Raw Deal (card Game) - Tournaments

Tournaments

Raw Deal tournaments are typically singles events rather than tag team tournaments. There are three basic formats for tournaments: All Axxess, Afterburn and Revolution. All Axxess tournaments have no restrictions on the cards or superstars that may be used by players. Afterburn tournaments require a player’s deck and superstar to have been from one of the most recent expansions or the latest Survivor Series set. At present, Afterburn-legal cards are limited to card printed or reprinted in Survivor Series 3, as well anything printed after the Vengeance set (Lethal Library, Armageddon, Unforgiven and Royal Rumble sets, as well as some prize support and promotional cards). Revolution Format is restricted to Revolution Format cards only, and follow the rules of the Revolution game by itself.

Regardless of the format, singles tournaments use a random draw in the first round, and the Swiss pairing system in subsequent rounds, so that players will be facing opponents with roughly similar win-loss records in each round. Players who win a match by Pin receive 3 points, while players who win by Count-Out receive 2 points. The number of rounds depends on the size of the tournament, as does the number of finals positions. In most cases, a 2:1 win-loss ration is typically sufficient to secure a finals berth.

In the event of a points tie for finals placing, the performance of a player’s opposition is used to determine who will qualify for the finals. In addition, no more than one player may reach the finals with the same superstar - this is known as the Diversity Rule, and discourages players from all using the same deck. If four players are using the same superstar, only one can make the finals, even if the others would normally qualify. Once the top cut is made at the end of the regular rounds, players play single-elimination rounds until only one player is left as the tournament winner.

Tournament kits and random cards are usually offered as prizes for tournaments. These include title belt cards, guest ringside announcer cards or other unique cards unavailable in starter decks or booster packs. After the tournament, the performance of the players is noted and sent through to update the existing world rankings. The Raw Deal world rankings use the ELO ranking system to determine a player’s position.