[quote=@King Cosmos] How does this pairing work exactly? Does this mean they can only take part in tag duels? I'm not getting how this works. Does this also mean that challenging a member of these dorms won't affect your own ranking? [/quote] It simply means ranked duels from either Synchro or Xyz get added to the total of their allied dorms as well as their own. The system is a little bit messy for them though, so they can't really get Nr. 1 through any normal means. It gives the Synchro and Xyz dorm a different goal, of at least getting their allied dorm and themselves both in the top 3 in order to get a reward for both dorms at the end of each ranked season. Ranking in the top 3 for the first two exam periods with both allied dorms would give each of them a small %, permanent boost to any further (positive) ranking changes. This means a lost duel will count for less and a won duel will count for more. This % doesn't go away if you break off the alliance for the next season, but both dorms get one so if you break an alliance they can apply the boost to another dorm and help them climb. The boost to rankings isn't very extreme, however, so it doesn't cause a massive imbalance and snowball effect. It's just something that makes it a little easier, but nothing you can rely on. As for the end-of-year prize for Synchro and Xyz, if they manage to place second or third, they have admission to go to the same pro league as the winners...'s relegation tournaments. They'll have to prove themselves as a team in a separate circuit first to prove themselves as being worthy of the title of pro team, but this chance is still somewhat better than what the losers get (which would be starting from complete scratch). Winning at the end of the year will also give them and a possible allied dorm a prize pool of cards, with most of the split going to the winning Xyz or Synchro dorm. This info will be edited into the OP, alongside clarification on the rankings, soon.