I checked but was unable to find mention of these on the forums. Periodically I hold what I call Box Tourneys for my corp.
Definition - 2 equal teams are given a box of random ships, have to recruit pilots and form a strategy and fight with those ships against the other team.
Sometimes, if the box includes ships from all 4 races, what’s in the box is exactly the same. Or if I dole out race specific boxes, I pair the ships by tier so each team has the same ship classes in their box.
I give them a day or two after they have the box, then they fight it out in the arena. I often include logi ships or even haulers, frigates that don’t get used much and destroyers. The goal is to see which team can take this random assortment of ships and use them to their advantage.
To me, this is far more entertaining than having a matchup that’s planned months in advance since you can tailor everything to the theme. It forces people to adapt to the situation rather than simply plotting it all out in advance. The ships will be relatively balanced and the fights tend to be either totally chaotic or one team just has a great plan and wallops the other team perfectly. CCP could give each team the box 2-3 days ahead, so they can plan and buy what they need, then it’s combat time. It will also give more people in the alliances the opportunity to participate in the tourneys, given that for match one you need only 2 minmata pilots vs 2nd match where you need 5.
None of the matches I’ve run in my corp have ever had a problem finding pilots and we always have an audiance. (Cloaked or in shuttles)
I think this would add a fun and very different dynamic to tourney fights, that we just don’t get now.
Silentbrick
Director, Military - Retired
Eve University - Ivy League