I have to say, I don't like this round. The advantage seems to be that the newbies will have a more gentle introduction, but I would think that having them sit out is a bit of a turn-off. The disadvantage is that with only 2 duels, it's very easy to RNG lose 24 cards, which is nowhere near trivial.
However, I do like the Event card. I don't generally like RNG any more than it has to be, but I think it's a great idea, it would just be better with all 8 members playing, or if you want a more gentle start, 4 (the top 4 players tend to not be newbies anyway, as they have specific positions), or 6 (Gen+Lt. are most likely not newbies).