Recommended turn order based on play times:

As mentioned before I am strongly against the avatar spell “Terraform Blocked Rivers” being so cheap. It should be more costly to cast away a rapid, at least 20 mana, maybe rather 40.

== Next 2vs2 Tournament ==
Some first elements on the teams I know of:
- Hiliadan & Gladis
- xlnt & IIaanor
- Markymark & Blackcat

And the people I know are looking for teams: Fluksen, Kruel.
Probably more information on that later, as I haven't been able to discuss with many people yet.

== Current 2016 PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
Cheer for the finale!! Coup de Grâce (gabthegab & Tussel) vs Bastards of the North (Ezekiel & AlXStormrage)!
I should publish soon the interview of semi-finalist The green elephant (Jean de Metz & Melciar).

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Check out the videos of Round 8 match, Hiliadan (Tigran Warlord) vs Marcuspers (Human Arch Druid):


Full playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playl... (3 videos will be released every day)

Round 9 (semi-final) about to start, place your bets.

== Balance ==
An article has been published with details about v1.24 (changelog and reasons behind the changes) and v1.24 has been released on the main branch of the balance mod.

These changes will be confirmed for v1.25 if no further feedback:
Th10b
Martyr have a specific tier parameter: they reach Expert at 70 XP instead of 35 XP and reach Elite at 140 XP instead of 70 XP. Regeneration is available at Expert (was Elite).

AD02a
Poison Domain can be cast on cities owned by the caster's allies (was only caster’s cities).

GC55
A new Avatar spell, “Terraform Blocked Rivers” (rapids) is available as a starting spell. It allows to terraform blocked rivers into (unblocked) rivers (when in domain) for 12 mana per hex

GC56
Path of xx (Frost, Decay, Life, …) abilities become strategic activable abilities giving the Path for 1 turn

GC50a
The True Resurect skill unlocks two spells : True Resurect (50 CP) which can affect any unit and Lesser True Resurect (25 CP) which can affect only allied units (was True Resurect costs 25 CP and can affect any unit).

GC07b
A new “Square Medium” map size is available: 89 x 89 (Medium was 73 x 97).

Imperium quitted!

== Next tournament ==
Based on the results of the poll, next tournament will be a 2vs2! Get ready! If you haven't a partner yet, you should start looking for one and training with him.
If you plan to participate, please contact me on the chat or by PM to tell me in which team, or if you're looking for a team, so that I can help people find partners by knowing who is playing with who.

== Balance ==
v1.24 will be released on the main branch as soon as Round 8 of the Duel Tournament ends.

Confirmed for v1.25:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's battle enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

Ti02
Tigran cities get +3 gold bonus (was 5)

GC55a
Blocked Rivers (rapids) are now generated only as small sections of rivers (about 5 hexes long), and not as long rivers

GC07a
Tournament size 65 x 73 becomes Tournament square 73 x 73

GC14a
Kwapa, Nashac and, Falenas get Awaken Spirit and 2 free points (was nothing in the balance mod and Befriend Animal in the official version)

Dr21c
Inject Mana Fuel has cooldown 3 and can be dispelled (was Once per battle and cannot be dispelled).

These changes are seriously considered for v1.25:
Th10b
Martyr have a specific tier parameter: they reach Expert at 70 XP instead of 35 XP and reach Elite at 140 XP instead of 70 XP. Regeneration is available at Expert (was Elite).

AD02a
Poison Domain can be cast on cities owned by the caster's allies (was only caster’s cities).

GC55
A new Avatar spell, “Terraform Blocked Rivers” (rapids) is available as a starting spell. It allows to terraform blocked rivers into (unblocked) rivers (when in domain) for 12 mana per hex.

GC56
Path of xx (Frost, Decay, Life, …) abilities become strategic activable abilities giving the Path for 1 turn

Also, the proposal on True Resurect (GC50) is being reworked to take into account opinions against it, so that it can make it into v1.25.

== Poll ==
Last few days to vote! In what types of tournaments would you participate if they were organized?
So far, 2vs2 is on top with 14 votes!

