Changed: Tiers (2.3)

Old:

Divisions (2.2) are grouped into tiers. The Dominion League has 11 tiers, identified by letters A through K.

2.3.1. Tiers A through E always have exactly 1, 2, 4, 4, and 8 divisions respectively.

2.3.2. Tiers F and below usually have at least 8 divisions. Moderator discretion will be used to balance the distribution of players and divisions within these tiers.

2.3.3. The moderators may make exceptions to these tier count rules to account for probable changes in the size of the League.

New:

Divisions (2.2) are grouped into tiers. The Dominion League has 11 tiers, identified by letters A through K.

2.3.1. Tiers A through C always have exactly 1, 2, and 4 divisions respectively.

2.3.2. Tiers D and E have a minimum of 4 divisions each.

2.3.3. Tiers F through K have a minimum of 6 divisions each. If there are not enough players to meet this requirement, tiers will be eliminated as necessary.

2.3.4. A tier can have no more than twice as many divisions as the tier above it. If there are too many players to meet this requirement, tiers will be added as necessary.

2.3.5. Excluding the bottom tier, a tier must have at least as many divisions as the tier above it, minus one.

Changed: Table settings reference (4.6.3)

4.6.3. Options for increasing the frequency of recent card releases (e.g. “Extra 2nd Edition” or “Extra Plunder”) should be off.

Changed: Promotions and demotions (5.3)

Old:

5.3.2. If the tier directly above yours has fewer divisions than your tier, you promote by finishing in first place.

5.3.3. If the tier directly above yours has roughly the same number of divisions as your tier, you promote by finishing in first or second place.

New:

5.3.2. If your tier has at least 1.5 times as many divisions as the tier directly above yours, you promote by finishing in first place. Additionally, if promoting two players from each division in your tier would cause the tier above it to exceed its maximum size (see 2.3.1 and 2.3.4), you promote by finishing in first place. Otherwise, you promote by finishing in first or second place.

Changed: Tiers (2.3)

Old:

The divisions are grouped into tiers. The number of tiers depends on the number of divisions.

2.3.1. There is a single division in tier A. Starting with tier B, the maximum number of divisions in a tier is twice the maximum of the tier above it, except every third tier which has the same maximum number as the one above it.

2.3.2. The lowest tier has the same maximum number of divisions as the one above it. This rule overrides 2.3.1.

2.3.3. The combination of 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 results in the following maximum division counts based on the number of tiers:

• 6 tiers (A-F): 1-2-4-4-8-8
• 7 tiers (A-G): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16
• 8 tiers (A-H): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16-16
• 9 tiers (A-I): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16-32-32
• 10 tiers (A-J): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16-32-64-64

2.3.4. Tiers A through D always have the maximum number of divisions. The moderators at their discretion may choose to have fewer than the maximum number of divisions in tiers E and below.

2.3.5. The moderators may make exceptions to these tier count rules to account for probable changes in the size of the League.

New:

Divisions (2.2) are grouped into tiers. The Dominion League has 11 tiers, identified by letters A through K.

2.3.1. Tiers A through E always have exactly 1, 2, 4, 4, and 8 divisions respectively.

2.3.2. Tiers F and below usually have at least 8 divisions. Moderator discretion will be used to balance the distribution of players and divisions within these tiers.

2.3.3. The moderators may make exceptions to these tier count rules to account for probable changes in the size of the League.

Changed: Suspending games (4.11)

If you or your opponent have connection issues, or otherwise cannot continue a game (e.g. due to time constraints), you should suspend the game. Note the game ID, then resign the game. Resigning in this situation will not be considered a loss, and is necessary to ensure the server considers the game completed, as an in-progress game cannot be loaded at a new table. Whenever possible, resign the game before refreshing the website, as you may lose the ability to resign it after refreshing. If you get stuck on the login page, use the “Kick & Resign” button. Use the Load Old Game button to reload the same game another time.

Changed: Abandoning games (4.12)

In the rare event of a game which must be abandoned, you should play a new game in its place. Abandoned games do not count toward match completion or match score.

4.12.1. If you or your opponent have connection issues or otherwise cannot continue a game, you should suspend the game (see 4.11) and reload the same game it another time. If the game can’t be reloaded (e.g. due to an internal error or impassable bug), you should abandon the game.

Changed: Difficulty scheduling (6.4)

If you have any scheduling issues, or if your opponent does not show up for a scheduled match, please inform your moderator.

6.4.1. If you are going to be unavailable for a significant chunk of time during the season, make a post in your division channel explaining the situation and tagging your division and your moderator.

6.4.2. If you are going to be late to a scheduled match, or need to reschedule, inform your opponent as soon as possible.

6.4.3. If your opponent is 15 minutes late to a scheduled match, fails to show up at all, or cancels at the last minute, inform your moderator.

6.4.4. Players who are repeatedly in violation of 6.4.2 may be warned or suspended per 7.2.

Changed: Suspensions (7.2)

7.2.3. Other types of misconduct (see 3.6 and 6.4.4) will be subject to a warning or suspension per discretion of the moderator team.

Added: Championship match (5.7.1)

5.7.1. The Championship Match uses the same rules as a standard League match (4), except that starting player in the first game is whichever player is in first place. In the case of an unbroken tie, starting player in the first game is chosen randomly.

Changed: Hiatus (1.4)

Old:

You retain your tier placement, space permitting (see 2.4 and 2.5), during a short break of up to 2 consecutive seasons. If you rejoin after a longer break of 3 or more consecutive seasons, you will be placed as a new player.

1.4.1. For players taking a break starting during Season 53 or earlier, a short break is up to 5 consecutive seasons.

New:

Depending on the number of seasons since you last participated in the League, you may retain your previous tier placement, or you may be placed as a new player. See Tier Placement (2.4) and Flex Divisions (2.5) for details.

1.4.1. A short break is a break of up to 2 consecutive seasons.

1.4.2. A medium break is a break of between 3 and 5 consecutive seasons.

1.4.3. A long break is a break of 6 or more consecutive seasons.

Changed: Pacing (2.1)

Old:

Each season lasts 6 weeks, and most are followed by a 2-week break. Once per year there is a longer 6-week break for the Shuffle iT Championship tournament in September.

New:

Each season lasts 6 weeks. Breaks between seasons alternate between 2 and 3 weeks. The September break is 4 weeks instead of 3 due to the Shuffle iT Championship tournament.

Changed: Tier Placement (2.4)

2.4.2. Players returning to the League after a short break (1.4.1) are placed into the tier they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that who played most recently, and with ties broken by seeding (2.6). If there is insufficient space in a tier to accommodate players returning from a short break, one or more flex divisions (2.5) will be created.

2.4.3. Players returning to the League after a medium break are placed into the tier they would have most recently returned to, or the tier they would be placed into as a new player (2.4.4), whichever is higher, starting with the players who played most recently, and with ties broken by seeding (2.6). If there is insufficient space in a tier to accommodate players returning from a medium break, they will be placed in the tier below.

2.4.34. Players returning to the League after a longer break (1.4.3), and players joining the League for the first time, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level. Levels will be collected at a time specified on the sign-up page. If there is insufficient space in a tier to accommodate players exceeding the strict level cutoff, one or more flex divisions (2.5) will be created.

Changed: Flex Divisions (2.5)

Divisions usually have a maximum of 6 players. However, divisions may “flex” up to a size of 7 players in order to accommodate returning players returning from a short break (1.4, 2.4.2) or particularly highly-rated players (2.4.4). Free promotions (5.5) are only used to fill divisions up to the normal maximum of 6 players.

Changed: Membership Requirements (1.1.6)

You are able to commit both the necessary time to play your matches, and the necessary time to coordinate with your opponents via Discord to schedule your matches. Note that while playing your matches will require approximately two hours per week during the season, you will usually need more available time than this, in order to accommodate your opponents’ schedules. In particular, you are likely to need some availability on weekends.

Changed: Divisions (2.2)

A division is a group of approximately typically 6 players who will play each other during a season. Each division is assigned a moderator from the League moderator team. The number of divisions depends on the number of players.

Changed: Suspending games (4.11)

If you or your opponent have connection issues, or otherwise cannot continue a game (e.g. due to connection issues or time constraints), you should suspend the game. Note the game ID, then resign the game. Resigning in this situation will not be considered a loss, and is necessary to ensure the server considers the game completed, as an in-progress game cannot be loaded at a new table. and uUse the Load Old Game button to reload the same game another time.

Changed: Deadlines (6.2.7)

6.2.7. By default, the moderators will drop and suspend (see 7) players who fail to meet these deadlines and do not request an extension (see 6.3), though they may waive the drop and/or the suspension at their discretion due in response to extenuating circumstances.

Changed: Extensions (6.3)

If you are unable to complete a match by the end of season deadline (6.2.6) meet one of the deadlines specified in 6.2, you must request an extension from your moderator by that deadline.  6.3.1. If you are in tier A and you are requesting an extension to the end-of-season deadline (6.2.6), you may request an extension of up to 3 days. In all other tiers cases, you may request an extension of up to 7 days. If you do not request an extension, or if you still have not met the deadline by the end of the extension period, you will be dropped and suspended by default per 6.2.7.  6.3.2. You can only request an extension if you are not currently behind on any prior deadlines for the season. This means that any scheduling you need to do for an extension from a prior week must be completed before you can request another extension; similarly, you cannot request an extension for a deadline that you have already missed.  6.3.23. To receive an extension for the end-of-season deadline (6.2.6), yYou must schedule an uncompleted match with your opponent before you can request an extension for it. Provide the date and time to your moderator when you request it. For any other extension request, you must include a plan for how you will catch up to the expected pace of scheduling.  6.3.3. If the match is not completed during the extension period, or an extension was never requested, you and/or your opponent may be dropped at your moderator’s judgment per 7.1.  6.3.4. Extensions only apply to the week they are requested for. If you need another extension for a later week in the season, you will need to make another request.  6.3.5. Although moderators will grant extension requests in most cases, they are not required to do so. In particular, players who abuse the extension system/consistently fail to meet deadlines may be denied extensions.  6.3.6. Moderators will announce all granted extension requests in the division channel.

Added: Membership Requirements (1.1.7)

You are not currently suspended (see 7.2).

Added: Signing up (1.2.2)

If you have previously played in the Dominion League under a different account than the one you’re signing up with, let a moderator know.

Changed: Starting player (4.4.4)

If the table host makes a mistake in setting starting player, and this mistake which is caught during an ongoing game that has not reached turn 2, and if one player cannot reach 3 starts using future games per 4.4.3, either player may request that the game be abandoned only if one player cannot reach 3 starts using future games per 4.4.3. Otherwise, the game must be played out normally.

Changed: Table settings (4.5.3)

For games without expansions, or with a Card Pool Level of 1, the “Disliked” and “Banned” options for “Respected Cards” should be off (see 4.6.6 and 4.7.4 for more information about the Card Pool Level).

Changed: Table settings reference (4.6.6)

“Card Pool Level” should be set to 10 the highest possible value. This will be 10 if at least one player has a Complete subscription. Otherwise, it will be 5 if at least one player has a Core subscription. If neither player has a subscription, it will be 1.

Changed: Modifying table settings (4.7)

By mutual agreement, you and your opponent may change the table settings specified in 4.5 and 4.6 as follows:  4.7.3.1. You may use the expansion toggles to only allow cards from exclude certain expansions.  4.7.3.2. You may use the card buttons at the top to require cards from certain expansions.  4.7.3.3. You may specify a maximum of either one card or one landscape. You cannot agree to use deprecated cards or landscapes.  4.7.3.4. You may change the Card Pool Level.  4.7.15. For games using expansions and a Card Pool Level of 2 or higher, you may agree to turn on the “Liked” option for “Respected Cards”.  4.7.26. You may agree to generate a full kingdom using a public 3rd-party kingdom generator, such as the !mix command in Discord. You may not agree to use private 3rd-party kingdom generators, such as phone apps. 

4.7.3. Kingdom Options

 Under “Kingdom Options”, you may agree to…

Changed: Free Promotions (5.5.5)

Depending on the number of slots and eligible players in 5.5.4, some eligible players may receive a free promotion, while others play a play-in match, or neither. Players are ordered by their win percentage from the previous season for determining priority, with ties broken randomly.

Added: Other tournaments (5.8)

Games played for other tournaments may not be counted as Dominion League games.

Changed: Conflicts of interest (6.1)

If one of your close friends or family members is in your division, please schedule that match to happen early in the season, to eliminate any temptation for collusion.  6.1.1. If you prefer to avoid this, let a moderator know before the season starts, and the League will try to place you in different divisions. Note that in higher tiers, we are less likely to be able to accommodate your request.

Changed: Deadlines (6.2)

In order to ensure that matches are completed in a timely fashion, players must meet a number of deadlines throughout the season. All deadlines are on Sundays at 23:59 UTC. We encourage players to stay well ahead of these deadlines - they are not the expected a suggested pace, but the absolute minimum expected. We also encourage players to add their scheduled matches For the purpose of meeting these benchmarks, all scheduled matches must be added to the League calendar via either the League calendar form or the general calendar form (note that you need to specify that the match is a League match on this form), as this makes it easier for both the moderators and our automated systems to track scheduling progress.

