Insidehoops Comic Draft and Tournament Signup

[vapid]

Welcome to the SECOND Insidehoops Comic Draft and Tournament!

The premise is simple: In this thread twelve managers will draft comic book characters from a list provided to form a team that they will pit against their opponents. The first draft was a little less organized so no winner was declared from that one, but THIS draft will not disappoint. One of our esteemed OTC posters Ridonks introduced me to a format that is tried and tested. Some of you may remember it from his TV and Movie Character Draft.



Here are the Rules. Its long, but its not complicated.

THE POSITIONS

Okay, first off, there are three different positions in this draft:

The Commissioner: Me. I get the job of randomizing the draft order, posting the match ups when we get to that point, enforcing the rules and basically pulling all of the strings that make this thing work. If you have any further questions about the draft that isn't explained in this post, feel free to ask me, either in the thread or via PM.

The Judges: In Ridonks' draft we had more than one judge, but from my experience its tough to get two more people to stay on top of this and be as dedicated, so I'll judge everything unless I get some really willing participants. Rezznor says he will help, so if we get one more poster to judge we can have three. GMs can also nominate themselves to judge the other conference but I'm going to use my discretion based on how active I know you to be.

The GMs: There will be twelve GMs spots up for grabs. If I feel like we can't get twelve, we'll go with ten and have just one conference. As a GM, it's your responsibility to draft a team from the draft list, come up with a team name and assign numbers to your characters once the matches start.

STEP 1: THE DRAFT

Once all the positions are filled, I'll randomize the draft order and post the list from which the GMs will draft their teams. There will be 10 rounds of drafting, which of course means that each team will consist of at least 10 characters. The draft order is a snake draft.

Example:

Round 1
1. Team A
2. Team B
3. Team C
4. Team D

Round 2
1. Team D
2. Team C
3. Team B
4. Team A

And we'll do 10 rounds like that.


STEP 2: THE MATCH UPS

Once all 10 rounds of drafting are completed, I'll post the first round of match ups. Each GM's team will face off against another GM's team. Once the match ups are posted, I'll ask each GM to PM me a set of numbers. Basically what you do here is assign each champion on your team a number from 1 to 8, and when I randomly call, for example, the number 6, whoever you placed at number 6 will square off against whomever the opposing GM placed at number 6. Fairly simple, right?

Let's look at a hypothetical set of numbers.

Suppose you had the completely hypothetical team: X-Man, Phoenix, Professor X, Cable, Cannonball, Wolverine, Cyclops, Havok, Bishop, and Jean Grey. You could send numbers in like so:

1. Cannonball
2. Cyclops
3. X-Man
4. Phoenix
5. Bishop
6. Professor X
7. Wolverine
8. Havok

That, or any order. It really is best to keep things random so as to keep your opponent guessing.

Now, you'll notice that I said that you can assign 8 numbers. So why do we have 10 rounds of drafting and 10(at the least) characters per team? Simple. You have to decide which of your characters will sit out the individual battles for that round. GMs can switch which characters they want to sit out, though. In the example above, that hypothetical GM decided to sit out Jean Grey and Cable, but after that match is over and he is facing off against a different GM, he could decide put those 2 characters into the match and sit out, say, X-Man and Bishop. It's up to the GM to decide which characters would serve him best in the individual battles for that round.

Not to worry, though. All 10 of your characters will participate in team battles, if that becomes necessary.

A team battle occurs if, after we get through all 8 numbers of individual battles, the 2 squads are deadlocked at 4 wins apiece. The team battle will then act as a tiebreaker and the winner of that battle will win the match. Team battles involve the judges having to decide which team would win in an all out brawl between every character on both squads.


OPTIONAL STRATEGIES:

Here are a couple of different things that you can use (or not use) when sending in your numbers:

Trumps

A trump is when you place two characters together for a greater chance of winning their match up. Sounds simple, right? But there is a downside. Trumping your characters together for a greater chance of success will result in an auto-loss for your squad.

Here's what happens when you trump:

Using the same team from above, you can send in your numbers using trumps like so:

1. Cyclops trumped with Havok
2. X-Man
3. Professor X
4. Phoenix
5. Bishop
6. Cannonball
7. Jean Grey
8. Havok trumped with Cyclops

Now, in the event that I call number 8, both Havok and Cyclops will face off against whomever the opponent placed at number 8. Obviously, they would have a greater chance at defeating whoever comes up as their opponent. Of course, there's always the possibility that their opponent might be out of their league, and that they'd lose despite the fact that there's two of them. That's the risk involved in trumping.

