This doesn't apply to me, but the -1 reduction for participating in trials of an element you were not on the team of during the previous war doesn't make much sense to me, since there are a decent number of players that were drafted to teams that they didn't necessarily want to be a part of.
The rules have been changed to remove this reduction. Thank you all for your feedback regarding this, and if you feel like there are any other bad rules, please feel free to suggest changes.
ftr, the reason we went through with this penalty was because we believed that 1 final battle upgrade wouldn't amount to much. But I suppose it was unfair. Hopefully the new rules will be a better reflection of a player's deserved merit from War.
Will there be a Grandmaster battle if I win the Trials of Fire?
As Vange said; if deuce manages to defend
and you win Trials of Fire, there will be a Grandmaster battle. If either of you loses Trials, the Grandmaster title will go to the other. If both of you fail to win, there might be no Grandmaster for a while; TrOs will provide a ruling if that matter comes to pass.