Added: Hiatus (1.4.1)

For players taking a break starting during Season 53 or earlier, a short break is up to 5 consecutive seasons.

Added: Suspending games (4.11)

If you or your opponent have connection issues, or otherwise cannot continue a game (e.g. due to connection issues or time constraints), you should suspend the game. Note the game ID and use the Load Old Game button to reload the same game another time.

4.11.1. Prior to resuming a suspended game, you may not load the game by ID, practice the kingdom, discuss it with other players, or otherwise study the game.

Changed: Abandoning games (4.12)

You may only abandon a game in the situations listed below. In the rare event of a game which must be abandoned, If you do abandon a game, you should play a new game in its place. Abandoned games do not count toward match completion or match score.

4.12.1. If you or your opponent have connection issues or otherwise cannot continue a game, you should reload the same game another time. If the game can’t be reloaded (e.g. due to an internal error or impassable bug), If a suspended game (4.11) can’t be reloaded (e.g. due to an internal error), you should abandon the game.

4.12.2. If you cannot continue a game due to an impassable bug, you should abandon the game.

4.12.3. If you and your opponent agree that your current game is a stalemate, you should abandon the game. If you and your opponent don’t agree about a stalemate, then you must play on.

4.12.4. You and your opponent may agree to abandon a game with a Base-only kingdom that was generated by mistake, i.e. because you and/or your opponent did not realize your Dominion Online subscription had expired. This must be done before the start of turn 2. In this case, you or your opponent should extend your subscription before starting a new game. You may not otherwise agree to abandon a game based on the contents of the kingdom.

Changed: Table settings reference (4.6.7)

Under “Kingdom Options”, no particular cards, landscapes, landscape types, or expansions should be selected or excluded. Colonies and Shelters should be set to random. This will result in a randomly-generated kingdom using all cards that either player has access to, with zero to two landscapes and a maximum of one Way. Note that Allies are not considered landscapes, so this can result in kingdoms with up to two landscapes plus an Ally if a Liaison is present.

Changed: Hiatus (1.4)

You retain your tier placement, space permitting (see 2.4 and 2.5), during a short break of up to 5 2 consecutive seasons. If you rejoin after a longer break of 6 3 or more consecutive seasons, you will be placed as a new player.

Changed: Tier Placement (2.4.2)

2.4.2. Players returning to the League after completing one of the past 6 seasons a short break (1.4) are placed into the tier they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that played most recently, and with ties broken by seeding (2.6).

Changed: Tier Placement (2.4.3)

2.4.3. Players returning to the League who did not complete one of the past 6 seasons a longer break (1.4), and players joining the League for the first time, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level. Levels will be collected at a time specified on the sign-up page.

Changed: Table settings reference (4.6.3)

4.6.3. “Extra Allies Extra 2nd Edition” should be off.

Removed: Suggested schedule (6.1)

The League recommends you play at least one match per week. In F tier and below, a suggested schedule is posted in your division’s Discord channel and gives you an opponent to play each week. Although many players find this helpful, there is no requirement to follow this suggested schedule.

Changed: Deadlines (6.2)

In order to ensure that matches are completed in a timely fashion, players must meet a number of deadlines throughout the season. All deadlines are on Sundays at 23:59 UTC. We encourage players to stay well ahead of these deadlines - they are not the expected pace. We also encourage players to add their scheduled matches to the League calendar form, as this makes it easier for both the moderators and our automated systems to track scheduling progress.

Changed: Kingdom Options (4.7.3)

Under “Kingdom Options”, you may agree to…

4.7.3.3. Specify a maximum of either one card or one landscape. You cannot agree to use deprecated cards or landscapes.

Changed: Username and profile picture (3.3)

Your username and profile picture may not contain any inappropriate content. If your username or profile picture are inappropriate, a moderator will reach out to you to request you change them. You are required to comply with any such request in order to play in the Dominion League.

Added: Dominion Online Terms of Service (3.5)

In addition to following Dominion League conduct guidelines, you are expected to adhere to the Dominion Online Terms of Service.

Changed: Table settings (4.5)

Games played on Dominion Online should use the default table settings provided by the client, with the following exceptions, found under “Advanced Options”:

4.5.1. “Players can see spectator chat” should be off.

4.5.2. The player order should be set per 4.4.

4.5.3. For games without expansions, or with a Card Pool Level of 1, “Respect disliked cards” and “Respect banned cards” the “Disliked” and “Banned” options for “Respected Cards” should be off.

Changed: Table settings reference (4.6)

The following settings, found under “Advanced Options”, are set by default when you create a new table on Dominion Online. Per 4.5, you should use these settings, but you do not need to set them directly. They are listed here for your information and reference.

4.6.1. “Allow spectators” should be set to Yes.

4.6.2. “Respect Familiar cards” should be off.

4.6.2. For games using expansions and a Card Pool Level of 2 or higher, “Respect disliked cards” and “Respect banned cards” the “Disliked” and “Banned” options for “Respected Cards” should be on. “Respect liked cards” The “Liked” option should be off.

4.6.3. “Extra Menagerie Allies” should be off.

4.6.4. “Rated game” should be off.

4.6.5. “Show VP counter” should be on.

4.6.6. “Card Pool Level” should be set to 10.

4.6.7. Under “Select Kingdom Cards” “Kingdom Options”, no particular cards, landscapes, landscape types, or expansions should be selected or excluded. Colonies and Shelters should be set to random. This will result in a randomly-generated kingdom using all cards that either player has access to, with zero to two landscapes and a maximum of one Way.

Changed: Modifying table settings (4.7)

By mutual agreement, you and your opponent may change the table settings specified in 4.5 and 4.6 as follows:

4.7.1. For games using expansions and a Card Pool Level of 2 or higher, you may agree to turn on “Respect liked cards” the “Liked” option for “Respected Cards”.

4.7.2. You may agree to generate a full kingdom using a public 3rd-party kingdom generator, such as the !mix command in Discord. You may not agree to use private 3rd-party kingdom generators, such as phone apps.

4.7.3. You may agree to turn on “Rated game”.

4.7.3. Select Kingdom Cards Kingdom Options

Under “Select Kingdom Cards Kingdom Options”, you may agree to…

4.7.3.1. Use the checkboxes on the left expansion toggles to only allow cards from certain expansions.

4.7.3.2. Use the expansion card buttons at the top to require cards from certain expansions.

4.7.3.3. Require Specify a maximum of either one card or one landscape.

4.7.3.4. Change the Card Pool Level.

Changed: New expansions cards (4.8)

Per 4.6.7, the default card pool for Kingdom generation each season includes all expansions cards. However, either player may opt to remove new expansions from Kingdom generation.

4.8.1. An expansion is considered new if its initial version was released after the end of the previous Dominion League season.

4.8.2. Previews of expansions are always considered new.

4.8.3. An expansion is not considered new when a new edition is released, even if that edition adds or removes cards.

4.8.4. Promotional cards are not considered new expansions.

4.8.5. Rules changes, wording changes, new card errata, etc., do not cause cards or expansions to be treated as new.

Changed: Deadlines (6.3)

In order to ensure that matches are completed in a timely fashion, players must meet a number of deadlines throughout the season. All deadlines are on Sundays at 23:59 UTC. We encourage players to stay well ahead of these deadlines - they are not the expected pace.

6.3.1. At the end of the first week of the season, players who have not checked in to their division may be replaced by players from the waiting list.

6.3.2. At the end of the second week of the season, players should have checked in to their division, scheduled at least one match, or completed at least one match .

6.3.3. At the end of the third week of the season, players should have no more than 4 matches remaining to be played or scheduled. This typically requires having played completed and/or scheduled 1 match.

6.3.4. At the end of the fourth week of the season, players should have no more than 3 matches remaining to be played or scheduled. This typically requires having played completed and/or scheduled 2 matches.

6.3.5. At the end of the fifth week of the season, players should have no more than 2 matches remaining to be played or scheduled. This typically requires having played completed and/or scheduled 3 matches.

6.3.6. At the end of the sixth and final week of the season, players should have completed all of their matches. This typically requires having played completed 5 matches.

6.3.7. By default, the moderators will drop and suspend (see 7) players who fail to meet these deadlines, though they may waive the drop and/or the suspension at their discretion due to extenuating circumstances.

New section: Membership requirements (1.1.6)

1.1.6. You are able to commit both the necessary time to play your matches, and the necessary time to coordinate with your opponents via Discord to schedule your matches. Note that while playing your matches will require approximately two hours per week during the season, you will usually need more available time than this, in order to accommodate your opponents’ schedules.

Changed: Seeding (2.6)

Old:

Each tier of players is split into divisions by a seeding algorithm. The algorithm takes into account time zones in tiers E and below, previous performance in the League for returning players, and Dominion Online level for new players.

New:

Each tier of players is split into divisions by a seeding algorithm. For all divisions in the same tier (and in the same time zone region, for tiers E and below), players are split into 4 groups: new players, players who demoted from the tier above, players who promoted from the tier below, and players returning to the same tier. These groups are distributed as evenly as possible.

2.6.1. In a random order, new players are placed into divisions, starting with the last division of the tier.

2.6.2. In a random order, players who demoted are placed into divisions, starting with the first division of the tier.

2.6.3. In a random order, players who promoted are placed into divisions, starting with the first division of the tier.

2.6.4. The players returning to the same tier randomly fill in the remaining spots.

Changed: Matches (4.1)

A match is 6 games between the same two players, with each player going first 3 times. Each player plays one match against each other player in their division.

…

4.1.2. The first game should have a random starting player, and then starting player should alternate for the remaining games.

New section: Playing sessions (4.2.3)

4.2.3. You may not change your banned, disliked, and liked cardlists during a playing session.

New section: Starting player (4.4)

Each player should go first 3 times in a 6 game match. It is each player’s responsibility to ensure that they get 3 starts in a match.

4.4.1. The first game of a match should have a random starting player. This is the default setting when creating a new table on Dominion Online.

4.4.2. Starting player should alternate for the remaining games.

4.4.3. If the table host makes a mistake in setting starting player, future games should be used to correct the discrepancy as quickly as possible. For example, if player A starts games 1 and 2, player B should start games 3 and 4. This should be done even if it is not possible for one of the players to receive 3 starts. For example, if player A starts games 1 through 4, player B should start games 5 and 6.

4.4.4. If the table host makes a mistake in setting starting player, and this mistake is caught during an ongoing game that has not reached turn 2, either player may request that the game be abandoned only if one player cannot reach 3 starts using future games per 4.4.3. Otherwise, the game must be played out normally.

4.4.5. Games cannot be voided after the fact due to a mismatch in starting player counts.

Changed: Table settings (4.5)

Old:

4.4. Default table settings

Games played on Dominion Online should use these table setting under Advanced Options:

4.4.1. Spectators should be allowed.

4.4.2. “Players can see spectator chat” should be off.

4.4.3. Familiar cards should not be respected.

4.4.4. For games using expansions, the disliked cards lists and banned cards lists should be respected, and the liked cards lists should not be.

4.4.5. For games without expansions, no cardlists should be respected.

4.4.6. The game should not use the “Extra Menagerie” option.

4.4.7. The game should be unrated.

4.4.8. The victory point counter should be used.

4.4.9. The player order should be set per 4.1.2.

4.4.10. Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player has access to and from zero to two landscapes, with a maximum of one Way. No particular cards, landscapes, landscape types, or expansions should be selected.

4.4.11. There is no official game timer on Dominion Online, and games should not use an unofficial timer.

New:

4.5. Table settings

Games played on Dominion Online should use the default table settings provided by the client, with the following exceptions, found under “Advanced Options”:

4.5.1. “Players can see spectator chat” should be off.

4.5.2. The player order should be set per 4.4.

4.5.3. For games without expansions, “Respect disliked cards” and “Respect banned cards” should be off.

New section: Table settings reference (4.6)

The following settings, found under “Advanced Options”, are set by default when you create a new table on Dominion Online. Per 4.5, you should use these settings, but you do not need to set them directly. They are listed here for your information and reference.

4.6.1. “Allow spectators” should be set to Yes.

4.6.2. “Respect Familiar cards” should be off.

4.6.3. For games using expansions, “Respect disliked cards” and “Respect banned cards” should be on. “Respect liked cards” should be off.

4.6.4. “Extra Menagerie” should be off.

4.6.5. “Rated game” should be off.

4.6.6. “Show VP counter” should be on.

4.6.7. Under “Select Kingdom Cards”, no particular cards, landscapes, landscape types, or expansions should be selected or excluded. This will result in a randomly-generated kingdom using all cards that either player has access to, with zero to two landscapes and a maximum of one Way.

Changed: Modifying table settings (4.7)

Old:

4.5. Changes to the defaults

The default table settings in 4.4 may be changed between games by mutual agreement of you and your opponent except:

4.5.1. You may not agree to disallow spectators (4.4.1).

4.5.2. If your game does not use expansions, you may not use Familiar cards or any cardlists (4.4.3 & 4.4.5).

4.5.3. You may only change your cardlists between playing sessions.

4.5.4. If you agree to use an unofficial timer, you and your opponent must also agree on all timer settings and how to handle any glitches or lag.

