This is the results for Perfect Hand Magic League, Tournament 28, Week 4 (28:04), and the start for Perfect Hand Magic League 29:01.
Round Perfect Hand Magic League 28:04
This round was 3 Card Alternative Land Rule - Siege.
Commentary
Yes, the banner is still being completed, but in the mean time I think we can all agree how lucky we are to have my own artistic talents available to step into the breach.
This week was all about speed - either super fast, or extremely slow. Some powerful cards seemed to become viable this week, including Freyalise which I have been itching to see played since it came out.
Calculate Your Row Now
Please submit your score row in the following format:
You don't need to calculate the final PTs or score, just your individual results. The scoring conventions are outlined in the rules at the bottom of this post. If there are any difficult or controversial matchups, please highlight these in some way and provide a brief note in your post.
Siege
Each player begins the game with an emblem which reads:
Emblem of Sieges
You can't win the game and your opponents can't lose the game.
{:5mana::0mana:}: For the rest of the game, you may ignore this emblem (Note: that's 50 colorless mana, not 5 + 0)
Deck Size: 3 Land Rule:: Alternative Land Rule (If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land card of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.) Additional Banned list:: Exploration, Azusa, Lost but Seeking
(please remember to check the "land rule banned cards" and "permanently banned cards")
The Entries
01 Madmanquail :: "Warden of the Unseen" Warden of the First Tree / Annul / Vraska the Unseen Annul was my metagame call. I figured there would be a ton of mana combos, most of which involve artifacts. I completely missed how good Emrakul was this week, and I lose hard to it. (MD5: "Warden of the First Tree / Annul / Vraska, the Unseen")
02 WhammeWhamme :: "Walk with the Devil" Time Vault / Voltaic Key / Devil's Play Devil's Play is a versatile choice, probably the best X spell available for this format
03 nerdyjoe :: "Channel Fireball" Grim Monolith / Power Artifact / Fireball I think I prefer WhammeWhamme's version, although this may still prove to be effective
05 tomsloger :: "Seppuku" Mana Crypt / Words of Wind / Marchesa's Infiltrator A very interesting and innovative build; this looks good. I always feel concerned seeing cards like Mana Crypt, but in this format I suppose it doesn't really matter!
10 Seppel :: "Mana Monarch" Sliver Queen / Mana Echoes / Mana Drain You go infinite, but not until turn 6 which might be too slow in this field
11 Rush_Clasic :: "Count on It" Azorius Guildmage / Foil / Mindbreak Trap Guildmage is a great pick this week, and very good against the planeswalkers and emrakuls that are floating around
13 Heinsun :: "Wiz Kid" Mana Crypt / Ertai, Wizard Adept / Capsize Capsize is great this week - it lets you win the race to 50 mana, as well as working with your creature
14 Feyd_Ruin :: "Seismic Activity" Sakura-Tribe Scout / Sylvan Library / Seismic Assault A poor man's exploration + seismic assault. You can't pay more life than you have, so this might not go too well
15 Sockfresh :: "Pinnacle of Power" Grim Monolith / Power Artifact / Helix Pinnacle Pinnacle is a solid choice and gets around a few problem cards. You are still wide open to disruption though.
17 Draco9 :: "Reach out and Claim it" Foil / Nature's Claim / Reach of Branches Reach of Branches is cute but not hugely powerful, worm harvest probably outperforms it in the long term
Next Round will be '4 Card - Manifest Destiny'.
Entries are due Monday 9th Feb at 19:00 UTC
4 Card - Manifest Destiny
Cards in your hand have : Manifest this card (To manifest a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)
Deck Size: 4 Land Rule:: None Additional Banned list:: none (please remember to check the "permanently banned cards" list)
Send your deck submission via private message (PM) to PerfectHandMagic
Follow PerfectHandMagic to be notified when the new round is posted
What is Perfect Hand Magic?
Perfect Hand Magic (PHM) is an online Magic format played here on the forums. Players play with an extremely limited deck size, such as 3 cards. Players begin with their entire deck (ie: those three cards) in hand and have no library (players don't lose when they fail to draw a card because of this). Due to the extremely limited number of play options given with their small deck size, games are calculated, rather then played, with an absolute determined winner (or a tie). Each player plays a match of two games against each other player who submitted - once going first, and once going second. Wins, losses, and ties for each of those two games are calculated by the moderator and players. The actual fun of the game comes from trying to decide which cards you will be playing.
What is the Perfect Hand Magic League?
The Perfect Hand Magic League is a four-week PHM tournament, which spans all Perfect Hand formats and embraces a constantly evolving set of rules. For each week of the four-week tournament, a new PHM format is announced for players to enter. Players compete for tournament points each round. At the end of the four-week tournament, the player who has accumulated the most points over the four weeks wins the tournament.
Basic Rules of Perfect Hand Magic League
Below lies the rules of PHM League written in laymen's terms for ease of understanding.
While a comprehensive rule system exists, new players and quick glances are best left for this basic explanation.
Overview
The Perfect Hand Magic League (PHM League) is a Magic tournament that consists of four rounds of Perfect Hand Magic (PHM), run entirely within this forum. To compete, entrants submit decks containing a varying number of cards which are played against each other. Scoring assumes optimal play, without randomness or concealed information.
Deck Construction Rules
1. A deck must contain exactly the number of cards specified by the week's rules. This usually ranges from 2 - 6 cards
2. A deck may contain any number of copies of any Vintage-legal card, but can't contain any cards on the PHM Banned List.
3. A player's deck must not enable that player to win the game before an opponent's second turn.
4. A player's deck must not enable that player to force an opponent to lose any cards in his or her hand before an opponent's second turn.
5. A player's deck must enable that player to win the game.
Deck Submission Rules
6. An entrant submits his or her deck to the PHM moderator (user: PerfectHandMagic) by private message.
Playing the Decks
7. Entrants don't actually play their decks, because game results can be determined theoretically.
8. Each player starts the game with the cards in his or her deck in his or her hand.
9. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
10. A random effect resolves in favor of the opponent of the owner of that effect.
11. Players know all information that would normally be concealed from them.
12. Each player plays one two-game match against each other player, and each player is the starting player once per match.
Points
13. The entrant with the most points in a round is the round winner. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game. However, an entrant earns only 2 points for a split match (each player wins a game).
14. The entrant with the most points in the four rounds comprising the rolling 4-weekly Perfect Hand Magic League is named the tournament winner. Extra Rules
15. Some optional rules may be used; see Optional Rules.
16. The Basic Rules don't cover every issue. For in-depth rules, see Comprehensive Rules.
Optional Rules
Land Rule
Any player may play a basic land of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land.
Expanded Land Rule
Any player may play a basic land of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
Alternative Land Rule
If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land card of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
Sanctioned Magic Format
A deck may contain only cards contained in sets legal in the specified format.
Counter Rule
Until each player has completed two turns, each player ignores any part of an effect of a source an opponent owns that would counter a spell that player controls.
Life Rule
If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game. Determine whether a deck enables the player of that deck to win the game as though this rule didn't exist.
Special Format
Other rules are specified.
Note: Rules below this line still refer to "ABT and "XCB" rather than "PHM" (review/change is ongoing)
XCB Comprehensive Rules
Below lies the comprehensive rules system for the ABT.
Rules are written for precision and game clarification. They are not written for ease of reading.
Game Rules
1.1. There are many versions of XCB. Each version has a name, of the form XCB 'Land Rule' 'Sanctioned Magic Format' 'Special Format' '(Bonus)' 'Counter Rule' 'Life Rule'.
1.1a. X is a number.
1.1b. 'Land Rule' can be LR, ELR, ALR, or nothing. LR indicates that the basic land rule is in effect, ELR indicates that the expanded land rule is in effect, and ALR indicates that the alternative land rule is in effect (see Rule 1.7).
1.1c. 'Sanctioned Magic Format' can be the name of a sanctioned Magic constructed format or nothing. The name of a format indicates that only cards contained in sets legal in that format may be submitted. This is an exception to rule 2.3c.
1.1d. 'Special Format' can be the name of at least one special format or nothing. The name of a special format indicates that the special format in effect (see Rule 1.8).
1.1e. 'Bonus' can be (Bonus) or nothing. (Bonus) modifies the preceding special format, indicating that an entrant must not follow the rules of that format, but that entrant will earn a specified number of bonus points if he or she does (see Rule 2.4f).
1.1f. 'Counter Rule' can be C or nothing. C indicates that the counter rule is in effect (see Rule 1.9).
1.1g. 'Life Rule' can be LF, AL, or nothing. LF indicates that the life rule is in effect and AL indicates that the alternative life rule is in effect (see Rule 1.10).
1.2. Decks are not played, but are scored as though they were. The player of a deck is the entrant who submitted that deck.
1.3. Except for the changes described in these rules, games follow the rules for a normal game of Magic.
1.3a. Ignore any part of an instruction that isn't covered by these rules or the rules of Magic.
1.3b. Rules that would take effect during the prerelease for a set take effect during the first round for which cards from that set may be submitted instead (see Rule 2.3d).
1.4. An entrant's deck contains exactly X cards (see Rule 1.1).
1.4a. A player's opening hand contains the cards in his or her deck.
1.4b. Players don't draw hands or mulligan.
1.4c. Players don't have sideboards.
1.5. Players' libraries begin the game empty.
1.5a. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
1.6. A cost or effect that would produce a random result produces the result that least benefits the player who paid the cost or the owner of the source of the effect instead.
