4 Tournament Infractions

Tournament infractions occur when a player violates the rules of the tournament as outlined in the Wonders of the First Tournament Rules and Policy. These infractions are presumed to be unintentional, but if a judge suspects intent, the infraction may be escalated to Cheating.

If a tournament rule is violated but is not listed as an infraction, the judge should educate and correct the player without issuing a penalty.

Ignoring a judge’s instructions is considered Unsporting Conduct and will be penalized accordingly.

If a player commits the same tournament infraction twice in a single day, the second penalty should be upgraded by one severity level.

Tardiness and Slow Play are exceptions and do not escalate in severity.

For multi-day tournaments, the penalty count resets at the end of each day and does not carry over.

4.1 Card Pool Contents Error

The player, through their own actions, has presented cards that do not match their submitted decklist, even though the decklist accurately reflects what the player intended to play.

This infraction applies both when a player presents cards during a game and when they submit their card-pool to a judge for inspection. If there are cards stored near the player’s card-pool that could reasonably be considered part of the registered card-pool due to their proximity, they are treated as part of the player’s card-pool unless they are:

Cards not listed on the decklist that are promotional cards distributed at the event.
Cards listed on the decklist that have been proxied for the duration of the tournament.

These cards must be sleeved in a way that clearly distinguishes them from the actual cards in the registered cardpool to avoid confusion.

Examples:

A player stores four of the same secondary card in a Constructed tournament.
A player stores a token card, not listed on their decklist, with other tokens in their card pool.
A player stores any amount of cards that are not on their decklist but have been sleeved the same, within the same deck-box as their registered card-pool.

Recommended procedure:

Have the player remove any extra cards from their card-pool that are not listed on their decklist. Take note of any missing cards and educate the player that they may find replacements at their convenience.

If only cards are missing, downgrade to a Caution.

If the extra cards removed do not provide any strategic advantage, downgrade to a Warning.

If the player has extra copies of a card that did not impact the game, and the player reports the error immediately, downgrade to a Warning. If this was noticed while drawing or revealing cards, replace the draw/reveal with the next card instead.

If there is a significant discrepancy between the card-pool and the decklist, or the player has gained a strategic advantage from the card-pool, upgrade to a Match Loss. At professional REL, upgrade to a Disqualification.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: AP1
Professional: AP1

4.2 Communicating Incorrect Game Information

A player, through their own action or inaction, has misrepresented non-private information or failed to fully answer a question regarding visible or public information, leading their opponent to make a decision based on incorrect or incomplete information.

Clear and accurate communication is crucial in Wonders of The First. Players are expected to maintain a transparent game state through effective communication and address any ambiguities or uncertainties. However, players may unintentionally make communication errors, particularly across cultural or language differences, and should not be penalized harshly for these mistakes.

Communication is not limited to verbal statements; it can also include physical representations, such as the positioning of cards in the play area or the use of counters or markers.

If an opponent makes an assumption about ambiguous information without seeking clarification, or if the incorrect or missing information does not impact their decisions, it is not considered a violation of Communicating Incorrect Game Information.

Examples:

A player partially obscures a permanent with their hand, leading the opponent to attack under the false assumption that they have the higher power in the realm.
A player tracks their resources with dice, spends one resource to play a card, but fails to update the dice accordingly.
A player is asked for the total power of a Wonder in a realm and provides an incorrect total.

Recommended procedure:

If the game has not progressed too far to be rewound, revert the game state to the point just before the affected action occurred, rather than to the point of miscommunication.

At a competitive REL, if the miscommunication was caused by the player failing to update or remove a marker representing visible or public information, consider downgrading the penalty to a Caution.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: Warning
Professional: Warning

4.3 Decklist Error

The player, through their own actions, has submitted a card-pool registration sheet (decklist) that either does not match the cards they intend to use or is otherwise illegal.

Decklists are crucial in competitive tournaments as they ensure that the cards a player uses (their card-pool) remain consistent throughout the event. This prevents any potential strategic advantages that could arise from altering the card-pool during the tournament.

If the decklist is legal and reflects what the player intended to play with, but there is an issue with the card-pool itself, it is considered a Card-Pool Contents Error.

Examples:

A player forgets to include a card on their decklist.
A deck exceeds the required DBS score for the event.
A player lists “Azure Vault” on their decklist but has “Dwarven Vault” in their card pool instead.
A Player includes tokens in their main deck and not their token deck.

Recommended procedure:

If the decklist does not reflect the cards the player intends to use, update the decklist to match the player’s intent.

