I don't mind the low mana rounds. I kinda like it actually. Quick, and you know the opponent is is not coming at with a wall of cards.

As for tournaments. ugh. Best of one/faster elimination. That whole.. best of 5 or whatnot takes HOURS to get through. After that, tie the cards powers down to Novice rank. I mean, if you are hosting for newbies.. don't give the vets with level 8+ cards the run-way to smear out the newbies at a glance. Also, instead of one massive 180+ player event, break it down into a few 70 or LESS events. It might mean smaller prize pools, but at least it's not like a shark-feeding-frenzy where one super high level Vet/bot account wins. (again and again and again and again......)