Tournament Types
Contents
Formats
Swiss
This tournament format allows for maximum play time for all players and is highly recommended for those tournaments where an entry fee is used. Swiss tournaments are perfect when the number of contestants is not a power of two (16, 32, 64, 128, etc.). Swiss tournaments are tournaments where every round, everybody plays. Each round, all players of the same score are matched. Winners against Winners, Losers against Losers. The reason Swiss tournaments are so great is that they are fair to all players. Everyone is able to play in each round for the whole tournament. You can still win the tournament even if you get off to a slow start.
The number of rounds that should be used in a Swiss tournament is calculated with the following formula: rounds = ⌈log2 players⌉.
Single Elimination
This tournament type requires that the number of participants be a power of two (16, 32, 64, 128, etc.). If you do not have a power of two then byes will have to be randomly given so that the number of players becomes a power of 2. This type of tournament brings with it a more intense and spectacular ending since spectators can see the two finalists as they battle it out.
Double Elimination
This tournament type is a lot of fun to play in, but sometimes may take a long time to administer. The way this format works is that each player continues to play until they lose twice. Once a player loses twice, they are eliminated. This format also makes for spectacular finales, especially if the final two players meet with clean records.
Mixed Swiss and Elimination
For many venues it may be advantageous to start the tournament as a Swiss Tournament for a number of rounds and move on to a Single Elimination tournament to complete the event.
Round Robin
In a Round Robin tournament, players will get the opportunity to play every other player at the tournament. This type of tournament is usually held when the number of players is low because the number of matches is one less than the number of participants.
Deck Restrictions
Standard
The standard deck restriction is the normal deck set out in the OverPower Legion rules.
- No proxy cards
- No "non-tournament legal cards"
- At least 51 cards in the deck, (if using Event Cards, minimum of 56 cards including the Event Cards)
- 4 Character Cards
- Complete set of 7 Mission Cards numbered 1 to 7
- One location designated as the Homebase (Optional)
- Either:
- Battlesite deck with matching Activators (plus a maximum of one Beyonder) in the deck and no Any Characters in the deck
- No Battlesite deck but allowed to have Any Character specials in the deck
Sealed Deck
Sealed Deck tournaments are rarely held today but used to be very popular in the past. At the beginning of the tournament, players are usually handed one unopened starter deck (Batman/Superman, Monumental, or Image -- Original OverPower starter decks are not recommended) and four unopened booster packs (from the same set). Players are then given 15 minutes to assemble a legal deck using the Standard rules.