The Changelog – Clash 2019

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Welcome to “The Changelog”, a place where we discuss new rule revisions for our tournaments.

Anytime we make revisions to the Rules document, we’ll use this page as a way to compare and contrast, provide context, as well as give our reasoning as for why we made our changes.

Note: When we initially release the Rules document along with signups, there usually will always be changes that we make based on further testing, player feedback, or due to new updates to the game. Rules become “locked in” and can no longer be changed once we’re within 7 days of the tournament.

In The 5th Anniversary Clash scenario, the last time the rules may be changed is on Friday, December 13th at 11:59pm Eastern. Once that date passes, you can expect the rules to be final and officially in-play for the tournament.

To see a list of the full tournament rules, click here!

The Changelog – Tuesday, December 17th, 2019

The following spell specific rules have been revised:

  • May-cast wands with a may-cast that has a No-PvP tag, are excluded from the wand strike penalty.
    • When we formally announced Clash last month, we were under the Summer 2019 version of the general rules. At the time of Luau, there had not been any may-cast wands which include a may-cast deemed no-PvP by KingsIsle. After we released Clash, we mentioned how there would be rule revisions prior to the tournament with a changelog to explain those changes. The general rules had locked on Friday, Decmember 13th at 11:59pm Eastern.
    • In the current version of the rules, anyone who would use a wand categorized as a “may-cast” wand, regardless of whether the spell had a no-PvP tag, would receive a penalty. This penalty was not justified but because of the specific wording, would be enforced.
    • Our referees, as well as members of the DuelCircle Leadership Team, made a serious clerical error by not including provisions for that wand (as well as any future no-PvP wands). We apologize for being ignorant to the 3 wands’ existence and have included the provision, even though it negates our 7 day rule lock.
    • Changing the 7 day rule lock is not justified because whether the lock is moved closer to the tournament or not, it doesn’t solve the problem. We simply weren’t paying enough attention to the game as we should have. We hope to prevent mistakes like this in the future by properly vetting referee game knowledge, as well as the DuelCircle leadership team as a whole throughout the year.

The Changelog – Monday, December 9th, 2019

The following spell specific rules have been removed:

  • Stun Block – 2 Round Cooldown
    • In the Luau changelog, we stated how we specifically only added a cooldown to Stun Block due to Scion of Myth. Since all Scion spells have been banned, this rule is no longer justified.
  • Daybreaker/Nightbringer + Upgradeable Spellement Spells
    • Daybreaker/Nightbringer were preliminary banned due to it’s Fall Update release shortly before Clash’s release. After careful evaluation, we have decided to remove the preliminary ban and both Daybreaker/Nightbringer may be used to its’ full extent. We feel that these spells will allow for more creative playstyles and we’re excited to see its’ potential.
    • We have also decided to allow the use of all currently upgradeable spellwritten spells. Since the spellements drop fairly easy from places such as Loremaster, we don’t see a problem with participants taking advantage of the new spellwriting system.
  • Guardian Spirit

The following spell specific rules have been revised:

  • All Scion spells have been banned
    • After evaluating its’ use during Luau, we felt that the best solution to improve match quality would be to outright ban all Scion spells. During Luau, we thought that 1 use per match would be a viable solution but the truth of the matter is that Scion spells are intended to be used as an execute. We want to diversity match playstyles but Scion does not allow that to happen when a majority of our participants are using the same strategy.
  • Burning Rampage may be used once per reshuffle
    • Due to KingsIsle’s Fall Update spell change, we felt justified to unban Burning Rampage and allow participants the opportunity to utilize the newly updated spell. We decided upon a once per reshuffle limit since we feel that the spell is still stronger than Loremaster or Brimstone Revenant in its’ current form.
  • Loremaster now has a 1 round cooldown
    • Due to KingsIsle’s Fall Update spell change, we felt that a 2 round cooldown is no longer necessary as the spell is no longer as powerful as its’ original iteration. There is still a 2 per reshuffle limit on the spell to prevent significant abuse.
  • Headless Horsemen now has a 1 round cooldown, 2 uses per reshuffle
    • After evaluating its’ use during Luau, we felt that limiting the spell to 2 uses per reshuffle would prevent significant abuse even with a cooldown. We lowered the cooldown to 1 round to be on par with Loremaster.

As a reminder, participants now have the option to challenge the initial referee decision if they feel that the referee was incorrect or misapplied a rule, resulting in a decision. The challenge must be requested immediately via Discord.

      • ManderBot will inform DuelCircle Leadership of a challenge request. Referees are not allowed to provide context on a decision unless it is based on a rule infraction (non-judgemental rule). 
          • Challenges will be reviewed by DuelCircle Leadership via Muted Match VODs. DuelCircle Leadership will provide context on our ruling.
            • Either the initial referee’s decision was correct, there’s not enough evidence to overturn the initial decision, or the referee was incorrect and the call will be overturned. 
            • We will provide a separate 30 minute round preparation period for participants impacted by a challenge that causes a delay in the tournament.

To see the last changelog from Luau ’19, click here. We plan on having public archives of our rule document in the near future. The current rules page will always be up to date with the most recent changes.