SV DOU
SV DOU
SV NDOU
DPP DOU
ADV DOU
SV DLC
SV DOU Draft / SV DUU
SV NDOU / SV DUU
These are my proposed formats for this iteration of Derby. These are essentially the same formats as last year, except I am proposing that we consider SV DOU Draft over one SV NDOU slot. More on this below.
On 6x8 vs the Alternatives: I simply think this spread of team and slot numbers will provide the best experience overall. There are already talks of the tour already feeling stretched thin with last year's 8x8; I concur.
On ADV DOU: I want to echo ryo yamada-kun's point; as long as ADV is part of a circuit, it should be a part of Derby. ADV has had a place in our Oldgens Circuit and should continue doing so, the metagame itself already significantly developing post-Boom ban as we've seen in the Oldgens Invitational. It clearly has the metagame health while having adequate support in our infrastructure, so it warrants a spot and should not be removed. The same points can also be said about DPP DOU, essentially, but that's less contentious.
The Case Against Randubs: My personal disdain for this format aside, I also don't think that Randubs fits Derby as a format. Every format in Derby is a "constructed" format where teambuilding matters, and this teambuilding aspect of the game is something that we players actively value and even draft dedicated players for. Randubs is simply too fundamentally different as it lacks this teambuilding aspect. ryo yamada-kun makes valuable points on this that I agree with, though their listed point c) I don't actually think is true as Randubs is essentially a fundamentally different skill on its own. Regardless, I think the idea that Randdubs players will just end up disconnected to their wider teams is valid I've been in various RBTTs, and there genuinely isn't much to talk about 3/4ths of the time when an official game actually isn't happening.
On SV DOU Draft: Yup, I'm going there. I genuinely think a Draft slot has value, given the general interest and foothold Draft has within the community. As a format, this was given support
through an opportunity to have a tournament on it last year, the legwork given to make an SV DOU draftboard and all, and that was a success. Draft is also a generally sizable community that we could tap into, having boomed on Smogon despite being a relatively recent introduction in the grand scheme of things. Third, unlike Randdubs, Draft is a format that won't leave players disconnected but instead is a format that actively allows opportunities for players to engage with their team, given the particular nature of this specific constructed format. I believe that from multiple standpoints, this is an idea that makes sense.
The big question, of course: can a Draft slot even be done in a league context? The answer for this is yes—the Draft community has held their own version of DPL and DWC in DCL and DLWC respectively (
DLWC II currently ongoing) to success. How does that even work, Draft formats in a league, you may ask? What they do is that they make multiple drafts for a given Generation, and each week, teams essentially have extra drafts that they then pick from to bring into a matchup, considering the strengths of their own drafts relative to their opponent's. In
DCL, a multi-Gen league a la DPL, Oldgens players have three drafts and they pick one to bring each week, while in
DLWC, a CG-only league, a team has 10 different SV drafts for their 8 players to choose from, with an extra two in the back. This is not so dissimilar as what can be seen in some competitive card games, where players construct different decks and bring a certain number for their matchup spread. We can implement a similar Draft 3, Pick 1 slot for a SV DOU Draft slot in Derby, given that such a format exists and is clearly viable, as it has been done in the actual Draft community's own leagues.
Of course, questions of a format based on significant subjectivity in the points system remains. I argue that this isn't a big deal as it seems; everyone is subject to the same ruleset and knows what they're getting into. Good players will always be able to take advantage of what they see in particular draft boards, anyway. Perhaps a bigger flaw, however, is the logistical effort required; while we do have a draft board already, we'd still need a week for teams to actually draft their teams. Outside of this, though, there isn't actually much more needed aside from teams deciding what team they're bringing each week (in a Draft 3, Bring 1 set-up), but that's more-or-less a trivial effort for teams to make.
As for what we should include over SV DOU Draft, I personally think we can include Draft over DUU. DUU already has a coveted and historical spot in DPL, and it's also obviously not SV DOU; ergo, while it does have institutional support in our community, I don't think it intrinsically deserves a spot in Derby while essentially double dipping. As for why I'm arguing for SV DOU Draft over DUU instead of the the 2nd SV NDOU slot; I personally think that SV NDOU deserves the two slots, given that it has such great support and is actively present even in other leagues, and it's simply a format that has the pre-existing interest and playerbase. I wouldn't mind a permutation of having one of each format, but I would personally not be inclined to have only one ND.
To summarize, I think that SV DOU Draft is a worthwhile addition to Derby: 1) I think there is a present enough interest for it; 2) the legwork to support it has been done; 3) there is precedent of Draft in leagues being possible; and 4) there is a wider playerbase for it that we can meaningfully engage with. This is a format I have great interest in and would sign up for exclusively, and I hope that it can be considered.
On Retains: I think this may be a valuable addition to the tour. Whether or not this is actually the case, we really should stop iterating the argument of "if we're going to do it, it has to be next year." The cycle ends here.
