3 Tournament Infractions§

Tournament infractions are caused by play or behavior that violates the rules of the tournament as defined by the Flesh and Blood Tournament Rules and Policy. Tournament infractions are assumed to be committed unintentionally, but if a judge suspects that the infraction was intentional then it could be considered Cheating.^[6.2]

If a player violates the rules of the tournament and it is not listed in this section as an infraction, the judge should educate and correct the player on the rules of the tournament, but not issue a penalty. Ignoring the instructions of the judge is considered Unsporting Conduct (^[4.1]).

If a player commits 2 or more tournament infractions of the same type (except for Tardiness or Slow Play) on a given tournament day, the penalty that would be given for that infraction should be upgraded by 1 severity level (up to a maximum of a Game Loss). This penalty count does not accumulate over multiple days and is reset at the end of each day for a multi-day tournament.

3.1 Tardiness§

IP2

The player, by their own inaction, is not at their assigned table when the round timer begins or has not complied in time with another tournament procedure.

If a decklist is required for the round and the player has not submitted one, the player may not begin to play their match (and is considered tardy) until the tournament organizer has received the relevant decklist.

If the round timer begins before the previous round would have ended (such as when all the matches have been completed early), tardiness is timed from the scheduled end of the previous round. Judges can issue round start extensions for players who need additional time between rounds. The player present at the table should alert a Judge if their opponent is late or arrives late in order to apply the appropriate penalty.

Examples:

A player arrives at their seat 5 minutes after the round starts.

A player sits down at the wrong table and does not realize until after they start playing with the incorrect opponent.

A player plays a whole match with the incorrect opponent.

A player loses cards in their card-pool, does not have sufficient cards to start the game, and cannot find replacement cards within 10 minutes.

A player hands in their decklist 30 minutes late.

Procedure and Penalty
Issue the player an IP2. Extend the table's round time by the total time delayed since the beginning of the round.

Downgrade: If the player is less than 1 minute tardy, downgrade to a Warning.

Upgrade: If the player is more than 10 minutes tardy, upgrade to a Game Loss. If both players are more than 10 minutes tardy, issue both players Game Loss. The tardy player(s) should be dropped before the pairing of the next round unless they report to the scorekeeper before then.

Philosophy
The integrity of a tournament with timed rounds relies on players completing their match in a timely manner. If the winner of a match cannot be determined by the end of a round, the match is a draw. Being late to the table delays the start of the game making it more likely the game will end in a draw.

In some cases, a player may be late to their match (especially from forces outside their control) but still want to continue playing in the tournament despite the game losses. If the player indicates they wish to continue competing in the tournament and it does not interrupt the logistics, they should not be dropped.

3.2 Note Taking and Outside Assistance§

Warning

The player, by their own actions, records or refers to illegal notes; seeks strategic assistance from a person or resource that is not part of the game; or gives strategic assistance to another player in a game they are not a part of, during a game or draft or during card-pool registration before selecting a hero.

Examples:

A player records

A player references sideboard notes in the middle of a game (after the start-of-game procedure has concluded).

A player references a drafting guide in the middle of the draft portion of a booster draft format.

A player communicates with a spectator using hand gestures, facial expressions, electronic devices, or other means of communication.

A spectator walks past a table with a game in progress and reacts to cards in a player's hand in a way that conveys private information to their opponent.

Procedure and Penalty
Issue the player a Warning.

If illegal notes have been recorded, ensure that the notes are removed from the game or the information is otherwise destroyed before the game continues.

If the player is a spectator for the game, issue them a Game Loss for their next game and remove them from the game area.

Upgrade: If the player has gained a strategic advantage from their note-taking or from seeking outside assistance, upgrade to a Game Loss.

Philosophy
A competitive game of Flesh and Blood relies on the understanding that the game is played between the players pitting their strategic minds against one another. Introducing note-taking or outside assistance corrupts the integrity of the game for all players involved. There is no game state that can be reversed, and any strategic advantage cannot be removed.

If the player is in a game and has taken and referred to notes, or sought and received outside assistance, that gives them a strategic advantage that corrupts the integrity of the game, a game loss ensures that this advantage removes and reverses that advantage entirely, awarding the win to the opponent.

