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2024: Gen Con
Gen Con took place in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 1-4, 2024, at the Indiana Convention Center.
Neopets itself was not an official exhibitor at the event, but their merch partner Upper Deck had a significant presence to promote the new Neopets Battledome TCG. Some TNT members were also in attendance.
Neopets was also featured on the lanyard attached to all Gen Con 2024 badges!
Upper Deck Booth & Play Area
Upper Deck had a massive booth featuring the Neopets Battledome TCG in the exhibitor space at booth #1205.
Giant playing cards flanked a hallway of Neopets artwork.
A "demo lounge" provided space for Upper Deck reps to teach the game.
A large Money Tree board was also nearby.
Play Area
Some additional Neopets signage was put up around the play area.
Merch for Sale
A laminated menu at the booth depicted the available merch.
Upper Deck offered the TCG starter decks for $20 each. "Defenders of Neopia" booster boxes (containing 24 booster packs) were available for $90.
Fire Uni Starter Deck on Merch DB »
Starry Acara Starter Deck on Merch DB »
Boosters on Merch DB »
Upper Deck's limited edition art prints were on sale for $100 each.
A Judge Hog tote bag was included free with any purchase.
On July 31 (the day before the event), Upper Deck announced through their Instagram that the first 100 attendees to purchase a Neopets product on each of the first two days of the convention would receive a bonus Diamond Series Playmat and Gen Con 2024 exclusive Green Shoyru promo card.
Diamond Playmat on Merch DB »
Shoyru (Green) on Merch DB »
Finally, as a freebie, Upper Deck had postcards available advertising the Neopets Battledome TCG.
Demos & Learn To Play
Upper Deck hosted demonstrations in both the exhibitor area and the play area. The exhibitor booth had free walk-in demos when room permitted, or a time could be scheduled in advance. The play area offered formal "Learn to Play" demonstrations for $2 entry, which sold out during the convention.
The start of a demonstration.
At both types of demonstration, participants received a Official Battledome League (OBL) Season 1 Promo Pack as a gift for attending. Each OBL pack contains one codestone card and one other card.
Mini Tournaments
Upper Deck hosted multiple small tournaments during the convention. Each tournament was single elimination-style and had different prizes available.
Starter Deck Mini Tournaments
These tournaments cost $20 to participate and a starter deck was provided to use for play and to keep afterward! (The $20 charge thus makes participation effectively "free," since that is the cost of buying the starter deck itself.) Participants were divided into pods of four, with each pod having a 1st place winner that received 2 booster packs and 2 OBL packs.
Constructed Mini Tournaments
These tournaments cost $20 to participate and required bringing your own deck to compete. Participants were divided into pods of eight, with each pod having a 1st place winner that received 12 booster packs and 12 OBL packs, and a second place winner receiving 6 booster packs and 6 OBL packs.
World Championship
The main event! This tournament cost $20 to participate and required bringing your own deck to compete. The tournament took place throughout the day on Saturday, August 3. All participants who showed up for at least one match received a special Championship playmat and an OBL pack.
Structure
The tournament consisted of seven rounds of Swiss-system play, meaning every participant was able to play up to seven matches against random opponents. Each round had a 45 minute limit. The top 8 scorers advanced to a classic single-elimination bracket tournament.
88 participants signed up for the tournament. 84 participants showed up to play at least one match, and 42 participants played all seven of their matches. The full results are available on the Upper Deck website.
TNT Dom hung around the tournament to watch and chat (though did not compete!)
Prizes
The participants who qualified for the top 8 bracket tournament each received a special playmat.
Special thanks to rhianafaeriedoll for this picture of the playmat!
View on Merch DB »
All top 8 players also received an oversized version of the Judge Hog card denoting their placement.
Additionally, the 5th through 8th place players received 1 booster box and 5 OBL packs. The 3rd and 4th place players received 3 booster boxes and 10 OBL packs. The 2nd place finisher received 6 booster boxes and 20 OBL packs. Finally, the champion received 12 booster boxes and a box of 100 OBL packs!
The tournament champion also received a one-of-a-kind playmat.
Winners
Neopets shared photo of the winners on their social media after the event!
The top 4 finishers
The 5th-8th place finishers posing with the creator of the Neopets Battledome TCG, Bobby Coovert (middle)
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