Please consider the following proposal of rules and format of oEtG PvP tournaments. Suggestions and feedback are welcome. Up-to-date tourney rules will exist in the current tournament rules. Tournaments are currently being offered in an asynchronous format. Instead of having to show up at one time (usually not convenient for everyone), players may arrange duels over a multi-day period, therefore increasing the chance of finding a suitable time to duel.
Spoiler for Rules summary:
Match and Round Format
Each match is best-of-5 unless specified otherwise by tournament rules
Round formats scale to participant pool size:
please see non-spoilered section of this post for more details.
Breaking ties
In the following order
1. Player with better head-to-head record
2. If still tied, player with best Win-Loss stats (9-3 beats 9-5)
3. If still tied, we go to combined Win-Loss stats of tied players' opponents (strength of schedule)
Posting decks after tournament
After the tournament is over in full, please post your decks to the forum to the tournament thread.
Illegal Decks
Players should do their best to prepare decks in advance, understand the rules, and keep track of their card usage as the match progresses. However, mistakes can still occur. If you notice that you played an illegal deck, tell your opponent. If you lost the game to begin with, the loss remains. If you won the game with an illegal deck, your opponent now takes the win unless they also played an illegal deck. When both players play illegal decks, the game is voided; replay with legal decks.
Illegal decks that are found after the tournament is over will be handled in the following way: example - Player A wins their match vs. Player B 3-0. Neither player notices that Player A's game 3 deck was illegal. The Tournament host notices after the event and will change the result to 2-1. No playing of G4 or G5 after the tournament ends. It's best if both players keep an eye out for illegal decks during the match to avoid this situation; even better to prepare well and avoid illegal decks.
Time between games; interrupted play; inactivity
1. The default time limit in between games is 5 minutes unless otherwise agreed upon by both players. If Player A notices Player B is repeatedly taking longer than 5 minutes, Player A should remind Player B of the time limit and ask if there's a particular reason they need more time. Some in between 'thinking' and 'adjustment' is absolutely fine. Spending 15 minutes mid-match to design a new deck is excessive. Study and prepare in advance, not during the exam!
2. Interrupted play - If you need to suddenly leave due to real life circumstances, please communicate this clearly to your opponent; make every effort to reschedule again. If you are not able to connect again before the match deadline, your remaining games to be played will be forfeited; your opponent claims the wins due to your inactivity.
3. Inactivity - Obviously, dropping out of an event after it has started is not ideal. It affects your opponents and the event overall. Still, it can be hard to avoid real life issues. Do your best to communicate your upcoming withdrawal as soon as you can with the event host and any players you have outstanding matches with. If there is a reasonable chance for you to complete your matches, even if it means poor preparation and performance on your end, please do so. Avoiding playing simply to avoid losing results is poor sportsmanship.
4. When a player does drop out or is withdrawn mid-event, both completed match results and matches not played are voided.
5. Match(es) not played - if two players are unable to complete a match, the tourney host will ask for evidence of communication/availability. If one player was clearly more active in this sense, they will earn an 'activity win'. If there was no disparity of effort or little effort for both players, the match will be voided.
Questions/problems/need help?
Refer such questions to the tournament host or non-participant arbiter/admin.
General Info on PvP
PvP Integrity
1. Strive for good sportsmanship at all times
2. Many issues can be resolved and discussed before "accepting turn". For example, if you speedbuilt a deck and didn't change the mark code, ask your opponent if you can fix the deck mark and replay before you accept your turn. If you continue on with the game, it is up to the other player to decide if they will replay or not. Do not pressure them into a replay. It is you who made a careless mistake and also didn't notice the error until too late. Additionally, if your opponent notices an issue before 'accepting turn', it is most sportsmanlike to allow them to fix the issue and replay.
3. Players may copy the 'replay' code of a game for 'viewing' later on in openEtG's custom section. To maintain PvP integrity, please use the replay only as a reference for game issues (i.e. one player disconnected) and to analyze your own game later. Players should strive to do their own work. Their decks should be self-built. Players are welcome to gain insight from the community (forums, discussions, asking questions, etc.) but should refrain from simply copying another player's deckcode mid-match. If you like your opponent's strategy G1, for example, you are welcome to speedbuild a deck like that for G2. Make sure it is your own work though.
PvP Issues
1. Stuck Screens: Sometimes players enter a pvp duel and cannot accept their turn. It looks like one is "stuck" on that screen with the only option to press the resign button. Confirm with your opponent this is happening ("Are you thinking or are we stuck?"); then both players should agree to should relog into openEtG and replay. To help avoid this issue, before starting any PvP match, both players should relog and test dummy decks to ensure they can connect.
2. Deck not loaded properly: Another common problem is a player will enter a pvp duel and they notice their newly chosen deck is not loaded and instead their last played deck is loaded and active. In these cases, let your opponent know and ask if it is okay for a replay before accepting your turn and playing any cards. This issue happens when your opponent sends you a duel invite, and you accept while you are still in the deck editing screen. Technically, you need to exit the deck editing screen and then accept the invite.
3. Lost connection/power: There are times where players lose internet connection to the game, lose power, etc. Players should take a screen shot and save the game replay. Both players then should discuss if they should replay or if it was very clear one player was going to win. When they are unable to decide, they may ask for a non-participating tournament host or non-playing arbiter to help decide. If both players feel comfortable with a replay, proceed.
4. Weird things happening on the screen: Take a screenshot when you see something odd happen. There can be some game bugs. Let the event host know about the issue. If it appears you can play the game through to the end, please do so and save a replay. If you believe the issue could have affected the match result, let both your opponent and the event host know.
Tournaments with 5-7 participants Format:1 Round
Round robin
Participants duel each other once at any time and in any order
Timeline: ~9 days to complete all matches
Rewards:1st Place: 10000 Gold + Shiny Nymph Code + Mark Code
2nd Place: 7000 Gold + Shiny Nymph Code
3rd Place: 4000 Gold
Participant: 2000 Gold
Tournaments with 8-12 participants Format:3 Rounds
-----Round 1: two round robin groups (A/B). Top two from each group advance to Round 2.
-----Round 2: 1st rank from Group A faces 2nd rank from Group B. 1st rank from Group B faces 1st rank from Group A.
-----Round 3: Winners of Round 2 play for 1st and 2nd place. Losers of Round 2 play for 3rd and 4th place.
Timeline: R1 – 5 days
R2 – 2 days
R3 – 2 days
Rewards: 1st Place: 15000 Gold + Shiny Nymph Code + Mark Code
2nd Place: 12000 Gold + Shiny Nymph Code
3rd Place: 10000 Gold
4th Place: 8000 gold
Participant: 2000 gold
Tournaments with 13-24 participants Format:4 Rounds
-----Round 1: four round robin groups (A/B/C/D). Top two from each group advance to Round 2.
-----Round 2: 1st ranked players from groups play 2nd ranked players from a different group than their R1
-----Round 3: Winners of round 2 duel. Match pairings will be determined by overall W/L stats. 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs. 3rd
-----Round 4: Winners of Round 3 play for 1st and 2nd place. Losers of Round 3 play for 3rd and 4th place.
Timeline: R1 – 5 days
R2 – 2 days
R3 – 2 days
R4 – 2 days
Rewards:1st Place: 20000 Gold + Shiny Nymph Code + Mark Code
2nd Place: 15000 Gold + Shiny Nymph Code
3rd Place: 12000 Gold
4th Place: 10000 gold
Participant: 2000 gold