MELLON — Middle Earth League LondON

“Speak, friend… and play.”

1) How it works

• Play anywhere, any time, at any points level.
• Use the Matched Play Guide round time; games must finish on time. If you want to keep playing casually after time, still record VPs at time.
• Report results together (both players confirm). Submit: players, armies, and result (W/D/L). VPs aren’t needed—Elo is the main ranking; W/D/L is the tiebreaker.
• The website handles all calculations.

2) Ratings

• Start: 1000 Elo for everyone.
• First 5 games: +20 win, 0 draw, −20 loss. (No army multipliers.)
• After 5 games: Elo change scales with opponent Elo and an army performance multiplier:
  • Strong/meta army → normal points.
  • Weaker/low-winrate army → bigger reward on wins, smaller penalty on losses.
  • Unknown army: treated as neutral (win ×2, loss ÷2) until league data exists.
• Current scale: 100% win rate → ×1; 0% → ×3.
• Snapshot: army win rate is taken before your match; then stats update.

3) Divisions

• Bronze: < 900
• Silver: 900–1199
• Gold: ≥ 1200

Why: 900/1200 are clean bands; 1200 ≈ 75% expected win vs 1000. Silver stays broad; we can add tiers later if needed.

4) Inactivity & Elo decay

• ≤1100 never decays (casual/beginner friendly).
• Mid tiers feel gentle decay.
• Top tiers must stay active to defend rating.

5) One-day seasonal event (~every 3 months)

Goal: crown division champs, create promotion chances, and ensure everyone plays four games.

• Rounds 1–3: in-division Swiss (Bronze/Silver/Gold).
• Round 3: widened Swiss for pairing depth.
• Round 4 (Challenge & Swiss):
  • Border-crossing pairings to keep everyone active (e.g., top Silver vs bottom Gold; bottom Silver vs top Bronze).
  • Headline challenges: Lowest Gold vs Highest Silver; Lowest Silver vs Highest Bronze — if the lower-division player wins, they can be promoted; the other is relegated (based on Elo).
  • Everyone else plays a 4th Swiss round; no one sits out.

Example: If the Gold player wins their challenge, the Silver title could still go to a Silver who finishes 4–0.

Scoring: Standard league W/D/L with normal MELLON Elo updates. Special event multipliers may be announced in advance.

6) Sportsmanship & list freedom

• Any official scenario if both players agree.
• Any legal list; the system already encourages variety.
• Be punctual, respectful, and accurate when reporting.