Creating a Team
To participate in team wars, one must first be on a fully registered team.  To join a team, simply find a team's thread in the Team Bunkers section, and ask to join.  Different teams will have different prerequisites to joining.

If you are interested in starting your own team, the following guidelines must be followed:

• All Teams must first post in the Team Registration thread.
  
• Once that team has acquired a minimum of five confirmed members, their team thread will be moved to the Team Bunkers forum as an official team.
  
• Each team is allowed a maximum of 6 members.
  

Before a team can be approved, they must make sure at least the LEADER and either 1 sub-leader/war commander OR 2 other members have a Skype name. This facilitates member contact during wars.

Disbanding/Leaving Teams

• Leaders/Sub-leaders who disband or leave their teams cannot join another team for 2 weeks and cannot create a team for 4 weeks.
  
• Non-leaders who leave or disband a team cannot join another team for 1 week. However, they are free to create a new team at any time. But if 2 players leave a team and one of them creates a team, the other player must wait 1 week in order to join that team like any other.
  
• War managers will keep track of these time limits.
  
• The War Managers reserve the right to limit team creation if they suspect circumvention. The maximum limit they can place in these situations is 1 month.
  

NOTE: These limits will be suspended during the period between the end of playoffs and the start of the next season

Merging Teams
In the event that two teams merge to become a new team, the following conditions are enforced:

• Both team leaders must send the Head War Manager (ChaosSatella) a PM saying they will be merging and if either of the old teams will be disbanded/continuing.
  
• The teams that will merge must have no ongoing wars and cannot surrender wars by forfeit. (i.e. they must finish all wars they start).
  
• The new team will have a new name. If they wish to keep an old name, a number will be added to it (i.e *team name* 2).
  
• Members of the new team must wait one week after the merge before conducting wars.
  
• Members of the old teams that will not be in the new team are free to join other teams with no limitation in the event that their old team is closed down.
  

Team Activity
Teams that have not actively pursued a war against another team for a month will be temporarily suspended. A PM notifying leaders and subs will be sent at that time. A PM by a leader or subleader must be sent to a war manager before the team can be reinstated. If another month passes without the PM, it will be shut down permanently.

Conducting Wars
To initiate a war, simply post in another team's thread and request one.  After both teams have agreed on War Format and number of players (MINIMUM 5 PLAYERS), they should post in the War Arena Forum.

• All members' Skype info needs to be listed.
  
• All wars must be played in MATCH format.
  
• When wars are completed, ALL replays must be posted.
  
• Failure to follow these rules may result in invalidation of the war.
  
• Update: Pendulums should not be used until their bugs are fixed on YGOPro Percy version. If they were used and they bug throughout the game, then the Pendulum user will get a game loss for the round that he is currently at.
  

War Formats
We currently support two war formats: Crossfire and Hearts.

Crossfire:

• Goal is to eliminate every player on the opposing team
  
• Single or Double elimination
  

Hearts:

• Each team is assigned a minimum number of hearts (or "lives") equal to at least the number of the participating members. The maximum number of hearts is 8.
  
• Double elimination is optional.
  
• A heart is taken away for each match loss. The first team to eliminate all the opposing team's hearts is the winner.
  

Special Rules:
In Double or No Elimination format, a special rule regarding number of matches may be implemented if agreed upon by both teams. In effect, a player cannot conduct a war match if they have played a certain number of matches in the war. THIS IS OPTIONAL.

• The MINIMUM limit to this rule is one half the number of hearts in a war. (i.e. if the number of hearts in a war is 8, you cannot limit a player to dueling only 3 or fewer times).
  

Banlist:
-The banlist used in a war will always be the banlist that was in effect on the date the war started.

• For example, if a war started on August 29, 2013, the banlist used would be the March 2013 list even if the war match was conducted after September 1.
  

-If there is a difference between the official OCG and the TCG banlists, teams may decide upon which banlist they will use.

• Regardless of the choice, the cards allowed will be OCG/TCG (both).
  

-The decision on the banlist must be made BEFORE the start of the war and CANNOT be changed during the war.

• This choice can only be made during the SEASON; Playoff wars will be held using the official TCG list.
  

