Index -> Interface -> Tournaments Lobby -> Descriptions of Tournaments

Tournament Types

There are two major types of tournaments: Constructed and Limited. All tournament styles have timed games, using the same game clock you can choose to play with in a casual game.

Constructed tournaments require you to bring a deck to the tournament, composed of cards in your collection. The default type of Standard means that all cards are permitted.

Limited tournaments require you to bring unopened booster packs and/or starter decks, and players compete with decks made from the cards they open. Your general collection is not used in a Limited tournament (though cards you use in a Limited tournament join your general collection at the conclusion of the tournament). Limited tournaments have a Deck Building phase before the first round where players use the Limited Deck Builder to create their tournament decks. Most Limited tournaments are Sealed Deck (where you use an unopened starter deck and a number of booster packs).

Tournament Structure

A tournament's Structure tells players if they will be playing in Swiss or Single Elimination rounds during the tournament.

Swiss tournaments allow players to play every round during the event. At the beginning of each round, a player is paired with another player of similar win/loss records. For example: In the first round of a Swiss tournament the pairings will be completely random as all players have the same record. In the second round, winners will be paired with winners and losers will be paired with losers, and so on as each round progresses. Swiss tournaments with the proper number of rounds have a single undefeated player at the end of the tournament. A player is not eliminated from the event if they lose a game; he continues to play each round until all rounds of the tournament have completed.

Single Elimination tournaments have only one player left at the end of the tournament. In each round of play, if you lose your match, you are eliminated from the tournament. The tournament field will be cut in half each round until there is a single player remaining. If you lose your match, you are then free to enter other events.

Tournament Style

A tournament's style determines what it takes to defeat your opponent in any given match. Tournament style can be Single Game, Match Play, or a combination of the two.

Single Game tournaments are when a match is determined by a single game. When one player bests the other in that single game, the match is over.

Match Play tournaments are when a match is determined by a series of games where one player needs to win the majority to be declared the winner. In a best 2 of 3 Match Play event, the winner of the match will need to win two games. In a best 3 of 5 event, the winner of the match will need to win three times. As soon as one player has won enough games to win the match, the match is over. Once a game is completed, if the winner of the match has not been determined, the subsequent game will immediately start.

Cut to Top 8 tournaments are a hybrid type of event. Initial standings are determined with a series of Swiss rounds that identify the top 8 players. Once those players have been determined, they move on to a single elimination bracket tournament to determine the winner of the entire event. These tournaments are usually reserved for major events.

Sprint Tournaments

Sprint Tournaments are held on weeknights in the Tournament Lobby. Entrants in the tournament will receive Sprint points based on participation and number of wins. Cumulative rankings will be posted after each event on the Sprint Leaderboard.

On the last weekday of the month, the player with the most Sprint points on the Sprint Leaderboard will win a special Gold Sprint Winner Medal, displayed next to the winner's name in the game lobbies. Players who achieved the Silver level of Sprint points for the month will receive a Silver Sprint Winner Medal. Players who achieved the Bronze level of Sprint points for the month will receive a Bronze Sprint Winner Medal.

On the first weekday of the next month, all Sprint points and Sprint rankings will be reset, but Medal winners will keep their Medals. If they win subsequent Medals of the same color, a number will appear inside that Medal. For example, a three-time gold winner will have a gold Medal with the number "3" inside.

Types of Tournament Queues

Tournaments are either on-demand or scheduled events that appear on the Events Calendar.

On-Demand tournaments will start as soon as the player cap has been reached. When one event starts, the queue will re-open and more players can join the new queue. These events are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Scheduled tournaments are started by SOE Staff. These events are larger and have no player cap. They will be scheduled to run at a certain time, and any queue for them will be opened 30 minutes prior to the event's start time. You can find a list of upcoming scheduled tournaments in the Events Calendar.