MTG: Official Tournament Rules
Richard Pieri
of the Official WotC Tournament Rules. Please note, WotC is not in any
way saying that all tournaments must use these rules -- only that the
Duelists' Convocation tournaments will use them.
Also, the restricted card list is still being modified.
Finally, I strongly disagree with the "floor rules" that specify all
tournaments must be a strict bracket for an exact power of 2 players.
I'm trying to get Steve to remove that; it's far too restrictive.
- Beth Moursund
GG-L NetRep of WotC
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Duelists' Convocation
Magic the Gathering Tournament rules
Includes releases: Magic the Gathering, Arabian Nights
Deck construction rules:
1. The tournament deck must contain a minimum of 60 cards,
total, of all lands, creatures, spells, and artifacts. This
helps to insure more variety in play, thus testing the players'
skill to a greater degree. In addition to the tournament deck,
players may construct a Sideboard of exactly 15 additional cards.
Players are not required to use a Sideboard, but if they do it
must always contain exactly 15 cards. The use of the Sideboard
will be further explained under Floor Rules (rule #5).
2. There may be no more than 4 of any individual card in
the tournament deck (including sideboard), with the exception of
the 5 basic land types (Plains, Forest, Mountain, Island, Swamp).
This rules also expands the variety of spells and creatures that
will be encountered during play, as well as the opportunity to
utilize more combinations of effects.
3. The Deck Construction Rules also include what is called
the Limited List. For each of the cards on the Limited List, no
more than 1 may ever be drawn from a player's library, or brought
into a game from outside (such as with a Ring of Ma'Ruf) during
the course of a duel. If more than 1 is drawn from the library
or brought into the game, the second card is called a "Limited
List duplicate". As will be explained in the Floor Rules, at the
end of every duel, each player will check their opponents
graveyard, cards in play, cards left in their hand, and any cards
that were "removed entirely from game". If any Limited List
duplicates are found in any of these areas, the offending player
will immediately forfeit that match. The Limited List serves to
limit those cards that, in certain combinations with other cards,
create situations that disturb game balance. A further
explanation of how this rule is applied can be found under Floor
Rules (rule #8). The Limited List may be modified at any time to
include future card releases, or at any other time, by the
Director of the Duelist's Convocation (see Floor Rules, rule
#10). The Limited List is as follows:
Ali from Cairo
Ancestral Recall
Berserk
Black Lotus
Brain Geyser
Dingus Egg
Gauntlet of Might
Icy Manipulator
Mox Pearl
Mox Emerald
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Mox Jet
Orcish Oriflamme
Rukh Egg
Sol Ring
Time Twister
Time Vault
Time Walk
4. The following cards are banned from official tournament
decks:
Contract from Below
Darkpact
Demonic Attorney
Jeweled Bird
Shahrazad
The first four cards in the list are not allowed because they
clearly state to remove them from your deck if not playing for
ante, and ante is not required to be wagered in an official
tournament (see Floor Rules, rule #6). Any future cards that
make the same statement will subsequently be banned. The last
card on the list requires players to play sub-games of Magic;
this simply takes too long and holds up the whole tournament.
5. Decks may be constructed from cards from the Limited
(black border) series and from the Unlimited (white border)
series. Use of cards from any of the expansion sets (i.e.
Arabian Nights, etc) are permitted with the Referee's prior
consent. Under no circumstances will cards from the Collector's
Edition factory sets be permitted in tournament decks. They are
easily distinguished from legal play cards by their square
corners. Use of Collector's Edition factory set cards in a
tournament deck will be interpreted by the Referee as a
Declaration of Forfeiture (see Floor Rules, #9).
Floor Rules:
1. Tournaments will use a standard ladder bracket system.
Single or double elimination tournaments are both acceptable. A
ladder should be prepared with players' names and Duelist
Convocation membership numbers clearly printed in their ladder
positions. The players should be allowed to view the chart at
any time between their matches, at their request.
2. The total number of players in the tournament should be
an even factor of two (i.e. 16, 32, 64, etc). This is to avoid
the problem of assigning byes during a tournament in which
individual rounds will most likely not be concluded
simultaneously. Byes can be assigned, however, and if necessary
should be used.
3. Tournaments will be presided over by a Referee, who may
be assisted by as many Assistant Referees as they may need. A
Referee may be required to interpret rules, to terminate an
excessively long match, to interpret a Declaration of Forfeiture,
or make any other adjudication as necessary during the
tournament. The Referee is also responsible for maintaining the
ladder chart, and only the Referee is permitted to write on the
chart (i.e. listing advancing players on the bracket). Assistant
Referees will aid by answering rules questions on the floor and
being available to the Referee for any other assistance they may
require. Any Referee's decision is final, however in necessary
cases, the Referee may overrule any decision made by an Assistant
Referee. The decision of the Referee is always final.
4. A duel is one complete game of Magic. A match is
defined as the best two out of three duels for standard rounds,
and the best three out of five duels for semi-final and final
rounds of a tournament. A player may advance in the tournament
bracket after successfully winning one match, and reporting this
victory to the Referee.
5. Players must use the same deck they begin the tournament
with throughout the duration of the tournament. The only deck
alteration permitted is through the use of the Sideboard (see
Deck Construction Rules, rule #1). If a player intends to use a
Sideboard during the course of a match, they must declare to
their opponent that they will be using the Sideboard prior to the
beginning of that match. Players may exchange cards from their
deck for cards from their Sideboard on a one-for-one basis at any
time between duels or matches. There are no restrictions on how
many cards a player may exchange in this way at any given time.