1.7. Some versions of XCB use a land rule.
1.7a. This is the basic land rule (LR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land.
1.7b. This is the expanded land rule (ELR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
1.7c. This is the alternative land rule (ALR). If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land or basic snow land card of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
1.8. Some versions of XCB use a special format. A special format is an extra set of rules. These rules overwrite any other applicable rules. A non-comprehensive list of special formats is maintained here.
1.8a. Some special formats cause players to draw hands. The drawn cards become part of that player's opening hand.
1.8b. Some special formats generate continuous effects. Continuous effects generated by special formats are applied in the order those formats are listed in the XCB version name, before any other effects that could be applied in a layer.
1.8c. Some special formats require an entrant to make some number of decisions in addition to or instead of submitting a deck. An entrant's submission is that entrant's deck and any decisions that entrant makes. An entrant's submission must not violate rule 2.3 if all instances of the word 'deck' in that rule are replaced with 'submission'.
1.8d. Some special formats refer to decks that obtain or could obtain results. Saying that a deck obtains or could obtain a result means that the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result in a game or match against another player (see Rule 1.11). If a deck obtains or could obtain a result against another deck, then the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result against the player of the other deck.
1.9. Some versions of XCB use the counter rule.
1.9a. This is the counter rule (C). Until each player has completed two turns, each player ignores any part of an effect of a source an opponent owns that would counter a spell that player controls.
1.10. Some versions of XCB use a life rule.
1.10a. This is the life rule (LF). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game. Determine whether a deck enables the player of that deck to win a match as though this rule didn't exist (see Rule 2.3b).
1.10b. This is the alternative life rule (AL). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game.
1.11. Each player plays one match against each other player.
1.11a. Each match has two games.
1.11b. Each player is the starting player for one game in each match.
1.11c. Games are played with perfect information; players know the identities of face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players.
1.11d. Games are played optimally. The best outcome for a player is to win the game and the worst outcome is to lose the game.
1.11e. If a loop containing at least one optional action would be repeated indefinitely during a turn, then any player may propose a number of times for that loop to repeat instead. If a player does, then each other player may propose a different number and the loop is repeated for the greatest number of times proposed instead. No player is required to make a choice that would end a loop that crosses multiple turns.
1.11f. If a game would continue indefinitely, then the game is a draw.
Tournament Rules
2.1. Entrants compete in a competition.
2.1a. The shortest type of competition is a round. Typically, each round lasts one week.
2.1b. The ABT is a competition consisting of four rounds.
2.2. An entrant submits his or her deck to the ABT moderator.
2.2a. An entrant submits his or her deck by private message (pm).
2.2b. An entrant may submit multiple decks, but only the most recently submitted deck is counted.
2.2c. An illegal deck is not counted. At the moderator’s discretion, an illegal deck may be replaced by a similar deck – in which any cards causing that deck to be illegal have been removed or replaced.
2.2d. The moderator determines the result of each match. Entrants may challenge results, but not after the results of the first round of a new ABT has been posted, except at the moderator's discretion.
2.2e. An entrant may name his or her deck. If an entrant doesn't, then the moderator may name it.
2.3. Decks are subject to some restrictions.
2.3a. An entrant may not submit a deck that could enable the player of that deck to win the game or force any cards in an opponent's hand to change zones before an opponent's second turn. A card is forced to change zones if the owner of that card could make no sequence of decisions that would not result in either that card changing zones or that player losing the game before his or her second turn. Ignore this rule in the following cases:
i. All cards in an opponent's hand that would be forced to change zones would not be cast by that opponent and would enter the battlefield under that opponent's control. For example, a 4CB deck with two copies of Black Lotus could contain Stronghold Gambit but could not contain Wild Evocation.
ii. All cards in an opponent's hand that weren't there as a result of a cost or effect that opponent controlled that would be forced to change zones during the resolution of a spell or ability would be in that opponent's hand after that spell or ability resolved. For example, a 3CB deck could contain Timetwister and Black Lotus but an 8CB deck could not.
iii. Cards in an opponent's hand would be forced to change zones only if cards in that opponent's hand that started outside the game would cause that opponent's maximum hand size at the start of the game to be exceeded. For example, a 3CB LR deck could contain two copies of Ancestral Recall.
iv. The rule would be violated only in a game that existed as a result of an effect that resolved not before the specified turn or until each player had completed the specified number of turns that restarted the game or created a subgame. For example, a 2CB LR deck could contain Karn Liberated.
2.3b. An entrant may not submit a deck that wouldn't enable the player of that deck to win a match (see Rule 2.4d) against the player of at least one deck satisfying all rules.
2.3c. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card legal in Vintage (Type 1). Except as modified by a special format, all cards used in a game must be legal in Vintage.
2.3d. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card that will become legal in Vintage upon release of a set that's been revealed fully and officially since the start of the round.
2.3e. A deck may not contain any cards on the ABT Banned List.
2.4. Points determine round standings.
2.4a. Entrants are ranked – first to last – in order of decreasing number of points.
2.4b. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game.
2.4c. The combined result of both games in a match is called a match result. Possible match results are: 6 – two wins, 4 – a win and a draw, 3 or 2 or S – a win and a loss, 2 – two draws, 1 – a draw and a loss, and 0 – two losses.
2.4d. Some match results are also denoted by names: two wins – match win, a win and a loss – split match, two draws – draw, and two losses – match loss. An entrant wins the match if he or she wins both games, splits the match if he or she wins a game and loses a game, draws a match if he or she draws both games, and loses the match if he or she loses both games.
2.4e. An entrant earns only 2 points for a split match. This is an exception to rule 2.4b.
2.4f. An entrant may earn a number of bonus points defined by a special format. An entrant earns these points in addition to any other points.
2.4g. A table of match results is posted at the end of each round. Its rows represent entrants and its columns represent those entrants' opponents. An entrant's total number of points is listed at the end of his or her row.
2.5. The entrant with the most tournament points over the course of the ABT is the tournament winner.
2.5a. Each round, an entrant receives tournament points equal to his or her average match result for that round multiplied by 100, rounded to the nearest integer or some number of decimal places chosen at the moderator's discretion. For example, an entrant scoring 6-6-6-6-X-0-0-0 in a round with 8 entrants receives 340 tournament points ((6 + 6 + 6 + 6) / (8 - 1) x 100).
2.5b. If two or more entrants would win the ABT, then each of those entrants competes in additional rounds specified by the moderator, until only one entrant has the most tournament points. Each additional round contains only the entrants who have the most tournament points. The moderator may specify a limit to the number of additional rounds.
3. Prize Rules
3.1. A prize shall be given to the tournament winner.
3.1a. The winner of the tournament shall be given the prize described within the tournament, or a suitable replacement upon the tournament's end.
3.1b. If the winner of the tournament has won two or more tournaments, then the highest ranked entrant who hasn't won two or more tournaments shall be given the prize instead.
3.1c. If the winner was a moderator for two or more rounds of the tournament, then the highest ranked entrant who wasn't the moderator for two or more rounds of that tournament shall be given the prize instead. This is to ensure fair play.
3.1d. An entrant may decline the prize. If he or she does, then that entrant may designate another entrant to receive the prize.
3.1e. Entrants under the age of 18 are ineligible for prizes, due to federal laws regarding the sharing of personal information of minors.
3.1f. In the event that a prize can't be given to an entrant, the moderator will do his best to find another suitable way to reward that entrant.
3.1g. No prize is 100% guaranteed, but is assumed upon a good faith basis. Let's face it, with international customs, weird laws, etc, we can't guarantee anything. We'll do our best.
3.2. As a prized tournament, special scoring rules and practices are in place.
3.2a. Entrants are responsible for their own scoring. Assistance will be given, especially to new entrants, but it is ultimately up to each entrant to ensure his or her scoring is completed and accurate.
3.2b. Incomplete scores are considered losses, even to both players in a match if necessary. This is to make sure a winner is determined at the end of a tournament.
3.2c. The moderator always has the final word regarding scores and rules. Entrants may question any scoring the moderator does, until the moderator says that a match's scoring is final.
3.2d. The moderator may, at his or her discretion, determine a match is too difficult to calculate and give it a tie score, or his or her best guess. Again, this is final.
3.2e. Once a winner has been announced as final, that entrant shall receive the prize, even if errors in scoring or points are shown later.
Permanently Banned Cards
The following cards are permanently banned in the All Blind Tournament.
Each round will have an additional banned list that extends beyond, but always includes, these cards.
Player Standings
Previous standings will always be posted below the opening post of each week's thread.
Standings will be updated after the current week has been completed and score checking has finished.
Congratulations to Heinsun for winning this round. His deck was, slow, self-damaging, helped the opponent, and was very easily disrupted. Overall, an impressive set of credentials for a backbuild deck!
Hi! Its your friendly, neighborhood tomsloger checking in.
We play lots of interesting special formats. Every week, something new.
Ever want to just play the "regular" versions?
How about all of them at once?
Well, welcome to the Perfect Hand Magic Mega Vanilla Tournament!!!!
Entrants must submit 5 decks:
1 Card, Land Rule
2 Card, Land Rule
3 Card, Land Rule
4 Card, No Land Rule
5 Card, No Land Rule
We will use the ABT rules and banlist, as well as the additional land rule banlist for the appropriate decks. They can be found in post #2
Submit decks by private message. Please put "MVT" in the subject line to keep them separate from the league entries.
