Duelists’ Convocation
\nWOTC’s Official Deckmaster Games Organization
\nP.O. Box 707 Renton WA 98057-0707<\/p>\n
Magic: the Gathering official tournament rules
\nIncludes Magic: the Gathering, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends
\n8\/1\/94 Version<\/p>\n
Deck Construction Rules:<\/p>\n
1. The tournament deck must contain a minimum of 60 (sixty)
\ncards, total, of all lands, creatures, spells, and artifacts. In addition
\nto the tournament deck, players may construct a Sideboard of exactly
\n15 (fifteen) additional cards. Players are not required to use a
\nSideboard, but if they do it must always contain exactly 15 (fifteen)
\ncards. The use of the Sideboard will be further explained under
\nFloor Rules (rule #5).<\/p>\n
2. There may be no more than 4 (four) of any individual card
\nin the tournament deck (including sideboard), with the exception of
\nthe five basic land types (Plains, Forest, Mountain, Island, Swamp).<\/p>\n
3. The Restricted List : No more than 1 (one) of each of the
\ncards on the Restricted List are allowed in the tournament deck. If
\nmore than 1 (one) of any individual card from the Restricted List are
\nfound in a player’s deck, that will be interpreted by the Judge as a
\nDeclaration of Forfeiture. The Restricted List may be modified by the
\nDirector of the Duelists’ Convocation as necessary. The Restricted List
\nis as follows :<\/p>\n
Ali from Cairo
\n Ancestral Recall
\n Berserk
\n Black Lotus
\n Brain Geyser
\n Candleabra of Tawnos
\n Channel
\n Chaos Orb
\n Copy Artifact
\n Demonic Tutor
\n Falling Star
\n Feldon’s Cane
\n Ivory Tower
\n Library of Alexandria
\n Mind Twist
\n Mirror Universe
\n Mishra’s Workshop
\n Mox Pearl
\n Mox Emerald
\n Mox Ruby
\n Mox Sapphire
\n Mox Jet
\n Recall
\n Regrowth
\n Sol Ring
\n Sword of Ages
\n Time Twister
\n Time Walk
\n Underworld Dreams
\n Wheel of Fortune<\/p>\n
In addition, any “Summon Legend” card is restricted to one
\neach, as are each of the Legendary Lands from the Legends
\nexpansion.<\/p>\n
4. The following cards are banned from official tournament
\ndecks :<\/p>\n
Bronze Tablet
\n Contract from Below
\n Darkpact
\n Demonic Attorney
\n Divine Intervention
\n Jeweled Bird
\n Rebirth
\n Shahrazad
\n Time Vault
\n Tempest Efreet<\/p>\n
Several of the cards on the banned list are not allowed because
\nthey clearly state to remove them from your deck if not playing for
\nante, and ante is not required to be wagered in an official
\ntournament (see Floor Rules, rule #6). Any future cards that make
\nthe same statement will subsequently be banned. This list may be
\nmodified by the Director of the Duelists’ Convocation as necessary.<\/p>\n
5. Decks may be constructed from Magic cards from the
\nLimited (black border) series, the Unlimited (white border) series,
\nRevised Edition, or any Magic expansion (unless expressly disallowed
\nby the Judge prior to the event). All cards in the tournament deck
\nmust have identical card back design. Under no circumstances will
\ncards from the Collector’s Edition factory sets be permitted in
\ntournament decks. They are easily distinguished from legal play
\ncards by their square corners and gold borders. Use of Collector’s
\nEdition factory set cards, or any other cards not expressly permitted,
\nin a tournament deck will be interpreted by the Judge as a
\nDeclaration of Forfeiture (see Floor Rules, #12).<\/p>\n
Floor Rules :<\/p>\n
1. Tournaments may use a standard, single elimination ladder
\nbracket system, or other approved tournament form. When using a
\nladder bracket system, a ladder chart should be prepared with
\nplayers’ names and Duelists’ Convocation membership numbers
\nclearly printed in their ladder positions. The players should be
\nallowed to view the chart at any time between their matches, at their
\nrequest.<\/p>\n
2. The number of players in an official tournament should
\nideally be a factor of two (i.e., 16, 32, 64, 128…etc.). In the event
\nthat the number of players are not a factor of two, byes may be
\nassigned randomly during the first round only, and should be done in
\nsuch a fashion so that the number of players in the second round is a
\nfactor of two. Players will not receive ranking points for a round in
\nwhich they received a bye.<\/p>\n
3. Tournaments will be presided over by a Judge, who may be
\nassisted by as many Assistant Referees as they may need. A Judge
\nmay be required to interpret rules, to terminate an excessively long
\nmatch, to interpret a Declaration of Forfeiture, or make any other
\nadjudication as necessary during the tournament.The Judge is also
\nresponsible for maintaining the ladder chart, and only the Judge is
\npermitted to write on the chart (i.e., listing advancing players on the
\nbracket). Assistant Referees will aid by answering rules questions on
\nthe floor and being available to the Judge for any other assistance
\nthey may require. In necessary cases, the Judge may overrule any
\ndecision made by an Assistant Referee. The decision of the Judge is
\nalways final.<\/p>\n
4. A duel is one complete game of Magic. A match is defined
\nas the best two out of three duels. A player may advance in the
\ntournament after successfully winning one match, and reporting this