If the player is a spectator, they have taken it upon themselves to corrupt the integrity of another player's game, and as such this serves as a strong reminder to uphold the integrity of competitive events both as a player and a spectator. Receiving unsolicited strategic information is not the fault of a player and thus should not be punished.

3.3 Slow Play§

Caution

The player, by their own action, takes a longer than acceptable period of time to make a decision that progresses the game state without the intention to gain an advantage.

Examples:

A player checks either player's graveyard multiple times before taking an action.

A player takes excessive time to shuffle after searching through their deck.

A player has one card in their hand and takes an unreasonable amount of time to decide what to do.

Procedure and Penalty
Issue the player a Caution. Educate the player to increase the speed of their play. Observe the game at least until the player has made one or two decisions at a reasonable pace.

Upgrade: If the player fails to play at a reasonable pace after receiving a Caution, upgrade to a Warning and monitor the rate of play.

Upgrade: If the player has already received two Warnings for Slow Play this tournament, upgrade to a Game Loss.

Philosophy
Players are expected to play at a pace that is sufficient to complete their match within the given round time limit. Slow play makes it more likely the game will end in a draw, giving the opponent a possible tournament disadvantage. Slow play not only disrupts the game for the opponent but also affects spectators, and coverage, and can create logistical challenges for the tournament staff. Importantly, slow play can occur in any round of play, including untimed matches. A player that intentionally plays slowly is considered Stalling.^[6.6]

Slow play is subjective because it depends on the context of the game, making it very difficult to moderate. As a general rule of thumb, if a Judge can understand the game state and come up with a line of plays from the player's position in the game in the time it takes the player to make a single decision, the player is most likely playing too slowly. However, there are many exceptions, especially with decks that have many cards that can be played, or abilities that can be activated, at an instant speed which requires very specific sequencing.

Opponents are expected to call a Judge early in the game if they think a player is taking too long to make decisions, to ensure the behavior is corrected before it significantly delays the game. Slow play always occurs without the player's noticing (as opposed to Stalling), so an educational reminder is enough to ensure that the majority of players increase their rate of play to complete the game before the time limit. The penalizing of a Slow Play infraction should only ever be done when a Judge confirms it by observing the progression of the game, not by spectators or player testimony. Judges should not award extra time to the table where there are only reports or accusations of slow play.

3.4 Decklist Error§

IP2

The player, by their own action, has submitted a card-pool registration sheet (decklist) that does not contain the cards they intend to play with or is illegal.

Examples:

A player has forgotten to list an equipment on their decklist.

A player has not included 0 pitch cards on their decklist because they didn't know what section to put them under.

A player has listed the name of a card, but not its pitch value, so it is ambiguous exactly what card it is.

A player has listed the moniker (short name) of a hero, but there are 2 or more heroes with that moniker.

A player has one (1H) card listed but is playing with two of those cards.

A player lists Snapdragon Scalers as one of their equipment, but they have Ironrot Legs in their card-pool instead.

A player has 3 Potion of Strength on their decklist, but in their card-pool, they have 3 Timesnap Potion and 0 Potion of Strength.

A player has listed a recently banned card as their hero and intends to play them.

Procedure and Penalty
Issue the player an IP2. The player may continue their current game but cannot start a new game until the decklist error has been corrected.

If the decklist does not contain the cards they intend to play with, update the player's decklist to match the intent.

Downgrade: If the decklist error is minor and is either caught before the first round has begun or the player reports the error themselves, downgrade to a Warning.

Downgrade: If the decklist is missing hero selection and there is only one hero that the player could reasonably have selected, downgrade to a Warning.

Upgrade: If there is a significant difference between the decklist and the player's deck, or the player has gained a significant strategic advantage from ambiguous or unclear entries on the decklist, upgrade to a Game Loss.

Upgrade: If the decklist contains illegal cards the player intends to play with, upgrade to a Game Loss. Remove the illegal cards from the decklist or replace them with Cracked Baubles to ensure the player has enough legally playable cards in their deck.