Rather than a due date, I will accept the first 32 entrants. I have no idea how long that will take, much less how long it will take to score them. Seriously, thats 2,480 total matchups across the 5 formats. What am I doing to myself?
If you have any questions, use the thread or PM me (tomsloger) at my regular account. only send final entries to this account. I'll try to update when theres only a few spots left.
This is the results for round Perfect Hand Magic League 28:03 and the start for round Perfect Hand Magic League 28:04.
Perfect Hand Magic League - 28:03
This round was 5 Card Backbuild.
Commentary
Greeting all. It's me, Madmanquail - or is it? (Yeah, it is). We have created this handy moderator account for posting round results. Please submit your decks to this account from now on. Also, I recommend that you "Follow" this account, which means you will be informed when the round results are posted!
Backbuild! I really enjoy backbuild every now and again. It's a very interesting format - it still rewards efficient, creative play, however the goals of the decks are completely the opposite of normal - instead of fast, you want to be slow. Instead of versatile, you want to be narrow, and instead of powerful, you want to be so flimsy that a single spell can cause your deck to crumble. I have no doubt we will see backbuild returning in the future.
For scoring this round: bad is good, and good is bad! If your deck loses 0-6, you should record your score as 6. Conversely, if your deck wins 6-0, you get 0. Hopefully that makes sense!
Calculate Your Row Now
Please submit your score row in the following format:
You don't need to calculate the final PTs or score, just your individual results. The scoring conventions are outlined in the rules at the bottom of this post. If there are any difficult or controversial matchups, please highlight these in some way and provide a brief note in your post.
Rebranding Project
The process of changing the name of this game is underway! There are bound to be some old references to XCB and ABT floating around, so my apologies for that. Please note the placeholder banner - we are aiming to get this changed as soon as the new banner is finished.
Backbuild!
Players exchange decks before the start of the match.
Players must be able to beat the following two decks 6-0:
Backtobasics.dec
Plains / Island / Swamp / Mountain / Forest
This week, you may ignore the following rules when submitting your deck:
3. A player's deck must not enable that player to win the game before an opponent's second turn.
4. A player's deck must not enable that player to force an opponent to lose any cards in his or her hand before an opponent's second turn.
Please note: Fate Reforged will be legal for this week's submission
17 Personman :: "Pass the Djinn" Barbarian Ring / Braid of Fire / Hollow Trees / Upwelling / Emberwilde Djinn Emberwilde Djinn is a cool card, and upwelling is helpful for the opponent, although this might be too powerful (this deck was reverted due to a subsequent submission being illegal) (approx 25 turns)
Next Round will be '3 Card Alternative Land Rule - Siege'.
Entries are due Monday 2nd Feb at 19:00 UTC
3 Card Alternative Land Rule - Siege
Each player begins the game with an emblem which reads:
Emblem of Sieges
You can't win the game and your opponents can't lose the game. : For the rest of the game, you may ignore this emblem (Note: that's 50 colorless mana, not 5 + 0)
Deck Size: 3 Land Rule:: Alternative Land Rule (If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land card of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.) Additional Banned list:: Exploration, Azusa, Lost but Seeking
(please remember to check the "land rule banned cards" and "permanently banned cards")
Send your deck submission via private message (PM) to PerfectHandMagic
Follow PerfectHandMagic to be notified when the new round is posted
MD5 of Madmanquail's deck: 31a31c0793858c6a2bc07a87ff509422
What is Perfect Hand Magic?
Perfect Hand Magic (PHM) is an online Magic format played here on the forums. Players play with an extremely limited deck size, such as 3 cards. Players begin with their entire deck (ie: those three cards) in hand and have no library (players don't lose when they fail to draw a card because of this). Due to the extremely limited number of play options given with their small deck size, games are calculated, rather then played, with an absolute determined winner (or a tie). Each player plays a match of two games against each other player who submitted - once going first, and once going second. Wins, losses, and ties for each of those two games are calculated by the moderator and players. The actual fun of the game comes from trying to decide which cards you will be playing.
What is the Perfect Hand Magic League?
The Perfect Hand Magic League is a four-week PHM tournament, which spans all Perfect Hand formats and embraces a constantly evolving set of rules. For each week of the four-week tournament, a new PHM format is announced for players to enter. Players compete for tournament points each round. At the end of the four-week tournament, the player who has accumulated the most points over the four weeks wins the tournament.
Basic Rules of Perfect Hand Magic League
Below lies the rules of PHM League written in laymen's terms for ease of understanding.
While a comprehensive rule system exists, new players and quick glances are best left for this basic explanation.
Overview
The Perfect Hand Magic League (PHM League) is a Magic tournament that consists of four rounds of Perfect Hand Magic (PHM), run entirely within this forum. To compete, entrants submit decks containing a varying number of cards which are played against each other. Scoring assumes optimal play, without randomness or concealed information.
Deck Construction Rules
1. A deck must contain exactly the number of cards specified by the week's rules. This usually ranges from 2 - 6 cards
2. A deck may contain any number of copies of any Vintage-legal card, but can't contain any cards on the PHM Banned List.
3. A player's deck must not enable that player to win the game before an opponent's second turn.
4. A player's deck must not enable that player to force an opponent to lose any cards in his or her hand before an opponent's second turn.
5. A player's deck must enable that player to win the game.
Deck Submission Rules
6. An entrant submits his or her deck to the PHM moderator (user: PerfectHandMagic) by private message.
Playing the Decks
7. Entrants don't actually play their decks, because game results can be determined theoretically.
8. Each player starts the game with the cards in his or her deck in his or her hand.
9. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
10. A random effect resolves in favor of the opponent of the owner of that effect.
11. Players know all information that would normally be concealed from them.
12. Each player plays one two-game match against each other player, and each player is the starting player once per match.
Points
13. The entrant with the most points in a round is the round winner. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game. However, an entrant earns only 2 points for a split match (each player wins a game).
14. The entrant with the most points in the four rounds comprising the rolling 4-weekly Perfect Hand Magic League is named the tournament winner. Extra Rules
15. Some optional rules may be used; see Optional Rules.
16. The Basic Rules don't cover every issue. For in-depth rules, see Comprehensive Rules.
Optional Rules
Land Rule
Any player may play a basic land of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land.
Expanded Land Rule
Any player may play a basic land of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
Alternative Land Rule
If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land card of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
Sanctioned Magic Format
A deck may contain only cards contained in sets legal in the specified format.
Counter Rule
Until each player has completed two turns, each player ignores any part of an effect of a source an opponent owns that would counter a spell that player controls.
Life Rule
If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game. Determine whether a deck enables the player of that deck to win the game as though this rule didn't exist.
Special Format
Other rules are specified.
Note: Rules below this line still refer to "ABT and "XCB" rather than "PHM" (review/change is ongoing)
XCB Comprehensive Rules
Below lies the comprehensive rules system for the ABT.
Rules are written for precision and game clarification. They are not written for ease of reading.
Game Rules
1.1. There are many versions of XCB. Each version has a name, of the form XCB 'Land Rule' 'Sanctioned Magic Format' 'Special Format' '(Bonus)' 'Counter Rule' 'Life Rule'.
1.1a. X is a number.
1.1b. 'Land Rule' can be LR, ELR, ALR, or nothing. LR indicates that the basic land rule is in effect, ELR indicates that the expanded land rule is in effect, and ALR indicates that the alternative land rule is in effect (see Rule 1.7).
1.1c. 'Sanctioned Magic Format' can be the name of a sanctioned Magic constructed format or nothing. The name of a format indicates that only cards contained in sets legal in that format may be submitted. This is an exception to rule 2.3c.
1.1d. 'Special Format' can be the name of at least one special format or nothing. The name of a special format indicates that the special format in effect (see Rule 1.8).
1.1e. 'Bonus' can be (Bonus) or nothing. (Bonus) modifies the preceding special format, indicating that an entrant must not follow the rules of that format, but that entrant will earn a specified number of bonus points if he or she does (see Rule 2.4f).
1.1f. 'Counter Rule' can be C or nothing. C indicates that the counter rule is in effect (see Rule 1.9).
1.1g. 'Life Rule' can be LF, AL, or nothing. LF indicates that the life rule is in effect and AL indicates that the alternative life rule is in effect (see Rule 1.10).
1.2. Decks are not played, but are scored as though they were. The player of a deck is the entrant who submitted that deck.
1.3. Except for the changes described in these rules, games follow the rules for a normal game of Magic.
1.3a. Ignore any part of an instruction that isn't covered by these rules or the rules of Magic.
1.3b. Rules that would take effect during the prerelease for a set take effect during the first round for which cards from that set may be submitted instead (see Rule 2.3d).
1.4. An entrant's deck contains exactly X cards (see Rule 1.1).
1.4a. A player's opening hand contains the cards in his or her deck.
1.4b. Players don't draw hands or mulligan.
1.4c. Players don't have sideboards.
1.5. Players' libraries begin the game empty.
1.5a. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
1.6. A cost or effect that would produce a random result produces the result that least benefits the player who paid the cost or the owner of the source of the effect instead.
1.7. Some versions of XCB use a land rule.
1.7a. This is the basic land rule (LR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land.
1.7b. This is the expanded land rule (ELR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
1.7c. This is the alternative land rule (ALR). If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land or basic snow land card of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
1.8. Some versions of XCB use a special format. A special format is an extra set of rules. These rules overwrite any other applicable rules. A non-comprehensive list of special formats is maintained here.
1.8a. Some special formats cause players to draw hands. The drawn cards become part of that player's opening hand.
