Welcome! To liven up Susan's Koopa Trading Card Game, I have decided to host a tournament. The last tournament Susan ran didn't go over so well, but this one will have a weird twist which I hope will make members of the game interested.

Tournament results and standings are listed first. Rules and FAQ are below.
 

What's the twist?

In the last tournament, players used their own decks and won matches to advance through the levels. In this tournament you will again use your own deck, but there will be limitations on what can be in the deck, so that great strategy will be a must for winning.

What are the deck rules?

You will be fighting with an UNOFFICIAL deck. Since the deck is unofficial, you do not need to actually own the deck or any of the cards in it, and you can use cards of any rarity, even if you do not have enough Card Points to use the deck normally.

Every deck in this tournament will include exactly 3 Whomps. For the remaining 67 cards, you may use any Spells, Buildings, or Energies that you want, but you may not include any additional Minions of any kind. In this way, the winner will be the one who makes the most strategic placement and use of cards that will affect the way the game is played, rather than by using Minions with good stats.

What are the battle rules?

The battle will work nearly like a normal one, with a few exceptions.

Usually you shuffle your 70 cards and then draw 7 before the first turn. This time, you will automatically place the 3 Whomps in your starting hand. For your remaining four cards, you may pick any four cards in your deck and place them in your starting hand. After you have your seven cards, you will shuffle the rest of the deck and continue the battle as usual.

Each player in the battle will get thirteen turns, no more. The battle will end earlier if a player runs out of Whomps or cannot draw a card (in the latter case, count up land points). At the end of the battle, players will receive points in the following way:

- Points for HP of damage on opposing Whomps. If, after the last turn, the opposing Whomps hold a total of 140 damage, you earn 140 points. For any Whomp knocked out, count the 100 points that caused it to be knocked out. (max 300)

- 50 bonus points for each enemy Whomp knocked out. (max 150)

- 100 bonus points if you defeated your opponent before the hour is up. (100 or nothing)

- 20 points for each land you hold at the end of the game. (max 60)

- 50 bonus points for each land you are the only player to have ever had at least one Whomp in. (max 400)

- 10 points for each card you have on the board at the end of the game. (max 700)

After both players add up the points, the winner will be the one who received the most points. This player will automatically move on to the next round, but the loser shouldn't despair. More on that later...

When the points are added up, both players should Email the scores (theirs' as well as their opponent's). If I do not receive the results then, for all intents and purposes, the battle did not happen. If the results disagree, or if I only receive one set of results, I will try to get a set of agreed upon numbers. However, you should make sure before you leave the battle that you and your opponent agree on the results.

One other thing. Before you battle, but after you have decided when and where to battle, I would appreciate it if you would inform me of your battle plans. If I can, I would enjoy to watch the battles. This step is not required, but it also serves to ensure that both players attempted to arrange a battle in the event that one does not occur.

What's the prize?

If nothing else, the prize should make everyone interested. Here's the rundown.

Entry Prize: Just for entering the tournament, you will receive 10 coins!

Winner's Prize: For every battle you win in the tournament, you will receive an additional 10 coins. In some cases, the winner may be eligible to earn an additional 10 coins (explained later).

Advancing Prize: For every round in which you avoid elimination, you will receive 5 coins.

Second Place: In addition to the coins for entering and winning battles, the tournament's runner-up will receive five Rare cards of their choice.

First Place: In addition to the coins for entering and winning battles, the winner of the tournament will receive one free deck, courtesy of me. The prize can be redeemed at any time. The winner must have enough Card Points to actually be able to use the deck they ask for. Also, the winner will be given the option to battle me with their tournament deck (I'll also have a tournament deck), and will receive 100 coins should they win.

Please Note: You will receive coins for winning battles, but you WILL NOT receive Card Points, for winning or for losing. This is because players will be using unofficial decks, and in order to receive Card Points or Lord Badges both players must be using official decks.

Who is eligible to compete in the tournament?

Anyone listed on the members page for the KTCG is eligible to play, except myself. If you want to compete in the tournament but are not listed on the members page, you will need to sign up there before you sign up here.

How does the tournament work?

The tournament will start in the first full week in June, with battles taking place each week. I will take the name of everyone who signed up and randomly assign players to battle each other. After each battle, players should Email me their score, and whether they won or lost. After all scores are in, one player will be eliminated from the tournament, the one who earned the fewest points. All other players will advance to the next round. Thus, even if you lost your battle, you could still move on to the next round if you earned more points than another player.

Players who lose battles but avoid elimination will have to be careful, however. In rounds past the first, the player who has earned the fewest points overall will be eliminated. So, a player who does poorly in round one will need to do well in round two to make up the deficit and remain in the game.

