Saheeli Rai Challenge is Back! (9/21/16)

LakeStone

Hi Everyone –

We are super excited about the Kaladesh TCG Pre-Release later this week that we have decided to run the Saheeli Rai Challenge again starting tomorrow.

We know that a number of you have earned her during the PVP event earlier this month but many of you, including many of those we spoke with at PAX West were either busy with PAX West or various Labor Day events and missed out. With the TCG Pre-Release, this week is the perfect week to run the event again (x2) and offer more players a chance to add her to their roster.

For those of you that have won Saheeli Rai already, congratulations! You are already seeing the powerful abilities that she offers to you in-game. While we invite you to participate in the Challenge again, we recommend focusing your efforts in the Oath of the Gatewatch PVP from 9/21 – 9/23 and the Shadows Over Innistrad PVP from 9/24 – 9/26 to fully capture all the rewards being offered to you. If you decide to participate in the Saheeli Rai Challenge, please note that if you have already won her, you will not be able to win her again and the Saheeli Rai portion of the Rank reward will be forfeited (you will still be credited the Crystals).

We know this may not be ideal to all players, especially those that may have already earned Saheeli Rai but this opens the opportunity for the many of those that have not earned her yet. We are currently evaluating additional ways to incorporate more events during the week than we currently allow and this will provide players numerous gameplay options and opportunities to get specific prizes earned via in-game rewards. Stay tuned for these updates in the coming weeks.

Best of luck to everyone in the Challenge, we are very excited to see potentially three times the amount of Saheeli Rai’s added to the rosters in the game!
- Thank you!

Coconut99

Woo, more chances to win Saheeli! Thanks!

It isn't quite clear from the post, but it sounds like you're running the event two more times in a row? Is that right?

Also, are the Secondary Objectives all still the same? Copying below from the previous post for reference...

Hibernum_JC wrote:

Hey folks,

Since it was requested to us through PMs and such, here are the secondary objectives for the upcoming event. This way you'll be able to theorycraft your decks in advance!

The event has 4 nodes - a central node, which forces Saheeli Rai as a Planeswalker, and three other nodes where you can play with any other Planeswalker (no color restrictions this time around!)

Without further ado, here is the list of secondary objectives:

Saheeli Rai Node (Central)
Summon 8 or more Constructs during a single fight

Top Node
Cast 8 or more Supports during a single fight

Bottom Left Node
Cast 8 or more Spells during a single fight

Bottom Right Node
Summon 8 or more Creatures during a single fight

As an aside, note that Thopters are now classified as Constructs, so they will count for Saheeli Rai's Construct objective.

Corn_Noodles

LakeStone wrote:

With the TCG Pre-Release, this week is the perfect week to run the event again (x2) and offer more players a chance to add her to their roster.

I disagree. Next weekend, with the official release of Kaladesh for the TCG, it would've been the perfect time.

LakeStone

Yes, if it wasn't clear, we will be running the Saheeli Rai Challenge twice this week. Good luck!

Corn_Noodles

LakeStone wrote:

Yes, if it wasn't clear, we will be running the Saheeli Rai Challenge twice this week. Good luck!

This makes it worse for top coalitions. You ask those of us that already have Saheeli to focus on other PVP events so new people get a chance, but you still have coalition rewards enabled for the event. One event I could maybe see going easy, but not two. I cannot leave points on the table if it's going to hurt the rest of the coalition in the standings and the rewards. If I end up denying people their chance at Saheeli, so be it. It would have been better to turn off coalition rewards for the Saheeli event repeats.

majincob

Corn Noodles wrote:

LakeStone wrote:

Yes, if it wasn't clear, we will be running the Saheeli Rai Challenge twice this week. Good luck!

This makes it worse for top coalitions. You ask those of us that already have Saheeli to focus on other PVP events so new people get a chance, but you still have coalition rewards enabled for the event. One event I could maybe see going easy, but not two. I cannot leave points on the table if it's going to hurt the rest of the coalition in the standings and the rewards. If I end up denying people their chance at Saheeli, so be it. It would have been better to turn off coalition rewards for the Saheeli event repeats.

Yes, please please turn off coalition ribbons/rewards for the Rai events, otherwise top coalitions will be forced to compete in the events resulting in fewer new people getting the planeswalker. Not to mention burnout in your top spending players.