Additional Banlists:
As well as the official banlists, the following list may also be applied:
-Non-meta:
The following decks are BANNED:

• With this list, the aforementioned decks are forbidden, but you are allowed to use cards from those decks as support for an allowed deck.
  
• The Non-Meta list cannot be used in a war until 2 weeks after the official banlist is implemented to determine the forbidden decks.
  

Wars on Dueling Network
The following rules are also applied for wars using Dueling Network:
-The use of Dueling Network MUST be accepted beforehand by both team leaders or an adequate substitute (war commander/sub-leader).
-Results MUST come with confirmation of the losing duelist as well as a screenshot of the victory. If the losing duelist would like to dispute the result, he/she must do so within 3 days and only if no screenshot is provided as proof; otherwise, it will be automatically be recorded.

Activity
-A match should be completed at least every 2 days.  If 2 days have passed with no duels completed.  The team that has shown the least activity will start losing hearts or have random members eliminated. Stay active!
-If neither team has made an attempt to find a duel in FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS, the war will be closed with no winner.
-If you're having trouble finding team members to duel in the chat box, please attempt to message the opposing team’s point of contact.
-It is VERY important that teams show their activity in the war thread.  I cannot gauge a team's activity in the chat box. I only see what people post.

Substitutes
-Substitutes must be designated at the beginning of a war.
-A substitutes can come in for any other member of the team...but once they come in for a member, they cannot sub for a different member (i.e. they can only sub for that particular member for the rest of the war).

• In the event of a double elimination war or a war in which a limit on the number of matches, the substitute will share the limit with the original player.
  

-There is no limit to how many times a sub can come in unless otherwise agreed upon by the leaders of the participating teams.

Multiple Accounts
-Any player found to be impersonating another player or having 2 different accounts will be BANNED from the war arena for 1 month. The team with the banned player CANNOT remove that player from their team. Proof must be provided in the form of chatlogs.
-If a player impersonates another player during the playoffs, that player will not be able to duel for the REMAINDER of the playoffs. Also, the team with the player in question is automatically deducted 1 heart for EACH war they play in the playoffs (i.e. if the team advances, they automatically start with 4 hearts instead of 5).
-IP checks on new teams and players will also be conducted in order to determine if players are creating multiple accounts.

Disputes/Disconnection
These rules cover war matches on both YGOPro and Dueling Network:
-In the event of a disconnect during a war match, ensure that all replays are saved.  In the event a replay cannot be saved, attempt to take a screenshot of the field.
-If a winner could not be determined at the time of the disconnect, players can replay that duel.  Simply setup a new match, surrender appropriately (so you can side), and continue dueling from the game that was left off.
-The disconnecting player has 24 hours to reschedule the match; if the disconnecting player fails to attempt to reschedule the match, the disconnecting player is given a match loss.

• If the player that did NOT disconnect refuses a replay, the match is invalidated.
  
• If the replay was rescheduled, both players CANNOT conduct a war match with another player in that war until the conclusion of the match.
  

-If there are any disputes on the outcome of a duel, a War Manager will review any replays, screenshots, or accounts of the match and will come to a decision on how to proceed.

War Rewards
-Any player that played a match will gain 5 DP*(# of hearts in the war) regardless of whether their team won or lost the war.
-Additionally, players will earn 15 DP for every war match they win.
-If a team loses due to inactivity or forfeiture, NONE of the players on the losing team will get DP (playoff wars are exempt).

Playoff Prizes:
Prizes awarded for playoff results will be based on the number of participating teams and the end placing of the team, with a Userbar+400 DP being the guaranteed amount to each member of the winning team. Userbars as well as lesser amounts of DP will also be awarded to the Runner-Up and Semi-Finalists, with just DP being awarded to Quarter-Finalists and Qualifier Team members. Other prizes may also be awarded.

-Raises Hand- I see a few key things missing from here such as:
-What Happens when you stall an duel
-More War Options
-Punishments for breaking the rules

Just wanted to see if those were things you thought about while making, Hope you put my suggestions into effect, If you need help you can ask.

- TSG

....^ Like that should be in there. And other F.A.Q Questions so people do not get confused about this section and blow it off.