In the case of a tie between players who stand to be eliminated, I will select which one may continue based on how they fared against their opponents. The player that came closest to winning, even though they lost, will be allowed to continue.

In some rounds, an odd number of players will require me to give someone a by. A by means that the player will not battle at all in that round, and will instead skip right to the next one. When a by is necessary, it will be given to the player who earned the most points in the previous round. Should there be a tie, the winner will be the player that beat their opponent by the most. If there is not a by, the leading player will instead win an extra 10 coins.

The tournament layout will look something like this:
 
 

And so on. The real results table will include each player's name and the scores. The table will be expanded as needed, if there are more than eight players signed up.

How do I sign up?

Email me your name, and include the deck that you intend to make. If the deck is acceptable (meaning it has exactly three Whomps and no other Minions), and if you are listed on the KTCG members page, you will be accepted into the tournament. You may change your deck during the tournament, but you must check with me so I can see if it is acceptable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I will be going away for a few weeks during the summer. Does that mean I can't join the tournament?

A: No, you can still join! Players will be allowed to go on hold if they expect to go on vacation or be extremely busy for a week. Hold requests must be sent to me before the Monday of the week you intend to go on hold. Once I post the new week's battle schedule, hold requests will not be honored. In this way you have a chance to go on hold, but you can't knowingly dodge a strong player since you must ask to go on hold before you know who you'll be battling.

Players may only go on hold for so many weeks, namely, half the number of players who joined the tournament, rounded down. In other words, if nine players join the tournament, you may opt to go on hold for no more than four weeks. If you are away or busy for longer than that, you will need to find a replacement. This person may battle in your name while you are unable to. Your replacement must be a member of the Koopa Trading Card Game, and may not be an active (still competing) member of the tournament. Tournament players who have already been eliminated may act as a replacement. It will be between you and your replacement as to how the prizes earned are distributed.

To make your replacement official, you need to Email me the name and Email address of the person you wish to be your replacement. As long as this person is a member of the Koopa Trading Card Game, and is not an active member of the tournament, your application will be approved. Hopefully your replacement will have agreed to help you, but that won't effect my decision. When you wish to battle for yourself again, you will need to Email me and say so.

Players who have earned an automatic by for earning the highest score in a round do not use up one of their holds. There is no bonus for leaving holds unused.

Q: What happens if, while I'm on hold, my average score becomes/remains the lowest?

A: This is possible, and it will result in elimination. While you are on hold, you are still an active member of the tournament, only exempt from the week's battle. Therefore, you should be wary of going on hold if you are in last place or think you could fall into last place. Even if you have holds still available to you, you may want to consider finding a replacement anyway. Yes, you will be eliminated if your replacement plays poorly and causes your average score to drop too far.

Players who have earned an automatic by cannot be eliminated, even if their average score becomes/remains the lowest during the round of their by. It IS possible, though unlikely, for a player to receive the highest score in a round, and still be eliminated for having the lowest average score. Needless to say, an eliminated player cannot earn a by. If a by is neccessary, it will be given to the player who earned the second highest score in the previous round.

Q: I am a replacement. Can I go on hold? Can I change the deck I'm using? Can I name another replacement?

A: Replacements follow the same rules as everyone else, so yes, they may go on hold (assuming they have a hold available), change their deck by Emailing me a new, acceptable one, and name another replacement. The only difference is that any prizes earned go to the player the replacement is working for, even if the replacement has done all the battling.

Q: I Emailed my opponent about setting up a battle time, but I didn't get a response. What should I do?

A: If a day has passed since you sent the Email, you should send another. It is very possible that the first Email was not received, deleted by accident, or buried somehow. If a second day passes and there is still no reply, you should continue to send an Email daily, but also send a copy of your Emails to me. In this way, I will know that you attempted to battle, and you will not be penalized if you are unable to do so. If the battle does not take place, you will be given a by and moved to the next round. As for your no-show opponent, they will be allowed to continue as well - if they don't have the lowest average score after suffering a 50 point deduction.

Q: I meant to battle, but at the last minute something came up. What happens now?

A: If you miss a battle, the first thing you should do is Email your opponent and try to reschedule. If this doesn't work, you will need to Email me and explain what happened. If, in my opinion, the schedule conflict was unavoidable (injury, parent wants the computer, etc.), your excuse will be accepted and you will receive a by (as will your opponent, who is not at fault). However, if your excuse could, in my opinion, have been avoided (TV show, detention, etc.), or if you just forgot, you will be penalized the 50 point deduction towards your average score.

Q: How can I quit?

A: While I don't approve of quitting, I would rather you quit officially rather than disappear and repeatedly suffer 50 point deductions until you are finally eliminated. If you no longer wish to compete in the tournament, please have the courtesy to Email me and tell me so. This way, players don't have to be given bys for being paired up with a no-show.