Now, once that trump has done battle, whether they win or lose, when I call the other number that the trump used, (in this case, 1) the team will receive an auto-loss in that spot and whoever the opponent placed at number 1 will win no matter what. It is as though your team did not show up for the fight, and so the other team wins due to forfeit.

Now, can you use multiple trumps or even put more than two characters together in one trump? Yes, you may. You can trump your team however you see fit. Just always be aware that you will receive an auto-loss for each team member that's trumped, so don't get too carried away. However, you may not have more than 4 forfeits, as that would result in your automatic loss in the overall match.

Preparation Time

The second of our optional strategies is known as prep time. Basically what this means is that you can assign up to 2 of your characters prep time when sending in your numbers. So, again, your numbers could look like this:

1. X-Man
2. Wolverine (prepared)
3. Bishop
4. Cannonball
5. Professor X
6. Phoenix
7. Havok
8. Cable (prepared)

So what does being prepared mean for a character? I am so glad you asked.

Prepared combatants will be taken to a replica of their home base, or the equivalent of it, and given a few things to aid them in their battle.

First, a datapad like supercomputer. This computer will hold all relevant information about an opponent, including a psychological profile, information about their species/homeworld, their affiliations, their powers and how they operate(for instance, an explanation on the Kryptonian physiology, such as how the cells absorb yellow sunlight), and their arsenal, if they should have one, however. The computer will boot up with a brief opening monologue about who the combatant is facing, which is sort of like a history of that character, kind of like watching a documentary, and then the computer will automatically open to the character's psychological profile. The computer will then give any relevant information the user requires.

Second, a sample of their opponent's DNA. If the opponent is a mutant/alien, this would allow someone with enough knowledge in the area of genetics to analyze, and possibly work out how to neutralize an opponent's ability.

Thirdly, access to any significant prop used by an opponent, such as a Green Lantern's power ring. They would not be able to use the sample, but would be allowed to analyze it, to determine things like power source, type of energy, etc. Because some people rely on items rather than their own inherent abilities, this keeps it from being unfair to those that could have their powers neutralized by analyzing a DNA sample.

Fourth, a small amount of any substance that hinders or helps the opponent. Such as Kryptonite, or Radion. Not enough to actually harm the opponent, but enough to analyze.

Combatants will not be given access to the area before the fight, as it is artificial, and does not exist beforehand. Instead, those prepared will be given a 3-D map of the location, and can study it from their quarters. They cannot alter the battlefield in any way before the battle.

Combatants will not be told where they are starting, however, depending on the location, they will be starting facing each other at a reasonable distance(the distance will change depending on the size). Combatants who are not prepared will be brought to a small briefing room as the map "loads"(prepared combatants will be brought to the same type of room, only after they have made their preparations), where they will see the same map for three minutes. On the wall will be a screen with the picture and name of the opponent they are facing, and that is it. An announcement will let the combatants know that the fight is about to start, and then there will be a 3 second countdown, after which the combatants themselves will be loaded onto the screen. The fight will begin.

In the event of a team match, all of the combatants will be prepared. The differences between solo prep and team prep are as follows:

The entire team will be put into a room. The team room will be made up of each member's home base rolled into one, so that each member of the team's home base is represented, all of these bases will be centered around a room containing a large conference table. Teams will be introduced to each other via the same computer that is given in normal prep circumstances, which will include a small background of each team member, and then they will be briefed about their opponents in the same fashion. Captains MUST BE chosen by the GM's, and they will be the character given the prep package to disperse to the teammates as they see fit. Pretty much nothing changes there, except captains will be specified, and will be the sole possessors of the items contained in the prep package.

When it comes to prep time, obviously certain characters will benefit from it far more than others, in addition, some characters are more suited to leadership than others, so keep that in mind when deciding who your captain will be. For example, Lex Luthor would be able become far more effective when assigned prep time, but with someone like The Thing, any benefit he would gain from prep time would most likely be minimal.

Unlike trumping, there's no penalty for using prep time for your characters, so it's pretty much in your best interests to assign 2 of your characters prep time for every match. Even if you don't end up with any characters that would obviously benefit a great deal from it, you might as well give the prep time to someone. The difference might be minimal, but you never know when it could be the difference maker in a really close match.