Philosophy
Decklists are an essential part of a competitive tournament. A decklist ensures that the cards that a player is using (their card-pool) cannot be changed over the course of the tournament, removing potential strategic advantages that would otherwise be possible.

Decklist entries with ambiguous or unclear card names and/or pitch values may allow the player to change the contents of their card-pool up until they are confronted about their decklist. Card monikers (short names for cards with personal names) are permissible if it is obvious and unambiguous what card it refers to, based on the context such as the tournament format or other cards in the card-pool. Cards, tokens, and macros created by other cards in their decklist do not need to be listed themselves, but must still be supplied by the player for any game they play.

Decklists with illegal cards, such as banned/suspended cards, compromise the integrity of the tournament, more so if it is only caught in later rounds. There are cases where off-the-shelf products contain illegal cards and/or heroes, or players are not aware of recent changes of legality to cards in "meta decks". Unless the player shows the intent of Cheating, it should be assumed that it was unintentional and they should be given an opportunity to correct their decklist.

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 (^[3.5]).

3.5 Card-Pool Contents Error§

IP2

The player, by their own action, has presented cards that do not match their decklist and the decklist represents what the player intended to play.

This infraction applies both when a player presents cards during a game and when they present their card-pool to a judge to be checked. If there are cards stored with the player's card-pool that could conceivably be in the Player’s registered card-pool due to proximity, they are considered part of the Player’s registered card-pool unless they are:

Cards not on the decklist that are promotional cards given out at the event.
Cards on the decklist that have been proxied for the duration of the tournament.
Double-faced cards represented by official substitute cards in the deck.
Double-faced cards that are being used to represent the back-face of cards in the deck.

These cards must not be sleeved in a way that they could be confused with actual cards in the registered card-pool. Tokens are not considered part of a player's card-pool and may be stored with the card-pool even if there are no registered cards that could ultimately create them. Created cards may be sleeved like registered cards, and may be stored with the Player's registered card-pool without being considered a part of it.

Examples:

A player has stored 4 of the same card (and pitch) in a Classic Constructed tournament.

A player has stored an equipment card, that is not on the decklist, with their other equipment cards.

A player has stored a number of different card-pool that are sleeved alike in the same deck-box as their registered card-pool for this tournament.

A player accidentally presents their draft card-pool from a previous day of drafting during day 2 of an event.

Procedure and Penalty
Issue the player an IP2. Have the player remove any extra cards from their card-pool that are not listed on their decklist. Make a note of any cards missing from the card-pool and educate the player that they may find replacements in their own time.

Downgrade: If there are only missing cards, downgrade to a Caution.

Downgrade: If the extra cards removed could not have provided any strategic advantage, downgrade to a Warning.

Downgrade: If the player has extra copies of a card (same name and pitch value), the copies have not impacted the game, and the player reports the error themselves immediately, downgrade to a Warning. If this was noticed while the player drew or revealed cards from the top of their deck, replace the draw/reveal with the next card instead.

Upgrade: If there is a significant difference between the card-pool and the player's decklist, or the player has gained a significant strategic advantage from their card-pool, upgrade to a Game Loss.

Philosophy
Players are expected to store their hero and registered card-pool contents separately from any other contents that could possibly be considered to be part of the card-pool. This may involve having a separate deck-box or container that contains only the cards for the card-pool for the tournament.

When a player stores extra cards with their registered card-pool, or otherwise has access to extra cards during the start-of-game procedure, and those extra cards are not part of their decklist, it creates a potential for abuse where a player can gain a state advantage by playing with those extra cards. Players are expected to call attention to Card-Pool Content Errors immediately, and not gain any potential advantage from having the extra cards available to use in their card-pool for any given game.

3.6 Draft Procedure Violation§

Warning / Game Loss

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

Philosophy
Drafting involves an additional procedure outside of playing the game which involves strategic elements that can shape and determine the state of the games subsequently played. As such, it should be moderated with at least the same rigor as a game between the players involved in the drafting procedure. Players can gain information, state, and strategic advantage by failing to abide by the drafting rules. Infractions here are considered as if the player commiting the infraction is ignorant of the rules of the draft procedure. Intentionally violating the draft procedure to gain an advantage is considered Cheating.^[6.2]

In some cases, it's important that the Judge does not interrupt the player's train of thought as it would slow down and disrupt the draft. The Judge should wait until the current pack, or in some cases, the entire draft is finished before implementing a penalty. This is especially the case if a player would be disqualified, so as to not interfere with the drafting process.

