If you've ever playered the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game at your local hobby store, you may be familiar with the Battlegrounds program. Basically, you compete to become the store's Battleground Master and win prizes, such as Extended Art promo cards and an exclusive playmat. Well, Upper Deck just announced today they're adding an Achievements system to the TCG Battlegrounds program.

Much like in-game achievements, this new system gives you a list of tasks to complete every kit cycle, which lasts four weeks. You'll get new achievements to complete every kit cycle, such as "play 5 games" or "win a game with each of the five horde races." For every 200 points you earn, you'll get a Badge of Justice and an ally token.

You can read the full announcement regarding the TCG Achievements system below.

Carlsbad, CA (July 13, 2009) — Upper Deck Entertainment is pleased to announce the new Achievements system for its hobby-exclusive “Battlegrounds” program. Starting this month at hobby stores worldwide, players participating in the World of Warcraft® Trading Card Game Battlegrounds program will now be able to earn new rewards by virtue of completing tasks. In addition, players will earn Badges of Justice and ally Tokens rewards as well as tally “Achievement” points on their way to becoming their store’s “Battlegrounds Master.”

Although the WoW TCG Battlegrounds’ format has been in place for more than three years, Upper Deck is taking this opportunity to improve the hobby-exclusive program. There is a new list of Achievements that will be released every kit cycle; this is designed to keep the play experiences fresh for players. For every 200 points players earn via the Achievements system, they will be rewarded with a Badge of Justice and an ally Token. Similar to the Extended Art promo cards, the ally Tokens will also change for each kit cycle. This is all above and beyond the weekly Battlegrounds tournaments where Extended Art promo cards are given away as prizes. And since each kit provides four consistent weeks’ worth of support for the Battlegrounds program, hobby stores will be crowning their respective Battlegrounds Masters (and awarding exclusive playmats) at the end of each kit’s cycle.

“The new Achievements aspect is something that will no doubt keep players coming back for more,” said Ben Drago, Upper Deck Entertainment’s manager of Organized Play. “This spells a win-win situation for store owners as well as WoW players as everybody will come out ahead.”
 
Considered the most popular level of World of Warcraft TCG Organized Play events, the Battlegrounds program offers a great way to simply find a game and participate in your local gaming community. Every week, top finishers will receive Extended Art Cards that can’t be found anywhere else, with overall winners walking away with the new class deck box to boot!

For more information about Upper Deck World of Warcraft® TCG products, visit www.WoWTCG.com. Store owners wanting more information about any of Upper Deck Entertainment’s Organized Play programs, should contact hobbygaming@upperdeck.com.