1.8b. Some special formats generate continuous effects. Continuous effects generated by special formats are applied in the order those formats are listed in the XCB version name, before any other effects that could be applied in a layer.
1.8c. Some special formats require an entrant to make some number of decisions in addition to or instead of submitting a deck. An entrant's submission is that entrant's deck and any decisions that entrant makes. An entrant's submission must not violate rule 2.3 if all instances of the word 'deck' in that rule are replaced with 'submission'.
1.8d. Some special formats refer to decks that obtain or could obtain results. Saying that a deck obtains or could obtain a result means that the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result in a game or match against another player (see Rule 1.11). If a deck obtains or could obtain a result against another deck, then the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result against the player of the other deck.
1.9. Some versions of XCB use the counter rule.
1.9a. This is the counter rule (C). Until each player has completed two turns, each player ignores any part of an effect of a source an opponent owns that would counter a spell that player controls.
1.10. Some versions of XCB use a life rule.
1.10a. This is the life rule (LF). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game. Determine whether a deck enables the player of that deck to win a match as though this rule didn't exist (see Rule 2.3b).
1.10b. This is the alternative life rule (AL). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game.
1.11. Each player plays one match against each other player.
1.11a. Each match has two games.
1.11b. Each player is the starting player for one game in each match.
1.11c. Games are played with perfect information; players know the identities of face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players.
1.11d. Games are played optimally. The best outcome for a player is to win the game and the worst outcome is to lose the game.
1.11e. If a loop containing at least one optional action would be repeated indefinitely during a turn, then any player may propose a number of times for that loop to repeat instead. If a player does, then each other player may propose a different number and the loop is repeated for the greatest number of times proposed instead. No player is required to make a choice that would end a loop that crosses multiple turns.
1.11f. If a game would continue indefinitely, then the game is a draw.
Tournament Rules
2.1. Entrants compete in a competition.
2.1a. The shortest type of competition is a round. Typically, each round lasts one week.
2.1b. The ABT is a competition consisting of four rounds.
2.2. An entrant submits his or her deck to the ABT moderator.
2.2a. An entrant submits his or her deck by private message (pm).
2.2b. An entrant may submit multiple decks, but only the most recently submitted deck is counted.
2.2c. An illegal deck is not counted. At the moderator’s discretion, an illegal deck may be replaced by a similar deck – in which any cards causing that deck to be illegal have been removed or replaced.
2.2d. The moderator determines the result of each match. Entrants may challenge results, but not after the results of the first round of a new ABT has been posted, except at the moderator's discretion.
2.2e. An entrant may name his or her deck. If an entrant doesn't, then the moderator may name it.
2.3. Decks are subject to some restrictions.
2.3a. An entrant may not submit a deck that could enable the player of that deck to win the game or force any cards in an opponent's hand to change zones before an opponent's second turn. A card is forced to change zones if the owner of that card could make no sequence of decisions that would not result in either that card changing zones or that player losing the game before his or her second turn. Ignore this rule in the following cases:
i. All cards in an opponent's hand that would be forced to change zones would not be cast by that opponent and would enter the battlefield under that opponent's control. For example, a 4CB deck with two copies of Black Lotus could contain Stronghold Gambit but could not contain Wild Evocation.
ii. All cards in an opponent's hand that weren't there as a result of a cost or effect that opponent controlled that would be forced to change zones during the resolution of a spell or ability would be in that opponent's hand after that spell or ability resolved. For example, a 3CB deck could contain Timetwister and Black Lotus but an 8CB deck could not.
iii. Cards in an opponent's hand would be forced to change zones only if cards in that opponent's hand that started outside the game would cause that opponent's maximum hand size at the start of the game to be exceeded. For example, a 3CB LR deck could contain two copies of Ancestral Recall.
iv. The rule would be violated only in a game that existed as a result of an effect that resolved not before the specified turn or until each player had completed the specified number of turns that restarted the game or created a subgame. For example, a 2CB LR deck could contain Karn Liberated.
2.3b. An entrant may not submit a deck that wouldn't enable the player of that deck to win a match (see Rule 2.4d) against the player of at least one deck satisfying all rules.
2.3c. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card legal in Vintage (Type 1). Except as modified by a special format, all cards used in a game must be legal in Vintage.
2.3d. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card that will become legal in Vintage upon release of a set that's been revealed fully and officially since the start of the round.
2.3e. A deck may not contain any cards on the ABT Banned List.
2.4. Points determine round standings.
2.4a. Entrants are ranked – first to last – in order of decreasing number of points.
2.4b. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game.
2.4c. The combined result of both games in a match is called a match result. Possible match results are: 6 – two wins, 4 – a win and a draw, 3 or 2 or S – a win and a loss, 2 – two draws, 1 – a draw and a loss, and 0 – two losses.
2.4d. Some match results are also denoted by names: two wins – match win, a win and a loss – split match, two draws – draw, and two losses – match loss. An entrant wins the match if he or she wins both games, splits the match if he or she wins a game and loses a game, draws a match if he or she draws both games, and loses the match if he or she loses both games.
2.4e. An entrant earns only 2 points for a split match. This is an exception to rule 2.4b.
2.4f. An entrant may earn a number of bonus points defined by a special format. An entrant earns these points in addition to any other points.
2.4g. A table of match results is posted at the end of each round. Its rows represent entrants and its columns represent those entrants' opponents. An entrant's total number of points is listed at the end of his or her row.
2.5. The entrant with the most tournament points over the course of the ABT is the tournament winner.
2.5a. Each round, an entrant receives tournament points equal to his or her average match result for that round multiplied by 100, rounded to the nearest integer or some number of decimal places chosen at the moderator's discretion. For example, an entrant scoring 6-6-6-6-X-0-0-0 in a round with 8 entrants receives 340 tournament points ((6 + 6 + 6 + 6) / (8 - 1) x 100).
2.5b. If two or more entrants would win the ABT, then each of those entrants competes in additional rounds specified by the moderator, until only one entrant has the most tournament points. Each additional round contains only the entrants who have the most tournament points. The moderator may specify a limit to the number of additional rounds.
3. Prize Rules
3.1. A prize shall be given to the tournament winner.
3.1a. The winner of the tournament shall be given the prize described within the tournament, or a suitable replacement upon the tournament's end.
3.1b. If the winner of the tournament has won two or more tournaments, then the highest ranked entrant who hasn't won two or more tournaments shall be given the prize instead.
3.1c. If the winner was a moderator for two or more rounds of the tournament, then the highest ranked entrant who wasn't the moderator for two or more rounds of that tournament shall be given the prize instead. This is to ensure fair play.
3.1d. An entrant may decline the prize. If he or she does, then that entrant may designate another entrant to receive the prize.
3.1e. Entrants under the age of 18 are ineligible for prizes, due to federal laws regarding the sharing of personal information of minors.
3.1f. In the event that a prize can't be given to an entrant, the moderator will do his best to find another suitable way to reward that entrant.
3.1g. No prize is 100% guaranteed, but is assumed upon a good faith basis. Let's face it, with international customs, weird laws, etc, we can't guarantee anything. We'll do our best.
3.2. As a prized tournament, special scoring rules and practices are in place.
3.2a. Entrants are responsible for their own scoring. Assistance will be given, especially to new entrants, but it is ultimately up to each entrant to ensure his or her scoring is completed and accurate.
3.2b. Incomplete scores are considered losses, even to both players in a match if necessary. This is to make sure a winner is determined at the end of a tournament.
3.2c. The moderator always has the final word regarding scores and rules. Entrants may question any scoring the moderator does, until the moderator says that a match's scoring is final.
3.2d. The moderator may, at his or her discretion, determine a match is too difficult to calculate and give it a tie score, or his or her best guess. Again, this is final.
3.2e. Once a winner has been announced as final, that entrant shall receive the prize, even if errors in scoring or points are shown later.
Permanently Banned Cards
The following cards are permanently banned in the All Blind Tournament.
Each round will have an additional banned list that extends beyond, but always includes, these cards.
Player Standings
Previous standings will always be posted below the opening post of each week's thread.
Standings will be updated after the current week has been completed and score checking has finished.
I'm the newly created "perfect hand magic" moderator. Come check out our awesome game over on other forum games! I have to post 5 times before I am permitted to post links, which sucks...but well, here's one!
This is the results for Perfect Hand Magic League, Tournament 28, Week 4 (28:04), and the start for Perfect Hand Magic League 29:01.
Round Perfect Hand Magic League 28:04
This round was 3 Card Alternative Land Rule - Siege.
Commentary
Yes, the banner is still being completed, but in the mean time I think we can all agree how lucky we are to have my own artistic talents available to step into the breach.
This week was all about speed - either super fast, or extremely slow. Some powerful cards seemed to become viable this week, including Freyalise which I have been itching to see played since it came out.
Calculate Your Row Now
Please submit your score row in the following format:
X | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 | PT | Points
1 | X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
You don't need to calculate the final PTs or score, just your individual results. The scoring conventions are outlined in the rules at the bottom of this post. If there are any difficult or controversial matchups, please highlight these in some way and provide a brief note in your post.
Each player begins the game with an emblem which reads:
Emblem of Sieges
You can't win the game and your opponents can't lose the game.
{:5mana::0mana:}: For the rest of the game, you may ignore this emblem (Note: that's 50 colorless mana, not 5 + 0)
Deck Size: 3
Land Rule:: Alternative Land Rule (If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land card of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.)
