COMPETETIVE MULTIPLAYER RULES v.2.1
Multiplayer Magic is by nature a more social, interactive game than 2-player. The purpose of these rules is to provide for competetive multiplayer games that retain the best parts of the multiplayer environment. Providing a continuing fun and interesting environment for all players was a motivating factor in the development of these rules, with an eye toward the fact that the same group is likely to play multiple games in one session. Therefore, aggressive decks and styles of play are promoted over control and life gain. This is to allow players who get knocked out early in one game to avoid not having a game for a long period of time.
There are three types of deck construction: Vintage, Vintage-Restricted and Contemporary.These correspond roughly to the DCI’s Type 1, Type 1.5 and Extended.
Vintage is Type 1 with an additional Banned List. Decks must contain at least 60 cards. The following cards are Restricted because they are on the Type 1 Restricted List:
| Ancestral Recall | Frantic Search | Mox Pearl | Time Walk |
| Berserk | Grim Monolith | Mox Ruby | Timetwister |
| Black Lotus | Hurkyl’s Recall | Mox Sapphire | Tinker |
| Black Vise | Library of Alexandria | Mystical Tutor | Tolarian Academy |
| Braingeyser | Lotus Petal | Necropotence | Vampiric Tutor |
| Crop Rotation | Mana Crypt | Recall | Voltaic Key |
| Demonic Tutor | Mana Vault | Regrowth | Wheel of Fortune |
| Demonic Consultation | Memory Jar | Sol Ring | Windfall |
| Doomsday | Mind Twist | Strip Mine | Yawgmoth’s Bargain |
| Enlightened Tutor | Mox Diamond | Stroke of Genius | Yawgmoth’s Will |
| Fastbond | Mox Emerald | Time Spiral | |
| Fork | Mox Jet |
The following cards are Banned because they are on the Type 1 Banned List:
| Any ante card | Chaos Orb | Falling Star | Tempest Efreet |
The following cards are Banned because they are prejudicial to fair play in multiplayer games:
| Balance | Persecute | Channel |
| Price of Progress | Primal Order | Wash Out |
The following cards, originally on the Type 1 Banned or Restricted list are allowed because they do not present the same detriment to fair play in multiplayer:
| Dream Halls | Mind Over Matter |
Vintage is Type 1.5 with an additional Banned List. Decks must contain at least 60 cards. The following cards are Banned:Any ante card
| Ancestral Recall | Berserk | Black Lotus | Black Vise |
| Braingeyser | Chaos Orb | Crop Rotation | Demonic Tutor |
| Demonic Consultation | Doomsday | Enlightened Tutor | Falling Star |
| Fastbond | Fork | Frantic Search | Grim Monolith |
| Hurkyl’s Recall | Library of Alexandria | Lotus Petal | Mana Crypt |
| Mana Vault | Memory Jar | Mind Twist | Mox Diamond |
| Mox Emerald | Mox Jet | Mox Pearl | Mox Ruby |
| Mox Sapphire | Mystical Tutor | Necropotence | Recall |
| Regrowth | Sol Ring | Strip Mine | Stroke of Genius |
| Tempest Efreet | Time Spiral | Time Walk | Timetwister |
| Tinker | Tolarian Academy | Vampiric Tutor | Voltaic Key |
| Wheel of Fortune | Windfall | Yawgmoth’s Bargain | Yawgmoth’s Will |
The following cards are Banned because they are prejudicial to fair play in multiplayer games:
| Balance | Persecute | Channel |
| Price of Progress | Primal Order | Wash Out |
The following cards, originally on the Type 1 Banned or Restricted list are allowed because they do not present the same detriment to fair play in multiplayer:
Dream Halls Mind Over Matter
Contemporary is a modified version of Extended. Decks must contain at least 60 cards. Cards from the following sets are allowed: Fifth Edition, Sixth Edition, Ice Age, Alliances, Homelands, Mirage, Visions, Weatherlight, Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus, Urza’s Saga, Urza’s Legacy, Urza’s Destiny, Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy, Invasion. Dual Lands are allowed.
The following cards are Banned because they are on the Extended Banned List:
Any ante or uniquely-named promo card
| Earthcraft | Lotus Petal | Mana Vault | Memory Jar |
| Time Spiral | Tolarian Academy | Windfall | Zuran Orb |
The following cards, originally on the Extended Banned list are allowed because they do not present the same detriment to fair play in multiplayer:
| Dark Ritual | Dream Halls | Mind Over Matter |
| Yawgmoth’s Bargain | Yawgmoth’s Will |
The following cards are Banned because they are prejudicial to fair play in multiplayer games:
| Persecute | Price of Progress | Primal Order | Wash Out |
Any “color hoser” is also banned. This includes any card that destroys or inhibits any permanent type of a single color (like Perish, Hibernation or Gloom) or any single land type (like Flashfires or Tsunami). Cards that trigger favorably for their controller (like Snake Pit) are allowed. Cards that trigger negatively when a player plays spells of a color (like Putrefaction, Yawgmoth’s Edict or Havoc) are banned.
Cards that destroy or inhibit all permanents of a single type (like Tranquility, Evacuation or Wrath of God) are allowed. Cards that must be activated to destroy or inhibit a color (like Circles of Protection) are allowed. The exception to this are permanents that counter spells of a color (like Deathgrip or Life Force); they are banned. Cards that target cards based on color (like Hydroblast or Red Elemental Blast) are allowed. Artifacts are not protected under color hoser rules.
