Pay It Forward - #PayThePros, PT SOI, Judge Lawsuits, and more!

First Pick:

Platinum/HoF changes

Announced:

http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/ptsoi/2016-and-2017-premier-play-updates-announced-at-ptsoi-2016-04-24

"The Dream"

Changes:

Platinum pros will receive an appearance fee of $250 for competing at Pro Tours (previously $3,000), an appearance fee of $250 for competing at the World Magic Cup (previously $1,000), and an appearance fee of $250 for competing at a World Magic Cup Qualifier (previously $500)

*Patreon Subscriber Topic - International Magic impact *

Article by Sperling: http://sperlinggrove.blogspot.com/2016/04/platinum-pro-club-changes-corporate.html

Article by Kibler, Finkel

"Player's Union"

Reverts:

http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/announcement-concerning-changes-pro-club-2016-04-26

• Platinum appearance fees will remain unchanged for the 2016-2017 season. This means that any Pro player who earns or has already earned Platinum status during the 2015-2016 season will receive all applicable appearance fees during the 2016-2017 season.

• The increase to the World Championship prize pool will remain for 2016. That means the total prize pool will increase to $250,000 USD as announced, and the prize payout for the 24 players who qualify will be as follows:

"We also fully understand the impact our decision had on the level of trust both pro players and the Magic community have in us, and we will continue to work hard to earn that trust back."

Desperate Ravings

There was also a PT…

• Removed Modern PT

100th Pro Tour - No fanfare at all (same for 20th anniversary)

#SCGINV: Humans, Bant CoCo

#PTSOI: Seasons Past, Steve Rubin, quality top 8

PT locations announcement: Back to Japan! Back to Dublin! Nashville? Albuquerque?

GP Charlotte bathroom situation/announcement

Gather the Townsfolk

https://www.netflix.com/title/80104065 - Enter the Battlefield from Nathan Holt and Shawn Kornhouser

Judges vs. Wizards (lawsuit in CA)

Helene article: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/message-magic-community-2016-04-20

Official press release ("fans")

http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/wizards-responds-lawsuits-2016-04-20

Legal Solutions Blog: http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/top-legal-news/magic-card-game-judges-sue-for-lost-wages-claim-to-be-employees/

It's important to note for the purposes of the lawsuit that Wizards regulates all judge certification. It administers the tests and training for certification, and imposes certain duties and responsibilities on active judges. A violation of any of Wizards' rules and regulations for judges can lead to a number of disciplinary actions, up to and including the loss of one's judge certification.

Throughout most of the history of the judge program, Wizards has provided promotional cards (some extremely valuable) to judges, as an implicit "thank you" to them for their service.

The Red Zone

Ferrett: http://www.theferrett.com/ferrettworks/2016/04/why-magic-pros-are-like-professional-writers-or-the-great-pro-tour-rapture-of-2016/

Kibler - most are pro writers..

Splash Damage http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/plane-shift-zendikar-2016-04-27

D&D meets Magic for the first time

The Finisher:

Professional poker pro and Grand Prix champion David Williams will one of the 30 or so competitors on the upcoming season of MasterChef with Gordon Ramsay. Hopefully this opens the door to more Magic players being selected for reality TV, so which shows and pros would you like to see paired in the future?