Additional Banned list:: Exploration, Azusa, Lost but Seeking
(please remember to check the "land rule banned cards" and "permanently banned cards")
The Entries
01 Madmanquail :: "Warden of the Unseen"
Warden of the First Tree / Annul / Vraska the Unseen
Annul was my metagame call. I figured there would be a ton of mana combos, most of which involve artifacts. I completely missed how good Emrakul was this week, and I lose hard to it. (MD5: "Warden of the First Tree / Annul / Vraska, the Unseen")
02 WhammeWhamme :: "Walk with the Devil"
Time Vault / Voltaic Key / Devil's Play
Devil's Play is a versatile choice, probably the best X spell available for this format
03 nerdyjoe :: "Channel Fireball"
Grim Monolith / Power Artifact / Fireball
I think I prefer WhammeWhamme's version, although this may still prove to be effective
04 Pingele_Pats :: "Regrowing Debt"
Black Lotus / Auriok Salvagers / Debt to the Deathless
Using a non-targetted X spell shows good forethought
05 tomsloger :: "Seppuku"
Mana Crypt / Words of Wind / Marchesa's Infiltrator
A very interesting and innovative build; this looks good. I always feel concerned seeing cards like Mana Crypt, but in this format I suppose it doesn't really matter!
06 notgreat :: "Sneaky"
Sneak Attack / Mana Vault / Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Emrakul on her own is great in this format, so the sneak attack shell is awesome gravy
07 psymunn42 :: "Shelldock Emmy"
Shelldock Isle / Lion's Eye Diamond / Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Classic Shelldock/Emrakul should be interesting, given the power of Emrakul this week
08 yarn :: "Today's Sermon was Cancelled"
Foil / Phyrexian Revoker / Preacher
Three strong cards that should do well.
09 bateleur :: "Final Fantasy"
Isochron Scepter / Final Fortune / Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
I wonder whether vault/key will perform better. At least Final Fortune has some minor utility without the scepter.
10 Seppel :: "Mana Monarch"
Sliver Queen / Mana Echoes / Mana Drain
You go infinite, but not until turn 6 which might be too slow in this field
11 Rush_Clasic :: "Count on It"
Azorius Guildmage / Foil / Mindbreak Trap
Guildmage is a great pick this week, and very good against the planeswalkers and emrakuls that are floating around
12 Subtle_Relevance :: "Azorius Lockdown"
Azorius Guildmage / Limited Resources / Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Limited Resources is an interesting find - let's see how it performs
13 Heinsun :: "Wiz Kid"
Mana Crypt / Ertai, Wizard Adept / Capsize
Capsize is great this week - it lets you win the race to 50 mana, as well as working with your creature
14 Feyd_Ruin :: "Seismic Activity"
Sakura-Tribe Scout / Sylvan Library / Seismic Assault
A poor man's exploration + seismic assault. You can't pay more life than you have, so this might not go too well
15 Sockfresh :: "Pinnacle of Power"
Grim Monolith / Power Artifact / Helix Pinnacle
Pinnacle is a solid choice and gets around a few problem cards. You are still wide open to disruption though.
16 NemataGG :: "Final Sigarrette"
Isochron Scepter / Final Fortune / Sigarda, Host of Herons
Sigarda is a very unusual choice, but I suppose anything wins given infinite turns.
17 Draco9 :: "Reach out and Claim it"
Foil / Nature's Claim / Reach of Branches
Reach of Branches is cute but not hugely powerful, worm harvest probably outperforms it in the long term
18 Chrono007 :: "Super Friends"
Elixir of Immortality / Elspeth Tirel / Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Two strong planeswalkers, although a slow start.
19 thatmarkguy :: "Eye of the Betrayer"
It That Betrays / Lion's Eye Diamond / Unburial Rites
The classic 3 card reanimator shell. Turn 1 eldrazi will be powerful against a lot of decks.
X | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | PT | PotM
1 | X 3 6 N 3 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 6 6 6 3 6 3 | 44 | 259
2 | 3 X 3 N 4 0 0 6 3 3 1 2 4 6 6 3 6 6 3 | 53 | 312
3 | 0 3 X N 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 6 0 6 3 3 0 6 0 | 26 | 153
5 | 3 1 6 N X 0 1 1 3 6 1 2 2 3 1 3 0 2 0 | 31 | 182
6 | 6 6 6 N 6 X 3 0 6 3 0 6 3 6 6 6 6 6 3 | 74 | 435
7 | 6 6 6 N 4 3 X 3 6 6 3 6 3 6 6 6 6 6 3 | 80 | 471
8 | 6 0 6 N 4 6 3 X 6 6 6 4 3 6 6 6 0 0 3 | 68 | 400
9 | 6 3 3 N 3 0 0 0 X 3 0 2 3 6 3 3 6 6 0 | 40 | 235
0 | 0 3 6 N 0 3 0 0 3 X 0 2 0 6 6 3 6 6 0 | 40 | 235
1 | 6 4 6 N 4 6 3 0 6 6 X 2 4 6 6 2 6 6 3 | 74 | 435
2 | 6 2 0 N 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 X 0 0 0 2 0 6 2 | 27 | 159
3 | 6 1 6 N 2 3 3 3 3 6 1 6 X 6 6 4 3 6 1 | 61 | 359
4 | 0 0 0 N 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 X 0 0 0 0 0 | 08 | 047
5 | 0 0 3 N 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 6 0 6 X 3 0 6 0 | 28 | 165
6 | 0 3 3 N 3 0 0 0 3 3 2 2 1 6 3 X 0 6 0 | 29 | 171
7 | 3 0 6 N 6 0 0 6 0 0 0 6 3 6 6 6 X 6 3 | 54 | 318
8 | 0 0 0 N 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 X 0 | 14 | 082
9 | 3 3 6 N 6 3 3 3 6 6 3 2 4 6 6 6 3 6 X | 68 | 400
Next Round will be '4 Card - Manifest Destiny'.
Entries are due Monday 9th Feb at 19:00 UTC
Cards in your hand have
Deck Size: 4
Land Rule:: None
Additional Banned list:: none (please remember to check the "permanently banned cards" list)
Send your deck submission via private message (PM) to PerfectHandMagic
Follow PerfectHandMagic to be notified when the new round is posted
Madmanquail's deck MD5: f681473f1a5d9c18afbcb5746eddf41a
Perfect Hand Magic (PHM) is an online Magic format played here on the forums. Players play with an extremely limited deck size, such as 3 cards. Players begin with their entire deck (ie: those three cards) in hand and have no library (players don't lose when they fail to draw a card because of this). Due to the extremely limited number of play options given with their small deck size, games are calculated, rather then played, with an absolute determined winner (or a tie). Each player plays a match of two games against each other player who submitted - once going first, and once going second. Wins, losses, and ties for each of those two games are calculated by the moderator and players. The actual fun of the game comes from trying to decide which cards you will be playing.
What is the Perfect Hand Magic League?
The Perfect Hand Magic League is a four-week PHM tournament, which spans all Perfect Hand formats and embraces a constantly evolving set of rules. For each week of the four-week tournament, a new PHM format is announced for players to enter. Players compete for tournament points each round. At the end of the four-week tournament, the player who has accumulated the most points over the four weeks wins the tournament.
Basic Rules of Perfect Hand Magic League
Below lies the rules of PHM League written in laymen's terms for ease of understanding.
While a comprehensive rule system exists, new players and quick glances are best left for this basic explanation.
2. A deck may contain any number of copies of any Vintage-legal card, but can't contain any cards on the PHM Banned List.
3. A player's deck must not enable that player to win the game before an opponent's second turn.
4. A player's deck must not enable that player to force an opponent to lose any cards in his or her hand before an opponent's second turn.
5. A player's deck must enable that player to win the game.
8. Each player starts the game with the cards in his or her deck in his or her hand.
9. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
10. A random effect resolves in favor of the opponent of the owner of that effect.
11. Players know all information that would normally be concealed from them.
12. Each player plays one two-game match against each other player, and each player is the starting player once per match.
Extra Rules
16. The Basic Rules don't cover every issue. For in-depth rules, see Comprehensive Rules.
Land Rule
Note: Rules below this line still refer to "ABT and "XCB" rather than "PHM" (review/change is ongoing)
XCB Comprehensive Rules
Below lies the comprehensive rules system for the ABT.
Rules are written for precision and game clarification. They are not written for ease of reading.
Game Rules
1.1. There are many versions of XCB. Each version has a name, of the form XCB 'Land Rule' 'Sanctioned Magic Format' 'Special Format' '(Bonus)' 'Counter Rule' 'Life Rule'.
1.1b. 'Land Rule' can be LR, ELR, ALR, or nothing. LR indicates that the basic land rule is in effect, ELR indicates that the expanded land rule is in effect, and ALR indicates that the alternative land rule is in effect (see Rule 1.7).
1.1c. 'Sanctioned Magic Format' can be the name of a sanctioned Magic constructed format or nothing. The name of a format indicates that only cards contained in sets legal in that format may be submitted. This is an exception to rule 2.3c.
1.1d. 'Special Format' can be the name of at least one special format or nothing. The name of a special format indicates that the special format in effect (see Rule 1.8).
1.1e. 'Bonus' can be (Bonus) or nothing. (Bonus) modifies the preceding special format, indicating that an entrant must not follow the rules of that format, but that entrant will earn a specified number of bonus points if he or she does (see Rule 2.4f).
1.1f. 'Counter Rule' can be C or nothing. C indicates that the counter rule is in effect (see Rule 1.9).
