Acolytes of A1 have grown beyond our original goals and therefore it has become appropriate to start a new thread highlighting the successes and slight change in direction that the guild is taking. Acolytes should no longer be seen as a guild purely aimed at new players, with recent successes and rapid filling of the guild meaning that a core group of players has been able to take Acolytes to new heights very quickly. Acolytes of A1 are now proving themselves as a formidable force, with a very healthy world championship showing (third best) and recent domination of pop up tournaments. This has come from the very tight bonds formed between A1 and AA1 with a strong internal system in place and amazing shared forums and chat room.

Who are Acolytes?

Acolytes of A1 is A1's sister guild. While it began as a guild for new players, the rapid growth of our member base in both quantity and quality has forced us to redefine the aims of the guild.

Acolytes of A1 now has a full membership base, which may change in the future. As such, there is a strong core of players who are dedicated to having a strong competitive showing while still sharing the same values as A1 (found on our homepage). While Acolytes of A1 are now invite only, due to high member numbers, the guild is still dedicated to allowing newer members have the chance of joining, and as such do not place as many restrictions on guild entry as A1 themselves. Specifically, you do not need to own 4 x every card to be allowed in, and you do not need to have been a part of the ShadowEra community for as long (although a forum presence, even if you are new, is still a requirement).

Please see below for further information as to our current recruitment policy.

While relatively new, AA1 has already been established as a respectable force in the competitive scene. A list of achievements can be found now on the achievements page found in the links on the left of this page.

What is the relationship of AA1 with A1?

AA1 will come under the umbrella of A1, but still maintain their own independence and forums. The way the structure will work:

- Acolytes will have their own forum at www.a1-alliance.org/forums;

This forum will be viewable by Acolytes members and A1 Admin staff only, not regular A1 members. The reasoning behind this is simple; Acolytes is going to be their own guild, however being under the umbrella of A1, the A1 administrators and leader will be charged with steering them in the right direction, providing mentorship and keeping an eye on general affairs.

- Acolytes have their own leader and leadership group

While ultimately still being a part of the A1 umbrella, A1 will be allowing Acolytes to run their own guild and A1 leaders will generally only be giving guidance if requested by Acolytes. The current leader of Acolytes of A1 is Demnchi who will be in charge of the Acolyte members and Acolyte leadership team.

Acolyte leaders should be the first point of contact for any Acolyte guild matters. Any issues sent to A1 leaders relating to Acolytes will be immediately directed on to Demnchi and his team.

- Acolytes of A1 have an extremely close relationship with A1

We can not stress this enough. The two guilds, while still remaining separate in terms of competitions and both having private forums, are essentially one big family. To encourage further mentorship, the sharing of ideas, decks and tactics, there is a shared forum which is viewable by all A1 members and all Acolytes. This is the place where Acolytes and A1 members get to interact privately and form bonds.

To further encourage the spirit of sharing and mentorship, Acolytes have access to A1’s invite only IRC chat room and regular tournaments and other fun events are held.

- A1's current recruitment policy is strict invite only.

A1 has a very good retention rate in our members, and is currently invite only.

Once a month, the AA1 leadership and the A1 leadership will decide on one Acolyte member to formally get invited to into A1. If they are successful they will be allowed into A1 but have to leave the Acolytes

This does also not guarantee any Acolytes direct membership into A1; their entry is conditional still on being invited and meeting all of the A1 requirements


Membership Requirement

Activity – Activity is the key requirement. Inactive members will be removed monthly.

Acolytes, unlike A1 members, will not be required to have 4x every card (or even the means to have 4 x every card) and are not expected to start contributing to the community immediately. We want to encourage our Acolytes to learn the game and grow as players as our first priority. Acolytes will also be granted the means to be able to test out cards they do not own with several secret test accounts donated by A1.

For a list of the values that A1 and Acolytes will share, please see the homepage of this website.


Application Process

Currently Acolytes of A1 is closed to general application and is invite only. However, we still encourage people to put forward applications because once or twice a month, good candidates will be discussed and invited to join Acolytes.

If you are interested in joining AA1, either PM Demnchi, DejaVu or one of the other Acolyte officers OR post in this thread. You should include the following information in your application:

IGN
Length of play
TCG experience (optional)
Why do you want to join AA1?
Your thoughts about the game (playstyle, favourite heroes, anything that lets us know more about you!)

Please allow up to 3 days for a reply if you do post here or send a PM. Typically, all applicants here are discussed internally on the Acolyte forums by all Acolyte members, and good candidates will get invited. If there is no space available currently, you will still be informed that your application has gone through and sent another PM as soon as space becomes available (or in exceptional circumstances, you may be let in to the guild without waiting for space to become available)

If you have been accepted, congratulations and welcome! Please follow the instructions in the PM you will receive to embark on the next step of your journey.

There will be times when we would have applicants who are too new or have not shown the required activity. In that case, we would inform you that your application has been put on hold for the time being. Once we see a sufficient level of activity/skill from you, you will hear from us again.
 

FAQ:

What are the benefits of joining Acolytes of A1?

- You get all the normal benefits of being in a guild, such as building new friendships, sharing ideas in your own private forum, testing your decks against each other, testing your ideas against each other and having a platform to help you win competitions

- You also get the benefits of being under the A1 umbrella. This includes: shared irc chat with A1, shared internal tournaments and competitions with crystal prizes, shared private forums with A1 where we will share exclusively our decks and articles with our Acolytes before they get posted on the SE forums (or perhaps exclusively on our shared forum without it getting shared on the SE forums!), having the watchful eye of senior SE members looking out for you and helping you grow in the game.

- One Acolyte a month who stands out will be invited to A1 formally.

What are the guild values and do I have to have "Acolytes of A1" in my signature on the SE forums?

- Yes, the values of our new guild will be similar to the values of A1 (see home page here) and as part of that you will be required to proudly wear the badge of your new guild.

Where are the Acolytes forums?

- www.a1-alliance.org/forums

- you will need to sign up and be given access by us first.

How do I join?

- please read above

Who is the leader of this guild?

- Demnchi will be in charge of the guild, while I will remain in charge of A1 as a whole (which includes all of our projects and this sister guild - I will however only step in IF I REALLY have to, otherwise everything else is run by Demnchi).

- Demnchi will have a dedicated and strong team of officers to help him manage Acolytes of A1

- All Acolyte related matters should be directed to Demnchi and his leadership team

- Wtzky (A1 Leader)

Last updated: June 13th 2013