Nitymp

"David wrote:

Moore"]Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest 1.6.5 Release Notes

Saheeli Rai’s Challenge will begin Friday September 2nd at 4pm UTC. Make sure not to miss it - Saheeli Rai’s Challenge will only appear this weekend!

So what you're saying is that you're liars huh?

Don't make statements about exclusivity and 'one time only' and then not stick to it.

But then again, given your excellent track record of communication with the community... Its hardly surprising that you'd do this

shteev

We get that Wizards of the Coast probably made you do this, but could you not be so 'super excited' about breaking your word to the players?

We trust you little enough as it is.

Nitymp

shteev wrote:

We get that Wizards of the Coast probably made you do this, but could you not be so 'super excited' about breaking your word to the players?

We trust you little enough as it is.

Agreed. What very little trust I had is now completely gone. Bunch of cowboys!

They won't be seeing any more of my money from now on until they stop pulling fast ones, that's for sure!!

glggwp

This is good! We should have events everyday!

buffbeardo

Lol! Oh man, here we go. Burning down the house!

Pacone

Admittedly, this doesn't come as a surprise, and it is "somewhat" fair to those who couldn't play the first event...yet again, this could be done far, far better than this, overlapping events so people's brain melts...

Irgy

Hi, thanks for running this again, was so disappointed last time when I missed out by 2 ribbons (especially after I went to bed in 2rd place and more than a full round (i.e. 26 points) clear of 4th, ugh slow-rollers!)

LakeStone wrote:

the Saheeli Rai portion of the Rank reward will be forfeited (you will still be credited the Crystals).

Any thoughts to rolling the prize on to the next rank? That's the most common way that ineligible winners are handled...

LakeStone wrote:

Yes, if it wasn't clear, we will be running the Saheeli Rai Challenge twice this week. Good luck!

So, um, when's the next one then? Any thoughts to having a different starting time? 2am, and this time on a weeknight as well, is not exactly my cup of tea. I know I'm not in the most populated longitude, but it sure would be nice to share the love around a bit. There's people everywhere with commitments at particular times of day.

Pqmtg-

1) please do not tell us that something is exclusive and not available in the near future if you're going to be giving it out again in 3 weeks

2) I do applaud the decision to give more events and even overlapping events. Currently coalitions are set up in a way that pretty much guarantees top coalitions stay on top(as they keep powering up with more mythics). This at least gives the smaller coalitions a chance by eventually forcing some coalitions to focus on one event or another. Would prefer coalition tiers too, but I'll get what I can get.

Morphis

Pqmtg- wrote:

2) I do applaud the decision to give more events and even overlapping events. Currently coalitions are set up in a way that pretty much guarantees top coalitions stay on top(as they keep powering up with more mythics). This at least gives the smaller coalitions a chance by eventually forcing some coalitions to focus on one event or another. Would prefer coalition tiers too, but I'll get what I can get.

I think you are optimistic.
As long as event will not require the same time that qb leaderboard does, top players will be able to simply dominate every single event.
Its not hard to play 2 or even 3 events at the same time.

Pqmtg-

Morphis wrote:

Pqmtg- wrote:

2) I do applaud the decision to give more events and even overlapping events. Currently coalitions are set up in a way that pretty much guarantees top coalitions stay on top(as they keep powering up with more mythics). This at least gives the smaller coalitions a chance by eventually forcing some coalitions to focus on one event or another. Would prefer coalition tiers too, but I'll get what I can get.

I think you are optimistic.
As long as event will not require the same time that qb leaderboard does, top players will be able to simply dominate every single event.
Its not hard to play 2 or even 3 events at the same time.

Like I said... I would prefer coalition brackets, but I'll take what I can get. Currently there's little hope of the lesser coalitions rising up to challenge for top spots because the power levels of the regular top 10 coalitions will keep increasing at a crazy pace. It takes a lot of booster opens to match 2 guaranteed mythics a week.

Tilikum

kessy628

Coconut99 wrote:

Woo, more chances to win Saheeli! Thanks!

It isn't quite clear from the post, but it sounds like you're running the event two more times in a row? Is that right?

Also, are the Secondary Objectives all still the same? Copying below from the previous post for reference...

Hibernum_JC wrote:

Hey folks,

Since it was requested to us through PMs and such, here are the secondary objectives for the upcoming event. This way you'll be able to theorycraft your decks in advance!

The event has 4 nodes - a central node, which forces Saheeli Rai as a Planeswalker, and three other nodes where you can play with any other Planeswalker (no color restrictions this time around!)