1.1g. 'Life Rule' can be LF, AL, or nothing. LF indicates that the life rule is in effect and AL indicates that the alternative life rule is in effect (see Rule 1.10).
1.3. Except for the changes described in these rules, games follow the rules for a normal game of Magic.
1.3b. Rules that would take effect during the prerelease for a set take effect during the first round for which cards from that set may be submitted instead (see Rule 2.3d).
1.4b. Players don't draw hands or mulligan.
1.4c. Players don't have sideboards.
1.7. Some versions of XCB use a land rule.
1.7b. This is the expanded land rule (ELR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
1.7c. This is the alternative land rule (ALR). If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land or basic snow land card of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
1.8b. Some special formats generate continuous effects. Continuous effects generated by special formats are applied in the order those formats are listed in the XCB version name, before any other effects that could be applied in a layer.
1.8c. Some special formats require an entrant to make some number of decisions in addition to or instead of submitting a deck. An entrant's submission is that entrant's deck and any decisions that entrant makes. An entrant's submission must not violate rule 2.3 if all instances of the word 'deck' in that rule are replaced with 'submission'.
1.8d. Some special formats refer to decks that obtain or could obtain results. Saying that a deck obtains or could obtain a result means that the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result in a game or match against another player (see Rule 1.11). If a deck obtains or could obtain a result against another deck, then the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result against the player of the other deck.
1.10b. This is the alternative life rule (AL). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game.
1.11b. Each player is the starting player for one game in each match.
1.11c. Games are played with perfect information; players know the identities of face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players.
1.11d. Games are played optimally. The best outcome for a player is to win the game and the worst outcome is to lose the game.
1.11e. If a loop containing at least one optional action would be repeated indefinitely during a turn, then any player may propose a number of times for that loop to repeat instead. If a player does, then each other player may propose a different number and the loop is repeated for the greatest number of times proposed instead. No player is required to make a choice that would end a loop that crosses multiple turns.
1.11f. If a game would continue indefinitely, then the game is a draw.
2.1. Entrants compete in a competition.
2.1b. The ABT is a competition consisting of four rounds.
2.2b. An entrant may submit multiple decks, but only the most recently submitted deck is counted.
2.2c. An illegal deck is not counted. At the moderator’s discretion, an illegal deck may be replaced by a similar deck – in which any cards causing that deck to be illegal have been removed or replaced.
2.2d. The moderator determines the result of each match. Entrants may challenge results, but not after the results of the first round of a new ABT has been posted, except at the moderator's discretion.
2.2e. An entrant may name his or her deck. If an entrant doesn't, then the moderator may name it.
ii. All cards in an opponent's hand that weren't there as a result of a cost or effect that opponent controlled that would be forced to change zones during the resolution of a spell or ability would be in that opponent's hand after that spell or ability resolved. For example, a 3CB deck could contain Timetwister and Black Lotus but an 8CB deck could not.
iii. Cards in an opponent's hand would be forced to change zones only if cards in that opponent's hand that started outside the game would cause that opponent's maximum hand size at the start of the game to be exceeded. For example, a 3CB LR deck could contain two copies of Ancestral Recall.
iv. The rule would be violated only in a game that existed as a result of an effect that resolved not before the specified turn or until each player had completed the specified number of turns that restarted the game or created a subgame. For example, a 2CB LR deck could contain Karn Liberated.
2.3c. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card legal in Vintage (Type 1). Except as modified by a special format, all cards used in a game must be legal in Vintage.
2.3d. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card that will become legal in Vintage upon release of a set that's been revealed fully and officially since the start of the round.
2.3e. A deck may not contain any cards on the ABT Banned List.
2.4b. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game.
2.4c. The combined result of both games in a match is called a match result. Possible match results are: 6 – two wins, 4 – a win and a draw, 3 or 2 or S – a win and a loss, 2 – two draws, 1 – a draw and a loss, and 0 – two losses.
2.4d. Some match results are also denoted by names: two wins – match win, a win and a loss – split match, two draws – draw, and two losses – match loss. An entrant wins the match if he or she wins both games, splits the match if he or she wins a game and loses a game, draws a match if he or she draws both games, and loses the match if he or she loses both games.
2.4e. An entrant earns only 2 points for a split match. This is an exception to rule 2.4b.
2.4f. An entrant may earn a number of bonus points defined by a special format. An entrant earns these points in addition to any other points.
2.4g. A table of match results is posted at the end of each round. Its rows represent entrants and its columns represent those entrants' opponents. An entrant's total number of points is listed at the end of his or her row.
2.5b. If two or more entrants would win the ABT, then each of those entrants competes in additional rounds specified by the moderator, until only one entrant has the most tournament points. Each additional round contains only the entrants who have the most tournament points. The moderator may specify a limit to the number of additional rounds.
3.1. A prize shall be given to the tournament winner.
3.1b. If the winner of the tournament has won two or more tournaments, then the highest ranked entrant who hasn't won two or more tournaments shall be given the prize instead.
3.1c. If the winner was a moderator for two or more rounds of the tournament, then the highest ranked entrant who wasn't the moderator for two or more rounds of that tournament shall be given the prize instead. This is to ensure fair play.
3.1d. An entrant may decline the prize. If he or she does, then that entrant may designate another entrant to receive the prize.
3.1e. Entrants under the age of 18 are ineligible for prizes, due to federal laws regarding the sharing of personal information of minors.
3.1f. In the event that a prize can't be given to an entrant, the moderator will do his best to find another suitable way to reward that entrant.
3.1g. No prize is 100% guaranteed, but is assumed upon a good faith basis. Let's face it, with international customs, weird laws, etc, we can't guarantee anything. We'll do our best.
3.2b. Incomplete scores are considered losses, even to both players in a match if necessary. This is to make sure a winner is determined at the end of a tournament.
3.2c. The moderator always has the final word regarding scores and rules. Entrants may question any scoring the moderator does, until the moderator says that a match's scoring is final.
3.2d. The moderator may, at his or her discretion, determine a match is too difficult to calculate and give it a tie score, or his or her best guess. Again, this is final.
3.2e. Once a winner has been announced as final, that entrant shall receive the prize, even if errors in scoring or points are shown later.
Permanently Banned Cards
The following cards are permanently banned in the All Blind Tournament.
Each round will have an additional banned list that extends beyond, but always includes, these cards.
Channel
Fastbond
Flash
Show and Tell
Disruption
Pact of Negation
Chancellor of the Annex
Force of Will
Leyline of Anticipation
Trinisphere
Lands
Ghost Quarter
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Win Conditions
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Barren Glory
Laboratory Maniac
Magus of the Moon
Meddling Mage
The Rack
Vampire Hexmage
Land Rule Banned Cards
The following cards are often worth banning when a Land Rule is used.
They are included here for reference.
Black Lotus
Disruption
Balancing Act
Energy Field
Time Walk
Win Conditions
Beacon of Creation
Maralen of the Mornsong
Nezumi Shortfang
Red Sun's Zenith
White Sun's Zenith
Player Standings
Previous standings will always be posted below the opening post of each week's thread.
Standings will be updated after the current week has been completed and score checking has finished.
09 Heinsun :: "Death by Leeching"
Hollow Trees / Upwelling / Leechridden Swamp / Phyrexian Arena / Tourach's Chant
Barren Glory
Chancellor of the Annex
Channel
Fastbond
Flash
Force of Will
Ghost Quarter
Laboratory Maniac
Leyline of Anticipation
Magus of the Moon
Meddling Mage
Pact of Negation
Show and Tell
Strip Mine
The Rack
Trinisphere
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Wasteland
Vampire Hexmage
Additional Banlist for Land Rule:
Balancing Act
Beacon of Creation
Black Lotus
Energy Field
Maralen of the Mornsong
Nezumi Shortfang
Red Sun's Zenith
Time Walk
White Sun's Zenith
We play lots of interesting special formats. Every week, something new.
Ever want to just play the "regular" versions?
How about all of them at once?
Well, welcome to the Perfect Hand Magic Mega Vanilla Tournament!!!!
Entrants must submit 5 decks:
1 Card, Land Rule
2 Card, Land Rule
3 Card, Land Rule
4 Card, No Land Rule
5 Card, No Land Rule
We will use the ABT rules and banlist, as well as the additional land rule banlist for the appropriate decks. They can be found in post #2
Submit decks by private message. Please put "MVT" in the subject line to keep them separate from the league entries.
Rather than a due date, I will accept the first 32 entrants. I have no idea how long that will take, much less how long it will take to score them. Seriously, thats 2,480 total matchups across the 5 formats. What am I doing to myself?
If you have any questions, use the thread or PM me (tomsloger) at my regular account. only send final entries to this account. I'll try to update when theres only a few spots left.
Good luck, and happy metagaming.
Previous standings:
This is the results for round Perfect Hand Magic League 28:03 and the start for round Perfect Hand Magic League 28:04.
Perfect Hand Magic League - 28:03
This round was 5 Card Backbuild.
Commentary
Greeting all. It's me, Madmanquail - or is it? (Yeah, it is). We have created this handy moderator account for posting round results. Please submit your decks to this account from now on. Also, I recommend that you "Follow" this account, which means you will be informed when the round results are posted!
Backbuild! I really enjoy backbuild every now and again. It's a very interesting format - it still rewards efficient, creative play, however the goals of the decks are completely the opposite of normal - instead of fast, you want to be slow. Instead of versatile, you want to be narrow, and instead of powerful, you want to be so flimsy that a single spell can cause your deck to crumble. I have no doubt we will see backbuild returning in the future.
