MTR 4.1 Player Communication

Communication between players is essential to the successful play of any game that involves virtual objects or hidden information. While bluffing may be an aspect of games, there need to be clear lines as to what is, and is not, acceptable for players to say or otherwise represent. This will confirm expectations of both sporting and competitive players during a game.

While players are willing to do whatever they can to win, judges need to make sure players behave within the rules. Bluffing is okay, for example, but we cannot condone any behavior that crosses the line into cheating or other unsportsmanlike conduct.

A player should have an advantage due to better understanding of the options provided by the rules of the game, greater awareness of the interactions in the current game state, and superior tactical planning.

We do not penalize a player for understanding the game better than their opponent. Instead, we want to encourage players to learn the rules and understand the rules and policy documents.

Players are under no obligation to assist their opponents in playing the game. Regardless of anything else, players are expected to treat opponents politely and with respect. Failure to do so may lead to Unsporting Conduct penalties.

Sometimes a player might have an opponent of a drastically different skill level. That’s fine. You do not have to help your opponent beat you. You don’t get to be a jerk about it though. We do want players to be sportsmanlike and to behave respectfully toward their opponents.

There are four categories of information: status, free, derived and private.

Status information is information that must be announced upon change and physically tracked by the affected player. Methods for tracking must be visible to both players during the match. A shared method is acceptable as long as all players in the match have access to it. At Competitive and Professional REL, methods that can easily be accidentally changed (such as dice) may not be used. Status information consists of:

Life total.
Counters a player has attached to them.
Continuous effects with no defined expiration within the game that apply to that player, such as Monarch or City’s Blessing
Unspent mana in a player’s mana pool.
Location in a dungeon.
How many times the Ring has tempted a player.

Example: If a player asks their opponent for their current life total, that player is required to respond truthfully and directly. Answers like, “You can figure it out” or “Twenty” when the player is actually at seventeen life are unacceptable.
These types of information need to be immediately pointed out when the change occurs.
A very common method of tracking life or counters on a player is with pencil/paper.

Free information is information to which all players are entitled access without contamination or omissions made by their opponents. If a player is ever unable or unwilling to provide free information to an opponent that has requested it, they should call a judge and explain the situation.

Free information consists of:

Details of current game actions and past game actions that still affect the game state.
The name of any visible object.
The number and type of any counter that isn’t defined as status information.
The state (whether it’s tapped, attached to another permanent, face down, etc.) and current zone of any object or player.
The game score of the current match.
The current step and/or phase and which player(s) are active.

A player always has to give all free information to their opponent accurately upon request. If that is not possible they should call a judge to help clear up the communication. If a player unintentionally misrepresents free information at Competitive Rules Enforcement Level, it may result in a Communication Policy Violation.

Derived information is information to which all players are entitled access, but opponents are not obliged to assist in determining and may require some skill or calculation to determine. Derived information consists of:

The number of any type of objects present in any game zone that are not defined as free information.
All characteristics of objects in public zones that are not defined as free or status information.
Game Rules, Tournament Policy, Oracle content and any other official information pertaining to the current tournament. Cards are considered to have their Oracle text printed on them.

While a player is not obliged to assist their opponent with the Game Rules, Tournament Policy, Oracle text, or any other official information pertaining to the current tournament, a player may ask a judge for any of that information during a match. For example, if a player asks their opponent what a card does, for example, a player does not have to give all of the information about the card. Their opponent may say that Vampire Nighthawk is a flying 2/3 creature and omit that it has Deathtouch and Lifelink.

Private information is information to which players have access only if they are able to determine it from the current visual game state or their own record of previous game actions.

Any information that is not free or derived is automatically private information.

Private information is the catchall category for everything that is not free or derived information. For example, the contents of hidden zones (i.e., library and hand) and the identity of face-down cards in public zones are considered private information. Players are allowed to give their opponents false information about the contents of a hidden zone. For example, if a player casts Slaughter Games and names Scapeshift, his opponent may say that he or she only has three copies of Scapeshift in their library, even if it actually contains four.

The following rules govern player communication:

Players must announce any changes to status information about themselves and must represent it with a physical designation.
If a player notices a discrepancy in recorded or announced status information, they are expected to point it out as soon as the discrepancy is noticed.
Players must answer all questions asked of them by a judge completely and honestly, regardless of the type of information requested. Players may request to do so away from the match.
Players may not represent derived, free, or status information incorrectly.
Players must answer completely and honestly any specific questions pertaining to free information.
At Regular Rules Enforcement Level, all derived information is instead considered free.

Judges are encouraged to help players in determining free and status information, but must avoid assisting players with derived information about the game state.

Players need to be honest with their opponents regarding free information and must be completely honest with judges, whether the judge asks about free or other information. But, as a judge, it is important to be mindful of asking players about derived or hidden information where their opponents can hear. When dealing with such questions, it is often appropriate to ask a player to step away from the table and speak privately.