I agree completely with adding a minimum level of DEC in your account to qualify is an awesome solution.
I also agree that the bot issue will only get worse with this expansion set if they keep everything else the same.
I have said many times that the solution to Player vs. Player tournaments is the Players need to "PICK Their Splinter" BEFORE the tourney starts and then there will be some luck involved as well as some splinters do better than others depending on each new ruleset. If the player had to stay within a given splinter (chosen pre-tourney) it would encourage people to have to think how to counteract his opponent based on what both players have in their hands. On top of this it would necessitate people having more cards within the splinters they want to play, as they would need every available card in that splinter based on having to play all rulesets (and not picking the chosen "best" splinter combo like a robot). Then we have a game of chess that would be enjoyable.
RE: The Incoherent Ravings of a Mad Man