== Balance ==
Please note that the Strong Defenders Normal Reward (SDNR) mod has been released: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1374641017
It implements the following change, initially planned for v1.23: "A new setting is available for “Defenders Strength”: “Strong with Normal rewards”: Treasure sites do not give +50% reward value any more" which could not be implemented at the time. We now have found a workaround: this new mod reduces reward values when activated so that if you play with Strong Defenders, you have Normal rewards.
As announced earlier, this mod should be used in future PBEM tournaments (since it's actually part of the balance mod).

Confirmed for v1.25:
Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)

These changes will be confirmed for v1.25 if no further feedback:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's battle enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

Ti02
Tigran cities get +3 gold bonus (was 5)

Th10b
Martyr have a specific tier parameter: they reach Expert at 70 XP instead of 35 XP and reach Elite at 140 XP instead of 70 XP. Regeneration is available at Expert (was Elite).

GC55a
Blocked Rivers (rapids) are now generated only as small sections of rivers (about 4-5 hexes long), and not as long rivers
See screenshot, the frozen water will be replaced by rapids: https://www.my-league.com/gam... />
De06
Scorched Earth causes -50 race happiness with the race of the city on which it is cast

GC07a
Tournament size 65 x 73 becomes Tournament square 73 x 73

GC14a
Kwapa, Nashac and, Falenas get Awaken Spirit and 2 free points (was nothing in the balance mod and Befriend Animal in the official version)

Dr21c
Inject Mana Fuel has cooldown 3 and can be dispelled (was Once per battle and cannot be dispelled).

These changes are considered for v1.25 and require more feedback:
Ro18
Corrupted Killers give Evolve into Lesser Shadow Stalker and +1 ranged strength to Scoundrels (was Evolve and Quick Learner)

AD02a
Poison Domain can be cast on cities owned by the caster's allies (was only caster’s cities).

GC50
True Resurrect costs 50 CP to cast (was 25 CP)

Wa11b
Scout Death March (new spell) can be researched for 140 RP, is tier II and cost 20 CP to cast (and directly makes Death March appear in  the research book). It has a similar effect to Death March but affects only T1 Irregular units in target friendly army: affected units gain additional MP equal to their maximum MP until end of turn, ose 50% of their current HP, get Cannot Regenerate and Cannot Heal until end of turn and Exhausted for 3 turns. Units with Exhausted cannot be targeted by Scout Death March.
Death March requires Scout Death March to be researched. Researching it costs 200 RP and is tier III (was 140 RP and tier II)

GC55
A new Avatar spell, “Terraform Blocked Rivers” (rapids) is available as a starting spell. It allows to terraform blocked rivers into (unblocked) rivers (when in domain) for 12 mana per hex.

GC56
Path of xx (Frost, Decay, Life, …) abilities become strategic activable abilities giving the Path for 1 turn

== Balance ==
v1.24 should receive an update on the beta branch next week. It should be released on the main branch in about 1 month.

Confirmed for v1.25!
GC27
Sunken City's battle enchantment is Frost Missile (cast every turn on an enemy unit)

Dr23
Dreadnoughts get +5 gold/Village

Ne01b
Stiffen Limb has a strength 13 Spirit check and cost 7 CP. If it fails, its target gets -12 MP for one turn (was no attack check).

Ne05i
Lesser Reanimate Undead is removed for heroes and Leaders and  Greater Reanimate Undead is renamed Reanimate Undead.