New:

4.6. Modifying table settings

By mutual agreement, you and your opponent may change the table settings specified in 4.5 and 4.6 as follows:

4.7.1. For games using expansions, you may agree to turn on “Respect liked cards”.

4.7.2. You may agree to generate a full kingdom using a public 3rd-party kingdom generator, such as the !mix command in Discord. You may not agree to use private 3rd-party kingdom generators, such as phone apps.

4.7.3. You may agree to turn on “Rated game”.

4.7.4. Select Kingdom Cards

Under “Select Kingdom Cards”, you may agree to…

4.7.4.1. Use the checkboxes on the left to only allow cards from certain expansions.

4.7.4.2. Use the expansion buttons at the top to require cards from certain expansions.

4.7.4.3. Require a maximum of either one card or one landscape.

Changed: New expansions (4.8)

Per 4.6.7, the default card pool for Kingdom generation each season is includes all cards expansions. However, either player may opt to remove cards from new expansions that were released after the end of the previous season from Kingdom generation.

4.8.1. An expansion is considered new if it was released after the end of the previous Dominion League season.

New section: Timers (4.10)

Games in the Dominion League do not user a timer.

4.10.1. The “Make (opponent) Resign?” prompt in Dominion Online should only be used to address connection issues and other technical difficulties (see 4.11). It should not be used to enforce speed of play on your opponent.

4.10.2. If you feel that an opponent is playing especially slowly, consider politely requesting that they play more quickly, or reaching out to a moderator.

Changed: Abandoning games (4.11)

In the rare event of a game which must be abandoned, players you should play a new game in its place. Abandoned games do not count toward match completion or match score.

4.11.1. If a player has you or your opponent have connection issues or otherwise cannot continue a game, they you should reload the same game another time. If the game can’t be reloaded (e.g. due to an internal error or impassable bug), the players you should abandon the game.

4.11.2. If players mutually you and your opponent agree their that your current game is a stalemate, they may you should abandon the game. If the players you and your opponent don’t agree about a stalemate, then they you must play on.

4.11.3. You and your opponent may agree to abandon a game with a Base-only kingdom that was generated by mistake, i.e. because you and/or your opponent did not realize your Dominion Online subscription had expired. This must be done before the start of turn 2. In this case, you or your opponent should extend your subscription before starting a new game. You may not otherwise agree to abandon a game based on the contents of the kingdom.

Changed: Playing under protest (4.14)

Old:

In the case of a disputed rules infraction, you should reach out to a moderator for help. If a moderator decision needs to be made that affects the outcome of a game, you should finish the game, and you may protest the game by contacting your moderator with a description of what occurred and the game number. The moderator team will review the game and make a ruling by a majority vote whether the game results stand or that the game must be replayed.

New:

In the case of a disputed rules infraction during a Dominion League game, you should initiate the following procedure:

4.14.1. Inform your opponent that you believe an infraction occurred, and that you’re playing under protest.

4.14.2. Finish playing the game, as well as the rest of your games for that playing session (4.2).

4.14.3. Contact your moderator about the protest and your reasons for it, either directly via Discord, or through the Hotline Form.

4.14.4. The moderators will review the dispute and issue a ruling based on a majority vote. This may result in the disputed game being voided and replayed.

Changed: Extra/non-standard matches (4.15)

4.15.1. Adjustment and tiebreaker matches are 2 game matches with each player starting one of the games. You and your opponent may play a 4 or 6 game match instead by mutual agreement.

4.15.2. Play-in matches are standard 6 game matches., but if one player reaches 3.5 or more wins, they win the match, and there is no need to complete any remaining games.

4.15.3. If one player reaches 2.5 or more wins in a 4 game match, or 3.5 or more wins in a 6 game match, they win the match, and there is no need to complete any remaining games.

Changed: Tiebreakers (5.2)

If there is a tie within a division, these steps are applied with the group of tied players: a head-to-head tiebreaker is applied. If there is still a tie, a tiebreaker match may be required.

5.2.1. Head-to-head tiebreaker

…

5.2.2.1. If a an unbroken two-way tie affects promotions, demotions, or entry into the Championship Match, the players play a tiebreaker match. The format for this match is specified in 4.15.

5.2.2.2. If a an unbroken three (or more) way tie affects promotions, demotions, or entry into the Championship Match, the moderators will randomly break the tie.

Changed: Superpromotions (5.4.2)

5.4.2. If you are eligible, and would be placed higher by the new player placement rules (2.4.3) than by the standard promotion rules (5.3), you superpromote into the higher tier. Note that, in practice, superpromoting players use a different, stricter set of Dominion Online level cutoffs than new players.

Changed: Free promotions (5.5)

Old:

In order to fill open spots created by players leaving the League between seasons, players in lower tiers may be offered free promotions. The following criteria are used, in order, to determine eligibility:

5.5.1. If the open spot is in a tier roughly the same size as the tier below it, players who finished in (or tied for) fifth place in that tier with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion. Otherwise, players who finished in (or tied for) second place in the tier below with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion.

5.5.2. If the open spot is in a tier roughly the same size as the tier below it, players who finished in (or tied for) third place in the tier below with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion. Otherwise, players who finished in (or tied for) fifth place in that tier with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion.

5.5.3. When multiple players would be offered free promotions to a tier without enough open slots for all of them, that tier determines how players are chosen. For tiers A through E, the moderators arrange play-in matches between those players. The format for these matches is specified in 4.15. For all other tiers, the moderators choose players at their discretion, taking into account time zones.

New:

In order to fill open spots in a tier created by players leaving the League between seasons, players who would play in the tier below may be offered a free promotion. Players are selected as follows:

5.5.1. Players are divided into prioritized groups based on their results from the previous season. In descending order of priority, these are: second place finishers (from the tier below), fifth place finishers (from the target tier), and third place finishers (from the tier below, only eligible if the tier below promoted second place finishers).

5.5.2. Players who tied are considered to have finished in the best tied place for free promotion eligibility.

5.5.3. If there at least as many open slots in the target tier as eligible players in the highest priority group remaining, all players in this group receive a free promotion. The remaining slots are filled by the next highest priority group.

5.5.4. If the target tier is in tiers A through E, and there are fewer open slots in the target tier than eligible players in the highest priority group remaining, the moderators arrange play-in matches between eligible players. The format for these matches is specified in 4.15.

5.5.5. Depending on the number of slots and eligible players in 5.5.4, some players may receive a free promotion while others play a play-in match. Players are ordered by their win percentage from the previous season for determining priority.

5.5.6. If the target tier is tier F or below, and there are fewer open slots in the target tier than eligible players in the highest priority group remaining, the moderators choose players for free promotions at their discretion, taking into account the players’ time zones and win percentages in the previous season.

Changed: Dropped players (5.6)

Old:

The following rules are used to account for dropped players in the standings. See 7.1 for more information about drops.

5.6.1. If the dropped player played no games, they are removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list.

5.6.2. If the dropped player played any games, their remaining match results are instead simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play. Afterward, all the match results involving the dropped player are scaled by the percentage of their games they actually played.

5.6.3. At the end of the season, to account for the approximations inherent in simulated results, adjustment matches may be required to better decide the standings between players straddling a promotion or demotion boundary. To determine if an adjustment match is needed, 4 scenarios are compared:

5.6.3.1. Scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the first player actually played against all dropped players.

5.6.3.2. Round all unscaled results to the nearest 0.5, then scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the first player actually played against all dropped players.

5.6.3.3. Scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the second player actually played against all dropped players.

5.6.3.4. Round all unscaled results to the nearest 0.5, then scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the second player actually played against all dropped players.

5.6.4. If the 4 scenarios do not all yield the same promoter or demoter, an adjustment match is needed. The format of this match is specified in 4.15. The winner is placed ahead of the loser in the final standings.

5.6.5. Dropped players finish last place in their division and will demote, which may affect their placement in subsequent seasons they return to.

New:

The following rules are used to account for dropped players in the standings. See 7.1 for more information about drops.

5.6.1. Dropped players finish last place in their division and will demote, which may affect their placement in subsequent seasons they return to.

5.6.2. If the dropped player played no games, they are removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list.

5.6.3. Adjustment match determination

If a dropped player played any games, adjustment matches may be needed to determine promotions or demotions. The format of adjustment matches is specified in 4.15. The following procedure determines whether an adjustment match is required:

5.6.3.1. Order all remaining players by win percentage in games that were played and note who promotes and who demotes.

5.6.3.2. Order all remaining players by win percentage in games not involving the dropped players and note who promotes and who demotes.

5.6.3.3. If the promoters (or demoters) are not the same in both scenarios, then the players who promote (or demote) in one scenario, but not the other, play an adjustment match.

5.6.3.4. If the players with promotion (or non-demotion) claims played the same number of games against each dropped player, only the all games played scenario (5.6.3.1) is considered.

5.6.3.5. If there is an unbroken tie (see 5.2) for promotion or non-demotion in at least one of the scenarios, the tied players play an adjustment match. They do not play a tiebreaker match.

5.6.3.6. If a player promotes in one scenario and demotes in the other, then that player doesn’t play in any adjustment matches and doesn’t promote or demote.

5.6.3.7. If more than two players have promotion (or non-demotion) claims, the moderators will determine what adjustment matches are needed, if any, at their discretion.

Changed: Deadlines (6.3)

Old:

6.3. Deadline

All matches must be played by the end of the last day of the season, which is always a Sunday at 23:59 UTC.

New:

6.3. Deadlines

In order to ensure that matches are completed in a timely fashion, players must meet a number of deadlines throughout the season. All deadlines are on Sundays at 23:59 UTC.

6.3.1. At the end of the third week of the season, players should have no more than 4 matches remaining to be played or scheduled. This typically requires having played and/or scheduled 1 match.

6.3.2. At the end of the fourth week of the season, players should have no more than 3 matches remaining to be played or scheduled. This typically requires having played and/or scheduled 2 matches.

6.3.3. At the end of the fifth week of the season, players should have no more than 2 matches remaining to be played or scheduled. This typically requires having played and/or scheduled 3 matches.

6.3.4. At the end of the sixth and final week of the season, players should have completed all of their matches. This typically requires having played 5 matches.

6.3.5. By default, the moderators will drop and suspend (see 7) players who fail to meet these deadlines, though they may waive the drop and/or the suspension at their discretion due to extenuating circumstances.

Changed: Extensions (6.4)

If you are unable to complete a match by the end of season deadline in (6.3.4), you must request an extension from your moderator by that deadline.

Removed sections: Moderator division quotas & Moderator breaks

8.5. Moderator division quotas

Each active moderator will moderate at least 5 divisions per season.

8.6. Moderator breaks

Moderators are eligible for 1-season breaks, during which they retain voting privileges and access to moderator Discord channels.

8.6.1. If more moderators want to take breaks than the team can afford, moderators who have gone the longest without a break will receive priority.

Changed: Passing amendments (9.1.1)

9.1.1. Moderators may vote “no opinion”, in which case their vote doesn’t count towards establishing or preventing a majority. This also applies to other moderator votes, including rulings on protested games (4.14).

Changed: Default table settings (4.4.10)

4.4.10. Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player owns has access to and from zero to two landscapes, with a maximum of one Way. No particular cards, landscapes, landscape types, or expansions should be selected.

Changed: Superpromotions (5.4)

Old:

5.3.5. If you promote, you rise a minimum of one tier.

5.3.6. If you finish in first place (including ties) in tier F or below, you are evaluated by the new player rules in 2.4.3. If these rules would place you in a higher tier than the standard promotion rules (see above), you are placed into the higher tier instead. If this rule would place you into D tier or higher, you are placed into E tier instead. This is referred to as a “superpromotion”.

New:

5.3.5. If you promote, you rise one tier.

5.4. Superpromotions

Superpromotions allow you to promote multiple tiers at once, based on how you would be placed as new player.

5.4.1. If you played in tier G or below and finished in first place (including ties), you are eligible for a superpromotion.

5.4.2. If you are eligible, and would be placed higher by the new player placement rules (2.4.3) than by the standard promotion rules (5.3), you superpromote into the higher tier.

5.4.3. You cannot superpromote past E tier. If the new player placement rules (2.4.3) would place you in D tier or higher, you superpromote into E tier instead.

Changed: Tiers (2.3)

The divisions are grouped into tiers. The number of tiers depends on the number of divisions. There is a single division in tier A. Starting with tier B, the following rules dictate the size of a tier:

2.3.1. There is a single division in tier A. Starting with tier B, the maximum number of divisions in a tier is twice the maximum of the tier above it, except every third tier which has the same maximum number as the one above it.

2.3.32. The lowest two tiers have approximately tier has the same maximum number of divisions as the one above it. This rule overrides 2.3.1.

2.3.3. The combination of 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 results in the following maximum division counts based on the number of tiers:

• 6 tiers (A-F): 1-2-4-4-8-8
• 7 tiers (A-G): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16
• 8 tiers (A-H): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16-16
• 9 tiers (A-I): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16-32-32
• 10 tiers (A-J): 1-2-4-4-8-16-16-32-64-64

2.3.24. Tiers A through D always have the maximum number of divisions. The moderators at their discretion may choose to have fewer than the maximum number of divisions in tiers E and below.

