IPG 4.8 Unsporting Conduct — Cheating

Definition

A person breaks a rule defined by the tournament documents, lies to a Tournament Official, or notices an offense committed in their (or a teammate’s) match and does not call attention to it.

Penalty

Disqualification

This sentence is an exhaustive list of the situations that can be considered Cheating. If the basic situation does not match one of these three categories, it is not Cheating. Moreover, all intentional violations of the tournament rules fall under the provision of Cheating (except for Slow Play, which is Stalling), and should not be treated simply as upgraded versions of other infractions.

The phrases “breaking a rule” and “notices an offense” include violations of the Comprehensive Rules and of the Magic Tournament Rules. Players are required to call a judge when they make an error. Additionally, because both players are responsible for the game state, players are also expected to call a judge when they notice their opponent commit an offense.

The IPG stipulates that, in team formats, players are also responsible for pointing out offenses in their teammates’ matches. This is because each team advances in the tournament and earns prizes as a group. Accordingly, members of a team are accountable for calling attention to mistakes they notice in their teammates’ matches as well as their own.

Additionally, the offense must meet the following criteria for it to be considered Cheating:

The player must be attempting to gain advantage from their action.
The player must be aware that they are doing something illegal.

In Magic, cheating is always a deliberate action, or conscious lack of action. There is no such thing as “accidental cheating”. Accidental errors should be handled by the appropriate infractions found elsewhere in the IPG.

Additionally, if a player is not attempting to gain advantage from their action, then the offense is not Cheating. This bullet is sort of weird, generally you think of someone trying to gain an advantage when they cheat, which is exactly the point. If there is no advantage, there is no cheating. For example: Alex, who is at 6 life, attacks with a creature the turn it was summoned. Nat notices, but just takes the damage because they are holding 2 Lightning Bolts in their hand, and want to let Alex get in a hit so Alex doesn’t feel as crushed when Nat wins next turn. In this case, Nat is not committing a cheating infraction (although it would be ruled Failure to Maintain Game State if there is a judge call from a spectator). Be aware though, that because this rule is published where players can see it, some may be tempted to craft stories where it seems like they were just trying to be ‘nice’. It is your responsibility to determine as much of the truth as possible.

A third thing that is not on this list, but is stated in the definition, the player actually has to be breaking a rule. If a player misunderstands a rule, thinks they are doing something illegal for an advantage, but what they are doing is actually legal; that’s not Cheating.

The IPG used to define Cheating as a separate category of infractions, including Cheating — Fraud, Cheating — Hidden Information Violation, and Cheating — Manipulation of Game Materials. In January 2013, the IPG was updated to rule these various infractions into a single, streamlined infraction called Unsporting Conduct – Cheating. This makes it easier for judges to determine whether a certain action is Cheating, as the criteria for Cheating are now the same for all types of offenses.

If all criteria are not met, the offense is not Cheating and is handled by a different infraction.

The IPG clearly specifies the criteria that must be met for an offense to be Cheating so that judges can more easily identify situations where Cheating has actually occurred. If one or more of the criteria for Cheating is not met, the judge should consider whether a different infraction applies, if any. Do not apply your own definition.

Cheating will often appear on the surface as a Game Play Error or Tournament Error, and must be investigated by the judge to make a determination of intent and awareness.

The ability to conduct investigations is highly prized by the judge community; it is one of the qualities of higher level judges, and one that all judges should strive to cultivate. The IPG does not require definite proof of the intent to cheat, but rather expects officials to exercise their best judgment to determine if a player is deliberately breaking a rule to gain an advantage. This sentence is a reminder to remain vigilant and ask questions. This particular skill is a hard one to develop as each potential situation is unique.

Examples

A. A player alters the results on a match slip without their opponent’s knowledge.
B. A player lies to a tournament official about what happened in a game to make their case stronger.
C. A player allows their opponent to put a creature into the graveyard even though the creature has not been dealt lethal damage.
D. A player notices that their opponent resolved only half of the triggered ability of Sword of Feast and Famine and decides not to call attention to the error.
E. A player peeks at another player’s picks during the draft.
F. A player adds cards to their Sealed Deck pool.
G. A player realizes they have accidentally drawn an extra card, then fails to call a judge in order to avoid a penalty.

All of these are examples of a player intentionally violating game rules, tournament rules, or lying. While this is not an exhaustive list, it covers many of the most common cases. One thing that is noticeably absent: not pointing out your opponents Missed Trigger. This is never cheating, even if you point out the Missed Trigger at a point in time that is beneficial to you.