i have NO idea how you'd actually implement this, but you could always try to encourage "rivalries" within the same team.
What if only 1 of each race was allowed per division. After the season ended, there could be an extra week in there for a showdown between any applicable races.
Lets say there were 10 teams per division, the orcs in div 3 placed 2nd in their division and would jump up to division 2. The orcs in division 2 finished 6th and would stay put. After the season ends, the div 3 orcs get to play the div 2 orcs for their spot. Whoever wins gets div 2, and whoever loses gets Div 3.
Lets say the D3 orcs placed 2nd and the D2 orcs placed 1st in their respective divisions. The D2 orcs would play the D1 orcs....the loser of that game would play the D3 orcs. Winner of game 1 gets D1, winner of game 2 gets D2. It would mean that the D1 team could drop to D3 even with a good record, or likewise the D2 people, even having won their division, could actually LOSE a division.
Its certainly not person, and would inevitably piss people off, but it would make for a heck of a dynamic promotion/relegation system. The drawbacks would be that a certain team might be well built to block its mirror match teams from advancing (but could still get relegated due to a poor record!).
The perks, on the other hand, would be huge:
- The "good" teams, or just the most popular teams (Delves, ChDs, Orcs) would have the hardest time being promoted, having to not only place well enough to get promoted, but to then defeat their rivals in the next division up.
- it would therefore encourage racial diversity. Less played teams (vampires, underworld, halflings, goblins, ogres) would rarely have any postseason competition for promoting themselves so would be encouraged. The least used team in the perpetual league becomes the most desirable from a metagame standpoint.
- it would be "something new" - a new twist, considering the large number of perpetual leagues out there.
Oh, i just thought of one potential bad drawback. Relegated teams would probably have to play those postseason matches too. If there were only 4 divisions, and the D3 orcs placed last, while the D4 orcs didn't do well enough for a promotion, then the D3 and D4 orcs would play, with the winner being in D4 and the loser getting kicked out? maybe they'd go on standby, and be allowed back in when the lowest division has an opening for that race (maybe even first dibs). It would WORK, but it would still result in some hurt feelings and sore players i think.
sorry for the ridiculously long rant....just brainstorming a way to possibly include racial limits more than just "sorry, we have enough orcs, play something else"