For scoring this round: bad is good, and good is bad! If your deck loses 0-6, you should record your score as 6. Conversely, if your deck wins 6-0, you get 0. Hopefully that makes sense!
Calculate Your Row Now
Please submit your score row in the following format:
X | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 | PT | Points
1 | X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
You don't need to calculate the final PTs or score, just your individual results. The scoring conventions are outlined in the rules at the bottom of this post. If there are any difficult or controversial matchups, please highlight these in some way and provide a brief note in your post.
Rebranding Project
The process of changing the name of this game is underway! There are bound to be some old references to XCB and ABT floating around, so my apologies for that. Please note the placeholder banner - we are aiming to get this changed as soon as the new banner is finished.
Players exchange decks before the start of the match.
Players must be able to beat the following two decks 6-0:
Backtobasics.dec
Plains / Island / Swamp / Mountain / Forest
Terribad.dec
Darksteel Relic / Chimney Imp / Zephyr Spirit / North Star / Wood Elemental
This week, you may ignore the following rules when submitting your deck:
3. A player's deck must not enable that player to win the game before an opponent's second turn.
4. A player's deck must not enable that player to force an opponent to lose any cards in his or her hand before an opponent's second turn.
Please note: Fate Reforged will be legal for this week's submission
Deck Size: 5
Land Rule:: none
Additional Banned list:: Blood Oath, Copper Tablet, Forsaken Wastes, Impatience, Near-Death Experience, Planar Overlay, Sulfuric Vortex
(please remember to check the "permanently banned cards")
The Entries
01 Madmanquail :: "Dovescout"
Dovescape / Scout's Warning / Sand Silos / Rainbow Vale / Adventurers' Guildhouse
Shall we play a different game? (28 turns) (MD5: f2a161d7a0b4154f7ab0b76f285ea077)
02 Feyd_Ruin :: "Doveclash"
Dovescape / Mana Clash / Calciform Pools / Rainbow Vale / Hall of the Bandit Lord
This looks like the best dovescape deck by a fairly large margin! (27 turns)
03 WhammeWhamme :: "Go with the Flow"
Mercadian Bazaar / Irrigation Ditch / Irrigation Ditch / Hypergenesis / Flow of Maggots
Slow and helpful! (approx 55 turns)
04 Parsley :: "Phantasmal Reality"
Black Lotus / Breeding Pool / Upwelling / Reality Twist / Phobian Phantasm
The interesting thing about this deck is the painful sequencing. Reality twist is a form of disruption, though... (approx 1500 turns)
05 Subtle_Relevance :: "Dual Threat"
Rainbow Vale / Rainbow Vale / Crystal Vein / Desecration Elemental / Barbed Wire
Two threats are better than one - and that's nearly always a bad thing
06 yarn :: "Uncle Istvan and Friends"
Awakening Zone / Hickory Woodlot / The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale / Uncle Istvan / Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Superbly slow, although weak to rainbow vale (approx 1M turns)
07 nerdyjoe :: "Doverecall"
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Rainbow Vale / Dovescape / Ancestral Recall
Black Lotus was probably unnecessary - slower is generally better (20 turns)
08 Chrono007 :: "The Race is on!"
Evermind / Evermind / Urza's Bauble / Forbidden Orchard / Funeral Pyre
Self damage in a nutshell - although possibly a little bit quick (20 turns)
09 Heinsun :: "Death by Leeching"
Hollow Trees / Upwelling / Leechridden Swamp / Phyrexian Arena / Tourach's Chant
Phyrexian Etchings might have been a superior choice for the second enchantment, but otherwise (approx 50 turns)
10 notgreat :: "Shuffle Shuffle"
Shivan Gorge / Skyshroud Forest / Lotus Blossom / Mnemonic Nexus / Morality Shift
Slow and non-interactive (approx 260 turns)
11 Rush_Clasic :: "Light in the Storm"
Teferi's Isle / Fungal Reaches / Reito Lantern / Typhoon / Storm Seeker
Slow and very flimsy (approx 250 turns)
12 Pingele_Pats :: "Chaos in my head"
Bottomless Vault / Perish the Thought / Praetor's Grasp / Kormus Bell / Gauntlets of Chaos
Interesting and convoluted, although gauntlets seems like it might be too powerful!
13 Mogg :: "Landless Desecration"
Updated list:
Desecration Elemental / Kyren Toy / Mana Crypt / Talisman of Dominance / Thorn of Amethyst
Desecration Elemental / Gemstone Array / Mana Crypt / Sol Ring / Thorn of AmethystSpeed + Thorn of Amethyst might backfire here, but storage lands are popular
14 tomsloger :: "Garden Salvo"
Lotus Bloom / Scrapyard Salvo / Centaur Garden / Serene Remebrance / Evermind
Slow and painful (117 turns)
15 keyboardmash :: "Words for Karma"
Hollow Trees / North Star / Word of Command / Karma / Ancient Runes
Word of Command might earn your deck a lot of points
16 thatmarkguy :: "Affinity"
Broodstar / Naked Singularity / Teferi's Isle / Calciform Pools / Adventurer's Guildhouse
Quite slow, though also mildly disruptive (approx 650 turns)
17 Personman :: "Pass the Djinn"
Barbarian Ring / Braid of Fire / Hollow Trees / Upwelling / Emberwilde Djinn
Emberwilde Djinn is a cool card, and upwelling is helpful for the opponent, although this might be too powerful (this deck was reverted due to a subsequent submission being illegal) (approx 25 turns)
18 bateleur :: "Vise City"Show and Tell is on the banned list - sorry, you are disqualified.Saprazzan Cove / Black Vise / Show and Tell / Relic Bane / Cursed Land
Damned if you do, maybe damned if you don’t!
19 psymunn42 :: "Need red mana plz"
Sand Silos / Flash Flood / Temporal Cascade / Grinning Totem / Glitterfang
Glitterfang requiring the red mana every turn was a nice touch
1 | X 2 0 2 6 6 2 2 2 2 6 2 2 2 2 2 6 2 | 48 | 282
2 | 2 X 2 2 6 6 2 6 2 6 6 2 6 2 2 2 6 2 | 62 | 365
3 | 6 2 X 0 6 6 6 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 6 2 | 38 | 224
4 | 2 2 6 X 6 6 4 0 0 6 6 2 0 2 2 6 6 2 | 58 | 341
5 | 2 0 0 0 X 2 2 0 0 2 6 6 2 0 2 0 6 0 | 30 | 176
6 | 0 0 0 0 2 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 | 08 | 047
7 | 2 2 2 1 2 6 X 2 2 2 6 2 2 2 2 2 6 2 | 45 | 265
8 | 2 0 6 6 6 6 2 X 6 2 6 2 2 6 0 0 6 0 | 58 | 341
9 | 2 2 6 6 6 6 2 0 X 6 6 6 4 2 6 6 6 2 | 74 | 435
0 | 2 0 6 0 2 6 2 2 0 X 6 2 2 2 2 6 6 2 | 48 | 282
1 | 0 0 6 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 X 2 0 0 0 0 6 0 | 20 | 111
2 | 2 2 2 2 0 6 2 2 0 2 2 X 0 2 2 2 6 2 | 36 | 212
3 | 2 0 2 6 2 6 2 2 1 2 6 6 X 2 0 0 6 1 | 46 | 271
4 | 2 2 6 2 6 6 2 0 2 2 6 2 2 X 2 6 6 2 | 56 | 329
5 | 2 2 6 2 2 6 2 6 0 2 6 2 6 2 X 2 6 2 | 56 | 329
6 | 2 2 6 0 6 6 2 6 0 0 6 2 6 0 2 X 6 2 | 54 | 318
7 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 2 | 02 | 012
9 | 6 2 2 2 6 6 2 6 2 2 6 2 4 2 2 2 2 X | 56 | 329
Next Round will be '3 Card Alternative Land Rule - Siege'.
Entries are due Monday 2nd Feb at 19:00 UTC
3 Card Alternative Land Rule - Siege
Each player begins the game with an emblem which reads:
Emblem of Sieges
You can't win the game and your opponents can't lose the game.
Deck Size: 3
Land Rule:: Alternative Land Rule (If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land card of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.)
Additional Banned list:: Exploration, Azusa, Lost but Seeking
(please remember to check the "land rule banned cards" and "permanently banned cards")
Send your deck submission via private message (PM) to PerfectHandMagic
Follow PerfectHandMagic to be notified when the new round is posted
MD5 of Madmanquail's deck: 31a31c0793858c6a2bc07a87ff509422
Perfect Hand Magic (PHM) is an online Magic format played here on the forums. Players play with an extremely limited deck size, such as 3 cards. Players begin with their entire deck (ie: those three cards) in hand and have no library (players don't lose when they fail to draw a card because of this). Due to the extremely limited number of play options given with their small deck size, games are calculated, rather then played, with an absolute determined winner (or a tie). Each player plays a match of two games against each other player who submitted - once going first, and once going second. Wins, losses, and ties for each of those two games are calculated by the moderator and players. The actual fun of the game comes from trying to decide which cards you will be playing.
What is the Perfect Hand Magic League?
The Perfect Hand Magic League is a four-week PHM tournament, which spans all Perfect Hand formats and embraces a constantly evolving set of rules. For each week of the four-week tournament, a new PHM format is announced for players to enter. Players compete for tournament points each round. At the end of the four-week tournament, the player who has accumulated the most points over the four weeks wins the tournament.