Now, can you prep a trump? Yes, yes you can. However, prepping a trump will consume both of your prep times for that match. So instead of being able to prepare 2 different individual fighters for that match, you would only have the 1 prepared trump(except in the case of team picks, which still act as a single combatant). Again, that's completely up to the GM.



Continued in Second Post

[vapid]

Locations

Simply put, locations are where the battles will take place. These will be universe specific like Gotham City or an AIM Lab. You want to try and pick characters that benefit from the location.

EXAMPLE: Say you draft Poison Ivy in the tenth round. Usually, she'd be there as backup for team battles. However, say that I call Mogo, or another forest, as the location for the match. This would give her an advantage because she would be in her element and you may want to use her in the lineup you send in. However, for Alan Scott, a location like this would hinder him somewhat as his weakness would already be in abundance.
STEP III: Round Robin and PLAYOFFS?!

The 12 teams will be randomly assigned to 2 conferences after the completion of the draft. Each team will play each team in its conference once in round-robin play. This gives every team a minimum of 5 matches.

After the completion of the round-robin play, the top 2 teams in each conference will advance to the play-offs. They will play their competitor in each conference and then go on to the Title Bout.

TIES: That's simple. The first tie-breaker is head-to-head match up results, and the second tie-breaker is record in individual matches by your characters. If there is still a tie after that, I'll have something ready to break the tie, but that is a very unlikely scenario.
CONCERNING THE LIST:

For the most part, the list is very straight forward. It is a list of different names of characters, any of which you may pick at any time when it is your turn. However, there are a few things to keep an eye out for.

Team picks. These consist of two characters which have been grouped together as one. When you see, for example, Robin (Tim Drake)/Super Boy, you are drafting both Super Boy and Robin at the same time. Any time you see two characters next to each other on the list with a / between them, those characters will act as one pick throughout the draft. This means that they will only consume one prep, and will not require a forfeit to use as is the case with trumping. There are also four teams at the bottom of the list: New X-Men, Teen Titans, Shadow Initiative, and Sinister Six. Characters listed under these teams are 2 for 1, however, they differ from the team picks on the main list because you can choose any 2 characters under the banner of their team name at the price of 1 pick using any combination of the characters listed. These are first come first serve, and once a member of the team is picked, they may not be picked again.

Notations. Some characters have specific limitations or incarnations that they will be held to during the draft. Pay attention to this when drafting, as it does change the performance of certain characters. If you have any questions about a notation, feel free to ask, as some of them have been recently added.


Signups:
1. Raiderfan19
2. Black Joker
3. ZeN
4. Tian820
5. Iamgine
6. sergiorodriguez
7. Dirtbag
8. Timmy D for MVP
9. Doomsday Dallas
10. Lebron23
11. Jackass
12. Dasher

[raiderfan19]

i want in.

[rezznor]

who is the guy in the white captain marvel costume next to superman? don't remember that guy.

[vapid]

who is the guy in the white captain marvel costume next to superman? don't remember that guy.

Thats Captain Marvel with the Shazam mantle after Shazam was killed.

Also, the list will be posted when the draft actually starts.

[rezznor]

Thats Captain Marvel with the Shazam mantle after Shazam was killed.

Also, the list will be posted when the draft actually starts.

ahh ok. i was thinking it may be something like that since the wizard was in all white.


are you going to do anything to encourage more people to pick "street level" characters? otherwise fan favs like spiderman or green arrow may get passed up for less popular characters with better power sets.

[vapid]

ahh ok. i was thinking it may be something like that since the wizard was in all white.


are you going to do anything to encourage more people to pick "street level" characters? otherwise fan favs like spiderman or green arrow may get passed up for less popular characters with better power sets.

The list will include some "teams" of street level characters. For instance, Nightcrawler and Wolverine are "teamed" up so you only need to spend one pick and you get both to use as a team without wasting a trump. Same wiht Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

[Black Joker]

i'm down

[ZeN]

This set-up is badass.

[vapid]

This set-up is badass.

Are you in?

[ZeN]

Are you in?

Yes.

[tian820]

Put me in

[iamgine]

in

[sergiorodriguez]

sign me up dawg

[vapid]

I'm going to be afk for a few hours, but I'll check the thread when I can.