Fantasy Flight Games has announced plans for a new tournament level for organized play: the 2014 Store Championships.  The tournament season will run from February through March.
 
The new "premier tier" format is being added as FFG reduces the number of Regional tournaments that it runs.  Store Championships will allow local stores to host a "high level" event that is below a Regional Championship tournament, but bigger than the normal tournaments supported by FFG’s “standard 2014 tournament kits.”  
 
Stores hosting successful Store Championship events will be considered as candidates to host one of the Regional Championship events later in the year.  The six games available for Store Championships are A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, Android: Netrunner The Card Game, Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, Star Wars: The Card Game, Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game, and X-Wing.  Applications for this format are due by November 15th, 2013.
 
Each event kit contains exclusive prizes, and FFG says they are a step up from their standard 2014 tournament kits, as they include prizes for the champion, finalists, Top 4, and participation prizes for up to 32 players.
 
The living card game kits feature a championship plaque and deck box for the winner, a deck box for the runner up, four custom "Top 4" playmats for the top four participants, as well as 32 alternate art cards with full-bleed graphic design as participation prizes.  (The kit will also contain an extra copy of the "Top 4" prize intended for the tournament organizer, or to be used as an additional prize.)
 
The X-Wing kit will include a championship plaque and card box for the winner, a card box for the runner up, four acrylic range rulers for the top 4 players, and 32 Ten Numb ship cards featuring movie still art as participation prizes.
 
This format is different from FFG’s Game Nights (see "FFG's Season 3 Game Night Kits").  For more information on FFG’s Organized Play strategy, see "Fantasy Flight's Organized Play Explained."