These changes will be confirmed for v1.25 if no further feedback:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's battle enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

GC50
True Resurrect costs 50 CP to cast (was 25 CP)

Wa11b
Scout Death March (new spell) can be researched for 140 RP, is tier II and cost 20 CP to cast (and directly makes Death March appear in  the research book). It has a similar effect to Death March but affects only T1 Irregular units in target friendly army: affected units gain additional MP equal to their maximum MP until end of turn, ose 50% of their current HP, get Cannot Regenerate and Cannot Heal until end of turn and Exhausted for 3 turns. Units with Exhausted cannot be targeted by Scout Death March.
Death March requires Scout Death March to be researched. Researching it costs 200 RP and is tier III (was 140 RP and tier II)

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)

Ti02
Tigran cities get +3 gold bonus (was 5)

Ro18
Corrupted Killers give Evolve into Lesser Shadow Stalker and +1 ranged strength to Scoundrels (was Evolve and Quick Learner)

Th10b
Martyr have a specific tier parameter: they reach Expert at 70 XP instead of 35 XP and reach Elite at 140 XP instead of 70 XP. Regeneration is available at Expert (was Elite).

These changes are considered for v1.25 and require more feedback:
GC55
A new Avatar spell, “Terraform Blocked Rivers” (rapids) is available as a starting spell. It allows to terraform blocked rivers into (unblocked) rivers (when in domain) for 12 mana per hex.

GC55a
Blocked Rivers (rapids) are now generated only as small sections of rivers (about 4-5 hexes long), and not as long rivers
See screenshot, the frozen water will be replaced by rapids: https://www.my-league.com/games/273/downloads/screens/47398/273/152067389820180310_RMG-rapids-success.jpg

GC56
Path of xx (Frost, Decay, Life, …) abilities become strategic activable abilities giving the Path for 1 turn

De06
Scorched Earth causes -50 race happiness with the race of the city on which it is cast

GC07a
Tournament size 65 x 73 becomes Tournament square 73 x 73

GC14a
Kwapa, Nashac and, Falenas get Awaken Spirit and 2 free points (was nothing in the balance mod and Befriend Animal in the official version)

Dr21c
Inject Mana Fuel has cooldown 3 and can be dispelled (was Once per battle and cannot be dispelled).

== Misc ==
Remember to vote to choose the format of the tournament (1vs1, 2vs2, 4vs4), in what tournaments would you play if they were organized?
So far, 1vs1 and 2vs2 are both at 11 votes.

Please also check the stats and opinions on the class and race used in the 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament on the official forum (with posts from Marcus, El Lobo, Kruel and myself).
And join the discussion there!

== Balance ==
A third change confirmed for v1.25!
Ne17
Whispers of the Fallen is Tier 2 and costs 120 RP (was Tier 1 and 60 RP)


These changes will be confirmed for v1.25 if no further feedback:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's battle enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

GC27
Sunken City's battle enchantment is Frost Missile (cast every turn on an enemy unit)

GC50
True Resurrect costs 50 CP to cast (was 25 CP)

Dr23
Dreadnoughts get +5 gold/Village

Wa11b
Scout Death March (new spell) can be researched for 140 RP, is tier II and cost 20 CP to cast (and directly makes Death March appear in  the research book). It has a similar effect to Death March but affects only T1 Irregular units in target friendly army: affected units gain additional MP equal to their maximum MP until end of turn, ose 50% of their current HP, get Cannot Regenerate and Cannot Heal until end of turn and Exhausted for 3 turns. Units with Exhausted cannot be targeted by Scout Death March.
Death March requires Scout Death March to be researched. Researching it costs 200 RP and is tier III (was 140 RP and tier II)

Ne01b
Stiffen Limb has a strength 13 Spirit check and cost 7 CP. If it fails, its target gets -12 MP for one turn (was no attack check).

Ne05i
Lesser Reanimate Undead is removed for heroes and Leaders and  Greater Reanimate Undead is renamed Reanimate Undead

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)

These changes are considered for v1.25 and require more feedback:
Ti02
Tigran cities get +3 gold bonus (was 5)

Ro18
Corrupted Killers give Evolve into Lesser Shadow Stalker and +1 ranged strength to Scoundrels (was Evolve and Quick Learner)

Th10b
Martyr have a specific tier parameter: they reach Expert at 70 XP instead of 35 XP and reach Elite at 140 XP instead of 70 XP. Regeneration is available at Expert (was Elite).

Nub nub quitted!

