There's a lot to know about WER, and not all of it is obvious. But the more familiar you are with the software, the less likely you are to run into headaches.

Here are just a few things that could spare you some trouble:

1. Stores Don't Have DCI numbers

It's all too common to find every organizer at a store logging into WER with the same credentials, under the assumption that those credentials belong to the store.

In reality, stores don't have DCI numbers or Wizards accounts. Individual organizers have their accounts "attached" to the store. If you don't have your account attached, you don't have WER access.

Which is a problem, since it can lead to some sticky accountability issues.

Best to leave the "Remember Me" button unchecked.

2. Hitting "Enrollment Complete" will start the event

This tends to come up at Prerelease: if you hit "Enrollment Complete" before midnight, WER thinks you started the event a day early. Hence: error messages, phone calls, other painful experiences.

But you can enter players as early as you like.

Just wait until after midnight to hit "Enrollment Complete."

3. Players Only Count if They Complete One Round

This matters when you're chasing that big event you need to make Advanced level (thirty-two players) or Advanced Plus (fifty players).

But the biggest implications are at Prerelease: when players drop before round one, that lowers the event's total player count. Which could lower your Prerelease allocation for future sets.

All the more reason to do whatever you can to keep players engaged for the whole thing.

4. Your Information Goes Directly into Our Store and Event Locator

When you're filling out event information—format, date, etc.—all that goes straight into the store locator.

That's why it's important to schedule events early. A huge number of players use our store and event locator every single day, and the more exposure you get, the better.

And be as specific as you can. Add the precise start time in the "Event Information" field and try to pick a specific format (like Commander) for Casual FNM.

5. Almost Anything Can Be a Casual Event

You don't have to wait for that eighth player to show, and you don't have to follow the rules of a Ranked format. Almost anything goes with Casual events.

If you've got two people in the store playing Magic, that's a Casual event. Sanction away!

By Matt Neubert