2.3.45. The moderators may make exceptions to these tier count rules to account for probable changes in the size of the League.

New section: Communication (3.2.1)

All League communication should be through Discord or dominion.games. Do not use external apps like WhatsApp or Facebook for League communications.

New section: New expansions (4.6)

Per 4.4.10, the default card pool for kingdom generation each season is all cards. However, either player may opt to remove cards from new expansions that were released after the end of the previous season from kingdom generation.

Changed: Extensions (6.4)

If you are unable to complete your games a match by the deadline in 6.3, you must request an extension from your moderator by that deadline.

6.4.2. You must schedule an incomplete uncompleted match with your opponent before you can request an extension for it. Provide the date and time to your moderator when you request it.

6.4.3. If matches are the match is not completed during the extension period, or an extension was never requested, you and/or your opponent may be dropped at your moderator’s judgment per 7.1.

Rules rewrite

The league rules have been completely rewritten to be easier to read and reference. The content is unchanged, but the rules now use a completely different structure/layout, and there have been wording changes as well, which are intended to increase clarity.

You can now refer to individually numbered rules sections in the format:
https://dominionleague.org/rules#(number), e.g. https://dominionleague.org/rules#4.9

For reference, you can find the old rules here.

Connection issues and bugs

If a player has connection issues or encounters a game-freezing bug, they should resume the game later if they can, and play a new game instead if they can’t.

New (Section II. Match Structure and Policies)

If a player has connection issues or otherwise cannot continue a game, they should reload the same game another time. If the game can’t be reloaded (e.g. due to an internal error or impassable bug), the players should abandon the old game (it does not count toward the match score) and play a new game in its place.

Stalemates

Players can mutually agree to abandon a game they judge to be a stalemate.

New (Section II. Match Structure and Policies)

If players mutually agree their current game is a stalemate, they may abandon the old game (it does not count toward the match score) and play a new game in its place. If the players don’t agree about a stalemate, then they must play on.

Drops and the waiting list

If a player was dropped from a season, they cannot rejoin the waiting list for the same season.

Old (Section IV. Joining and Leaving)

During a season, the moderators may, at their discretion, fill new open spots from a waiting list.

New

During a season, the moderators may, at their discretion, fill new open spots from a waiting list, except that they may not fill open spots with players who were already dropped from that season.

New (Section IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season)

Once dropped from a season, players may not rejoin that season.

Bans

Moderators may reduce bans at their discretion.

Old (Section IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season)

If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes), the ban period and demotion penalty may be reduced or eliminated at the moderators’ discretion.

New

Any ban period and/or demotion penalty may be reduced or waived at the moderators’ discretion.

Unresponsive players

Players who are dropped for unresponsiveness may not rejoin the League until they respond to a moderator about why they “ghosted”.

Old (Section IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season)

Unfortunately, some must drop out, or become inactive and have to be removed by the moderators.

…

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League seasons.

New

Unfortunately, some players must drop out or are removed by the moderators for being inactive or unresponsive. By default, players who drop mid-season will be banned from participating in the next 2 League seasons. In addition, players who are dropped for being unresponsive must explain their inactivity to a moderator before they may sign up for the League again.

Dominion Online

All games must be played on Dominion Online, and not in paper, on Tabletop Simulator, or on other clients.

Old (Section II. Match Structure and Policies)

The League also has the following general rules for games by default:

• Games should be played on Dominion Online.

All these defaults may be changed between games by mutual agreement of the players except:

• …

New

The League also has the following general rules for games by default:

• Games must be played on Dominion Online.

All these defaults may be changed between games by mutual agreement of the players except:

• Games must be played on Dominion Online.
• …

Spectators

Spectators must be allowed in all tiers.

Old (Section II. Match Structure and Policies)

All these defaults may be changed between games by mutual agreement of the players except:

• Players in tiers A, B, C, D, and E may not agree to disallow spectators.

New

All these defaults may be changed between games by mutual agreement of the players except:

• Players may not agree to disallow spectators.

Promotions and demotions

In a 7-player division, if any player drops before completing any games, the promotion and demotions change mid-season to match those for a 6-player division.

Old (Section III. Standings)

• In any tier, players who finish in sixth or seventh place in a seven-player division, or fifth or sixth place in any other division, demote unless they are in the bottom tier, in which case they will stay in that tier.

New

• In any tier, players who finish in sixth or seventh place in a seven-player division where no player dropped before playing any games, or fifth or sixth place in any other division, demote unless they are in the bottom tier, in which case they will stay in that tier.

Taking breaks

Only seasons a player completes in full count as not being on a break.

Old (Section IV. Joining and Leaving)

1. Players returning to the League after playing in one of the past 6 seasons are placed into the tiers they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that played most recently and with ties broken by seeding. For purposes of this priority, divisions may have up to 7 players each.
2. Players returning from before the past 6 seasons, or joining for the first time with 30 or more rated 2-player games, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level. For particularly highly-rated players, divisions may have up to 7 players each.

New

1. Players returning to the League after completing one of the past 6 seasons are placed into the tiers they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that played most recently and with ties broken by seeding. For purposes of this priority, divisions may have up to 7 players each.
2. Players returning to the League who did not complete one of the past 6 season, or are joining for the first time, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level. For particularly highly-rated players, divisions may have up to 7 players each.

New moderator applications

New moderators applications shall be opened at least every 3 seasons.

Old (Section X. League Moderation)

If the following season is anticipated to have more than 10 divisions per moderator, then the League shall recruit additional moderators. New moderator applications will open week 2 of each season, allow review by the existing moderator team during week 3, and onboarding/shadowing of new moderators beginning week 4.

New

If the following season is anticipated to have more than 10 divisions per moderator, or if the League did not open applications for new moderators in either of the preceding two seasons, then the League shall open applications for additional moderators. New moderator applications will open week 2 of each season, allow review by the existing moderator team during week 3, and onboarding/shadowing of new moderators beginning week 4. When applications close, the moderators may accept none, some, or all of the applicants.

Tier sizes

Tiers A, B, C, and D must be full and cannot be reduced at the moderators’ discretion.

New (Section I. League Structure):

The moderators at their discretion may decide to leave empty divisions only in tiers E and below.

Extensions

Players in tier A may only request extensions of up to 3 days, to allow sufficient time for scheduling the championship match. Also included is a correction that all deadlines are now consistently 0:00 UTC (23:59 for clarity).

Old (Section VIII. Late Finishes):

The official deadline to report your match results is the day after the official deadline (a Monday) at 15:00 UTC, so that people from the western-most time zones can easily finish and report matches which they started playing on Sunday night.

If players are unable to finish their matches by the deadline, they must contact their moderator to request an extension for up to a week with information about when the late matches will take place. If such communication does not take place or late game results are not reported within a week of the deadline, the responsible players are considered to have dropped out mid-season, with penalties as described in the following section.

New:

Match results must be reported by 23:59 UTC of the last day of the season (note when this is in your time zone). If players are unable to finish their matches by the deadline, they must request an extension by contacting their moderator with information about when the late matches will take place. Players in tier A may request extensions of up to 3 days; players in all other tiers may request up to 7 days. If such communication does not take place or the late matches are not reported by the extension deadline for their tier, the responsible players are dropped with the penalties described in the following section.

Practice tier

The Practice tier was not renewed for Season 45.

Removed (Section I. League Structure):

In Seasons 42 and 43, there shall also be a practice tier, separate from all other tiers, for players who have played less than 30 rated 2-player games online. Players in the practice tier will be similarly grouped and seeded.

Removed (Section II. Match Structure and Policies):

For Seasons 42 and 43, games in the practice tier must be rated.

For Seasons 42 and 43, in the Practice Tier, the players pick one expansion each, and Kingdoms are generated with only cards from those expansions and the base set.

Players in the practice tier may not play games in-person or on any platform other than Dominion Online.

Players in the practice tier may not agree for games to be unrated.

Removed (Section III. Standings):

Players in the practice tier do not promote or demote automatically. Instead, these players are placed as new players in the next season.

Removed (Section IV. Joining and Leaving):

For Seasons 42 and 43, players who join and have not played in one of the past 6 seasons and have played 29 or fewer rated 2-player games shall be placed into the practice tier.

Undo rules

Clarified that “small numbers” refers to the quantity of steps allowed, not the quantity of undos allowed.

Old (Section II. Match Structure and Policies):

The League’s default is to grant undos of small numbers of non-information-revealing steps

New:

The League’s default is to at least grant all undos that are for small numbers of steps that did not reveal new game information.

Tiebreakers

Better generalized the tiebreakers for ordering players beyond first place in multiway ties.

Old (Section III. Standings):

If there is a tie within a division, apply these steps:

1. Head-to-head

• Compare the total wins earned by each player from the matches involving only the tied players.
• If one player has more wins than each other player, they win the tie.
• If all players have the same number of wins, move to step 2.
• Otherwise, repeat this step 1 with just the players who tied for most wins.

New:

If there is a tie within a division, apply these steps with the group of tied players:

1. Head-to-head

• Order the players by the total head-to-head wins each player earned from the matches involving only the group of tied players.
• Break any ties in total head-to-head wins by the total head-to-head wins each player earned from the matches involving only this new group of tied players.

Adjustment matches

Corrected the rules to match the system that was approved and implemented.

Old (Section IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season)

The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player played no games, they are removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list
• If the removed player played any games, their match results are instead simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play, and then scaling these results by the percentage of their games they actually played. Additionally, if scaling these simulations to 0% and 100% would yield different promoters or demoters, an adjustment match is needed to better decide the standings between the affected players. In an adjustment match, the players play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins.

New:

The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player played no games, they are removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player played any games, their remaining match results are instead simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play. Afterward, all the match results involving the dropped player are scaled by the percentage of their games they actually played.

At the end of the season, to account for the approximations inherent in simulated results, adjustment matches may be required to better decide the standings between players straddling a promotion or demotion boundary. To determine if an adjustment match is needed, 4 scenarios are compared:

• Scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the first player actually played against all dropped players.
• Round all unscaled results to the nearest 0.5, then scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the first player actually played against all dropped players.
• Scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the second player actually played against all dropped players.
• Round all unscaled results to the nearest 0.5, then scale all the dropped player’s match results by the percentage of the games the second player actually played against all dropped players.

If the 4 scenarios do not all yield the same promoter or demoter, an adjustment match is needed. In an adjustment match, the players play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins. The winner is placed ahead of the loser in the final standings. A player who does not wish to play this match may concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player concedes by default. If neither player responds promptly or both respond but cannot arrange the match in the required time, the moderators will randomly decide the standings.

New player requirements

Players are now required to have played 10 or more rated games on Dominion Online to be eligible to join.

Old (Section IV. Joining and Leaving):

To join the League, you must join the Dominion (Card Game) Discord server: https://discord.gg/vMmmMBu. Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League by filling out the Google form embedded in Sign up.

New:

To join the Dominion League, new players must complete the following steps:

1. Have a Dominion Online account with 10 or more rated 2-player games.
2. Join the Dominion (Card Game) Discord server.
3. Fill out the sign-up form for the upcoming season.

Matches with dropped players

New simulation rules for dropped players allow for results that used to voided to now have an impact on the standings.

Old (IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season):

• If the removed player played no games, they are simply removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player played fewer than 3 complete matches (each match being 6 games), the games they played are voided, and the remaining players play one fewer match.
• If the removed player played 3 or more complete matches (each match being 6 games), the games they played are retained and the games they did not play are simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play.

New:

• If the removed player played no games, they are removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player played any games, their match results are instead simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play, and then scaling these results by the percentage of their games they actually played. Additionally, if scaling these simulations to 0% and 100% would yield different promoters or demoters, an adjustment match is needed to better decide the standings between the affected players. In an adjustment match, the players play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins.

Outside help

Improved wording.

Old (II. Match Structure and Policies):

• During a game, players may not consult resources outside those maintained by the League, such as strategy articles, or otherwise attempt to gain a competitive advantage. The League hosts a list of Dominion rules and information that may be consulted privately or publicly at anytime.

New:

• During games, players may not attempt to gain a competitive advantage by consulting resources other than those maintained by League. For example, getting advice from Dominion Strategy articles or from spectators is not allowed. The allowed resources maintained by the League are available on the Dominion League Resources page and may be consulted privately or publicly at anytime.

Familiar cards

Clarified the Familiar cards are also not respected by default in games using expansions. Note it is still a rule that games without expansions cannot choose to use Familiar cards.

Old (II. Match Structure and Policies):

• For games without expansions, Familiar cards should not be respected.

New:

• Familiar cards should not be respected.

Ties

Clarify that the head-to-head tiebreaker is applied iteratively. Remove the “2nd tiebreaker” that compared the sum of wins against opponents.

Old (Section III. Standings):

In the case of a tie within a division, the player with the higher total number of points from the matches between the tied players wins. If there is still a tie:

• If the tie is between two players and affects promotions, demotions, or entry into the Championship Match, they play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins. A player who does not wish to play this match may concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player concedes by default. If neither player responds promptly or both respond but cannot arrange the match in the required time, the moderators will randomly break the tie.
• If the tie is between two players and does not affect promotions, demotions, or entry into the Championship Match, the player with the higher sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match wins.
• If the tie is between three or more players, the moderators will randomly break the tie.