Basic Rules of Perfect Hand Magic League
Below lies the rules of PHM League written in laymen's terms for ease of understanding.
While a comprehensive rule system exists, new players and quick glances are best left for this basic explanation.
2. A deck may contain any number of copies of any Vintage-legal card, but can't contain any cards on the PHM Banned List.
3. A player's deck must not enable that player to win the game before an opponent's second turn.
4. A player's deck must not enable that player to force an opponent to lose any cards in his or her hand before an opponent's second turn.
5. A player's deck must enable that player to win the game.
8. Each player starts the game with the cards in his or her deck in his or her hand.
9. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
10. A random effect resolves in favor of the opponent of the owner of that effect.
11. Players know all information that would normally be concealed from them.
12. Each player plays one two-game match against each other player, and each player is the starting player once per match.
Extra Rules
16. The Basic Rules don't cover every issue. For in-depth rules, see Comprehensive Rules.
Land Rule
Note: Rules below this line still refer to "ABT and "XCB" rather than "PHM" (review/change is ongoing)
XCB Comprehensive Rules
Below lies the comprehensive rules system for the ABT.
Rules are written for precision and game clarification. They are not written for ease of reading.
Game Rules
1.1. There are many versions of XCB. Each version has a name, of the form XCB 'Land Rule' 'Sanctioned Magic Format' 'Special Format' '(Bonus)' 'Counter Rule' 'Life Rule'.
1.1b. 'Land Rule' can be LR, ELR, ALR, or nothing. LR indicates that the basic land rule is in effect, ELR indicates that the expanded land rule is in effect, and ALR indicates that the alternative land rule is in effect (see Rule 1.7).
1.1c. 'Sanctioned Magic Format' can be the name of a sanctioned Magic constructed format or nothing. The name of a format indicates that only cards contained in sets legal in that format may be submitted. This is an exception to rule 2.3c.
1.1d. 'Special Format' can be the name of at least one special format or nothing. The name of a special format indicates that the special format in effect (see Rule 1.8).
1.1e. 'Bonus' can be (Bonus) or nothing. (Bonus) modifies the preceding special format, indicating that an entrant must not follow the rules of that format, but that entrant will earn a specified number of bonus points if he or she does (see Rule 2.4f).
1.1f. 'Counter Rule' can be C or nothing. C indicates that the counter rule is in effect (see Rule 1.9).
1.1g. 'Life Rule' can be LF, AL, or nothing. LF indicates that the life rule is in effect and AL indicates that the alternative life rule is in effect (see Rule 1.10).
1.3. Except for the changes described in these rules, games follow the rules for a normal game of Magic.
1.3b. Rules that would take effect during the prerelease for a set take effect during the first round for which cards from that set may be submitted instead (see Rule 2.3d).
1.4b. Players don't draw hands or mulligan.
1.4c. Players don't have sideboards.
1.7. Some versions of XCB use a land rule.
1.7b. This is the expanded land rule (ELR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
1.7c. This is the alternative land rule (ALR). If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land or basic snow land card of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
1.8b. Some special formats generate continuous effects. Continuous effects generated by special formats are applied in the order those formats are listed in the XCB version name, before any other effects that could be applied in a layer.
1.8c. Some special formats require an entrant to make some number of decisions in addition to or instead of submitting a deck. An entrant's submission is that entrant's deck and any decisions that entrant makes. An entrant's submission must not violate rule 2.3 if all instances of the word 'deck' in that rule are replaced with 'submission'.
1.8d. Some special formats refer to decks that obtain or could obtain results. Saying that a deck obtains or could obtain a result means that the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result in a game or match against another player (see Rule 1.11). If a deck obtains or could obtain a result against another deck, then the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result against the player of the other deck.
1.10b. This is the alternative life rule (AL). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game.
1.11b. Each player is the starting player for one game in each match.
1.11c. Games are played with perfect information; players know the identities of face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players.
1.11d. Games are played optimally. The best outcome for a player is to win the game and the worst outcome is to lose the game.
1.11e. If a loop containing at least one optional action would be repeated indefinitely during a turn, then any player may propose a number of times for that loop to repeat instead. If a player does, then each other player may propose a different number and the loop is repeated for the greatest number of times proposed instead. No player is required to make a choice that would end a loop that crosses multiple turns.
1.11f. If a game would continue indefinitely, then the game is a draw.
2.1. Entrants compete in a competition.
2.1b. The ABT is a competition consisting of four rounds.
2.2b. An entrant may submit multiple decks, but only the most recently submitted deck is counted.
2.2c. An illegal deck is not counted. At the moderator’s discretion, an illegal deck may be replaced by a similar deck – in which any cards causing that deck to be illegal have been removed or replaced.
2.2d. The moderator determines the result of each match. Entrants may challenge results, but not after the results of the first round of a new ABT has been posted, except at the moderator's discretion.
2.2e. An entrant may name his or her deck. If an entrant doesn't, then the moderator may name it.
ii. All cards in an opponent's hand that weren't there as a result of a cost or effect that opponent controlled that would be forced to change zones during the resolution of a spell or ability would be in that opponent's hand after that spell or ability resolved. For example, a 3CB deck could contain Timetwister and Black Lotus but an 8CB deck could not.
iii. Cards in an opponent's hand would be forced to change zones only if cards in that opponent's hand that started outside the game would cause that opponent's maximum hand size at the start of the game to be exceeded. For example, a 3CB LR deck could contain two copies of Ancestral Recall.
iv. The rule would be violated only in a game that existed as a result of an effect that resolved not before the specified turn or until each player had completed the specified number of turns that restarted the game or created a subgame. For example, a 2CB LR deck could contain Karn Liberated.
2.3c. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card legal in Vintage (Type 1). Except as modified by a special format, all cards used in a game must be legal in Vintage.
2.3d. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card that will become legal in Vintage upon release of a set that's been revealed fully and officially since the start of the round.
2.3e. A deck may not contain any cards on the ABT Banned List.
2.4b. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game.
2.4c. The combined result of both games in a match is called a match result. Possible match results are: 6 – two wins, 4 – a win and a draw, 3 or 2 or S – a win and a loss, 2 – two draws, 1 – a draw and a loss, and 0 – two losses.
2.4d. Some match results are also denoted by names: two wins – match win, a win and a loss – split match, two draws – draw, and two losses – match loss. An entrant wins the match if he or she wins both games, splits the match if he or she wins a game and loses a game, draws a match if he or she draws both games, and loses the match if he or she loses both games.
2.4e. An entrant earns only 2 points for a split match. This is an exception to rule 2.4b.
2.4f. An entrant may earn a number of bonus points defined by a special format. An entrant earns these points in addition to any other points.
2.4g. A table of match results is posted at the end of each round. Its rows represent entrants and its columns represent those entrants' opponents. An entrant's total number of points is listed at the end of his or her row.
2.5b. If two or more entrants would win the ABT, then each of those entrants competes in additional rounds specified by the moderator, until only one entrant has the most tournament points. Each additional round contains only the entrants who have the most tournament points. The moderator may specify a limit to the number of additional rounds.
3.1. A prize shall be given to the tournament winner.
3.1b. If the winner of the tournament has won two or more tournaments, then the highest ranked entrant who hasn't won two or more tournaments shall be given the prize instead.
3.1c. If the winner was a moderator for two or more rounds of the tournament, then the highest ranked entrant who wasn't the moderator for two or more rounds of that tournament shall be given the prize instead. This is to ensure fair play.
3.1d. An entrant may decline the prize. If he or she does, then that entrant may designate another entrant to receive the prize.
3.1e. Entrants under the age of 18 are ineligible for prizes, due to federal laws regarding the sharing of personal information of minors.
3.1f. In the event that a prize can't be given to an entrant, the moderator will do his best to find another suitable way to reward that entrant.
3.1g. No prize is 100% guaranteed, but is assumed upon a good faith basis. Let's face it, with international customs, weird laws, etc, we can't guarantee anything. We'll do our best.
3.2b. Incomplete scores are considered losses, even to both players in a match if necessary. This is to make sure a winner is determined at the end of a tournament.
3.2c. The moderator always has the final word regarding scores and rules. Entrants may question any scoring the moderator does, until the moderator says that a match's scoring is final.
3.2d. The moderator may, at his or her discretion, determine a match is too difficult to calculate and give it a tie score, or his or her best guess. Again, this is final.
3.2e. Once a winner has been announced as final, that entrant shall receive the prize, even if errors in scoring or points are shown later.
Permanently Banned Cards
The following cards are permanently banned in the All Blind Tournament.
Each round will have an additional banned list that extends beyond, but always includes, these cards.
Channel
Fastbond
Flash
Show and Tell
Disruption
Pact of Negation
Chancellor of the Annex
Force of Will
Leyline of Anticipation
Trinisphere
Lands
Ghost Quarter
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Win Conditions
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Barren Glory
Laboratory Maniac
Magus of the Moon
Meddling Mage
The Rack
Vampire Hexmage
Land Rule Banned Cards
The following cards are often worth banning when a Land Rule is used.
They are included here for reference.
Black Lotus
Disruption
Balancing Act
Energy Field
Time Walk
Win Conditions
Beacon of Creation
Maralen of the Mornsong
Nezumi Shortfang
Red Sun's Zenith
White Sun's Zenith
Player Standings
Previous standings will always be posted below the opening post of each week's thread.
Standings will be updated after the current week has been completed and score checking has finished.