== Tournaments ==
Registrations for a new tournament will open around June/July. To choose the format of the tournament (1vs1, 2vs2, 4vs4), please vote in the latest poll.
Here are the settings being considered (can be discussed on the forum):
- 40% Barren, Mountain and Wetland to give a slight malus to UG races (Tigrans, Dwarves, Goblins)
- Strong Defenders with Normal rewards mod (part of the balance mod but requiring to activate a 2nd mod due to technical reasons)
- No Starting Skill (no RP at start)
- Square Tournament Size map: 73×73

I published a subjective analysis of the results of the 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament with some opinions on the top classes and races based on the stats of the tournament, please find it on the official forum and share your opinion too!

== Videos ==
I fully realeased the videos of my match from the 2017 PBEM Duel Tourney - Round 7: Hiliadan (Human Theocrat) vs rrrrookie (Tigran Arch Druid)


The full playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVegwVpl7gLGoCR1GJitkUQfuE1JI1NJb

== Balance ==
These are the first changes confirmed for v1.25!
GC54
Dwellings can now be targeted by the following spells: Poison Domain, Summoner’s Aura, Hallowed Domain, Embrace Darkness, Scales of Fortune, Spiritual Freedom, Glyph of Warding, Mana Fuel Cell, all the Domains of xx, Night Wish.

Fe03
Unicorns get Healing on Elite

These changes will be confirmed for v1.25 if no further feedback:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's battle enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

GC27
Sunken City's battle enchantment is Frost Missile (cast every turn on an enemy unit)

GC50
True Resurrect costs 50 CP to cast (was 25 CP)

Dr23
Dreadnoughts get +5 gold/Village

Wa11b
Scout Death March (new spell) can be researched for 140 RP, is tier II and cost 20 CP to cast (and directly makes Death March appear in  the research book). It has a similar effect to Death March but affects only T1 Irregular units in target friendly army: affected units gain additional MP equal to their maximum MP until end of turn, ose 50% of their current HP, get Cannot Regenerate and Cannot Heal until end of turn and Exhausted for 3 turns. Units with Exhausted cannot be targeted by Scout Death March.
Death March requires Scout Death March to be researched. Researching it costs 200 RP and is tier III (was 140 RP and tier II)

Ne17
Whispers of the Fallen is Tier 2 and costs 120 RP (was Tier 1 and 60 RP)

These changes are considered for v1.25 and require more feedback:
Ne01b
Stiffen Limb has a strength 13 Spirit check and cost 7 CP. If it fails, its target gets -12 MP for one turn (was no attack check).

Ne05i
Lesser Reanimate Undead is removed for heroes and Leaders and  Greater Reanimate Undead is renamed Reanimate Undead

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight) 

== Balance ==
These changes will be confirmed for v1.25 if no further feedback:
GC54
Dwellings can now be targeted by the following spells: Poison Domain, Summoner’s Aura, Hallowed Domain, Embrace Darkness, Scales of Fortune, Spiritual Freedom, Glyph of Warding, Mana Fuel Cell, all the Domains of xx, Night Wish.

Fe03
Unicorns get Healing on Elite

These changes are considered for v1.25 and require more feedback:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's battle enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

GC27
Sunken City's battle enchantment is Frost Missile (cast every turn on an enemy unit)

GC50
True Resurrect costs 50 CP to cast (was 25 CP)

Dr23
Dreadnoughts get +5 gold/Village

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)


Wa11b
Scout Death March (new spell) can be researched for 140 RP, is tier II and cost 20 CP to cast (and directly makes Death March appear in  the research book). It has a similar effect to Death March but affects only T1 Irregular units in target friendly army: affected units gain additional MP equal to their maximum MP until end of turn, ose 50% of their current HP, get Cannot Regenerate and Cannot Heal until end of turn and Exhausted for 3 turns. Units with Exhausted cannot be targeted by Scout Death March.
Death March requires Scout Death March to be researched. Researching it costs 200 RP and is tier III (was 140 RP and tier II)

Ne01b
Stiffen Limb has a strength 13 Spirit check and cost 7 CP. If it fails, its target gets -12 MP for one turn (was no attack check).

