MLB Showdown
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| MLB Showdown | |
|---|---|
 MLB Showdown Logo |
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| Players | 2 |
| Age range | 10 and up |
| Setup time | < 5 minutes |
| Playing time | < 30 minutes |
| Random chance | Lots1 |
| Skills required | Card playing Some knowledge of baseball |
| 1: Due to the 20-sided die | |
MLB Showdown (colloq."Showdown") was a collectible card game by Wizards of the Coast, that ran from 2000 to 2005. The game was introduced to the public in 2000, featuring Atlanta Braves 3rd Baseman Chipper Jones on the product cover. Since the 2000 Base set, cover athletes have included Shawn Green, Gary Sheffield, Manny Ramirez, Luis Gonzalez, Torii Hunter, Albert Pujols, and Craig Biggio, and many more.
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[edit] How to play the game
MLB Showdown simulates baseball through baseball cards and polyhedral dice combined with a mathematical formula. The purpose of this game is to play baseball. The game involves a twenty-sided die and baseball cards made specifically for the game. These cards come in booster packs, a staple for collectible card games, as well as starter games & draft packs (see below). There are two types of cards, player and strategy (colloq. "strats") cards. The player cards have a point value on them, and the team of 25 players can have no more than 5000 points worth of value. Many casual players ignore this rule, and instead put together their best possible team. Strategy cards are randomly drawn and used by the player to alter the flow of the game usually in that player's favor. MLB Showdown is broken up into two main divisions, the modern era, 2002-present, and the beginning era, 2000-2001. The reason for this distinction is a formulaic statistical change (known as Catina) of hitter cards introduced in 2002. The game is based on 2 numbers on the player cards. For pitchers it is the statistic "Control", which ranges from +0 to +6. A hitter's key stat is his "On Base", which ranges from 7-16 in the modern era and 4-11 in the beginning era. The basic at-bat goes like this; the pitcher rolls a twenty-sided die and adds his control to the result. This is called the "pitch". If that number is higher than the On-base of the hitter, the pitcher has advantage and the "swing" is rolled on the pitchers chart. If this "pitch" is lower than or equal to the On-base, the hitter has advantage and the swing is rolled on the hitter's chart. Possible results are strike outs, pop up outs, groundball outs, fly ball outs, walks, singles, doubles, triples and home runs. There is a lot more to the game and it is suggested for beginners to play the demo on Wizards.com.
[edit] How to purchase cards
MLB Showdown Cards can be purchased in standard booster packs (8 player cards and 3 strategy cards), starter sets (the best way to start playing the game comes with 30 player cards, 2 of them being holo, 8 strategy cards, a "hello" rulebook, playmat, and 20-sided die), and draft packs (used for draft tournaments, contains 15 player cards including 1 foil card, 45 strategy cards, and rules for drafting).
[edit] Organized play
Organized play was set into three levels, Local MLB Showdown Leagues, MLB Showdown Regionals and the MLB Showdown National Championship. The MLB Showdown card game has had eight national champions: 2001- Scott Forster, 2002- Gary Quinn, 2003-Keith Pioro, 2004- Terry Dugan. The national championship has been discontinued for the 2005 season, because of changes in Organized Play. Instead, 8 players will be regional champions only and will win the grand prize of MLB Season tickets to the team of his/her choice. There is no formal organized play since Showdown has been discontinued by Wizards of the Coast as of January 2006.
[edit] MLB Showdown Timeline
- Late 1980's: David Waxman is born in a congealed pool of ooze, stretching his legs and proclaiming that Kevin Stocker is a "mean 300 points". He vows to take over MLB Showdown but only gets as far as crying a lot after losing in various Nationals.
- Spring 2000: MLB Showdown is put on the market by Wizards of the Coast Inc at $2.99 per booster pack.
- August 2000: First Expansion set titled "Pennant Run" is released
- April 2nd 2001: Changes in the game are made to allow more baserunning choices in MLB Showdown's 2nd base set
- July 2001: First MLB Showdown National Championship Tourney is held in Seattle, WA, at the All-Star Game. Scott Forster, from St. Louis, MO, wins.
- July 2001: Most controverisial strategy card set is released in Pennant Run. Including "Mound Conference" and "Pep Talk", "1st Edition" cards are discontituned.
- April 29th, 2002: The most dramatic change in the game occurs when the 2002 set includes a revamped on-base format.
- July 2002: New Expansion called "Trading Deadline" is created.
- September 2002: "Super Season" cards are created, allowing managers to play with player with Stats from previous historic seasons in the "Pennant Run" expansion. Derek Lowe's card is released with a much lower point value than it should have originally been, leading fans of the game to flip a proverbial shit.
- October 6, 2002: MLB National Championship is held in Kansas City, MO. Gary Quinn, from DeKalb, IL, wins.
- March 7th 2003: New Base Set, The Icons are put onto Player cards to supplement gameplay.
- June 27th 2003: New rookie season cards let managers play with a card based on a Rookie of the Year winner's rookie season.
- August 29th 2003: In "Pennant Run", the Cooperstown Collection subset is created, allowing managers to play with classic Hall of Famers such as Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson.
- September 14th 2003: Randy Johnson hits the "shot heard round Raible".
- October 5, 2003: MLB National Championship in Cleveland, OH. Keith Pioro, from Florida, wins.
- March 26th 2004: New Base set introduced with gameplay changes of 25 man rosters. Player cards from the previous year are still playable.
- July 2004: Showdown hero Bobby Kielty hits a record 5 homers and goes 6-6 with 18 RBI in a 23-2 trouncing of Brian Jones.
- October 3, 2004: MLB Showdown Championship held in Chicago, IL. Terry Dugan, from Seattle, WA, wins.
- March 25th 2005: New Base set introduced with the biggest change being the elimination of the 1/5 bench point rule. Now all players cost full points. Also the way bullpen pitchers work was tweaked.
- January 8th 2006: Wizards announces the cancellation of MLB Showdown. Zach Leavitt senses the end is near and withdraws all troops from Moscow.