New:

If there is a tie within a division, apply these steps:

1. Head-to-head
   • Compare the total wins earned by each player from the matches involving only the tied players.
   • If one player has more wins than each other player, they win the tie.
   • If all players have the same number of wins, move to step 2.
   • Otherwise, repeat this step 1 with just the players who tied for most wins.
2. Promotion/demotion implications
   • If the tie affects promotions, demotions, or entry into the Championship Match, move to step 3.
   • Otherwise, all players share the rank of the best tied place.
3. Tiebreaker match
   • If the tie is between 2 players, they play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins. A player who does not wish to play this match may concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player concedes by default. If neither player responds promptly or both respond but cannot arrange the match in the required time, the moderators will randomly break the tie.
   • If the tie is between three or more players, the moderators will randomly break the tie.

Allowing ties in places that don’t affect promotion or demotion creates several new situations that need to be clarified.

Players tied for 1st place are both eligible for superpromotion.

Old (Section III. Standings):

Additionally, players may be re-placed using the rules for placing new players.

New:

Additionally, players who finish in first place, or tied for first place, may be re-placed using the rules for placing new players.

Free promotions and play-in priorities depend on whether the promotion is across a doubling in tier size. Previous references to 2nd and 5th place now includes ties for those places as well.

Old (Section IV. Joining and Leaving):

1. Players who finished in second place with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion up to the next higher tier.
2. Players who finished in fifth place with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion to not demote to the next lower tier.

New:

1. If the open spot is in a tier roughly the same size as the tier below it, players who finished in (or tied for) fifth place in that tier with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion. Otherwise, players who finished in (or tied for) second place in the tier below with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion.
2. If the open spot is in a tier roughly the same size as the tier below it, players who finished in (or tied for) third place in the tier below with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion. Otherwise, players who finished in (or tied for) fifth place in that tier with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion.

Play-in matches

Play-in matches now extend down to filling open spots in tier E.

Old (Section IV. Joining and Leaving):

When multiple players are offered free promotions (as described above) to a tier with not enough open spots for all of them, that tier determines how players are chosen: For tiers A, B, and C, the moderators arrange play-in matches between those players. For all other tiers, the moderators choose the players at their discretion, taking into account time zones.

New:

When multiple players would be offered free promotions (as described above) to a tier with not enough open spots for all of them, that tier determines how players are chosen: For tiers A, B, C, D, and E the moderators arrange play-in matches between those players. For all other tiers, the moderators choose the players at their discretion, taking into account time zones.

Expansions in the practice tier

Per the Returning Form poll, an expansion restriction will be used in the practice tier.

Old (Section II Match Structure and Policies):

Except for cardlists, Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player owns, from zero to two landscapes, and no specific cards or landscapes required. No particular cards, landscapes, or expansions should be selected.

New:

Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player owns, from zero to two landscapes, and no specific cards or landscapes required. No particular cards, landscapes, or expansions should be selected. For Seasons 42 and 43, in the Practice Tier, the players pick one expansion each, and Kingdoms are generated with only cards from those expansions and the base set.

Demotions in flex divisions

5th place now never demotes in a 7-player division.

Old (Section III, Standings):

Players who finish in fifth or sixth place in any tier demote unless they are in the bottom tier, in which case they will stay in that tier.

New:

In any tier, players who finish in sixth or seventh place in a seven-player division, or fifth or sixth place in any other division, demote unless they are in the bottom tier, in which case they will stay in that tier.

English proficiency

Clarified that basic English proficiency is required.

New (Section V, Scheduling):

To communicate with league moderators and your opponents, basic English proficiency is required.

Moderators

Moderators are allowed to take single-season breaks while maintaining their status as moderators.

New (Section X, League Moderation):

League Moderators are eligible for 1-season breaks, during which they retain voting privileges and access to league mod channels to stay up-to-date with information. If more moderators want to take breaks that the moderator team can afford, priority will be given to moderators that have least recently taken breaks.

Moderators are required to moderate 5 or more divisions, and when anyone would have to moderate 10 or more, new moderators will be recruited. The new moderators application, selection, and training processes are all longer.

Old (Section X, League Moderation):

When new moderators are needed, there will be an open call posted to the Discord server the Dominion Strategy forum. Players will have at least 48 hours to submit their applications to be moderators. Once the application deadline transpires, the current moderators will have at least 48 hours to discuss the candidates before voting to choose new moderators from the applicants.

New:

Each active moderator shall moderate at least 5 divisions per season. If the following season is anticipated to have more than 10 divisions per moderator, then the League shall recruit additional moderators. New moderator applications will open week 2 of each season, allow review by the existing moderator team during week 3, and onboarding/shadowing of new moderators beginning week 4.

Superpromotions

Now anyone can superpromote, but not into a tier above E.

Old (Section III, Standings)

Additionally, players who are placed as New Players in the current season and promoted from their tier can request to be re-placed in the upcoming season as a new player, using the same stricter cutoffs used for guaranteed new player tier placements. This allows players to promote across multiple tiers, known as “superpromotions”, if a player can improve their rating significantly across a season.

New

Additionally, players may be re-placed using the rules for placing new players. This allows returning players to promote across multiple tiers, known as superpromotions, if a player can improve their rating significantly across a season. Players who would be superpromoted into tiers A, B, C, or D are instead placed into tier E.

Ties

Ties that do not affect promotion or demotion are broken by the old tiebreaker comparing wins against opponents.

Old (Section III, standings)

In the case of a tie within a division, the player with the total number of points from the matches between the tied players wins. If there is still a tie:

• If the tie is between two players, they play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins. A player who does not wish to play this match may concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player concedes by default. If neither player responds promptly or both respond but cannot arrange the match in the required time, the moderators will randomly break the tie.
• If the tie is between three or more players, the moderators will randomly break the tie.

New

In the case of a tie within a division, the player with the higher total number of points from the matches between the tied players wins. If there is still a tie:

• If the tie is between two players and affects promotions, demotions, or entry into the Championship Match, they play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins. A player who does not wish to play this match may concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player concedes by default. If neither player responds promptly or both respond but cannot arrange the match in the required time, the moderators will randomly break the tie.
• If the tie is between two players and does not affect promotions, demotions, or entry into the Championship Match, the player with the higher sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match wins.
• If the tie is between three or more players, the moderators will randomly break the tie.

A tie in the championship is broken by playing a 7th game.

New (Section III, standings)

In the event of a tie, the players play one final game to decide the winner. If that final game results in a tie, the player who went second wins.

A few updates as a result of the Season 41 Rules Meeting.

VI. Playing Competitively

Clarifying difference between resigning vs. forfeiting.

Added (Section X, League Moderation):

To clarify the meaning of forfeit, there is a difference between resigning while playing to the best of your ability (like when you are way behind and feel there is a 0% or a very low chance to comeback), and forfeiting (which is like resigning turn 1, 2 or not playing at all).

A few updates as a result of the Season 41 Setup Meeting.

Moderator selection

Elaborated the timeframe for choosing new moderators.

Old (Section X, League Moderation):

When new or additional moderators are needed, there will be an open call posted to the forum. New moderators are chosen by a vote of the current moderator team.

New:

When new moderators are needed, there will be an open call posted to the Discord server and the Dominion Strategy forum. Players will have at least 48 hours to submit their applications to be moderators. Once the application deadline transpires, the current moderators will have at least 48 hours to discuss the candidates before voting to choose new moderators from the applicants.

Cardlists in base-only games & spectators in tier E

Cardlists are no longer permitted in games that do not use expansions, like in Automatch; spectators are now required through tier E.

Old (Section II, Match Structure and Policies):

• The disliked cards lists and banned cards lists should be respected, and the liked cards lists should not be.

All these defaults may be changed between games by mutual agreement of the players except:

• …
• Players in tiers A, B, C, and D may not agree to disallow spectators.

New:

• For games without expansions, Familiar cards should not be respected.
• For games using expansions, the disliked cards lists and banned cards lists should be respected, and the liked cards lists should not be. For games without expansions, no cardlists should be respected.

All these defaults may be changed between games by mutual agreement of the players except:

• …
• Games without expansions may not use Familiar cards or any cardlists.
• Players in tiers A, B, C, D, and E may not agree to disallow spectators.

Rulebooks and resources

The League will maintain those resources which players can consult at any time, including during their matches.

Old (Section II, Match Structure and Policies):

• During a game, players may not consult outside resources, such as strategy articles, or otherwise attempt to gain a competitive advantage.

New:

• During a game, players may not consult resources outside those maintained by the League, such as strategy articles, or otherwise attempt to gain a competitive advantage. The League hosts a list of Dominion rules and information that may be consulted privately or publicly at anytime.

Demotions in 7-player divisions

The last 2 places demote in 7-player divisions, instead of 3 places.

Old (Section III, Standings)

• Players who finish in fifth or sixth place in any tier demote unless they are in the bottom tier, in which case they will stay in that tier.

New:

• Players who finish in fifth or sixth place in any 6-player tier, or sixth or seventh in any 7-player tier, demote unless they are in the bottom tier, in which case they will stay in that tier.

Tier sizes and time zones

Each tier is no longer twice the size of the one before it. Time zones are now used to seed only tier E and below.

Old (Section I, League Structure)

There is a single division in tier A; 2 divisions in tier B; 4 divisions in each of tiers C and D; 8 divisions in each of tiers E, F, and G; and 16 divisions in tier H. Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in the lower tiers (D and below) and Dominion Online level for new players.

New:

There is a single division in tier A. Starting with tier B, two rules govern the size of a tier:

• The maximum number of divisions in a tier is twice the maximum for the tier above it, except every third tier which has the same number as the one above it.
• The lowest two tiers have approximately the same number of divisions.

Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in tiers E and below, and Dominion Online level for new players.

Many updates as a result of the Season 40 Rules Meeting.

Superpromotions

Updated rules for promotions and demotions, including a description of the new superpromotions.

Old (Section III, Standings):

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division:

• Players who finish in first place in tiers B, C, and E promote.
• Players who finish in first or second place in tiers D, F, G, and H promote.
• Players who finish in fifth or sixth place in tiers A, B, C, D, E, F, and G demote.

New:

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division.

• Players who finish in first place promote if the tier directly above has fewer divisions than the tier they are currently in.
• Players who finish in first or second place promote if the tier directly above has exactly the same number of divisions of the tier they are currently in.
• Players who finish in fifth or sixth place in any tier demote unless they are in the bottom tier, in which case they will stay in that tier.

Additionally, players who are placed as New Players in the current season and promoted from their tier can request to be re-placed in the upcoming season as a new player, using the same stricter cutoffs used for guaranteed new player tier placements. This allows players to promote across multiple tiers, known as “superpromotions”, if a player can improve their rating significantly across a season.

Flex Divisions for Highly-Rated New Players

New players can now be placed in a division high enough to warrant creating a 7-player division.

Old (Section IV, Joining and Leaving):

1. Players returning to the League after playing in one of the past 6 seasons are placed into the tiers they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that played most recently and with ties broken by seeding. For purposes of this priority only, divisions may have up to 7 players each.
2. Players returning from before the past 6 seasons, or joining for the first time, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level.

New:

1. Players returning to the League after playing in one of the past 6 seasons are placed into the tiers they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that played most recently and with ties broken by seeding. For purposes of this priority, divisions may have up to 7 players each.
2. Players returning from before the past 6 seasons, or joining for the first time with 30 or more rated 2-player games, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level. For particularly highly-rated players, divisions may have up to 7 players each. Level thresholds that would trigger this will be published in the previous season’s Newsletter.

Practice Tier (Seasons 42-43)

Seasons 42 and 43 will feature a “practice tier” for players with a small number of rated games. This will be re-examined after these trial runs.

To be inserted at the end of Section I: League Structure:

In Seasons 42 and 43, there shall also be a practice tier, separate from all other tiers, for players who have played 29 or fewer rated 2-player games online. Players in the practice tier will be similarly grouped and seeded.

Appended to the bulleted list in Section III: Standings:

Players in the practice tier do not promote or demote automatically. Instead, these players are placed as new players in the next season.

Added between paragraphs 1 and 2 in Section IV: Joining and Leaving:

For Seasons 42 and 43, players who join and have not played in one of the past 6 seasons and have played 29 or fewer rated 2-player games shall be placed into the practice tier.

Moderator Communication

A slight clarification about how moderators communicate.

Old (X. Moderation):

However, all moderators are able to assist players with any issues they face.

New:

Players should notify their moderator via Discord direct message of issues they have. Direct messages with a moderator about League matters may be shared with the other moderators for the team to resolve together.

Rewrite of Section II: Match Structure and Policies

Mainly a rearrangement, but also includes information about the practice tier and allows both players to agree to play their match with an unofficial timer.

Old:

Each player will play one match with each other player in their division. Matches consist of 6 games, with each player going first 3 times. The League recommends playing the first game with random starting players, and then alternating starting players manually. Each player receives 1 point for each game they won, and 0.5 points for each tie for that match.