Updated to reflect the implementation of SKype.

Added new rules concerning multiple accounts and player impersonation. These weren't added because it was assumed that players will only have 1 account. However, it has been found that some players are creating multiple accounts, so these rules are added in. These rules are temporary, designed only to last until the end of the season. Afterwards, they will be ironed out into more official rules.

These rules will be appended NEXT season (March 1):

Rules Concerning Disbanding/Leaving Teams:
-Leaders/Sub-leaders who disband or leave their teams cannot join another team for 2 weeks and cannot create a team for 4 weeks.

-Non-leaders who leave or disband a team cannot join another team for 1 week. However, they are free to create a new team at any time. But if 2 players leave a team and one of them creates a team, the other player must wait 1 week in order to join that team like any other.

-War managers will keep track of these time limits.

-I reserve the right to limit team creation if I suspect circumvention. The maximum limit I can place in these situations is 1 month.

Rules Concerning Activity:
-Teams that have not actively pursued a war against another team for a month will be temporarily suspended. A PM notifying leaders and subs will be sent at that time. A PM by a leader or subleader must be sent to a war manager before the team can be reinstated. If another month passes without the PM, it will be shut down permanently. Mostly a laziness thing where I don't need to go into a thread

Ratings
Team Ratings will be reset after the end-of-season playoffs. Individual ratings will NOT be reset. I will keep "career" records of team ratings as well, but playoffs will be determined by seasonal rankings. The career ratings are for purely egotistical purposes.

DP Prizes for Wars
-Every member of the team that wins will gain 10 DP*(# of hearts in the war).
-Every member of the team that loses will gain 5 DP* (# of hearts in the war).
-Additionally, players will earn 10 DP for every war match they win.
-If a team loses due to inactivity or forfeiture, NONE of the players on the losing team will get DP (playoff wars are exempt).

Playoff Prizes
-Winner gets a Userbar denoting their win and 400 DP for each team member
-Finalist gets a Userbar denoting their finalist stature and 200 DP for each team member
-Semi-Finalists each get a Userbar and 100 DP for each team member
-Qualifiers get 50 DP for each team member

One rule has been modified. If two teams agree to a war, there is no more need to post in the War Registration Forum. Instead, just post directly into the War Arena Forum. You can't conduct a duel until the other team confirms though.

This rule will be in place until something goes terribly wrong in regards to war registration.

Added a standardized process for team mergers in the future:

Quote :

Merging Teams
In the event that two teams merge to become a new team, the following conditions are enforced:
-The teams that will merge must have no ongoing wars and cannot surrender wars by forfeit.
-The new team will have a new name. If they wish to keep an old name, a number will be added to it (i.e *team name* 2).
-Members of the new team must wait one week after the merge before conducting wars.
-Members of the old teams that will not be in the new team are free to join other teams with no limitation in the event that their old team is closed down.

To encourage more activity in wars, I've changed the DP reward system. We've had wars that essentially devolved into a 2 on 2 setting, while the players that didn't play were awarded amounts comparable to those that did, especially if those that played lost a lot. Sometimes, there are time zone issues that might limit availability to duel, but I'd like it if you make an attempt at least (stay up past your bed time or get up early or something). As a result, it's been changed to only award players that actually conduct a war duel. So the end result of the war doesn't matter in terms of DP awarded, but individual wins will be rewarded more.

Quote :

- Any player that played a match will gain 5 DP*(# of hearts in the war) regardless of whether their team won or lost the war.
-Additionally, players will earn 15 DP for every war match they win.
-If a team loses due to inactivity or forfeiture, NONE of the players on the losing team will get DP (playoff wars are exempt).

With CEA's integration of Dueling Network, I need to set some ground rules for conducting wars using it. Here they are:

Quote :

Wars using Dueling Network:
   -CANNOT also use YGOPro for the same war due to a slightly different card pool.
   -MUST be accepted beforehand by both team leaders.
   -Results MUST come with confirmation by the losing duelist as well as a screenshot of the victory. If the losing duelist would like to dispute the result, he/she must do so within 3 days and only if no screenshot is provided by the winner as proof; otherwise, it will automatically be recorded.
   -Custom/Non-meta rules are NOT allowed as decks cannot be checked as opposed to those conducted on YGOPro.