If the decklist error is minor and is caught before the first round begins, or if the player reports the error themselves, issue a Warning.

If the discrepancy between the decklist and the player’s deck is significant, upgrade the penalty to a Match Loss.

If a player’s deck contains tokens and removing them reduces the deck’s card count to an illegal state, add token lands until the deck has at least 50 cards.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: AP1
Professional: AP1

4.4 Draft Procedure Violation

The player, through their own action, commits a procedural infringement during a draft.

Drafting is a critical procedure that occurs outside of the actual gameplay and involves strategic decisions that can influence the outcome of future games. Because of this, it should be monitored with the same level of scrutiny as the actual game itself. Players may gain an unfair advantage, information, or alter the state of the draft by failing to follow the established rules. Infractions are generally viewed as the result of ignorance of the draft procedures, but any deliberate violation to gain an advantage is considered Cheating.

In certain situations, it’s crucial for the Judge to avoid interrupting the player’s thought process, as doing so could slow down or disrupt the draft. The Judge should wait until the current pack, or in some cases, the entire draft, has concluded before imposing any penalties. This is particularly important if the penalty could result in disqualification, as interfering with the drafting process would not be ideal.

4.4.1 Draft Procedure Violation - Minor

The player commits a violation of the draft procedure that can be easily corrected or does not give them a significant advantage or negatively impact the fairness of the draft.

Examples:

A player passes a pack to the wrong player or in the wrong direction.
A player selects a card after the draft pick time has expired.
A player starts looking around at other players or tables during the draft, distracting themselves or others.
A player picks a card from the pack, places it on top of their draft pile, and then returns it to the pack, potentially affecting the flow of the draft.
A player picks up and examines their draft pile during a draft round when not in an official review period.

Recommended procedure:

If necessary, pause the draft and issue the player a Warning. Ensure that pausing the draft happens at an appropriate moment, such as during or after a pick, at the end of a pack, or after the entire draft process, to avoid disrupting the players or the overall flow of the draft.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: Warning
Professional: Warning

4.4.2 Draft Procedure Violation - Major

The player commits a violation of the draft procedure that significantly disrupts the integrity of the draft process or gives the player a clear and unfair advantage, which cannot be easily corrected or reversed.

Examples:

A player mixes up their draft pack and drafted pile, making it impossible to distinguish between cards that have been picked and those that haven’t.
A player verbally reveals their current or planned draft picks.
A player examines another player’s draft pack to gain strategic information.
A player rotates a card upside down to signal their pick to the next player.

Recommended procedure:

If the infraction requires immediate attention, pause the draft at an appropriate time and address the player’s behavior. After the draft concludes, issue the player a Match Loss. This ensures the player does not influence the draft knowing they have already received a loss, preventing any unfair advantage for themselves or disruption to other players still in the draft.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: Match Loss
Professional: Match Loss

4.5 Insufficient Shuffling

The player, through their own inaction, fails to shuffle a deck of cards to sufficiently randomize the order of the cards.

Players can randomize their deck using various shuffling methods, such as riffle, overhand, or wash shuffling, and should use more than one technique for proper randomization. A final cut is recommended. Methods like pile counting or other deterministic shuffling techniques are not sufficient on their own. Players must shuffle thoroughly and efficiently to ensure a fair game.

Examples:

A player completes their start-of-game procedure, riffle shuffles their deck only once, and presents it to their opponent.
A player overhand shuffles while keeping the deck facing them and then presents it to their opponent.
A player arranges their deck into six piles, stacks them together, and presents it without further shuffling.
A player forgets to shuffle after searching their deck during the game.

Recommended procedure:

Supervise the player as they shuffle their deck and provide guidance if their technique is insufficient. Educate them on proper shuffling methods to ensure they understand what constitutes acceptable randomization.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: Warning
Professional: Warning

4.6 Marked Cards

The player, by their own action, presents a deck where one or more cards are easily distinguishable from the others while they are in the deck or face-down.

Players must ensure that all cards and card sleeves in their deck are in good condition and free from markings or features that make them identifiable while face-down or within the deck. This includes, but is not limited to, scuff marks, nail indents, bent corners, and card curvature.

If a player has deliberately marked their cards or intentionally exploited marked cards for an advantage, it is considered Cheating and will be penalized accordingly.