Ne05i
Lesser Reanimate Undead is removed for heroes and Leaders and  Greater Reanimate Undead is renamed Reanimate Undead

Ne17
Whispers of the Fallen is Tier 2 and costs 120 RP (was Tier 1 and 60 RP)

== Balance ==
v1.24 has been released on the beta branch today: http://steamcommunity.com/sha... />The changelog can be seen in the usual file (please bookmark it if not already done): https://docs.google.com/docum... />
== 2016 PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
Round 7 on hold for now. Sorry I was a bit busy but going to discuss it with the other judges in the coming week.

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Round 8 started, I'll host tomorrow.
Round 9 probably with v1.23 and not v1.24 as I said earlier (because we probably won't have enough time for testing, depends how long Round 8 lasts, I expect we need at least 2 months of testing).
The finale should use v1.24.

== Future tournaments ==
A poll shoul be launched in about 3 weeks to decide of the format of the next PBEM tournament I'll organize around June-July.

Mr. Hawk quitted!

== Balance ==
The beta branch has been updated today to fix a few issues with Awakened Martyrs and some heroes. The issue with heroes were hard to spot because we do not have a proper database of the abilities of heroes (http://age-of-wonders-3.wikia.com/wiki/Heroes is incomplete), so despite our multiple checks, some heroes seemed normal in terms of upgrade points available (UP) but actually some of their abilities had disappeared.
The main branch will get the update in about a week.

To be more specific about the issue, currently the main branch has some upgrade point (UP) issues with 7 heroes and 1 pre-made Leader, which means that in new games launched with v1.23 on the main branch, 6 of these heroes will lack some of their starting skills (e.g. no Blight Protection for Kwepa, etc.). The 7th hero actually has 1 UP too many. After we release a fix, these 6 heroes will get free UP to compensate (but the abilities won't be there, though players can then choose them normally, or use the points differently).

In addition, the UP cost changes brought by v1.23 (especially the reduction in spell cost to 4 for most spells) have a side effect on existing games launched before v1.23: heroes (and some Leaders) may get -1 or -2 UP when they level up. Unfortunately, this cannot be avoided with our current technical knowledge and without help from devs. I'm going to skip on the technical details, but basically we can only have either A/ some heroes and Leaders get -1 and -2 UP in old games (when they level up), or B/ in all new games, these same heroes and Leaders get +1 and +2 UP at start. It's linked to how the devs built the UP mechanism.
This did not appear in our tests (we test each change one by one and it takes a lot of time; though unfortunately sometimes there are unexpected side-effects) because it appears only in old games...

Sorry for the inconveniences.

$eeR quitted!

== Balance ==
The beta branch of the balance mod is being updated with a patch for v1.23. The main branch of the balance mod will be updated in about 8 hours.
If you had saved & quitted a game, please try either to 1/ finish the turn before the update, or 2/ avoid updating until you finish your turn. If you updated by mistake, you won't be able to enter your turn again. To fix that, please use the latest version of the branch you used that is available on the Dropbox of the balance mod: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qv... I will be on the chat later to help if needed.

These changes are considered for v1.25 and require more feedback:
GC26
Forbidden Sanctum's battle enchantment is Mass Bless / Mass Curse and Shock Missile cast every turn on a random enemy unit

GC27
Sunken City's battle enchantment is Frost Missile (cast every turn on an enemy unit)

GC50
True Resurrect costs 50 CP to cast (was 25 CP)

GC54
Dwellings can now be targeted by the following spells: Poison Domain, Summoner’s Aura, Hallowed Domain, Embrace Darkness, Scales of Fortune, Spiritual Freedom, Glyph of Warding, Mana Fuel Cell, all the Domains of xx, Night Wish.

Dr23
Dreadnoughts get +5 gold/Village

Ne06g
Ghouling Strike does not give any damage bonus (was +5 physical, +5 blight)

Ne15a
Undeads that attack a unit with Necromantic Aura get “Mind Control Immunity” if the Aura fails its 7 spirit attack check on them (units with “Mind Control Immunity” cannot be affected by Necromantic Aura).
   
