available onsite.

Minors (those under 18 years of age) must have a parent or guardian's signature on these forms. Minors will not be able to register or play unless we receive a waiver signed by a parent or guardian. No exceptions!

Bring these forms with you to registration. We will make forms available for competitors at registration, if necessary.

To register, all participants must present one of the following forms of identification:

• A driver's license, or
• A passport, or
• A copy of a birth certificate and photo ID (school IDs are acceptable)

Players not registered by 8:45 AM on Friday, July 24 may be denied entry to US Nationals.

Registration times and locations
Hyatt Regency Crown Center
Thursday, July 23, 2009 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Friday, July 24, 2009 from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM

Format

• Standard and Booster Draft
• 1 Shards of Alara, 1 Conflux, and 1 Alara Reborn booster pack will be used for drafting
• Deck lists are required
• Check www.thedci.com for Standard and Booster Draft format rules

Tournament Length

• Day 1 will consist of 4 rounds of Standard, 3 rounds of Booster Draft.
• Day 2 will consist of 3 rounds of Booster Draft, 4 rounds of Standard.
• Day 3 will consist of the Top 8 finals.
• 14 Swiss Rounds total, 60 minutes per round
• Top 8 single-elimination finals have no time limit; however, players are expected to play at a reasonable pace and finish their matches within 90 minutes.

Advancement

• All players may participate in all Swiss rounds
• After round 14 the top 8 players advance to the top 8 single-elimination finals

Top 8

• Standard format
• Top 8 matches will be best 3 of 5
• Losers of the semi-final matches will playoff to determine 3rd place.

Invitations

• The Top 4 players receive invitations to the 2009 World Championships.
• The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place players will form the National Team. The 4th Place player will be the alternate.

Notes

• 40K, REL Competitive
• Players are required to use the same Standard deck for day 1, day 2, and Top 8.
• All Universal Tournament Rules and Magic: the Gathering Floor Rules are in effect for this event unless specifically overruled by information in this Format Document

Friday Schedule
8:45 AM Seating for player meeting posted
9:00 AM Mandatory Player meeting begins.
9:15 AM 4 rounds of Standard, followed by 3 rounds of Booster Draft

Saturday Schedule
8:45 AM Seating for player meeting posted
9:00 AM Mandatory Player meeting begins
9:15 AM Second Booster Draft begins. 3 rounds will be played, followed by 4 rounds of Standard

Sunday Schedule
9:30 AM Top 8 players check in at feature match area
10:00 AM Quarterfinal matches begin

Prizes 

Contact information
Steve Port
Steve@legionevents.com
952-895-1989

Lindsey Kary
Lindsey@legionevents.com

Additional information:

Public Events

General Information

8-Player Single-Elimination Pick Ups

These tournaments will be added as requested (subject to players, space and judge availability).
Registration Opens: 9am Friday – Sunday, 4pm Saturday
Registration Closes: 12am (7pm, Sunday)
Prizes: Finalists will win 8 boosters for 1st place, and 4 boosters for 2nd place

Prize

Booster pack prizes will be awarded based on attendance. Unless otherwise noted, top finishing players will receive current set boosters.

Pro Tour Qualifiers

Qualifiers for Pro Tour tournaments award an invitation and a travel award to a specific Pro Tour tournament for the top-finishing competitor.

Grand Prix Trials

Trials for individual-format Grand Prix tournaments award a three-round bye to a Grand Prix tournament for one or more of the top-finishing competitors. The number of three-round byes awarded will be determined by the number of players in the Trial as shown in the table below. Grand Prix Trial byes no longer pass down. If a player already possesses a three-round bye, finishes high enough to win another bye from a Grand Prix Trial, that bye will not be passed down to the next eligible player.

Winner(s) each receive a 3-round bye at any future Grand Prix prior to August 1, 2010

Nationals Grinders

"Grinders" for US Nationals award an invitation to 2009 US Nationals for the winner. The 2nd place player receives 18 current set boosters. 3rd and 4th each receive 9 current set boosters. These events are single elimination only and have 32 players each. They will run as often as possible during the times listed in the schedule.

EDH in the Evening

Generals, unite! Every evening from 10:00pm – 2:00am, join us for open play of the "best Magic format ever" – Elder Dragon Highlander. For information about the Elder Dragon Highlander format, visit csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~geduggan/EDH_rules.html

2009 Magic Online Live Championship

The 2009 Magic Online Live series provides new and old Magic Online players the chance to compete for cash prizes and an opportunity to talk with some of the developers and managers of Magic Online face to face.

At U.S. Nationals, there will be 4 Challenges run throughout the weekend. Each qualifies 2 players to the Championship on Sunday. There is a $5000 purse for the Championship, with the winner receiving $2000. For complete details, visit www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/other/040209a.

Public Events (Thursday – Sunday)

Thursday, July 23 
Registration opens 1 hour before the scheduled start time and closes at the scheduled end time.

Friday, July 24 
Registration opens 1 hour before the scheduled start time and closes 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Players should be seated at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.

Saturday, July 25 
Registration opens 1 hour before the scheduled start time and closes 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Players should be seated at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.

Sunday, July 26 
Registration opens 1 hour before the scheduled start time and closes 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Players should be seated at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.

Champion Challenge

Test your Magic skills against the guys who make the game! U.S. Nationals will feature Magic R&D members Tom LaPille and Scott Johns! Win and you get to walk away with cool Magic prizes!

Artists

Rob Alexander
www.robalexander.com
See all of Rob Alexander’s Magic Cards

rk post
www.rkpost.net
See all of rk post's Magic cards

* Travel:

The players eligible to receive a travel award will receive instructions from Wizards of the Coast on whom they must contact and the deadline by which they must arrange their travel awards. Wizards of the Coast will not refund travel made outside this service. Wizards of the Coast reserves the right to award a cash equivalent award in lieu of any travel award in its sole discretion.

All travel itineraries must be from the international airport nearest the player's home and to the host city of the applicable Pro Tour or World Championship or event, and must include all the dates of that event. No award will be substituted if member is unable to participate. All other expenses are the responsibility of the member and may include, without limitation, accommodations, ground transportation, taxes, itinerary change fees, passport and visa fees.

This award must be redeemed through member's arrangement of travel itinerary no later than (30) days before departure. Failure to complete travel arrangements as directed by Wizards of the Coast prior to this deadline will result in forfeiture of the award. Every member receiving a travel award must provide to Wizards of the Coast an executed liability release, the appropriate US taxation form (W9 or W8) (or have one on file), current contact information (webapp.wizards.com/dcimember/), proof of ID and passport (when required by international destination). In all cases, all such documentation must be provided to Wizards of the Coast, or previously on file, at least thirty (30) days before departure. Failure to timely provide such documentation will result in forfeiture of the award.

As with other awards, the players must attend, compete (though not necessarily on the same team), and be listed as finishing in the applicable tournament for which he or she received the travel award. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in forfeiture of the award.

All taxes are the responsibility of the members, and members acknowledge Wizards' recommendation that they consult a tax advisor in their jurisdictions for questions regarding their tax liabilities.

All awards:

Players must attend, compete (though not necessarily on the same team), and be listed as finishing in the applicable tournament for which he or she received the award. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in forfeiture of the award.

All taxes are the responsibility of the members, and members acknowledge Wizards' recommendation that they consult a tax advisor in their jurisdictions for questions regarding their tax liabilities.

Awards are subject to change without notice.