3.6.1 Draft Procedure Violation - Minor§

Warning

The player commits a violation of the draft procedure that can be easily reversed or does not provide a significant advantage or compromise the integrity of the draft.

Examples:

A player passes a pack the wrong way.

A player picks a card after the draft pick time has expired.

A player starts looking around the table or at other players at the table.

A player picks a card, puts it on top of their draft pile, then puts it back into the pack.

A player picks up and looks at their draft pile while not in an official review period.

Procedure and Penalty
When appropriate, pause the draft and issue the player a Warning. Ensure that pausing the draft at the correct time will not disrupt the players or the draft process; this could be done during a pick, or at the end of a pick, a pack, or the draft as a whole.

3.6.2 Draft Procedure Violation - Major§

Game Loss

The player commits a violation of the draft procedure that seriously and irreversibly compromises the integrity of the draft.

Examples:

A player accidentally drafts two cards from a pack instead of one.

A player mixes up the draft pack and their draft pile.

A player states out loud what they're currently drafting or planning to draft.

A player reveals the cards they have drafted to other player's in their pod.

Procedure and Penalty
If the infraction requires immediate attention, pause the draft at the appropriate time and correct any behavior. Then at the end of the draft, issue the player a Game Loss. This ensures that the player does not influence the draft with the knowledge that they have received a loss for the first round, to the detriment of the other players still in the draft.

3.7 Marked Cards§

Warning

The player, by their own action, presents a deck of cards where one or more cards are 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 do not have markings or any other features that make them identifiable while in a deck or while face-down. This includes (but is not limited to) scuff marks, nail indents, bent corners, and the curvature of the card itself.

Examples:

A player has an un-sleeved deck where the color of the backs of the cards is inconsistent.

A player has a sleeved deck where some of the sleeves have bent corners from flicking the cards.

A player has a sleeved deck where the image of the back of the sleeves has an inconsistent border width on each card.

A player has a deck with an even mix of foil and non-foil cards, where the foil cards are more warped than the non-foil cards.

A player has a fabled-rarity card that is only available in foil, which has warped and is easily distinguishable in the deck.

A player has 3 of the same promotional cards which are warped and are easily distinguishable in the deck.

A player has a sleeved deck where one of the sleeves has a visible mark on the back.

A player has 3 cards of the same name and pitch in sleeves that are a slightly different shade to other sleeved cards in the deck.

Procedure and Penalty
Issues the player a Warning. Have the player re-sleeve or replace the marked cards and/or the rest of the cards in their deck to ensure that no cards are considered marked. In exceptional circumstances, the Head Judge may issue a proxy for the marked cards. The player may not play another match until they've addressed the marked cards in the deck.

If the marked cards are identified during a game and the marked cards can be quickly addressed without disrupting the game, the player must do so. Otherwise, wait until the player has completed their match before informing them of the marked cards and having the player address them.

If a player is unable to find replacement cards and cannot present a legal deck, they may replace any marked deck-cards with a Cracked Bauble. If they do, update their decklist to match the change to their card-pool. If the player finds replacement cards later in the tournament, reverse this change without an additional penalty.

Upgrade: If the Head Judge believes that the player would have gained a significant advantage from noticing the marked cards, upgrade to a Game Loss.

Philosophy
One of the most important aspects of the game is that no player knows the location of a card once it has been shuffled into the deck, or cannot be differentiated while it is face-down. This is important for ensuring the integrity of the hidden information elements of the game. If a player has a marked card, they may be aware of it, which gains them a significant information advantage regardless of what the card is. Markings on a sleeved card can only be fixed by re-sleeving it to match the rest of the cards in the deck. A damaged, altered, or warped card can only be fixed by sleeving the deck in a way that makes it indistinguishable or by replacing the card with another version or a proxy (note that proxies are only issued in exceptional circumstances).

