I love Challenge of the Courts!

Nalthazar

After playing through the second version of Challenge of the Courts, this time the blue one, I can comfortably say that I have loved both versions of the event. They provide a rewarding PvP event with what I feel are really fun mechanics that tie in well to the objectives. I know there has been a lot of talk here about event design and the permanent supports, but I just want to point out that especially the blue version (Vantress) of this event is a perfectly constructed event in my eyes.

The first node once again brings us pseudo pauper, just no mythics. The objectives aren't arduous and they make me use cards I enjoy but don't otherwise use because there are better cards. Things like Dragon Mage and Dreadhorde Arcanist.

The second node wants you to draw a ton of cards but it also gives resourceful 2 gain 4 mana. I found this to be really fun for a blue event. In blue you are already going to be drawing a bunch of cards, so getting that mana boost is nice without feeling underwhelming or over the top.

The third node has the Mill objective again where you need to have 20 cards in your opponent's graveyard, and when I first saw that, I was like "uh oh", but then I saw what the permanent support did and I found that the node was REALLY fun. At least for me. The permanent support is "Adamant - Blue (so every time you match blue gems) Destroy the top 5 cards of each player's library). Which means that every time you or your opponent matches blue gems it mills 5 for both players. My Beacon Bolt and horde of blue gem conversion thank the design of this node. I giggled a little bit as I got a massive blue cascade from my three converters with a Beacon Bolt in hand. 

The fourth and final node I didn't honestly find the permanent support to be all that handy, so of the nodes it is the only one that I am "meh" about.

I am writing this post because I also found myself really enjoying the green (Garenbrig) version of this event, and after having played both the blue and the green versions of this event, this is exactly what I want from new events. There is a sense of competition, because a perfect score nets you an extra 30 mana jewels. If you don't want to do that, you can just play for progression for 80 crystals, 2 packs of the current set, 16 jewels, and 5,000 runes, which is a decent haul. The event itself promotes and strengthens the new mechanics, even passively providing you with some of the new mechanics from the permanent support. The objectives are very reasonable, and don't require you to play overly passively to complete them. Because of the event having different versions for the different colors it will feel fresh to me for a while. This is so far my favorite event since Rising Tensions. We shall see how I feel about the other three colors. I'll let others speak for themselves, but @Brigby the balance, rewards, and utilization of permanent supports in conjunction with new mechanics and how they tie in with the objectives is exactly what I want from events each set.

jtwood

Totally agree. It’s a great event - except for how the nodes are locked until you beat the previous one. I had a crash on Node 1 Charge 1 last week. That suuuuuuucked. Open all nodes at once. Then it’s perfect. 

Mburn7

I really like the event, except for how the locked nodes don't refresh from the start.  That's annoying.

But the rest is surprisingly great!

Bil

I definitely agree, it's great to have an event where special supports synergize with secundary objectives and the set mechanics. 

madwren

I've been enjoying the event, too. It seems as it everything's a bit more thoughtful and synergistic, rather than Oktagon going into full kitchen sink mode and needlessly overcomplicating everything.

The node structure is stupid, though.

Nalthazar

The node structure is stupid, though.

By that do you mean the different timers for the nodes and that the latter ones are locked until you play the earlier ones? Just asking for clarification.

madwren

Nalthazar said:

The node structure is stupid, though.

By that do you mean the different timers for the nodes and that the latter ones are locked until you play the earlier ones? Just asking for clarification.

Yes.

Mburn7

madwren said:

Nalthazar said:

The node structure is stupid, though.

By that do you mean the different timers for the nodes and that the latter ones are locked until you play the earlier ones? Just asking for clarification.

Yes.

Are you an engineer?  I had a lot of college professors who answered stuff like this