If a player is found to have a color hoser his deck, he must replace that card with a basic land of his choice. He will not “lose a draw.” The offending card will simply be removed from the deck.
Additional formats, such as Standard, Artist (where players may only contruct their decks with cards drawn by a specific artist), Letter (where the English name of all cards in the deck must begin with the same letter), Factions (all creatures in the deck must be of the same creature type; cards like Tsabo’s Decree would then be banned) or Highlander (only one copy of any non-basic land card) are also possible.
All Classic (6th Edition) rules of Magic apply, unless they have no meaning for multiplayer games.
Games are generally limited to 6 players to ensure speed and ease of play; the Head Judge may waive this to allow everyone to participate. Players will be seated randomly.
Players determine randomly which player plays first. Play then procedes to that player’s left and so on. There is no play/draw rule. The player that plays first draws a card during his/her first draw step.
If multiple players wish to play spells and abilities at the same time, the active player will have priority. Priority will then pass to that player’s left and so on. When all players have passed in succession, the stack will begin to resolve.
Players may not concede, due to the potential for collusion and because it is prejudicial to fair play. Players may not intentionally mana burn themselves to death. Players unwilling to agree to this stipulation will not be entered into a game. There are two exceptions. First, all players may mutually agree to concede to one player who has a lock or overwhelming advantage. Second, when the game is reduced to 2 players, either one of them may concede to the other.
Players must clearly indicate their intentions to pass to the next Phase or Turn or when they wish to do something on another player’s turn.
There are no “take backs.” However, if a player announces a spell and then cannot (as opposed to will not) pay ALL costs, then that player may back up to the point before that spell’s announcement, to include untapping any lands used (or obviously intending to be used) in playing that spell. The Head Judge will be the final arbiter in deciding intent.
Spells have a range of the entire table. Spells that indicate “an opponent” or “target opponent” require a choice. Spells that indicate “all opponents” affect everyone but the player of the spell or ability in question. A player can never be his own opponent. Spells that indicate “all players” include the caster as well.
A player may attack whomever he or she chooses. A player may attack multiple opponents during his/her Combat Phase.
Cards are played according to their current Oracle wording. For example, any card that reads “During <some> Upkeep” is now reworded to “At the beginning of <some> Upkeep.”
As a State-based Effect, a player’s permanents leave the game with him when he does. Triggers on permanents leaving play go on the stack if they are meaningful (such as a Plague Spitter; a Yavimaya Elder would not be meaningful). If a player has an ability on the stack when he dies, the ability still resolves, using Last Known Values. If such an ability would result in the death of another player, the controller of the ability will still gain that player’s bounty (see Victory Conditions, below).
Players may not bring any pre-arranged agreements to the table (“You and I will not attack each other until we’re the last two standing” or “let’s kill so-and-so first”) This is collusion and is a disqualification without prizes offense. Players may form alliances during play, but no outside incentives, to include the prizes available at this tournament, may be offered. “Don’t kill me and I’ll help you kill so-and-so” is acceptable, but “Don’t kill me and I’ll give you 10 boosters” is not. The Head Judge is the final arbiter on what constitutes illegal collusion.
Each player will have a “bounty” on his/her head. The size of the bounty depends on the entry fee for the event; the larger the entry fee, the higher the bounty. The player that is responsible for killing that player receives the bounty. The stack will generally determine which player is responsible for another’s death.
Example: Joseph is at 2 life. Genesis targets him with Lightning Bolt. Ferrett responds to Genesis’ Lightning Bolt with one of his own. Ferrett will collect Joseph’s bounty.
If a player kills himself and other players simultaneously (like with Hurricane, Earthquake or Prosperity), he receives their bounty but no one receives his. They instead go into the “Last Man Standing” pile. If an ability on the stack kills a player, that ability’s controller will still collect that player’s bounty, even if he is no longer in the game.
Example: Joseph and Genesis are both at 2 life. Genesis targets Joseph with a Lightning Bolt. In response, Ferrett targets Genesis with a Lightning Bolt. Genesis will die (with Ferrett collecting his bounty), but will still collect Joseph’s bounty.
The last player in the game will collect any and all bounties in the “Last Man Standing” pile. If two players would simultaneously be the last players in the game (like with Hurricane, Earthquake or Prosperity), they split evenly the Last Man Standing pile. If the pile is not divisible evenly, remainders will be held for the next match.
Example: Adam and David are the last two players in the game and are both at 4 life. There are 3 boosters in the Last Man Standing Pile, from when Steve played an Earthquake and David counterspelled his damage prevention spell. Adam plays Hurricane for 5. Adam receives David’s bounty, but Adam’s (also 3 boosters) goes into the Last Man Standing Pile, taking it to 6. The two players then get 3 boosters each. Had there been no boosters, they would have split Adam’s (1 each) with 1 going into the next match’s Last Man Standing pile.
Option 1: Full Bounty. The entire bounty is given to the player doing the killing, as above. This promotes a completely aggressive game.
Option 2: Partial Bounty, Identical. The entire bounty consists of the same item (like boosters or rare cards). The larger portion (say, 4/5) of a player’s bounty goes to the player doing the killing. The smaller portion (like 1/5) goes into the Last Man Standing pile. This provides incentive to be both aggressive and to last as well.
Option 3: Partial Bounty, Non-Identical. The same as in option 2, but the bounty given for the kills (say boosters) is different than the bounty going into the Last Man Standing Pile (say, rare cards).