The League standard is to play matches on Dominion Online, though you may play in-person. For games played online, spectators must be allowed for matches in tiers A, B, C, and D, and players cannot request to disallow spectators. Spectators are encouraged in other tiers, but a request by any player to disallow spectators must be honored. Players in all tiers are encouraged to turn the option to allow spectators to see their cards on and the option for players to see spectator chat off.

For games played online, the table should have the following settings by default, any of which both players can mutually agree to change before the game:

• The disliked cards lists and banned cards lists should be respected, and the liked cards lists should not be. Except for the foregoing, Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player owns, from zero to two landscapes, and no specific cards or landscapes required.
• The game should be unrated.
• The victory point counter should be used.

A playing session is a series of one or more games between the same two players. A match may be played over one or more playing sessions. During an individual session, players may not adjust their cardlists unless mutually agreed upon. For the purpose of this rule, any consecutive games played between the same two players with less than 24 hours between them are considered to be part of the same session.

The League suggests completing all 6 games of a match on the same day, but this is not required. When scheduling, keep in mind that a matches typically take 1.5–2 hours. After completing a match one of the players should post the result (via Google forms sent to each player at the start of the season) as soon as possible. If less than 6 games are played, the result of those games just played should be submitted in the same fashion. Multiple reports between the same two players will add to the full score.

We recognize that players from different backgrounds have different opinions on which undos, if any, should be allowed when playing Dominion. Therefore, players can choose any policy on what undos they will allow, as long as they announce it to their opponent ahead of time. In the absence of such an announcement, they will be expected to follow the default policy for the League, which is to grant undos of small numbers of non-information-revealing steps.

New:

Each player plays one match against each other player in their division. A match is 6 games with each player going first 3 times. The League recommends playing the first game with a random starting player, and then alternating the starting player.

Matches may be played over one or more playing sessions. A playing session is a series of one or more games between the same two players. For the purpose of this rule, any consecutive games played between the same two players with less than 24 hours between them are considered to be part of the same session. The League suggests completing all 6 games of a match on the same day in a single playing session, but this is not required.

The League also has the following general rules for games by default:

• Games should be played on Dominion Online.
• There is no official timer in Dominion Online, and games should not use a timer.
• During a game, players may not consult outside resources, such as strategy articles, or otherwise attempt to gain a competitive advantage.

For games played online, players should set the following Advanced Options by default:

• Spectators should be allowed.
• “Players can see spectator chat” should be off.
• The disliked cards lists and banned cards lists should be respected, and the liked cards lists should not be.
• The game should not use extra Menagerie cards.
• The game should be unrated. For Seasons 42 and 43, games in the practice tier must be rated.
• The victory point counter should be used.
• Except for cardlists, Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player owns, from zero to two landscapes, and no specific cards or landscapes required. No particular cards, landscapes, or expansions should be selected.

All these defaults may be changed between games by mutual agreement of the players except:

• Players in the practice tier may not play games in-person or on any platform other than Dominion Online.
• Players in tiers A, B, C, and D may not agree to disallow spectators.
• Cardlists may only be changed between playing sessions.
• Players in the practice tier may not agree for games to be unrated.
• Players agreeing to use an unofficial timer must agree on all timer settings and how to handle any glitches or lag.

The League recognizes players from different backgrounds may have different opinions on which undos, if any, should be allowed during a game. The League’s default is to grant undos of small numbers of non-information-revealing steps. A player can choose a different policy regarding which undos they will allow, so long as they announce it to their opponent before the game.

After each playing session, one of the players should submit the result of that playing session as soon as possible using the Results form linked in their division’s Discord channel. Players receive 1 point for each game they win and 0.5 points for each game they tie (note that, per Dominion rules, a player wins a game with tied VP scores if they took fewer turns). If the match is played across multiple sessions, only submit the games just played, and the system will add the multiple submissions together.

Presence of website!

Changes to Rules and Regulations
Replaced all instances of:

in the latest Signups post: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0

to:

in the latest Signups post: https://dominionleague.org/sign-ups.html

Changes to IV. Joining and Leaving
Old:
Quote

Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League by replying to the latest Signups post: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0.

New:
Quote

Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League by filling out the Google form embedded in the latest Signups post: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0. You may only participate in the League once per season. You may switch your Dominion Online or Discord account at any time by letting your moderator know, but you may not join the League additional times using other accounts.

Changes to I. League Structure
Old:
Quote

Each League season lasts for 6 weeks, and is followed by a 2 week break. Players are divided into groups of at most 6 players. Groups are arranged in tiered divisions. There is a single A division, 2 B divisions, 4 C divisions, 8 D divisions, up to 16 E divisions, and up to 32 F divisions. Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in the lower tiers (D, E, and F) and Dominion Online level for new players.

At the end of the season the players with 1st place ranks promote to the next level, while players ranked 5th or 6th place demote. E division demotions (to F) will possibly be more lenient depending on the number of players.

New:
Quote

Each League season lasts 6 weeks, and is followed by a 2-week break. Players are divided into groups of approximately 6 players. Groups are arranged in tiered divisions. There is a single division in tier A; 2 divisions in tier B; 4 divisions in each of tiers C and D; 8 divisions in each of tiers E, F, and G; and 16 divisions in tier H. Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in the lower tiers (D and below) and Dominion Online level for new players. At the end of each season, some players promote or demote based on the standings (see section III).

Changes to III. Standings
Old:
Quote

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division:

• Players who finish in first place in tiers B, C, D, E, and F promote.
• Players who finish in fifth place or sixth place in tiers A, B, C, and D demote.
• Players who finish in sixth place in tier E demote.

New:
Quote

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division:

• Players who finish in first place in tiers B, C, and E promote.
• Players who finish in first or second place in tiers D, F, G, and H promote.
• Players who finish in fifth or sixth place in tiers A, B, C, D, E, F, and G demote.

Changes to III. Standings
Old:
Quote

Ties are broken in the following order.

1. Number of total points from matches between the tied players
2. The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
3. If 2 players are still tied after the 2nd tiebreaker in a position with promotion or demotion consequences, they play a playoff match of 2 games. Each player starts once. If the players are tied after 2 games, they play one final game with random starting player in which player 2 wins ties. A player may choose not to play the playoff match, and thereby concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player will demote or not promote. If neither player responds promptly or both players respond but cannot arrange a match in the required time, moderators will flip a coin. If more than 2 players are tied after the 2nd tiebreaker, moderators will randomly order them.

At the end of the season, players who place 1st in their groups will promote to the next higher division, and players who place 5th and 6th will demote to the next lower division. For instance, the players who place 5th and 6th in the A group will demote to the B division, and the players who place first in B1 and B2 groups will promote to the A division to take their places. We might possibly be more lenient in the lower divisions depending on overall numbers.

New:
Quote

In the case of a tie within a division, the player with the total number of points from the matches between the tied players wins. If there is still a tie:

• If the tie is between two players, they play a 2-game match with each player starting one of the games. If the players are tied after those 2 games, they play one final game with a random player starting. If there is still a tie, the player that went second in the last game wins. A player who does not wish to play this match may concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player concedes by default. If neither player responds promptly or both respond but cannot arrange the match in the required time, the moderators will randomly break the tie.
• If the tie is between three or more players, the moderators will randomly break the tie.

At the end of the season, players may earn a spot in a different tier by promoting to the next higher tier or demoting to the next lower tier, based on their place in their division:

• Players who finish in first place in tiers B, C, D, E, and F promote.
• Players who finish in fifth place or sixth place in tiers A, B, C, and D demote.
• Players who finish in sixth place in tier E demote.

Changes to IV. Joining and Leaving
Old:
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To join the League, you must join the Dominion (Card Game) Discord server. To join the Dominion Discord server follow this link: https://discord.gg/jeN2sAB

Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League here: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0

You’re not required to own any cards in order to sign up, and who owns what will not have any influence on how players are placed into groups. When a player joins for the first time, they are placed in a division based on the availability of spots and their level on the Dominion Online Leaderboard. At the end of each season, players must indicate if they intend to stay in the League, or leave for the next season. You will not automatically re-enter the next season without specifying your preference. Please indicate whether you intend to return for the next season or not in your division’s scheduling thread before the end of the season.

Available spots that are created when players leave the League will be filled with players in the following order:

1. Players who left the League after a prior season within the last year (up to six seasons before the new one) are inserted at the level they previously earned.
2. Players who are joining for the first time, or who we were unable to place based on criteria #1 will be inserted into remaining openings by their rating on the Dominion Online leaderboard.
3. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 2nd are promoted.
4. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 5th skip demotion.

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To join the League, you must join the Dominion (Card Game) Discord server: https://discord.gg/jeN2sAB. Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the League by replying to the latest Signups post: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=60.0. You do not need to purchase a subscription to Dominion Online, and Dominion Online subscriptions have no bearing on players’ tiers, divisions, or seeding.

At the end of each season, players who want to return for the following season must fill out the Returning form linked in their division’s Discord channel, otherwise by default they will leave the League. The following priorities are used, in order, to fill the open spots created by players who leave:

1. Players returning to the League after playing in one of the past 6 seasons are placed into the tiers they would have most recently returned to, starting with the players that played most recently and with ties broken by seeding. For purposes of this priority only, divisions may have up to 7 players each.
2. Players returning from before the past 6 seasons, or joining for the first time, are placed into tiers based on their Dominion Online level.
3. Players who finished in second place with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion up to the next higher tier.
4. Players who finished in fifth place with a high score in the previous season are offered a free promotion to not demote to the next lower tier.

When multiple players are offered free promotions (as described above) to a tier with not enough open spots for all of them, that tier determines how players are chosen: For tiers A, B, and C, the moderators arrange play-in matches between those players. For all other tiers, the moderators choose the players at their discretion, taking into account time zones.

During a season, the moderators may, at their discretion, fill new open spots from a waiting list.

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Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on level on the Shuffle IT client (dominion.games), with time zone taken into account in the lower divisions (D, E, and F).

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Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on previous performance in the League, taking into account time zone in the lower tiers (D, E, and F) and Dominion Online level for new players.

Changes to II. Match Structure and Policies
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The League standard is to play games on Dominion Online with VP tracking enabled on randomly generated kingdoms using all cards that either player owns (the default on dominion.games, no matter who hosts the table). These standards should be followed for all games unless both players agree to alternate arrangements. Games may be played without VP tracking, in person, with only a limited set of expansions, particular kingdom cards you want practice with, etc., but both players must consent. If you wish to make arrangements that differ from the League standard, you should make this clear to your opponent when scheduling your match. Spectators must be allowed for all matches in Divisions A-D. Spectators for matches in Divisions E and F are encouraged, but if you or your opponent request to disallow spectators you must honor that request. You are encouraged but not required to allow spectators to see your cards.

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The League standard is to play matches on Dominion Online, though you may play in-person. For games played online, spectators must be allowed for matches in tiers A, B, C, and D, and players cannot request to disallow spectators. Spectators are encouraged in other tiers, but a request by any player to disallow spectators must be honored. Players in all tiers are encouraged to turn the option to allow spectators to see their cards on and the option for players to see spectator chat off.

For games played online, the table should have the following settings by default, any of which both players can mutually agree to change before the game:

• The disliked cards lists and banned cards lists should be respected, and the liked cards lists should not be. Except for the foregoing, Kingdoms should be generated randomly with all cards either player owns, from zero to two landscapes, and no specific cards or landscapes required.
• The game should be unrated.
• The victory point counter should be used.

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A playing session is a series of one or more games between the same two players. A match may be played over one or more playing sessions. During an individual session, players may not adjust their cardlists unless mutually agreed upon. For the purpose of this rule, any consecutive games played between the same two players with less than 24 hours between them are considered to be part of the same session.

Changes to IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season
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The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will seek to replace them with another player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player has played fewer than 3 complete matches (18 games), any games they played are voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer match.
• If the removed player has played at least 3 complete matches (18 games), the results will be retained in the standings. In addition, so as not to compare any players with different numbers of games played, any unplayed games with dropped players will be simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play. The dropped player is then considered ineligible and finishes below all other players, including possible demotion in any subsequent season in which they might return.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team’s discretion.

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The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player played no games, they are simply removed and the remaining players play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will replace them with a player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player played fewer than 3 complete matches (each match being 6 games), the games they played are voided, and the remaining players play one fewer match.
• If the removed player played 3 or more complete matches (each match being 6 games), the games they played are retained and the games they did not play are simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League seasons. Dropped players finish last place in their division and will demote, which may affect their placement in subsequent seasons they return to. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes), the ban period and demotion penalty may be reduced or eliminated at the moderators’ discretion.

Changes to II. Match Structure and Policies
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II. Match Structure

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II. Match Structure and Policies

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We recognize that players from different backgrounds have different opinions on which undos, if any, should be allowed when playing Dominion. Therefore, players can choose any policy on what undos they will allow, as long as they announce it to their opponent ahead of time. In the absence of such an announcement, they will be expected to follow the default policy for the League, which is to grant undos of small numbers of non-information-revealing steps.

Changes to III. Standings
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Ties are broken in the following order.

1. Number of total points from matches between the tied players
2. The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
3. Coin Flip

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Ties are broken in the following order.

