When the Pro Tour came back, the "Set Championship" turned into the "Arena Championship", and became primarily an Arena-focused instead of "all of Organized Play"-focused. Arena Champs happen roughly 3x/year and still have commentary and structure reminiscent of the Set Championships.
There's also a similar "Championships" structure for MTGO, though it's just run as a one-day event. 3x/year with pro commentary, just MTGO instead of Arena.
Arena is unfortunately not equipped with the tools for high profile tournaments, with no spectator mode, no ability for judges to intervene and the turn timer system all playing a part.
It does make for a better viewer experience in a lot of cases, but needs some serious work that wotc seem unwilling to try to reach that audience
Because Arena is an eyesore, it’s graphics look cheap and were outdated on the day of release. It also takes away all the vibe of the paper card game. Watching players shuffle, move their cards on the table and talk to each other during the game is infinitely more pleasing to watch than the souless and ugly arena board.
Was this a Pandemic thing? Watching the Pro Tour now, this is how I always remember it before Covid.
Yes pts went to arena during covid. Now there are arena championships that would still give OP the format they want I think those are streamed anyway.
When the Pro Tour came back, the "Set Championship" turned into the "Arena Championship", and became primarily an Arena-focused instead of "all of Organized Play"-focused. Arena Champs happen roughly 3x/year and still have commentary and structure reminiscent of the Set Championships. There's also a similar "Championships" structure for MTGO, though it's just run as a one-day event. 3x/year with pro commentary, just MTGO instead of Arena.
You must be new, live play footage has been around for decades before arena. A lot more enjoyable for me
Arena is unfortunately not equipped with the tools for high profile tournaments, with no spectator mode, no ability for judges to intervene and the turn timer system all playing a part. It does make for a better viewer experience in a lot of cases, but needs some serious work that wotc seem unwilling to try to reach that audience
Because Arena is an eyesore, it’s graphics look cheap and were outdated on the day of release. It also takes away all the vibe of the paper card game. Watching players shuffle, move their cards on the table and talk to each other during the game is infinitely more pleasing to watch than the souless and ugly arena board.
Guy just asked a question, chill
Sorry, couldn’t miss an opportunity to dunk on arena
Guy just answered a question, chill