D.3 - Warnings, Penalties, and Ejection


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Note- The rulings in this sub-section may be out of date. Refer to the latest DCI rules for more accurate information.

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D.3.1- You are not allowed to waive any penalties imposed by the judge on your opponent. Violation of the floor rules must be enforced. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.2- Warnings come in five levels. Official warnings must be confirmed by the head judge. a. Caution. A verbal warning, that is not tracked. b. Notice. A verbal warning, that is tracked. Used as grounds to upgrade a later offense to a Warning. Notices are reported to the head judge and may be upgraded. c. Single Warning. An official warning, that is tracked. Normally used for unintentional mistakes that were disruptive to the event. d. Double Warning. An official warning, that is tracked. Normally used for repeat offenses, or where a rules violation resulted in a serious advantage. e. Triple Warning. An official warning, that is tracked. Normally used for cases of cheating or severe unsportsmanlike conduct. These result in investigation by the DCI and may result in additional penalties. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.3- Once three or more official warnings are issued, the head judge may decide to do one of the following: a. Forfeit current or next duel. This is issued if all three warnings were minor in nature, if none of them is a duplicate warning, and they are viewed as being unintentional. b. Forfeit current or next match. This is issued if all three warnings were minor in nature, if none of them is a duplicate warning, and they are viewed as being unintentional. c. Ejection. This is the default penalty for three warnings, and is the required penalty for four warnings. The player is still eligible for any prizes their standing yields, but does not play any more games. d. Disqualification. This is issued if the judge believes the player was cheating, or if the player received two Double Warnings or a Triple Warning. The player is not eligible for any prizes. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.4- Warnings accumulate through the entire event, even if it spans multiple days. They are cleared at the start of the quarterfinals. During the quarterfinals, a warning which was also issued prior to the quarterfinals can cause a Double Warning. [Tournament Rules 1998/10/01]

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D.3.5- Being caught cheating will automatically cause disqualification. If the judge believes a player is cheating, but cannot prove it, it is worth a Double Warning. Cheating includes (but is not limited to): receiving outside assistance or coaching, looking at opponents' cards while you are shuffling or cutting their deck, scouting other player's cards or decks, misrepresenting cards, underpaying mana, using marked cards or sleeves, intentionally marking cards or sleeves during play, drawing extra cards, manipulating which cards are drawn from your (or your opponent's) deck (including stacking a deck to separate land and spell cards), deliberately stalling to take advantage of a time limit, and intentionally misrepresenting public information such as life totals, number of cards in your library, and so on. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.6- Unsportsmanlike conduct is not allowed. Profanity and arguing or acting belligerently toward a tournament official will give a warning. Repeat offenses will result in disqualification. The following are automatically considered unsportsmanlike conduct: profanity, physical intimidation, arguing excessively with a judge, enlisting the aid of others to scout out competitors' decks, disobeying or disregarding rules for the tournament event, and willfully disobeying a rule by the head judge or tournament manager. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.7- Collusion to alter the results of a duel or match (meaning trying to get someone to throw a game or match) is considered unsportsmanlike conduct. [Tournament Rules 1996/10/01]

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D.3.8- Players must keep the cards in their hand above the table. First violation is a Single Warning and the second may result in disqualification. [Tournament Rules 1996/10/01]

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D.3.9- Use of counterfeit cards in decks is considered cheating and is subject to legal action as well. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.10- A player can always request that a judge check the opponent's deck to see that it only contains legal and genuine Magic cards. [DCI Letter, Jan 1997]

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D.3.11- If a player is found with an illegal deck (as with less than 60 cards), the default penalty is ejection. The head judge may downgrade this to a forfeit of the match. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.12- If a player leaves a Pro-Tour event without checking out, they are banned from the next equivalent event. [Duelist Magazine #14, Page 52]

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D.3.13- Players must take their turns in a timely fashion. Deliberately stalling is not allowed and can give you a warning. Failure to begin a match in a timely way in order to get a psychological advantage is grounds for disqualification. [Tournament Rules 1996/10/01]

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D.3.14- If the players do not agree on reality (meaning that they do not agree on life totals, number of counters, etc), the judge should issue a Single Warning to both players. If the judge believes that just one of the players is at fault, he may issue the warning to the one player. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.15- Players are allowed only 5 minutes prior to each duel to determine who plays and who draws, to do sideboarding, and to do deck shuffling. This does not include shuffling/cutting of opponent's deck or declaring any Mulligans (see Rule P.1.7). Violation of this rule is considered stalling and may result in a warning or disqualification as decided by the judge. The head judge may alter this time limit (usually lowering it), but if so, this must be advertised prior to the tournament. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.16- A limit of one minute is placed on any shuffling during a duel. If the head judge determines that the shuffling is excessive, it is treated as stalling. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.17- If a player is not in their seat at the start of a round in the tournament, they receive a loss for the first duel in the match. In addition, they lose an additional duel for each 10 minutes they are late, and this can result in losing the match. Players who lose the match this way in the first round are ejected from the tournament. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.18- If a player feels that another player is cheating or displaying unsportsmanlike conduct, they must bring this to the attention of the judge immediately. Not promptly notifying the judge about unsportsmanlike conduct means the player waives any possible claims against the tournament officials or tournament organization. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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D.3.19- If a player feels that the tournament officials mis-handled a possible conduct violation, they can appeal to the DCI staff. The DCI staff has the final ruling and the player must follow that decision without further argument or difficulties. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01]

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Acknowledgments and Disclaimers