1. Number of total points from matches between the tied players 2.The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
2. If 2 players are still tied after the 2nd tiebreaker in a position with promotion or demotion consequences, they play a playoff match of 2 games. Each player starts once. If the players are tied after 2 games, they play one final game with random starting player in which player 2 wins ties. A player may choose not to play the playoff match, and thereby concede. If one player fails to respond promptly or is unable to play, that player will demote or not promote. If neither player responds promptly or both players respond but cannot arrange a match in the required time, moderators will flip a coin. If more than 2 players are tied after the 2nd tiebreaker, moderators will randomly order them.

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In addition, the top two finishers in the A1 division will play a second 6-game match to determine the Champion for the Dominion League for that season. For the purposes of determining the Champion (and only those purposes), the results of this match will be added to the results of the season, including updates to tiebreakers. The match date and time should be determined by the two players well in advance to allow for the moderator team to find a commentator team. Even if the outcome of the match is settled before the sixth game, all six should be played out for the purpose of spectator entertainment.

Changes to X. League Moderation
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When new or additional moderators are needed, there will be an open call posted to the forum. New moderators are chosen by a vote of the current moderator team.

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If you ever take issue with a decision made by the moderator team, feel free to reach out to us and we will discuss it at the next moderator meeting (one meeting each season).

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Whenever the moderators gather for an official meeting at which rules may change (at least once per season), the agenda of the meeting and the outcome of any votes, including the number dissenting, will be made public within a week of the meeting.

Changes to XI. Amendments
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XI. Amendments

These rules can be amended for future seasons by a majority vote of the moderators. All such changes will be posted to the Changelog with an explanation of the change taking place. Exceptions to rules for the current season may be granted if and only if the moderators and all directly affected players agree to the exception.

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X. League Moderation

The League is moderated by a group of players whose role is to ensure the League runs smoothly. Moderators are allowed, but not required, to play in the League. Moderators are assigned divisions (never a division in the same tier they play in) to be the primary point of contact for those divisions. Their responsibilities include checking up on players who have fallen behind and removing those who are non-responsive for a considerable period of time. However, all moderators are able to assist players with any issues they face.

League moderators are also responsible for adjudicating any disputed rules infractions. If a moderator decision needs to be made that affects the outcome of a game, the players should finish the game and the player who requested the decision may protest the game by contacting their moderator with a description of what occurred and the game number. The moderator team will review the game and make a ruling by a majority vote whether the game results stand or that the game must be replayed.

If you ever take issue with a decision made by the moderator team, feel free to reach out to us and we will discuss it at the next moderator meeting (one meeting each season).

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VII. Respectfulness

Players are expected to treat one another with respect at all times. Examples of poor conduct include swearing at another player or otherwise harassing them, excessively complaining about luck, rage-quitting and leaving a scheduled match, intentional slow-playing, or unexpectedly changing pre-match arrangements (such as undo usage).

If another player acts abusively towards you, you should contact your moderator as soon as possible. You are encouraged to provide screenshots of game chats or forum/discord messages as evidence.

Depending on the severity of the offense, violating this rule may result in a warning, a ban of one or more seasons, or a permanent ban from the League.

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Players are expected to treat one another with respect at all times. Examples of poor conduct include swearing at another player or otherwise harassing them, excessively complaining about luck, rage-quitting and leaving a scheduled match, intentional slow-playing, or unexpectedly changing pre-match arrangements (such as undo usage). Player usernames also must not be offensive.

If another player acts disrespectfully towards you, you should contact your moderator as soon as possible. You are encouraged to provide screenshots of game chats or forum/Discord messages as evidence. If you find a username to be offensive, contact your moderator.

Violations of this rule will be adjudicated by a majority decision of the moderators. Depending on the severity of the offense, violating this rule may result in a warning, a ban of one or more seasons, or a permanent ban from the League. If your username is offensive, you will be told to change it prior to joining the League or before the next season begins.

In VII. Respectfulness:

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Players are expected to treat one another with respect at all times. Examples of poor conduct include swearing at another player or otherwise harassing them, excessively complaining about luck, rage-quitting and leaving a scheduled match, or intentional slow-playing.

We wanted something added about undoing. Changed to:

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Players are expected to treat one another with respect at all times. Examples of poor conduct include swearing at another player or otherwise harassing them, excessively complaining about luck, rage-quitting and leaving a scheduled match, intentional slow-playing, or unexpectedly changing pre-match arrangements (such as undo usage).

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VIII. Late Finish Penalties The official deadline to report your match results is the day after the official deadline (a Monday) at 15:00 UTC, so that people from the western-most time zones can easily finish and report matches which they started playing on Sunday night.

Players who are responsible for finishing their games late in two consecutive seasons they play will get their overall score reduced by 1. This penalty will only count for the own total and own average score and not for the calculation of any tiebreakers. Responsibility is determined by the group moderator, and any players who believe their opponents are responsible for the delay should send their moderator all relevant communications for evaluation.

If late game results are not reported within a week of the deadline, the responsible players are considered to have dropped out mid-season, with more severe penalties as described in the following section.

We are eliminating the penalty but putting another rule in place, so changed to:

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VIII. Late Finishes The official deadline to report your match results is the day after the official deadline (a Monday) at 15:00 UTC, so that people from the western-most time zones can easily finish and report matches which they started playing on Sunday night.

If players are unable to finish their matches by the deadline, they must contact their moderator to request an extension for up to a week with information about when the late matches will take place. If such communication does not take place or late game results are not reported within a week of the deadline, the responsible players are considered to have dropped out mid-season, with penalties as described in the following section.

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The League suggests completing all 6 games of a match on the same day, but this is not required. When scheduling, keep in mind that a matches typically take 1.5-2 hours. After completing a match one of the players should post the result (via Google forms sent to each player at the start of the season) as soon as possible. If a match is started, but not completed, the partial result, including the number of times each player has gone first should be posted in the Partial Results thread. When the match is completed, the partial result should be removed.

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The League suggests completing all 6 games of a match on the same day, but this is not required. When scheduling, keep in mind that a matches typically take 1.5-2 hours. After completing a match one of the players should post the result (via Google forms sent to each player at the start of the season) as soon as possible. If less than 6 games are played, the result of those games just played should be submitted in the same fashion. Multiple reports between the same two players will add to the full score.

Remove the bolded is

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II. Match Structure

Each player will play one match with each other player in their division. Matches consist of 6 games, with each player going first 3 times. The League recommends playing the first game with random starting players, and then alternating starting players manually. Each player is receives 1 point for each game they won, and 0.5 points for each tie for that match.

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II. Match Structure

Each player will play one match with each other player in their division. Matches consist of 6 games, with each player going first 3 times. The League recommends playing the first game with random starting players, and then alternating starting players manually. Each player receives 1 point for each game they won, and 0.5 points for each tie for that match.

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II. Match Structure

Each player will play one match with each other player in their division. Matches consist of 6 games, with each player going first 3 times. The League recommends playing the first game with random starting players, and then alternating starting players manually. Each player is receives 1 point for each game they won, and 0.5 points for each tie for that match.

The League standard is to play games on Dominion Online with VP tracking enabled on randomly generated kingdoms using all cards that either player owns (the default on dominion.games, no matter who hosts the table). These standards should be followed for all games unless both players agree to alternate arrangements. Games may be played without VP tracking, in person, with only a limited set of expansions, particular kingdom cards you want practice with, etc., but both players must consent. If you wish to make arrangements that differ from the League standard, you should make this clear to your opponent when scheduling your match.

The League suggests completing all 6 games of a match on the same day, but this is not required. When scheduling, keep in mind that a matches typically take 1.5-2 hours. After completing a match one of the players should post the result (via Google forms sent to each player at the start of the season) as soon as possible. If a match is started, but not completed, the partial result, including the number of times each player has gone first should be posted in the Partial Results thread. When the match is completed, the partial result should be removed. change in bold

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II. Match Structure

Each player will play one match with each other player in their division. Matches consist of 6 games, with each player going first 3 times. The League recommends playing the first game with random starting players, and then alternating starting players manually. Each player is receives 1 point for each game they won, and 0.5 points for each tie for that match.

The League standard is to play games on Dominion Online with VP tracking enabled on randomly generated kingdoms using all cards that either player owns (the default on dominion.games, no matter who hosts the table). These standards should be followed for all games unless both players agree to alternate arrangements. Games may be played without VP tracking, in person, with only a limited set of expansions, particular kingdom cards you want practice with, etc., but both players must consent. If you wish to make arrangements that differ from the League standard, you should make this clear to your opponent when scheduling your match. Spectators must be allowed for all matches in Divisions A-D. Spectators for matches in Divisions E and F are encouraged, but if you or your opponent request to disallow spectators you must honor that request. You are encouraged but not required to allow spectators to see your cards.

The League suggests completing all 6 games of a match on the same day, but this is not required. When scheduling, keep in mind that a matches typically take 1.5-2 hours. After completing a match one of the players should post the result (via Google forms sent to each player at the start of the season) as soon as possible. If a match is started, but not completed, the partial result, including the number of times each player has gone first should be posted in the Partial Results thread. When the match is completed, the partial result should be removed.

Deleted Section VIII. Incomplete Games:

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VIII. Incomplete Games

If a game unexpectedly ends because either Dominion Online breaks down or one of the players accidentally disconnects (internet connection lost, computer crashes, …) please use the following guidelines.

1. Discuss the game together with your opponent. Was the game completely open, or was either player ahead? And if there was a lead, was it small, significant or almost insurmountable?
2. Based on the players assessment of the game, you may chose one of the following options:
   • If you decide game was even or the lead was small, simply replay the game.
   • If you decide one player had a strong lead, report this game as 0.75-0.25 in favor of the leading player.
   • If you decide one player had a very significant lead, then that player should be awarded a win for that game.
3. We know that arbitrating this process with your opponent may be scary. Determining the state of a Dominion match is not a very scientific process especially when the players that have to make these decisions are competing. An ideal result is not possible when disconnects are involved, and there is no expectation of a perfect outcome. The purpose of this process is to give clear guidelines for players to adhere to when resolving the situation. If you really feel like you were ahead, and your opponent feels the same, then you are entitled to some equity and this process attempts to provide that.
4. Please know that in coming to an agreement may require one player to lose some equity. E.g. If you estimate there you have a 5% chance to win a game, then resigning it due to a disconnect may not feel great because you have given up a chance you had to win that game. It’s still the most fair option, because 5% is a lot closer to nothing than to 25%. We do not allow match results more precise than 0.75/0.25 because estimating win chances in these situations is very imprecise.
5. If you and your opponent cannot come to an agreement about the game state, you can chose to defer the decision to your group moderator. Your moderator won’t enjoy making this decision for you, so please make every possible effort to come to an agreement with your opponent. Both players should post their thoughts on the game state in their group’s thread and which result they think is best before sending a message to the group moderator. Make only one post with your opinion. There will not be any extended discussion about the game. The group moderator will make a decision based on the players statements and their own evaluation of the game. This decision could be a win/loss, replay, tie, or 0.75/0.25.

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VII. Respectfulness

Players are expected to treat one another with respect at all times. Examples of poor conduct include swearing at another player or otherwise harassing them, excessively complaining about luck, rage-quitting and leaving a scheduled match, or intentional slow-playing.

If another player acts abusively towards you, you should contact your moderator as soon as possible. You are encouraged to provide screenshots of game chats or forum/discord messages as evidence.

Depending on the severity of the offense, violating this rule may result in a warning, a ban of one or more seasons, or a permanent ban from the League.

(Numbering of later sections was modified appropriately.)

Quote From: Old Rules

IV. Joining, and Leaving

You’re not required to own any cards in order to sign up, and who owns what will not have any influence on how players are placed into groups. When a player joins for the first time, they are placed in a division based on the availability of spots and their level on the Dominion Online Leaderboard. At the end of each season, players must indicate if they intend to stay in the league, or leave for the next season. You will not automatically re-enter the next season without specifying your preference. Please indicate whether you intend to return for the next season or not in your division’s scheduling thread before the end of the season.

Available spots that are created when players leave the league will be filled with players in the following order: Players who left the league after a prior season within the last year (up to six seasons before the new one) are inserted at the level they previously earned. Players who are joining for the first time, or who we were unable to place based on criteria #1 will be inserted into remaining openings by their rating on the Dominion Online leaderboard. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 2nd are promoted. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 5th skip demotion.

Quote From: New Rules

IV. Joining, and Leaving

To join the league, you must join the Dominion (Card Game) Discord server. To join the Dominion Discord server follow this link: https://discord.gg/jeN2sAB

Once you have joined the Discord Server you may sign up to join the league here: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=19133.msg774101#msg774101

You’re not required to own any cards in order to sign up, and who owns what will not have any influence on how players are placed into groups. When a player joins for the first time, they are placed in a division based on the availability of spots and their level on the Dominion Online Leaderboard. At the end of each season, players must indicate if they intend to stay in the league, or leave for the next season. You will not automatically re-enter the next season without specifying your preference. Please indicate whether you intend to return for the next season or not in your division’s scheduling thread before the end of the season.

Available spots that are created when players leave the league will be filled with players in the following order: Players who left the league after a prior season within the last year (up to six seasons before the new one) are inserted at the level they previously earned. Players who are joining for the first time, or who we were unable to place based on criteria #1 will be inserted into remaining openings by their rating on the Dominion Online leaderboard. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 2nd are promoted. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 5th skip demotion.