Q: I want to get some practice in before the tournament. How can I get some?

A: Just Email me and I'll be happy to have a practice battle with you. This is a great way to develop your tournament deck to the fullest, as well as to become fully confident with the tournament rules.

Q: I'm so far (behind/ahead) that I know I (will/will not) be eliminated. Should I even try in my next battle?

A: One point that I can't emphasize enough is that you should never make assumptions.

Just because you're behind doesn't mean you're out. You shouldn't be moping about how poorly you've done; what you should be doing is trying to figure out is what you can do to make yourself stronger. What was wrong with your deck, or the way that you used it? Did you not get the energy you needed? Did those Spell cards not work the way you thought? Mentally replay the battle, and see where things went wrong. Also, you should note that "bad luck" and "the opponent is too good" are not excuses. If you have bad luck, meaning you have to flip a lot of coins and just got tails, that's a known risk of using chancy cards, and you must either accept that risk or look for more definite cards. As for the opponent is too good, you'd be good too if you had a great deck.

Remember that going into battle with the right deck, and the right choice for starting hand, is at least as important, if not more so, as playing a good battle. While a good deck won't win you the battle if you play poorly, a bad deck could lose you the battle even if you play well.

One other thing to consider, if you're behind. While I hope this doesn't happen, it is possible that another player in the tournament will quit. If a player quits, no one will be eliminated (this way, if eight people sign up, the tournament will be seven weeks long, even if some people quit). So, if a player quits, you'll have two battles in which to try to catch up, instead of one. Never count yourself out!

Now for you, the player way out in front. It is true that the next battle could be relatively unimportant. However, remember that you are competing against all the players in the tournament, not just the one way back in last place. While you may advance to the next round even if you have a terrible performance (because of your huge lead over last place), remember that you will then need to advance to the next round after that. You should play every battle as if it really counts, and try to keep your average points as high as possible. If nothing else, the ten coin prize for winning your battle should be enough to make you want to try your best, I hope!

Q. My opponent is creaming me. Can I forfeit?

A. No. Forfeiting is not allowed because it messes up the point system. If you forfeit after only seven turns, your opponent (as well as you) will have less time to gain points by causing damage, laying down cards, etc. Therefore, if you forfeit, it will count as though you were a no-show; your opponent will receive a by, and your average score will be reduced by 50 points.

Q. I gotta leave, but the battle is not over. Can we finish it at another time?

A. Yes. Both you and your opponent will need to save the board position and not shuffle your decks. Make sure your opponent knows you wish to continue the battle and are not forfeiting, and try to set up a time for the next part before you leave. If the next part of the battle never takes place, I will need to see the reasons why it never took place, and also the reasons why the battle had to be suspended in the first place, before I can determine who, if anyone, is at fault.

Q. Where can we battle?

A. Your best choice is probably to battle in Lemmy's Land's Java chatroom. The room is fast and has a lot of nice features, including one which allows you to create a subroom ("/create room_name password", then "/join room_name password"). The subroom feature makes it so that no one can see your battle, and your strategy. Both you and your opponent must have Java to be able to use this chatroom; however, there is a link so you can download Java if you don't already have it. Just click that link, follow the download instructions, and reboot when the computer says to.

Another good choice is to battle on Instant Messenger, or some other instant messenging service. This will also be fast and private, but you may be hindered throughout the battle if members on your buddy list try to talk to you.

If you don't have Java and can't download it for some reason, you can use Lemmy's Land's Beseen chatroom, which does not require Java. However, new posts load much more slowly here, which will make the battle drag out. In addition, there is no privacy, so anybody could walk in and view the battle, or try to strike up a (distracting) conversation.

Other than that, any location that is agreeable to both you and your opponent is fine with me. If you intend to use the Lemmy's Land chatrooms, I suggest you bookmark the login page before the battle, so that you can get there even if the server goes down or something.

Q: If my opponent knocks out my Whomp, and then I get it back into play (by using a Reverse Mushroom or other useful Spell card), does my opponent get points for killing it?

A: Let's look at how it works. You get points for the damage on the Whomps at the end of the battle. If you use a Mushroom to remove 20 damage, then your opponent gets 20 less points. When you bring your Whomp back into play, you have effectively removed 100 points of damage, so those points are lost to your opponent. Similarly, your opponent loses the 50 point bonus for a knocked out Whomp, since the Whomp is no longer knocked out.

However, if the Whomp ends up stuck in your deck somewhere, or if you leave it in your hand and don't play it, the points are not recovered. The previously knocked out Whomp must be back on the board for the points to be removed from your opponent.

Q: Is it too late to join?

A: Yes, now it is. Sorry, but you can no longer join the tournament.

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email Lemmy!
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