Credits to
Team Darkness of
Brawl #1 and
Absol, its Forum Expert, for writing this article.
The Path to Victory: A Tournament Primer
Weekly Tournaments are a staple of Elements Community's selection of PvP Events, and they offer players a chance to hone their PvP skills in different metagames each week, while also competing for prizes like trophies and reward codes. To ensure a fun and frustration-free experience for all participants, there are a few simple things for players to remember to do.
Before the TournamentMeet the 10 post minimum.This rule isn't here to scare people away or make people do unnecessary work before being allowed to play in the tournament. Rather, it exists to encourage players to introduce themselves to the community and get acquainted with how the forum works first, instead of just diving into a tournament and not knowing how to do basic things like posting in a thread or editing posts.
If people continually ask questions that are not tournament-specific ("How do I make a post?" "Where am I supposed to post?" "Why can't I pick a forum avatar?" "Can someone link me to such-and-such thread?" etc.) while the tournament is in progress, it disrupts the flow of the tournament. This means that the Tournament Organizers will have less time to do things that keep the tournament running smoothly like update brackets, resolve player disputes, or answer questions that are relevant to the tournament itself.
Make quality posts to get to the 10 post minimum.At first, making 10 posts seems like a lot, but it really isn't. Trying to pad your post count with low-quality posts and spam won't help you get into the tournament. In fact, it will likely force you to sit out of the tournament for that week -- even if you have already 'reached' 10 posts before the appropriate forum moderators delete the spam and low-quality posts -- as the Tournament Organizers will check for spam and low-quality posts in your post history.
What defines a post as being spam or of low quality? Making a whole bunch of very short posts over a very short period of time usually fits the description. For the most part, one-sentence posts are low quality. Saying "I like it," "good card," and other similar phrases (essentially giving an opinion without supporting the argument with reasoning) are low-quality posts. Posting the same message in multiple threads in the
Introduce Yourself subforum like an automated message robot is spamming.
How do we make good-quality posts? It's quite simple, really. Make sure that opinions and statements are supported with reasoning and facts. Make your posts easy to understand by using proper spelling and grammar (that means proper use of capitalization, punctuation, and no chatspeak). This is a forum, and not an instant messaging chatroom. You have all the time in the world to make your posts, so use that to your advantage and make it easier for people to read what you're trying to say.
Read the tournament rules.There are two threads of tournament rules; both threads are mandatory reading for all participants. First, there is the
main tournament rules thread with a basic outline of rules that are in effect for every single tournament. There are also individual tournament threads for each week that detail any special rules for that particular week's tournament. In the individual tournament threads, there is a list of Frequently Asked Questions which contains answers to many of the questions players may have about the rules. Carefully reading both threads will ensure that everyone knows what's going on during the tournament itself and help the tournament run smoothly.
Ask any questions you may have in the week's tournament thread before the tournament begins.The tournament rules threads and FAQ for each week generally do a good job of answering most questions that inevitably come up, but if you have any other questions and concerns about the tournament for that week, don't hesitate to post it in the thread. Chances are, if one person is really confused about a particular part of the tournament rules, there are others in the same situation. Don't hesitate to ask, as the Tournament Organizers are there to help clear up any confusion about the rules.
Build your decks.If the tournament is not a speedbuilding or preset deck tournament, make sure that you have a few decks ready before the tournament starts. Building decks when the tournament is happening and another player is waiting to play against you can potentially disrupt the flow of the tournament. Ensure that your decks are legal according to the week's special tournament rules, as playing illegal decks counts as an auto-forfeit.
Do not discuss the tournament metagame in public forums or chat until after the tournament is complete.Creative deckbuilding is a big part of tournaments. Please make sure that everyone has a chance to enjoy the deckbuilding process.
During the TournamentDo not harass the Tournament Organizers.Yes, the Tournament Organizers know that you are excited to play in the tournament. Give them some time to do the general tournament setup things like making brackets. Repeatedly asking "where are the brackets?" will not get them released any faster.
Use private messages to communicate with your opponents.Using the PM system to communicate with your opponents will prevent the tournament chat from being clogged up with posts that are not directly relevant to other players.
Learn how to do that here.Know what to do in case of desynchs or disconnects.Take a screenshot of the game when the desynch symbol or disconnect message appears. Then, decide with your opponent whether the two of you should replay with the same decks, or play against the AI. The former is usually easier if the game hasn't progressed too far along. If playing against the AI, if both of you win or both of you lose, replay with the same decks. If one player wins against the AI and the other player loses against the AI, then the player who won against the AI wins the game. Be sure to take screenshots of the moment of desynch/disconnect, and a play-against-the-AI win screen, and be prepared to upload them to image sharing sites like imgur.com to present as evidence to the Tournament Organizers in case of disputes.
Know that leaving the game by any means is an automatic game loss.Accidentally going to another page, closing the game window, power failures, batteries running out, elephants crushing your computer, or other crazy things could potentially happen during your games. All those situations still mean that whoever exited the game receives a game loss.
In case of disputes with other players, provide evidence and present it to the Tournament Organizers.For situations like playing banned cards or having an illegal deck, take a screenshot of the banned cards being played directly from the hand. Some rulesets may allow banned cards to be spawned from the allowed cards, while others may not. Be prepared to send these screenshots to the Tournament Organizers as evidence when they are trying to settle the dispute with all parties involved.
5th/6th place matches begin after all Top 8 matches have finished.For anyone who loses their Top 8 (Quarterfinals) matches, there is a mini-tournament to determine the winners of the 5th and 6th place prizes. Players eligible for the mini-tournament who leave the Tournament Room before the mini-tournament brackets have been finalized are considered to have forfeited their chance at winning those prizes.