Quote From: Old Rules

V. Scheduling

A suggested schedule will be posted in your group’s scheduling thread with a specific player to play each week. There is no requirement to follow the suggested schedule, but it is recommended not to fall behind the one match per week pace. Each group will be assigned a league moderator. If you have any scheduling issues, or if your opponent does not show up for a scheduled match, please inform your moderator.

If you are placed in a group with a player you are close friends with, please schedule your match as early as possible in the season to eliminate any temptation for collusion. You can also inform a league moderator if you anticipate this type of issue and the League will make an effort to place you in separate groups.

Quote From: New Rules

V. Scheduling

A suggested schedule will be posted in your group’s Discord channel with a specific player to play each week. There is no requirement to follow the suggested schedule, but it is recommended not to fall behind the one match per week pace. Each group will be assigned a league moderator. If you have any scheduling issues, or if your opponent does not show up for a scheduled match, please inform your moderator.

If you are placed in a group with a player you are close friends with, please schedule your match as early as possible in the season to eliminate any temptation for collusion. You can also inform a league moderator if you anticipate this type of issue and the League will make an effort to place you in separate groups.

Based on something that actually happened (and affected the winner of a division!), we’ve decided to clarify the rule about when players’ remaining matches are “simulated.” Three complete matches are not directly necessary, just the corresponding number of games.

Quote From: Old Rules

IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season

Players dropping out during the season have a significant negative impact on their group. Unfortunately, some must drop out, or become inactive and have to be removed by the moderators. It is difficult to deal with matches that have been played by a player who has dropped because the matches they played and failed to play can have a significant impact on the group standings. The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will seek to replace them with another player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player has played fewer than 3 complete matches, any games they played are voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer match.
• If the removed player has played at least 3 complete matches, the results will be retained in the standings. In addition, so as not to compare any players with different numbers of games played, any unplayed games with dropped players will be simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play. The dropped player is then considered ineligible and finishes below all other players, including possible demotion in any subsequent season in which they might return.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team’s discretion.

Quote From: New Rules

IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season

Players dropping out during the season have a significant negative impact on their group. Unfortunately, some must drop out, or become inactive and have to be removed by the moderators. It is difficult to deal with matches that have been played by a player who has dropped because the matches they played and failed to play can have a significant impact on the group standings. The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will seek to replace them with another player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player has played fewer than 3 complete matches (18 games), any games they played are voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer match.
• If the removed player has played at least 3 complete matches (18 games), the results will be retained in the standings. In addition, so as not to compare any players with different numbers of games played, any unplayed games with dropped players will be simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play. The dropped player is then considered ineligible and finishes below all other players, including possible demotion in any subsequent season in which they might return.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team’s discretion.

I finally got around to updating the rules on dropping players mid-season as we voted on last week.

Quote From: Old Rules

IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season

Players dropping out during the season have a significant negative impact on their group. Unfortunately, some must drop out, or become inactive and have to be removed by the moderators. It is difficult to deal with matches that have been played by a player who has dropped because the matches they played and failed to play can have a significant impact on the group standings. The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer game.
• If the removed player has played exactly 1 match, the match result is voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer game.
• If the removed player has played more than 1 match, the results will be retained in the standings unless there are other reasons to void those results (e.g. if there is evidence suggesting that the dropped player purposefully threw games prior to dropping). However, the players who are dropped are then ineligible and finish below all other players, which often means they would demote in any subsequent season in which they might return.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team’s discretion.

Quote From: New Rules

IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season

Players dropping out during the season have a significant negative impact on their group. Unfortunately, some must drop out, or become inactive and have to be removed by the moderators. It is difficult to deal with matches that have been played by a player who has dropped because the matches they played and failed to play can have a significant impact on the group standings. The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer match. If possible, the moderators will seek to replace them with another player from the waiting list.
• If the removed player has played fewer than 3 complete matches, any games they played are voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer match.
• If the removed player has played at least 3 complete matches, the results will be retained in the standings. In addition, so as not to compare any players with different numbers of games played, any unplayed games with dropped players will be simulated by averaging the average winning percentage of the dropped player and the average losing percentage of their opponent in all games they did play. The dropped player is then considered ineligible and finishes below all other players, including possible demotion in any subsequent season in which they might return.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team’s discretion.

volfied caught a part of the rules that was under the old “F is the new E” thinking… there is still demotion and promotion between E and F like any other pair. (We might want to consider creating a beginners G division at some point…)

Quote From: Old Rules

III. Standings

During the season, the standings for each group will be automatically updated as players complete matches. The players in each group will be ranked based on the average number of points they have received in each match. Ties are broken in the following order.

1. Number of total points from matches between the tied players
2. The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
3. Coin Flip

At the end of the season, players who place 1st in their groups will promote to the next higher division, and players who place 5th and 6th will demote to the next lower division. (e.g. the players who place 5th and 6th in the A group will demote to the B division, and the players who place first in B1 and B2 groups will promote to the A division to take their places.) Players in the F division, are not required to promote to the E division unless they wish to; similarly, Players in the E division will not demote to F unless they wish to. (However, the League may require a player to promote from F or remain in the E group if the player’s ability is not in line with the F division.)

Quote From: New Rules

III. Standings

During the season, the standings for each group will be automatically updated as players complete matches. The players in each group will be ranked based on the average number of points they have received in each match. Ties are broken in the following order:

1. Number of total points from matches between the tied players
2. The sum of the number of points received in each match multiplied by the total score of the opponent from that match.
3. Coin Flip

At the end of the season, players who place 1st in their groups will promote to the next higher division, and players who place 5th and 6th will demote to the next lower division. For instance, the players who place 5th and 6th in the A group will demote to the B division, and the players who place first in B1 and B2 groups will promote to the A division to take their places. We might possibly be more lenient in the lower divisions depending on overall numbers.

Fixed mistaken wording regarding the way expansions work on Dominion Online:

Quote From: Old Rules

II. Match Structure

[…]

The League standard is to play games on Dominion Online with VP tracking enabled with the player who owns the most cards hosting randomly generated kingdoms. These standards should be followed for all games unless both players agree to alternate arrangements. (Games may be played without VP tracking, in person, with modified kingdom selection options, ect., but both players must consent.) If you wish to make arrangements that differ from the league standard, you should make this clear to your opponent when scheduling your match.

Quote From: New Rules

II. Match Structure

[…]

The League standard is to play games on Dominion Online with VP tracking enabled on randomly generated kingdoms using all cards that either player owns (the default on dominion.games, no matter who hosts the table). These standards should be followed for all games unless both players agree to alternate arrangements. Games may be played without VP tracking, in person, with only a limited set of expansions, particular kingdom cards you want practice with, etc., but both players must consent. If you wish to make arrangements that differ from the League standard, you should make this clear to your opponent when scheduling your match.

Updated the rules on old players returning: Now they have to be returning from a season in the past year.

Quote From: Old Rules

IV. Joining, and Leaving

You’re not required to own any cards in order to sign up, and who owns what will not have any influence on how players are placed into groups. When a player joins for the first time, they are placed in a division based on the availability of spots and their level on the Dominion Online Leaderboard. At the end of each season, players must indicate if they intend to stay in the league, or leave for the next season. You will not automatically re-enter the next season without specifying your preference. Please indicate whether you intend to return for the next season or not in your division’s scheduling thread before the end of the season.

Available spots that are created when players leave the league will be filled with players in the following order:

1. Players who left the league after a prior season are inserted at the level they previously earned.
2. Players who are joining for the first time, or who we were unable to place based on criteria #1 will be inserted into groups as best as possible based on their rating on the Dominion Online leaderboard.
3. Promoting the player or players who had the best score in their division among those who placed 2nd.
4. Skipping demotion of the player or players who had the best score in their division among those who placed 5th.

Quote From: New Rules

IV. Joining, and Leaving

You’re not required to own any cards in order to sign up, and who owns what will not have any influence on how players are placed into groups. When a player joins for the first time, they are placed in a division based on the availability of spots and their level on the Dominion Online Leaderboard. At the end of each season, players must indicate if they intend to stay in the league, or leave for the next season. You will not automatically re-enter the next season without specifying your preference. Please indicate whether you intend to return for the next season or not in your division’s scheduling thread before the end of the season.

Available spots that are created when players leave the league will be filled with players in the following order:

1. Players who left the league after a prior season within the last year (up to six seasons before the new one) are inserted at the level they previously earned.
2. Players who are joining for the first time, or who we were unable to place based on criteria #1 will be inserted into remaining openings by their rating on the Dominion Online leaderboard.
3. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 2nd are promoted.
4. The player or players who had the best score(s) in their division among those who placed 5th skip demotion.

Changes for Season 27:

• Updating group language to reflect the new size of the league and time zone-based divisions at the lower levels.
• Explicitly spelling out penalties and deadlines for late finishes and mid-season drops.

Quote From: Old Rules

I. League Structure

Each League season lasts for 6 weeks, and is followed by a 2 week break. Players are divided into groups of at most 6 players. Groups are arranged in tiered divisions. Groups are created by seeding them based on their level on the Shuffle IT client. There is a single A group and two B groups. C, D and E divisions have a maximum of 4, 8, and 16 groups, respectively, but may have fewer groups depending on the number of players available. There is also an F division available for beginner players.

At the end of the season the players with 1st place ranks promote to the next level, while players ranked 5th or 6th place demote.

Quote From: New Rules

I. League Structure

Each League season lasts for 6 weeks, and is followed by a 2 week break. Players are divided into groups of at most 6 players. Groups are arranged in tiered divisions. There is a single A division, 2 B divisions, 4 C divisions, 8 D divisions, up to 16 E divisions, and up to 32 F divisions. Divisions are determined by a seeding algorithm depending on level on the Shuffle IT client (dominion.games), with time zone taken into account in the lower divisions (D, E, and F).

At the end of the season the players with 1st place ranks promote to the next level, while players ranked 5th or 6th place demote. E division demotions (to F) will possibly be more lenient depending on the number of players.

Quote From: Old Rules

VIII. Penalities

Players who finish late in two consecutive seasons they play will get their overall score reduced by 1. This penalty will only count for the own total and own average score and not for the calculation of tie breakers of oneself or other players. The official deadline to meet is Monday (the day after the official deadline), 15:00 UTC, so that people from the US west coast and Alaska can finish matches easily which they started playing on Sunday night.

Quote from: New Rules

VIII. Late Finish Penalties

The official deadline to report your match results is the day after the official deadline (a Monday) at 15:00 UTC, so that people from the western-most time zones can easily finish and report matches which they started playing on Sunday night.

Players who are responsible for finishing their games late in two consecutive seasons they play will get their overall score reduced by 1. This penalty will only count for the own total and own average score and not for the calculation of any tiebreakers. Responsibility is determined by the group moderator, and any players who believe their opponents are responsible for the delay should send their moderator all relevant communications for evaluation.

If late game results are not reported within a week of the deadline, the responsible players are considered to have dropped out mid-season, with more severe penalties as described in the following section.

Quote From: Old Rules

VIII. Penalities

Players who finish late in two consecutive seasons they play will get their overall score reduced by 1. This penalty will only count for the own total and own average score and not for the calculation of tie breakers of oneself or other players. The official deadline to meet is Monday (the day after the official deadline), 15:00 UTC, so that people from the US west coast and Alaska can finish matches easily which they started playing on Sunday night.

Quote from: Old Rules

IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season

Players dropping out during the season have a significant negative impact on their group. Unfortunately, some must drop out, or become inactive and are have to be removed by the moderators. It is difficult to deal with matches that have been played by a player who has dropped because the matches they have played and have failed to play can have significant impacts on the group standings. The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer game.
• If the removed player has played exactly 1 match, the match result is voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer game.
• If they’ve played more than 1 match the results will be retained in the standings unless there are other reasons to void those results (e.g. If there is evidence suggesting that the dropped player purposefully threw games prior to dropping. This very rarely happens and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The group moderator will have the final decision such a situation.)

Players who become inactive and are removed by the moderating team will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player needs to drop from the league for personal reasons, they should inform their moderator as promptly as possible. If a player is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or scheduling issues) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team’s discretion.

Quote from: New Rules

IX. Dropping Players Mid-Season Players dropping out during the season have a significant negative impact on their group. Unfortunately, some must drop out, or become inactive and have to be removed by the moderators. It is difficult to deal with matches that have been played by a player who has dropped because the matches they played and failed to play can have a significant impact on the group standings. The following rules are used for dropped players:

• If the removed player has not played any matches, they are simply removed and the remaining players in the group will play one fewer game.
• If the removed player has played exactly 1 match, the match result is voided, and the remaining players will play one fewer game.
• If the removed player has played more than 1 match, the results will be retained in the standings unless there are other reasons to void those results (e.g. if there is evidence suggesting that the dropped player purposefully threw games prior to dropping). However, the players who are dropped are then ineligible and finish below all other players, which often means they would demote in any subsequent season in which they might return.

Players who drop mid-season will be banned from participation in the next 2 League Seasons. If a player drops out within the first week of the season or is in good standing with the League (i.e. has played in prior seasons without drops or late finishes) the ban period may be reduced or eliminated per the moderating team’s discretion.