Disconnection
-If a disconnection occurs any time after determining turn order, the disconnecting player is awarded a game loss UNLESS they were in a position of overwhelming advantage (screenshot MUST be provided to a War Manager), in which case, the disconnecting player receives a game win.
-In either case, the disconnecting player has 24 hours to resume or schedule the continuation of the match (if necessary) or suffers a match loss. Either a post on the war thread or a PM to a War Manager will be adequate notice.

These rules are implemented on top of existing rules and may be modified if needed.

Any wait times regarding team switching and team forming will be suspended until September 8th, meaning players are free to disband and form teams at any time before the 8th.

Also, the following changes will take effect on September 1:

Quote :

Wars on Dueling Network

The following rules are also applied for wars using Dueling Network:

-YGOPro cannot be used for the same war.
-The use of Dueling Network MUST be accepted beforehand by both team leaders, or an adequate substitute (war commander/sub-leader).
-Results MUST come with confirmation of the losing duelist as well as a screenshot of the victory. If the losing duelist would like to dispute the result, he/she must do so within 3 days and only if no screenshot is provided as proof; otherwise, it will be automatically be recorded.
-Custom/Non-meta rules are NOT allowed as they cannot be checked as opposed to duels conducted on YGOPro.

New Provision due to the split between OCG and TCG banlists:

Quote :

Banlist:
-The banlist used in a war will always be the banlist that was in effect on the date the war started.
       -For example, if a war started on August 29, 2013, the banlist used would be the March 2013 list even if the war match was conducted after September 1.
-If there is a difference between the official OCG and the TCG banlists, teams may decide upon which banlist they will use.
    -Regardless of the choice, the cards allowed will be OCG/TCG (both).
    -The decision on the banlist must be made BEFORE the start of the war and CANNOT be changed during the war.
    -This choice can only be made during the SEASON; Playoff wars will be held using the official TCG list.(Subject to change)

New Section to deal with additional banlists:

Quote :

Additional Banlists:
As well as the official banlists, the following list may also be applied:
-Non-meta (forbidden decks to be determined)
  -With this list, the aforementioned decks are forbidden, but you are allowed to use cards from those decks as support for an allowed deck (i.e. Tenki or Blaster in Fire Kings)
  -The Non-Meta list cannot be used in a war until 2 weeks after the official banlist is implemented to determine the forbidden decks.

Consolidated Rules Regarding Disconnects

Quote :

Disconnection
These rules cover war matches on both YGOPro and Dueling Network:
-If a player disconnects any time during a match, a replay will occur with the same match score UNLESS either player was in a position of overwhelming advantage.
-The player with advantage will be awarded the game win.
-A replay or screenshot of the field upon disconnect MUST be provided to a War Manager or posted on the war thread as proof.
-The disconnecting player has 24 hours to reschedule the match; if they fail to reschedule the match, the disconnecting player is given a match loss.
-If the player that did NOT disconnect refuses a replay, the match is invalidated.
-If the replay was rescheduled, both players CANNOT conduct a war match with another player in that war until the conclusion of the match.

but in my dragunity I only run 2 tempest does it still count as meta as its not using more then 1 different dragon ruler

Chaos Creator wrote:

but in my dragunity I only run 2 tempest does it still count as meta as its not using more then 1 different dragon ruler

Dragunity with 2 Tempest is legal. Dragunity with 2 Tidal and 2 Tempest is NOT.

We have enough teams for us to go back to the normal rules. Therefore all the temporary limitations such as maximum 5 members have been taken out and now it is back to 6. That being said the minimum is also back to 4 members (including the leader) now.

Mercenary (Hitman Item) is now available again as well as everything that is on this thread EXCEPT FOR ELO. For now wars will be casual and winning or losing will not affect the team's rating until we get War manager(s). You will still be awarded the normal amount of DP as usual.

War book has been updated:
Update: "Pendulums should not be used until their bugs are fixed on YGOPro Percy version. If they were used and they bug throughout the game, then the Pendulum user will get a game loss for the round that he is currently at."