Continuing on with our Judging at Regular (JAR) series, let’s take a look at “General Unwanted Behaviors” next. This is going to be a bit different from previous weeks, because it covers behaviors that don’t have to occur during a game; in fact, someone doesn’t even need to be enrolled in the event to run afoul of this rule. A two-page document like the JAR is nowhere near long enough to cover all the potential issues that may arise during the event, but the three big headers are:
- Players taking unreasonable amounts of time sideboarding or making play decisions. Magic is a game with time limits, and those limits need to be respected, both for your opponent and for the entire tournament. Some LGSes have strict closing hours; do everyone a favor and play at a reasonable pace! Also noteworthy is being tardy arriving to your match; after ten minutes, the late player is considered to have conceded the match.
- Inadequate shuffling after a search. A shuffle is considered proper when neither player could know the position of any given card in the deck after the deck is presented. The recommended minimum is seven riffle/mash shuffles interspersed with side shuffles. Pile shuffling alone is not sufficient.
- Asking for, or providing, strategy advice during a tournament match or booster draft. Magic is a great game to play with friends, but sanctioned events draw the line at table talk that includes strategy advice (or that takes up unreasonable time before gameplay decisions are made). A tournament tests your own skills, not your ability to follow directions from other people. In-between matches, feel free to discuss strategy as much as you like!
Players who commit general unwanted behaviors should be educated by the judge on proper behavior, and warned that further instances could result in a Game Loss penalty. At Regular REL especially, the educational aspect is more important than the warning. Judges aren’t out to punish players; they want the unwanted behavior to stop for the sake of the tournament, and this can’t be accomplished if the player didn’t realize why his or her actions were wrong.
Lastly, players whose behavior is likely to offend others — such as using foul language — should additionally be warned that continuous unwanted behavior could result in a Disqualification. What warrants a Disqualification, you ask? Well, come back next week, when we talk about “Serious Problems…”
Today’s Tournament Tip written by Jen Wong