CIS-2014 in Minsk.

Wouldn't it be better to first determine who is participating, and then decide? Otherwise, it seems we're already heading towards Hote :D

The practice is generally standard, but here's the problem: before Odessa, the message was, "Come on over, we'll be glad to have you" - playing War of the Throne wouldn't be a problem; if necessary, we could initially pair people up in a random draw with universal players who don't care what they play. Thank goodness Scorpion responded and Redwhite came, who hadn't played War of the Throne before.
Now, unfortunately, the position is sliding towards: "We'll make you play War of the Throne" (whether it's a full game or adapted for SoD is a secondary question).
In Kyiv, many guys said something like: "What's the point of going to Minsk if they'll force us to play War of the Throne?"

Maybe the Yekaterinburg players will give us a new War of the Throne release; you never know!

Tema, you might be hoping for that, but I'm afraid of it: I'd rather not test an unproven, buggy new version for a week before the tournament or even during the tournament - for example, our game in Odessa was enough for me.

Moreover, the issue of bugs inherent in War of the Throne still remains: this includes more frequent desynchronizations in player vs. player battles, and misunderstandings with experience gained when defending a castle from the AI during a rush, etc.