Wizards of the Coast has announced another change to its Dungeons and Dragons Encounters organized play program, beginning with Season 17 in February.  The adventure Scourge of the Sword Coast will only be available from dndclassics.com as a digital download.
 
There was another major change in August, when the Murder in Baldur’s Gate campaign required game stores (or DMs) to purchase the book to run the in-store play program (see "Changes to 'D&D' Encounters").  Based on the solicitation material, it also appears that this new adventure will only support the D&D Next rules, which goes in direct contrast to comments made by Wizards’ CEO Greg Leeds, who earlier this year said The Sundering would be playable with 3.5, 4 or Next rules throughout (see "Interview: Greg Leeds on the Game Market and Wizards of the Coast").  As of December 15th, the Next rules are no longer available as a free download, though the solicitation states that the D&D Next rules will be available for download at dndclassics.com.  However, like the adventure, there is no information on what the rules will cost.
 
The D&D Encounters Scourge of the Sword Coast season begins in February with Launch Weekend on February 15- 16, with the season running from Wednesday February 19 - Wednesday May 7.  The Scourge of the Sword Coast kit will still contain materials for 20 participants: 20-sided dice with the season symbol, player maps, two packs of NPC cards, advertisement poster, poster map, and instruction document.
 
The Scourge of the Sword Coast adventure continues The Sundering storyline (see "Exclusive Interview on 'D&D: The Sundering,' Part 1") , and is connected to events in Ghost of Dragonspear Castle.  The plot pits adventurers against savage humanoids who have been raiding the countryside around Daggerford, which has caused a refugee buildup the town can’t handle.  It’s up to them to end the town’s plight.