SECTION I: Standard Floor Rules

1. Officially sanctioned play for Arena-The League for Magic will be presided over by a judge or referee. JUDGES AND REFEREES MAY NOT COMPETE AT ARENA LOCATIONS WHILE THEY ADJUDICATE; HOWEVER, THEY MAY PLAY AT THAT LOCATION AT OTHER TIMES. A judge or referee may be required to interpret rules, to terminate an excessively long match, to interpret a Declaration of Forfeiture, or to make any other adjudication necessary during the league cycle. The judge or referee is also responsible for maintaining the league records and providing an accurate league report for the Arena office. Players may appeal the ruling of any referee to the judge; the judge is the final arbiter and authority in all matters concerning the league. The judge may overrule any decision made by a referee. The decision of the judge is always final. Referees may adjudicate without a judge present between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M., Monday through Friday (PST). At all other times a judge must be present during league play. If a referee is adjudicating without a judge present, then the referee's decision is always final.

Both judges and referees are referred to as league officials for the purposes of these rules.

2. All play must be supervised by a league official and take place at a registered location. All players must register their match prior to beginning play. Competitors will be responsible for seeking each other out and ensuring that they are eligible to play a league match. A match consists of up to 3 (three) duels.

3. If a player draws an initial hand consisting of either no land cards or all land cards (any card with the word "land" in the card type), the player may declare a Mulligan and elect to restart the duel. To do this, the player declaring the Mulligan must show the opponent that he or she has either no land or all land, reshuffle his or her deck, allow the opponent to recut and/or reshuffle the deck, and draw 7 (seven) new cards. The opponent has the option (but is not required) to do the same, even if the opponent's initial hand does not qualify for this rule. For example, if player A draws no land and wishes to reshuffle, player B may also reshuffle in an attempt to improve his or her hand. An individual player may only use this rule once per duel.

At any time when a player shuffles his or her library, the opponent may choose to shuffle and/or cut his or her library.

4. Players must keep the cards in their hand above the level of the playing surface at all times. If a player violates this rule, the official may issue a warning to the player or interpret the violation as a Declaration of Forfeiture.

5. Players may not have any outside assistance (e.g., scouting, coaching, etc.) during a match. If a player is in violation, the official may issue a warning to the player or interpret the violation as a Declaration of Forfeiture.

6. The use of "proxy" cards in the league deck is not permitted. A proxy card is one that has been placed into the deck to represent another card which a player does not wish to use (generally because the player fears the card may be damaged during play). For example, a player not wishing to use a Nightmare may not write the word "Nightmare" on a Swamp; the player must use the genuine card.
7. All cards in a player's deck must have the same rounding of corners. Alpha cards (the first set of the print run from the original limited-edition basic set) have slightly more rounded corners than cards from subsequent printings (making Alphas effectively marked cards). If a player uses any cards from the original Alpha card set in his or her league deck, then the entire deck must be constructed of Alpha cards.

Under no circumstances will cards from any Collectors' Edition be allowed in league decks. Such cards have square corners and differing card back designs, making them effectively marked cards.

8. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated. Players, judges, and referees will conduct themselves in a polite, respectable, and sportsmanlike manner. A player behaving in a belligerent, argumentative, hostile, or unsportsmanlike manner may receive a warning from the judge or referee. The official may also interpret this behavior as a Declaration of Forfeiture. Repeat offenses of this type by a particular player should be reported to the Arena office for investigation. Behavior of this type on the part of a referee should be reported to the judge, who may issue the offender a warning or remove him or her from the league. Behavior of this type on the part of a judge should be reported to the Arena office for investigation.

Some examples of unsportsmanlike conduct:
9. In the event of an excessively long match, the official may need to adjudicate the outcome prior to its actual conclusion. In some cases, the official may wish to impose a time limit for each round of the league. The official must give the players involved a time warning of no less than 10 (ten) minutes prior to ending a game.

All play from a round will cease immediately when the judge announces that the round is over. Players in mid-turn will be permitted to complete that turn before scores are calculated, taking up to a maximum of 1 (one) minute. "A player in mid-turn" is defined as someone who has finished untapping all of his or her cards in play that could be untapped at the beginning of his or her turn.

Note: Floor Rule #9 (Official's right to terminate an excessively long match) may come into play more often in limited-environment play, as many decks constructed in such an environment grind into a near-stalemate situation when played against each other. A time limit that the league official or retailer deems reasonable may be imposed, at the league official's discretion. This time limit must be advertised in advance or announced to all players 30 (thirty) minutes prior to the beginning of a match.

