Ramping up to Season Alpha

As usual, I'll start the post with some updates and practical information and follow it up with less vital (but hopefully worth reading) thoughts.

First off, we have team changes. I didn't want to do it but we had a player drop out and it was necessary to maintain balance between the teams. Teams were originally formed using a mathematical process that was agreed upon by all the captains. Once we replaced the lost player, I used the same process again and the new teams were formed. Because fairness and transparency are core principles of the league, you can view the details about this drafting process here. Anyway, sorry about the false start with the teams. It come with being an Alpha season, I'm afraid.

Because I have zero web skills, this Google Spreadsheet is going to be the primary place for the most up-to date information about Season Alpha. It includes team lists with current PR and seeding, weekly match-ups, and a contact list that includes the Battle.net ID of all players and email addresses for those who elected to have their email shared (please check over the info I have for you and let me know if there's anything I need to correct). On the topic of email, this Google spreadsheet has security set so that anyone with a link can view it. If your email is listed and you'd rather it not be, contact me and I'll remove it. Please feel free to make requests for anything you'd like to see added or changed. You can drop any requests in the comments here or comment directly in the spreadsheet.

With the teams set, you should start adding all your teammates as friends on Battle.net. Drop into observer mode with a teammate and get to know each other. There are a lot of things teams can do to improve their chances of winning but the basics are practicing together, discussing match-up strategies, and improving each others' decks. Preparation is key to victory and successful captains will motivate their teams to more and better preparation.

Communication will be very important and that's something I'm have some questions about. I'd like to get some league communication going but I don't know what the best platform would be. Please vote in the poll below.

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