With so many participants, you could basically start with the playoffs. My option is good because it allows everyone to play each race equally and have fun. Otherwise, the mages have Necropolis, which is still overpowered, and I don't want there to be too many of them.

P.S. Let the players express their opinion on the format; I like mine, but in the end, the choice is up to the judge. Also, my option allows for a more or less intriguing competition until the end and avoids a feeling of defeat.

What's good about the fact that a person MUST play with all races if, for example, they don't like one race and absolutely don't want to play with it? In my opinion, a person should have the opportunity to choose. However, if a person is good at playing and likes to play with all races, and accordingly has played with all their races from the pool, it seems quite fair to give them some kind of bonus for this: either additional points, or to take this factor into account when the scores are equal, or some other perks. Therefore, in my opinion, the race pool should be updated after the group stage. And introducing some kind of restrictions on playing with one race also seems quite fair and reasonable.