For a format that they use the freaking Pro Tour for, Block Constructed seems to otherwise get about as much support from Wizards as Vintage. There's no PTQs or even Grand Prix. Heck, Legacy gets one or two Grand Prix per year! Why bother having the format for the Pro Tour if they give players zero reason to care about it outside of three days a year? Modern, Standard, and Limited get a PTQ season and Grand Prix, but Block Constructed gets absolutely nothing outside of the Pro Tour. Why don't they at least throw a little support behind it by having a few Grand Prix in that format and give people a reason to even care about the current Pro Tour's format?
I could get it if it was something like Pauper where they only offer some limited support to it online, but it's such a weird dissonance to use Block Constructed for the Pro Tour and then never do anything with it at all in paper Magic.
EDIT: Okay, I'm an idiot, I totally missed Manchester was a Block Constructed Grand Prix. But my overall point remains, the utter lack of support for the format despite it being used for the Pro Tour is rather odd.
Block constructed has a narrow window where it can be played (between the release of a third set and the first set of a new block, though more practically the new core set), so perhaps that's part of the reason? It's a format I enjoy because it makes some draft all-stars constructed playable.
Actually, Block can be played any time. The problem with Block is that it gets stale really fast, and there's not that much variation between games. The reason they still do Block PTs is to "showcase the new block". Personally, I disagree with this reason and Block PTs in general, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
There used to be Block Constructed PTQ seasons. You want to know what the last one was? Lorwyn Block. This is why Bitterblossom was banned in Modern despite it being completely craptacular in Modern. People got sick of seeing Turn 1 Thoughtseize, Turn 2 Bitterblossom, Turn 3 Scion of Oona/Vendilion Clique, Turn 4 Mistbind Clique, Turn 5 Mistbind Clique/Cryptic Command.
Actually, Block can be played any time. The problem with Block is that it gets stale really fast, and there's not that much variation between games. The reason they still do Block PTs is to "showcase the new block". Personally, I disagree with this reason and Block PTs in general, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
The way they used to do it to keep it from getting stale was have the PT with only the first 2 sets and then the PTQ with the 3rd letting the masses "showcase" the new block.
Look how much different the decks were at manchester than at the PT. The format is anything but "solved". There were only 12 Elspeth in the manchester T8. (3 of the 8 decks) one of which was a suicide black deck playing Master of the Feast for crying out loud.
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Uh, I posted that comment before GP Manchester. At that point, the format was just looking like, "What cards should I play with Courser of Kruphix?" Now, the format appears more wide open.
block constructed is actually the most skill intensive format. it requires you to be creative in the deck building process , requires you to actually put in work with the decks and not just go off previous experince as even with a set format you actually have to practice with the deck cause in no way shape or form are they easy to pilot. bug control which is arguably the best deck in the block meta atm along side chapin's junk and rg elspeth is extremely hard to pilot as they're is so many interactions with the deck its unreal.
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I could get it if it was something like Pauper where they only offer some limited support to it online, but it's such a weird dissonance to use Block Constructed for the Pro Tour and then never do anything with it at all in paper Magic.
EDIT: Okay, I'm an idiot, I totally missed Manchester was a Block Constructed Grand Prix. But my overall point remains, the utter lack of support for the format despite it being used for the Pro Tour is rather odd.
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The way they used to do it to keep it from getting stale was have the PT with only the first 2 sets and then the PTQ with the 3rd letting the masses "showcase" the new block.
Look how much different the decks were at manchester than at the PT. The format is anything but "solved". There were only 12 Elspeth in the manchester T8. (3 of the 8 decks) one of which was a suicide black deck playing Master of the Feast for crying out loud.