The path to greatness starts in your store, with the 2023 Road to Nationals!
Road to Nationals provides players with a direct qualification into National Championships and the chance to win elite prizes in all our supported territories.
How do I get a Road to Nationals event?
Road to Nationals events are assigned to selected stores. Over 300 stores have been invited to take part in 2023.
When Can I Run the Event?
The Road to Nationals season will run from May 20th to June 4th 2023.
Season Extension for Europe & selected Countries :
Stores in Europe, the UK, Hong Kong & Singapore may run their events from May 13th to June 4th 2023. This extension is to allow stores within Europe & the UK more opportunities to schedule events to avoid the Calling: Antwerp and Battle Hardened: Metropole Ruhr dates. For Singapore and Hong Kong, this extension is to allow for additional Road to Nationals events to be held within their regions. Updated March 14th.
What are Road to Nationals events?
One-off tournaments that provide players with the chance to qualify for Nationals events. Each event offers four qualification spots and a range of Cold Foil and Rainbow Foil prizes.
What format is Road to Nationals?
Road to Nationals events will use either Classic Constructed format or Draft.
Are there limitations on entry fees?
Yes, the entry fee range is as follows depending on the Format that your store chooses for the event structure.
Classic Constructed
Stores can charge up to USD30 / EUR30 / GBP30 / CAD40 / AUD40 / NZD40 entry or local currency equivalent.
Limited Events - Draft
Stores can charge up to USD50 / EUR50 / GBP50 / CAD65 / AUD65 / NZD65 or local currency equivalent.
Where can I find digital marketing Assets for Road to Nationals 2023?
These are now available on the Marketing Assets Page - Road to Nationals 2023
Classic Constructed Event Structure
| Players | Swiss Rounds | Top Cut |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 3 | None |
| 9-16 | 4 | Top 8 |
| 17-32 | 5 | Top 8 |
| 33-64 | 6 | Top 8 |
| 65-128 | 7 | Top 8 |
Outsiders Draft Event Structure
| Players | Drafts | Swiss Rounds | Top Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | 3 | None |
| 9 -16 | 1 | 3 | Top 8* |
| 17-32 | 2 | 6 | Top 8 |
| 33 - 64 | 2 | 6 | Top 8 |
| 65 + | 2 | 6 | Top 8 |
*This is a suggestion, you may run two rounds of draft pods. See our running a draft event guide for more information
Are decklists required?
Decklists will be required for Classic Constructed events only.
Road to Nationals Kit
How is the prize kit going to be distributed?
The Prize kit will be supplied by your distributor. Distributors will be notified of participating stores once the event sanctioning window has closed.
What are the prizes?
The prizes for this event are as follows:
| Prize | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Top 4 players receive Nationals 2023 Entry Qualification | |
| 1x Jubeel, Spellbane Cold Foil | At the conclusion of top 8 |
| 4x Uzuri, Switchblade Cold Foil Hero | To be given out randomly to the top 8 players at the conclusion of swiss rounds |
| 4x Riptide, Lurker of the Deep | To be given out randomly to the top 8 players at the conclusion of swiss rounds |
| 24x Spinning Wheel Kick Rainbow Foil Extended Art | At the conclusion of swiss rounds |
Prize Distribution
The top 4 players will also qualify for entry into the National Championships 2023 for their respective countries.
| Placing | What materials | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1x Jubeel, Spellbane Cold Foil Equipment to be awarded to the winner of your Road to Nationals event. | At the conclusion of top 8 |
| 1st - 8th | 4x Uzuri, Switchblade Cold Foil Hero cards & 4x Riptide, Lurker of the Deep Cold Foil | To be given out randomly to the top 8 players at the conclusion of swiss rounds |
| 9th - 32nd | 24x Spinning Wheel Kick Rainbow Foil Extended Art cards | At the conclusion of swiss rounds |
Other Questions
Can I run this event at a location that is not my store?
Road to Nationals events can be run at alternate locations. However, location information needs to be entered in the event description in GEM when you create the event.
Can store staff play in these events?
The TO and judges for the event cannot play. Store staff that are not involved in the administration of the event are allowed.
Additionally, the TO is not allowed to be a judge in the event.
I’ve chosen to run an Outsiders Draft event. How will I get stock for the Draft?
Stores will need to order stock from their distributor or have stock already on hand for the event.
Can I add additional prize support to the prize pool?
Yes, however, please be aware of the fixed cap on entry fees for Road to Nationals events.
Is there a minimum number of players to run this event?
Events need a minimum of 8 players to run. If a store runs an event with less than 8 players it will not award any qualifications.
Is there a maximum number of players?
Road to Nationals events are one of our most popular event series and frequently attract a high number of players. Stores may set an attendance cap for their Road to Nationals events in line with their store's capacity and staffing capabilities, however, you may wish to consider an external venue if your store has the capacity for less than 32 players. If your event does have an attendance cap then we encourage you to have a clearly communicated pre-registration process to reduce the risk of player disappointment.
Players from outside my country want to join the event. Do I let them?
Yes, players from outside your country can play in your event. If they win a qualification they can only attend the Nationals of the country they are resident in, this does not take away a Nationals spot from your country.
Rules Enforcement, Judges and Decklists
What level of rules enforcement is this event run at?
Road to Nationals events are run at Competitive rules enforcement. Please check the Penalty Guidelines for more information.
Will I need a Judge for this event?
Road to Nationals requires a Level One Judge to run. If you do not have a Judge in your area or have a candidate requiring testing you can now do so at Judge Hub.
Is there Judge Support?
Each Kit contains the following:
- 2x Theryon, Magister of Justice Rainbow Foil
- 1x Volcor Playmat (to be awarded to the events Head Judge
These rewards must be provided to your Judge team. Judge Support must only be given to the judge team of the event itself. They are not to be used as door or spot prizes for the players or given to non-judge staff members.
If you have only one Judge, then the whole Judge Support should be given to that judge. If you have two judges, each will receive a Judge Promo. The head judge will receive the playmat.
Judge Support is not allowed to be used as compensation.
LSS provides this Judge Support to reward Judges for their skills and dedication shown towards the game. Judge support is not allowed to be used to replace any compensation judges would otherwise receive for working a Road to Nationals event.
Coverage
As with previous event series, we are collecting information from stores for feature articles on our website. This season, all compulsory information is being collected via GEM and the Hero Assignment feature.
All coverage information is being collected via Road to Nationals Event Data Collection 2023
We're primarily looking for:
Top 8 decklists - photo of the winner & Top 8 - General event photos - Hero breakdowns - Stories of players, matches, or the day
Please note we cannot feature every store that provides coverage information, but we greatly appreciate any and all information stores can provide for our coverage pieces. We look forward to hearing your stories! If you have any questions about the form or want to submit additional information, please email the team at coverage@fabtcg.com.
I still need help! Who can I reach out to?
Email the team at op@fabtcg.com, and an account manager will be in contact with you.