Examples:

A player has an unsleeved deck where the card backs have varying colors with no discernible pattern to which cards have which colored backs.
A player has a sleeved deck where some sleeves have bent corners due to flicking the cards, with no pattern to which cards are in which sleeves.
A player has a sleeved deck where the image on the back of the sleeves has inconsistent border widths, with no pattern to which cards are in which sleeves.
A player has a deck with a mix of foil and non-foil cards, where the foil cards are slightly warped, with no discernible pattern to which cards are warped.
A player has a sleeved deck where a few sleeves have visible bubbles on the back, clearly a manufacturing error, with no significant cards in the affected sleeves.
A player has a foil card that is warped and easily distinguishable from the rest of the deck.
A player has a sleeved deck where one sleeve has a visible mark on the back, clearly a manufacturing defect, and the card in that sleeve is significant to their deck’s strategy.
A player has three copies of the same card, each in sleeves of a slightly different shade compared to the rest of the deck.

Recommended procedure:

Require the player to re-sleeve or replace any marked cards to ensure no cards are distinguishable. The Head Judge may issue a proxy for the affected cards. The player cannot begin another match until the issue is resolved.

If marked cards are identified during a game and can be corrected quickly without disrupting play, the player must address them immediately. Otherwise, wait until the match is completed before informing the player and requiring corrections.

If the Head Judge determines that the marked cards could have provided a significant strategic advantage, the penalty is upgraded to a Match Loss.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: Warning
Professional: Warning

4.7 Outside Assistance

The player, by their own actions, receives strategic help from someone or something that is not part of the game, or provides strategic help to another player in a game they are not involved in.

If a player receives outside assistance during a game that provides them with a strategic advantage, the infraction will result in a Game Loss. This penalty ensures the advantage is completely negated, awarding the win to the opponent.

Examples:

A player refers to matchup notes during the game, after the start-of-game procedure has concluded.
A player communicates with a spectator through hand gestures, facial expressions, electronic devices, or other forms of communication.
A spectator walks near a game in progress and reacts to cards in a player’s hand, unintentionally conveying private information to their opponent.

Recommended procedure:

If a spectator is also a player in the same event, issue them a Game Loss for their next match and remove them from the play area.

If the outside assistance is harmless or was done out of ignorance, downgrade the penalty to a Warning.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: Game Loss
Professional: Game Loss

4.8 Slow Play

A player, through their own actions, takes an unreasonably long time to make a decision that advances the game state, without the intent to gain an advantage.

Slow Play typically occurs without the player’s awareness (unlike Stalling). A simple educational reminder is often enough to improve the player’s pace and ensure the game completes within the time limit.

A Slow Play infraction should only be penalized if confirmed by a Judge through direct observation of the game’s progression. Spectators or player testimony alone should not be used as the basis for the infraction.

Judges should not provide additional time to the table based solely on reports or accusations of Slow Play.

Examples:

A player repeatedly checks either player’s Abyss before making a move.
A player spends excessive time shuffling after searching their deck.
A player holds one card in their hand and takes an unreasonable amount of time to decide their next action.

Recommended procedure:

Educate the player on the importance of playing at a reasonable pace. Observe the game to ensure the player makes one or two decisions at a reasonable speed.

If the player continues to play too slowly after receiving a Caution, issue a Warning and monitor their pace.

If the player receives two Warnings for Slow Play during the tournament, upgrade the penalty to a Game Loss.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: Caution
Professional: Caution

4.9 Tardiness

A player is considered tardy if they are not at their assigned table when the round timer starts or if they have not completed a required tournament procedure on time.

If a decklist is required and has not been submitted, the player cannot start their match and is considered tardy until the tournament organizer receives the decklist.

If a round begins earlier than scheduled (such as when all matches from the previous round finish early), tardiness is measured from the scheduled end time of the previous round.

The player who is present should notify a Judge if their opponent is late or arrives late so the correct penalty can be applied.

Judges may grant round start extensions for players needing extra time between rounds.

Examples:

A player arrives at their seat five minutes after the round has started.
A player mistakenly sits at the wrong table and only realizes after beginning a match with the incorrect opponent.
A player mistakenly completes an entire match against the wrong opponent.
A player loses cards from their card-pool and is unable to find replacements within 10 minutes.

Recommended procedure:

Extend the round time by the total amount of time the player was delayed since the round started.

If the player is less than 1 minute tardy, issue a Warning.

If the player is more than 10 minutes tardy, issue a Match Loss. If both players are more than 10 minutes late, issue a Match Loss to both players. The tardy player(s) should be dropped from the tournament before the next round pairing unless they report to the scorekeeper before that time.

If a player mistakenly completes an entire match against the wrong opponent, only the player at the incorrect table will receive a penalty; the opponent at the correct table will not be penalized.

Recommended Starting Penalty:

Competitive: AP1
Professional: AP1