Without further ado, here is the list of secondary objectives:

Saheeli Rai Node (Central)
Summon 8 or more Constructs during a single fight

Top Node
Cast 8 or more Supports during a single fight

Bottom Left Node
Cast 8 or more Spells during a single fight

Bottom Right Node
Summon 8 or more Creatures during a single fight

As an aside, note that Thopters are now classified as Constructs, so they will count for Saheeli Rai's Construct objective.

Can confirm, secondary objectives are the same and in the same locations.

Buret0

I start work one hour before the event starts. Fine, I'll come to work a couple hours late and make up that time after hours and through lunch.

Oh okay, the event is down at start time. So now I'm going to work late, for an event that never started, and will no longer be getting to join the event at the start, thus losing out on initial plays, and my lunch hour is gone thanks to planning my day around this event actually starting on time.

Can we get some Koth-damned slices or make the event accumulate extra plays for people who join up to ten hours late? Seriously, you can't dangle a huge prize in front of people and:

(a) expect your servers to handle all of the players hitting you at the same time when the event starts (go ask your Marvel Puzzle Quest colleagues how their first five "boss" events went operating under this model);
(b) expect everyone to just plan their lives around your start times; and
(c) not expect a ton of anger from people who do try to match your schedule and find your game down.

If that wasn't enough, after joining the event nine hours late, I got to spend 35 minutes watching the Sarkhan AI Harness the Storm into Behold the Beyond, casting Under the Floorboards, Red Devils, Haunted Cloak, 3 mana and 6 mana black discards (transgress the mind and I can't remember the mystic that discards two cards for six mana), and 5 mana black rare card destruction with delirium (I'm so mad I can't even remember cards I've got in my own decks)... on his own creatures, meaning that not only was I hand **** by his discards, the only time I was taking any damage was when he killed his own creatures and there just happened to be no black mana on the board. I can't remember what else was in the deck... maybe a RC, Temple, and another mana support?

Is the new Harness the Storm nerf going to deal with the Behold the Beyond combo? Because after playing four or five Sarkhan's using that combo in the last two days, I'm already really tiny tiny tiny kitty sick of it.

Pqmtg-

Buret0 wrote:

I start work one hour before the event starts. Fine, I'll come to work a couple hours late and make up that time after hours and through lunch.

Oh okay, the event is down at start time. So now I'm going to work late, for an event that never started, and will no longer be getting to join the event at the start, thus losing out on initial plays, and my lunch hour is gone thanks to planning my day around this event actually starting on time.

Can we get some Koth-damned slices or make the event accumulate extra plays for people who join up to ten hours late? Seriously, you can't dangle a huge prize in front of people and:

(a) expect your servers to handle all of the players hitting you at the same time when the event starts (go ask your Marvel Puzzle Quest colleagues how their first five "boss" events went operating under this model);
(b) expect everyone to just plan their lives around your start times; and
(c) not expect a ton of anger from people who do try to match your schedule and find your game down.

If that wasn't enough, after joining the event nine hours late, I got to spend 35 minutes watching the Sarkhan AI Harness the Storm into Behold the Beyond, casting Under the Floorboards, Red Devils, Haunted Cloak, 3 mana and 6 mana black discards (transgress the mind and I can't remember the mystic that discards two cards for six mana), and 5 mana black rare card destruction with delirium (I'm so mad I can't even remember cards I've got in my own decks)... on his own creatures, meaning that not only was I hand tinykitty by his discards, the only time I was taking any damage was when he killed his own creatures and there just happened to be no black mana on the board. I can't remember what else was in the deck... maybe a RC, Temple, and another mana support?

Is the new Harness the Storm nerf going to deal with the Behold the Beyond combo? Because after playing four or five Sarkhan's using that combo in the last two days, I'm already really tiny tiny tiny kitty sick of it.

Have you read the patch notes? It answers your question.

MaxMagic420

Just popping in to say (and I can already hear it, but eh...whatever ) that I won saheeli rai in the last event, and I'm going to skip a few battles to let someone else have a chance of getting her. I know how it felt when the event expired and I saw that "4th place" rewards screen. Made all the effort and tension totally worth it. Other players who play way too much like me deserve the chance too. I gently recommend the other four do the same, but hey, good luck to everybody anyway. Except you Gideon using runaway carriage people. The worst of luck to you fine people. Thank the gods for from beyond.