\nvictory to the Judge.<\/p>\n
5. Players must use the same deck that they begin the
\ntournament with throughout the duration of the tournament. The
\nonly deck alteration permitted is through the use of the Sideboard
\n(see Deck Constuction Rules, rule #1). If a player intends to use a
\nSideboard during the course of a match, they must declare to their
\nopponent that they will be using the Sideboard prior to the beginning
\nof that match. Players may exchange cards from their deck for cards
\nfrom their Sideboard on a one-for-one basis at any time between
\nduels or matches. There are no restrictions on how many cards a
\nplayer may exchange in this way at any given time. Prior to the
\nbeginning of any duel, each player must allow their opponent to
\ncount, face down, the number of cards in their Sideboard. If a
\nplayer’s Sideboard does not total exactly 15 (fifteen) cards, the Judge
\nor an Assistant Referee must be consulted to evaluate the situation
\nbefore the duel can begin. If a player claims that they are not using
\na Sideboard at the beginning of the match, ignore this counting
\nprocedure for that player, but no deck alteration of any kind will be
\npermitted by the Judge for that player for the duration of that
\nmatch. Any violation of this rule may be interpreted by the Judge as
\na Declaration of Forfeiture.<\/p>\n
NOTE: The only deck alteration allowable while a duel is in
\nprogress is with the use of a Ring of Ma’Ruf. The Ring of Ma’Ruf may
\nonly be used to retrieve a card from the player’s sideboard. Cards
\nother than the tournament deck and sideboard should not be allowed
\nat the tournament. In the event that a player uses a Ring of Ma’Ruf
\nto retrieve a card from their sideboard, the Ring of Ma’ruf used is
\nplaced into the player’s sideboard to take the place of the retrieved
\ncard, thus maintaing exactly fifteen cards in the sideboard.<\/p>\n
6. Players are not required to wager ante during the
\ntournament. Players may play for real ante, provided that both
\nparticipants in the match give their consent, though this agreement
\ndoes not allow the inclusion of the banned ante cards in the
\ntournament deck. Ante cards won in a tournament must be kept
\nseperate from the tournament deck and sideboard; they may not be
\nused in the tournament, and are not valid for use with a Ring of
\nMa’Ruf. If loss of ante cards from a player’s deck reduces the deck
\nbelow 60 (sixty) cards, the player no longer has a legal tournament
\ndeck, and will be removed from the tournament bracket.<\/p>\n
7. If a player draws either (a.) no land or (b.) all land cards on
\nthe initial draw of seven cards to begin a duel, they may restart the
\nduel. To do this, the player must show their opponent that they have
\neither no land or all land, reshuffle their deck, allow their opponent
\nto recut the deck, and draw seven new cards. The player’s opponent
\nhas the option to do the same, even if their hand does not qualify for
\nthis rule. For example, if player A draws no land and wishes to
\nreshuffle, player B may opt to also to try to improve the hand they
\ndrew. A player may only use this rule once per duel.<\/p>\n
8. The use of “proxy cards” in the tournament deck is not
\nallowed. A proxy card is one that has been placed into the deck to
\nrepresent another card that for one reason or another the player
\ndoesn’t want to play with (i.e., using a Swamp with the word
\n“Nightmare” written on it, because the player doesn’t want to play
\nwith their beta Nightmare). Magic: the Gathering is a card game; if
\nyou don’t want to play with a card, then don’t play with it. If you
\nwant to play with a card, you must put it in your deck…no proxies.<\/p>\n
9. The use of plastic sleeves or other protective devices on
\ncards in the tournament deck is not allowed. These items do not
\nallow for proper shuffling of a deck, as the plastic tends to stick to
\nitself.<\/p>\n
10. Players may not have any outside assistance (i.e.,
\ncoaching) during a match. If a player is in violation, the Judge may
\nissue a warning to the player, or interpret the violation as a
\nDeclaration of Forfeiture, at the Judge’s discretion.<\/p>\n
11. Players must at all times keep the cards in their hand
\nabove the level of the playing surface. If a player is in violation, the
\nJudge may issue a warning to the player, or interpret the violation as
\na Declaration of Forfeiture, at the Judge’s discretion.<\/p>\n
12. Failure to adhere to the above rules, or any other rules
\nspecific to a particular tournament, may be interpreted by the Judge
\nas a Declaration of Forfeiture. Only the Judge may make an
\ninterpretation of a Declaration of Forfeiture. This is a more pleasant
\nway of stating that if a player cheats, the Judge will remove them
\nfrom the tournament.<\/p>\n
13. Rules note: The Director of the Duelists’ Convocation
\nreserves the exclusive right to add, delete, alter, transmute,
\npolymorph, switch, color-lace, sleight of mind, magical hack, or in any
\nother way change these rules, whole or in part, with or without
\nnotice, at any time that it is deemed necessary or desirable. This
\nright is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n
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