Sleeves and cards are subject to wear and tear, especially over the course of a tournament. Sleeves can also have manufacturing errors that range from immediately visible to barely visible and can even differ significantly between different packets of sleeves. Cards (especially cards with a foil finish) can warp over time in variable ways outside of the player's control. As long as the player is not taking advantage of these marked cards and has not intentionally marked the cards themselves, the penalty should not be harsh, as long as the marking of the cards can be fixed.

Players should check their cards and sleeves after every round and replace any that are considered worn or marked. If a player is unsure if their cards are in acceptable condition, it's recommended they check with the Head Judge. If a player has intentionally marked the cards or has intentionally taken advantage of certain cards being marked, it is considered Cheating.^[6.2]

3.8 Insufficient Shuffling§

Warning

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

There are multiple ways to randomize a deck, and it is encouraged that more than one method is used, such as riffle, overhand, or wash shuffle, followed by a cut. Pile counting, and deterministic forms of shuffling are not acceptable alone as a method of randomization. Players are expected to shuffle their deck sufficiently and in an efficient manner.

Examples:

A player finishes their start-of-game procedure and riffle shuffles their deck a single time and presents it to the opponent.

A player overhand shuffles with the deck facing toward them, and presents it to the opponent

A player counts their cards out in 6 piles, stacks them together, and presents it to the opponent.

A player divides their deck by pitch values while side-boarding then does a couple of overhand shuffles and presents it to the opponent.

A player forgets to shuffle after searching through their deck during the game.

Procedure and Penalty
Issue the player a Warning. Supervise the player while they shuffle their deck, and educate them if they make a mistake in their technique so that they are aware of what is and isn't an acceptable way to achieve a sufficiently randomized deck.

Philosophy
To ensure fairness, both players' decks must be sufficiently randomized prior to beginning the game and after anytime a player looks through the contents of a deck. Insufficient shuffling is when a player fails to sufficiently randomize their deck through shuffling, before presenting it to their opponent.

When a player shuffles and presents a deck to an opponent the player implies that the deck is thoroughly randomized. A player who intentionally does not shuffle their deck sufficiently in order to gain an advantage by manipulating the location or distribution of cards in their deck is considered Cheating.^[6.2]

3.9 Communicating Incorrect Game Information§

Warning

A player, by their own action or inaction, has incorrectly communicated non-private information or did not completely answer a question about visible or public information, and the opponent takes an action that is affected by the incorrect or missing information.

Communication does not need to be verbal. Physical representation such as position in the play-space, or use of markers can be considered communication from that player.

If the opponent has made an assumption about ambiguous information without clarifying with the player, or if the incorrect or missing information did not influence the opponent's actions, it is not considered Communicating Incorrect Game Information.

Examples:

The player plays an attack action card and says "Attack for four." The opponent declares two defending cards to block exactly 4 damage. The player then says "Sorry, I mean attack for three."

The player has a permanent with Ward 1 below their hero, partially obstructed by their hand, and their opponent attacks thinking they do not control any permanents with damage prevention effects.

A player has one resource and they represent it with dice above their pitch zone. The player plays a card that costs 1 resource but does not update the dice. The opponent decides to defend with more cards than necessary anticipating the player to play an attack reaction that costs 1.

Procedure and Penalty
Issue the player a Warning. If the game has not progressed too far to be rewound, rewind the game state to the point before the affected action (not to the point of miscommunication).

Downgrade: At a competitive REL, if the miscommunication was due to the player not updating or removing a marker that represents visible or public information, consider a downgrade to a Caution.

Philosophy
Clear and correct communication is essential to play a game of Flesh and Blood. Players are expected to maintain a clear and correct game state through communication and seek resolution when there is ambiguity or uncertainty. However, players often make genuine mistakes regarding communication, especially across cultural and language barriers, and should not be punished harshly for it.

Players may still commit this infraction if they have not verbally communicated, especially when they do not put cards in the appropriate zones, or do not update markers that represent visible or public information.

A physically ambiguous play-space is not automatically considered Communicating Incorrect Game Information. Judges are encouraged to instruct players to fix items in the play-space before they might lead to an infraction.