10. Players must take their turns in a timely fashion. Whereas taking a reasonable amount of time to think through a situation is acceptable, stalling for time is not. Failure to begin a match in a timely manner in order to gain a psychological advantage will either be interpreted as stalling or unsportsmanlike conduct. If the official feels that a player is stalling to take advantage of a time limit, the official may issue a warning or interpret the stalling as a Declaration of Forfeiture.

11. Players must use the same deck with which they begin a match throughout the match's duration. The only deck alterations permitted are through the use of the sideboard.

Constructed Formats: If a player intends to use a sideboard during the course of a match, he or she must declare to his or her opponent, prior to the beginning of the match, that he or she will be using the sideboard. Players may exchange cards from their decks for cards in their sideboards on a one-for-one basis at any time between duels. There are no restrictions on the number of cards a player may exchange in this way at any given time, provided the sideboard always contains exactly 15 (fifteen) cards, and the deck no fewer than 60 (sixty) cards. Prior to the beginning of any duel, each player must allow his or her opponent to count, face down, the number of cards in his or her sideboard. If a player's sideboard does not total exactly 15 (fifteen) cards, the official must be consulted to evaluate the situation before the duel can begin. If a player states that he or she is not using a sideboard at the beginning of the match, ignore this counting procedure for that player, but the official will not permit deck alterations of any kind for that player for the duration of the match.

Limited-Environment Formats: Any card that is not in the playing deck is considered to be in the sideboard. Players may add, remove, or exchange cards from their decks for cards in their sideboards before a match begins and between duels. Cards do not need to be traded into the deck on a one-for-one basis; any number of cards may be added to or subtracted from the deck, provided that the playing deck contains a minimum of forty (40) cards when finished.

Any violation of this rule may be interpreted by the official as a Declaration of Forfeiture.

12. Players are not required to wager ante during the match. Players may play for real ante, provided that both participants in the match give their consent, though this agreement does not allow the inclusion of the banned ante cards in the league deck. Ante cards won in a match must be kept separate from the league deck and sideboard and may not be used in the match in any capacity. If loss of ante cards from a player's deck reduces the deck below 60 (sixty) cards, the player no longer has a legal league deck. All unplayed duels in the match will be considered forfeited.

In limited-environment formats, players may not ante unless the format requires that they do so.

13. A player may use plastic card sleeves or other protective devices on cards. If a player chooses to exercise this option, all cards in the player's deck and sideboard must be placed in these devices in an identical manner. If the sleeves feature holograms or other similar markings, cards must be inserted into the sleeves so that these markings appear only on the face of the cards. If for any reason a player's opponent wishes a player to remove the sleeves/protective devices, he or she may request this prior to the beginning of any duel, and the player must immediately comply. A player may also request that the league official inspect his or her opponent's sleeves/devices prior to the beginning of any duel. The official may choose to disallow a player's sleeves if they are obviously marked, worn, or otherwise in poor condition that may interfere with shuffling or game play. Sleeves may always be used to mark a player's card if said card is in the opponent's playing field.

14. Note on play with non-English language cards: All elements of official league play where translational differences may appear (such as card title, card text, rules, league rules, or rulings) will be interpreted according to the most current English language versions.

15. Players are eligible to begin a match against an opponent only if they have played at least 2 (two) matches against other opponents since last playing that opponent.

A match may be terminated by the presiding official. In such an event, the players must still meet the above condition to begin another match, even though their prior match did not involve the maximum number of duels.

16. Each player is required to use tokens, a life-counter, dice, or pen and paper to keep track of his or her life points. The tokens, life-counter, dice, or pen and paper must remain in view of the player's opponent on the playing surface for the duration of each dual. Each player must use a method of keeping track of his or her life that is easily comprehensible to his or her opponent (to be interpreted at the discretion of the adjudicating league official).

17. Failure to adhere to the above rules may be interpreted by the league official as a Declaration of Forfeiture. Only the league official may make an interpretation of a Declaration of Forfeiture. Any player for whom the official has interpreted a Declaration of Forfeiture may be removed from the league.

Players who are found cheating may be banned from all future official Wizards of the Coast® leagues at the sole discretion of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Rules note: The Director of Arena-The League for Magic reserves the exclusive right to add, delete, alter, transmute, polymorph, switch, color-lace, sleight of mind, magical hack, or in any other way change these or any other official Arena rules, in whole or in part, with or without notice, at any time that it is deemed necessary or desirable.

[Oakrock Main Page] | [Magic Main Page] | [Top] | [TEXT Main Page]
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1