Ne22
Animate Ruins costs 110 CP (was 60)

So10
Summon Fantastic Creature can be used on Water hex (was only on land)

Wa11a
Scout Death March is a separate spell that can be researched for 140 RP, is tier II and cost 20 CP to cast (and directly makes Death March appear in  the research book) (was included in Death March). It affect only Irregulars (excluding Sphynx) and has the following effect: All units in target friendly army gain additional MP equal to their maximum MP until end of turn. All affected units lose 50% of their current HP. The MP capabilities of the units in combat are not affected.
Death March requires Scout Death March to be researched. Researching it costs 200 RP and is tier III (was 140 RP and tier II)
Units can be affected only by one of the two spells each strategic turn.

Fe03
Unicorns get Healing on Elite


== 2016 PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
Round 7 started, waiting for the class race of Bastards of the North and The green elephant. Bastards of the North is hosting. Please wait until the main branch of the balance mod http://steamcommunity.com/sha... is updated to host (see above).
Round 7 is played with v1.23. Round 8 will probably be played with v1.24.

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Round 8 will be played with v1.23, round 9 probably with v1.24.

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
v1.23 has been updated on the BETA branch of the balance mod: http://steamcommunity.com/sha... Round 7 will exceptionally uses the BETA branch and NOT the MAIN branch. So please make sure you're using the correct branch.
The player on top in the roster / on the left in the game blog can now host the game and post the settings.
It seems the class/race of Ezekiel and Jean are missing. Please send them as soon as possible. Good luck and have fun for this round!


== 2016 PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
About 6 days left, then usual procedure with scores, I'll repost about it later.

Longinus joined !!

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Zaskow had some issues with his PC so could not finish the update of the beta branch this week end. It is delayed, I'll keep you informed as soon as we know when it's going to be released, sorry for the inconvenience.
Reminder: the round will be played on the BETA BRANCH of the mod: http://steamcommunity.com/sha... That's because the main branch is locked on v1.22.

== Balance ==
These changes are confirmed for v1.24. You can see the full preliminary changelog of v1.24 here: http://aow.triumph.net/forums... />Ne15a
Undeads that attack a unit with Necromantic Aura get “Mind Control Immunity” if the Aura fails its 7 spirit attack check on them (units with “Mind Control Immunity” cannot be affected by Necromantic Aura).

Ne22
Animate Ruins costs 110 CP (was 60)

So10
Summon Fantastic Creature can be used on Water hex (was only on land)

== Arena ==
A new article presenting the new game mode, the Arena, has been published: Want to quickly fight epic battles? Play the new Arena game mode

A quick comparison of the Arena to other game mode in this table:


You can find a step by step guide on how to start your first Arena game (including vs the AI) and Marcus did a video to explain it too (you get the basics in the first 5 minutes, then you can watch the rest if you want to see the preparation of a battle and the battle itself), thanks to him!
We'll probably have battles this Saturday, join the Arena Pool to stay informed!

The next tournament I'll organize will be an Arena one so time to start training!

== PBEM 2vs2 Team Tournament ==
Round 6 is lasting 14 weeks, whereas the normal duration was supposed to be 11 weeks. It seems that's due to a mistake on my side: it seems I forgot to reset to 11 weeks after a time-extension awarded to round 5.
As a consequence, there will be no time extension for the Winter holidays. There is thus 24 days left on round 6.
Future rounds should also last 14 weeks as the number of teams is now reduced and less players are waiting for the round to end.

== 2017 PBEM Duel Tournament ==
Round 7 should start this week end after Zaskow updates v1.23 on the beta branch. The beta branch of the balance mod will have to be used since the 2vs2 Tournament is locking the main branch on v1.22.
Time to send your class/race if you play Round 7!

Hi.
I made discussion topic about new 3v3 tournament. Everyone can join to let us know how much players (veterans and beginners) is interested in such competitive format - 3 vs 3 tourney