Prior to the beginning of any duel, each player must allow their
opponent to count, face down, the number of cards on their
Sideboard. If a player's Sideboard does not total exactly 15
cards, the Referee or an Assistant Referee must be consulted to
evaluate the situation before the dual can begin. If a player
claims that they are not using a Sideboard at the beginning of
the match, ignore this counting procedure for that player, but no
deck alteration of any kind will be permitted by the Referee for
that player for the duration of that match. Any violation of
this rule may be interpreted by the Referee as a Declaration of
Forfeiture.
6. Players are not required to wager ante during the
tournament. Players will remove a "fake ante" from their decks
prior to duels, using the same process as real ante. "Fake ante"
is not claimed by the winner; instead it is returned to the
owner's deck at the conclusion of the duel. Players may play for
real ante, providing that both participants in the match give
their consent.
7. Players may not have any outside assistance (i.e.
coaching) during a match. Players in violation will receive one
warning; any further infractions will be interpreted by the
Referee as a Declaration of Forfeiture.
8. At the conclusion of every duel, each player must show
the remaining cards in their hand to their opponent to verify
that no Limited List duplicate cards appear there (i.e., prove
that a second Orcish Oriflamme wasn't drawn from their library).
Players may then check their opponents graveyards, playing
fields, and areas where players have stored cards that have been
"removed entirely from play" during the duel in order to assess
that no Limited List duplicates appear in any of those areas.
Once this has been accomplished to both player's satisfaction,
the duel can be considered officially finished, with a winner
declared. If there are any disagreements between the players,
the Referee must be consulted to officially close the duel and
declare a winner. If Limited List duplicates are found, the
Referee will enforce the forfeiture of the match by the offending
player (see Deck Construction Rules, rule #3). Note: it is
possible for both players to forfeit the match in this fashion,
in which case they will both be removed from the tournament
bracket.
9. Failure to adhere to the above rules, or any other rules
specific to a particular tournament, may be interpreted by the
Referee as a Declaration of Forfeiture. This is a more pleasant
way of stating that if a player cheats, the Referee will remove
them from the tournament.
10. Rules note: The Director of the Duelists' Convocation
reserves the exclusive right to add, delete, alter, transmute,
polymorph, switch, color-lace, sleight of mind, magical hack, or
in any other way changes these rules, whole or in part, with or
without notice, at any time that it is deemed necessary or
desirable. This right is non-negotiable.
David desJardins
> 1. Tournaments will use a standard ladder bracket system.
What does this mean? Is it the same as a "Swiss" format (i.e., in each
round, players with similar records play against one another)?
David desJardins
--
Copyright 1994 David desJardins. Unlimited permission is granted to quote
from this posting for non-commercial use as long as attribution is given.
Dave Hollinsworth
>Finally, I strongly disagree with the "floor rules" that specify all
>tournaments must be a strict bracket for an exact power of 2 players.
>I'm trying to get Steve to remove that; it's far too restrictive.
>
>Single or double elimination tournaments are both acceptable. A
>ladder should be prepared with players' names and Duelist
>Convocation membership numbers clearly printed in their ladder
>positions. The players should be allowed to view the chart at
>any time between their matches, at their request.
>
> 2. The total number of players in the tournament should be
>an even factor of two (i.e. 16, 32, 64, etc). This is to avoid
>the problem of assigning byes during a tournament in which
>individual rounds will most likely not be concluded
>simultaneously. Byes can be assigned, however, and if necessary
>should be used.
Here's an easy way to get around that "power of 2" restriction, and as
a matter of fact, our gaming group's tournament is going to work
something like this: divide all the players into groups, either of a
fixed number (say 10), or as evenly as possible. Then let them play a
"round robin" format match (play each other person once each). Record
each player's win/loss record, and the best 16 players advance to the
final round, which is played in standard double-elimination format.
--
** Dave Hollinsworth ********* hlsw...@uhura.cc.rochester.edu O |"|
* "You'll find happy hearts, and smiling faces, and * PLAY /\ | |
* tolerance for the ethnic races, in Denton." * PINBALL! /\ \-------|
** DISCLAIMER: They're my opinions. Are they yours? ********* / / |-------|
Richard Pieri
>>>>> "Dd" == David desJardins <de...@ccr-p.ida.org> writes:
Dd> Richard Pieri <rat...@ccs.neu.edu> writes:
Rat> 1. Tournaments will use a standard ladder bracket system.
Dd> What does this mean? Is it the same as a "Swiss" format (i.e., in each
Dd> round, players with similar records play against one another)?
Beats me. I just posted the guidelines; I don't interpret them :).
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Craig Lewis
>From: de...@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)
>Subject: Re: MTG: Official Tournament Rules
>Date: 26 Jan 1994 21:47:20 -0500
No. A ladder bracket system is either single-elimination or
double-elimination; after the requisite number of losses, you're out of the
tourney. In Swiss play, all participants continue to play throughout. Swiss
format is very good for a fairly large number of players, but it really wants
to have 3 outcomes (win, lose, and draw), otherwise it tends to degenerate to
single-elimination to determine a winner. (I've run a fair number of Swiss
events, and played in a WHOLE lot more :)