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4 Tournament Materials§

4.1 Player Materials§

Players are responsible for bringing their own materials required to play the event:

  • Materials required for the specific formats and REL of the tournament:
    • Cards
    • Decklists
    • Sleeves
  • Supporting materials for specific mechanics:
    • Token cards for "create" effects
    • Dice for "roll" effects
    • Reference cards for "become/copy" effects
  • Physical, visible, and reliable items to record and maintain game information:
    • Pen and paper
    • Counters
    • Markers

For formats where Players are provided cards to play with, a Player is expected to care for those materials once they possess them. Players are responsible for looking after their own belongings at all times.

During a match at competitive and professional REL, Players are expected to keep their registered cards in their card-pool clearly distinguishable from the other card-like objects. If there are cards stored with their card-pool that could conceivably be in the Player's registered card-pool due to proximity, they are considered part the card-pool unless they are:

  • Cards not on the decklist that are promotional cards given out at event.
  • Cards on the decklist that have been proxied for the duration of the tournament.[4.3]
  • Flip-cards cards represented by official placeholder cards in the deck.[4.4]
  • Flip-cards cards that are being used 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. Token cards 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.[4.5] Created cards and reference cards may be sleeved like registered cards, and may be stored with the Player's registered card-pool.

4.2 Cards§

A card is a physical object that represents itself in the game of Flesh and Blood. Players may use any official card in a tournament. A card is an official Flesh and Blood card if it is genuine, published by LSS, and is one of the following:

  • A single-faced card with:
    • the official Flesh and Blood back-face,
    • an alternative version back-face of the same card (e.g. Hummingbird, Call of Adventure [FAB094]),
    • an informational tip back-face (e.g. Azalea, Ace in the Hole [AAZ001]),
    • a full-art back-face of the same card (e.g. marvel-rarity Iyslander [UPR103]),
    • an official serialized sketch back-face (e.g. Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light [ART001]),
  • A double-faced card.
  • A double-sided token-rarity card.
  • An authorized test print card listed in [A.6].

Official cards are game pieces distributed through retail products and promotional programs. Artist proofs, informational inserts, and oversized cards are not official cards.

Cards may only be included in a Player's registered card-pool if they are legal in the format being played. Players are responsible for ensuring their cards are legal for the tournament. If they are unsure, they should ask the Head Judge. Card legality is defined and managed through the Card Legality Policy.

The properties of a card are defined by the latest printing of the card, subject to any errata published by LSS.

Tokens
A token is a card with the token type.[4.5]

Double-sided basic-rarity cards
A double-sided basic-rarity card is a card where both sides are the different faces of two unrelated basic-rarity cards. A Player may use only a single side of DST to represent a single card in the game at a time. If one of the sides represents a non-token card in the game, the Player may not switch the sides of the card to represent a different card in the game.

Double-face cards
Double-faced cards (DFC) are cards with another related card face on the back side of the card instead of the standard Flesh and Blood back-face. When a player includes a DFC in their deck, it must be in a card sleeve with an opaque back. When a DFC would be flipped to its front- or back-face, the card should be taken out of the sleeve and flipped to its correct orientation.

For flip-cards specifically, Players may use an identical DFC with its back-face displayed. This identical DFC must be sleeved differently to ensure that it is not confused with registered cards in the Player's card-pool. When the front-face DFC from deck would be flipped, the back-face DFC can be swapped to replace front-face DFC, and vice versa when it leaves the arena. This permission does not extend to transcend- or twin-cards.

Created cards
A created card is a card that is not registered by the Player but is created by a registered card's effect. If a Player has a registered card that creates a deck-card, the Player is responsible for having a reasonable number of those deck-cards to be used during the game. If a Player's created cards are in a public zone they own, they may use a marker placed on top of a single created card to represent how many of that card are in that zone, provided that all the represented cards are otherwise identical.

Reference cards
A reference card is a card that is not registered by the Player but is referenced by a registered card's effect. If a Player has a registered card that copies or otherwise causes a card to become another card that is not in the game, the reference card is used while that effect is active. The player is responsible for having the all the reference cards that the effect could copy.

Reprinted cards
A reprinted card (reprint) is a card for which a version has already been printed in a previous product. Reprints may feature new art, border, rarity, and even updated properties such as card text. Reprints are legal to play as soon as they are available.

Non-English cards
A non-English card is a card that is printed with text translated into a language other than English. A Player may use an otherwise-legal non-English card provided it is clear what card it represents and the Player is not using it to create an advantage, such as by having misleading text or pictures.

Misprinted cards
A misprinted card is a card that, through a design or printing error, does not accurately represent its intended form. A Player may use an otherwise-legal misprinted card provided it is clear what card it represents. A player may not use a misprinted card if the card shows the properties of another card it does not represent, and may not use a misprinted card to create an advantage, such as by using a card with misleading text or pictures. If the printed information on a misprinted card is missing or objectively incorrect (such as colour, power, defence etc.), the Player must inform their opponent when a misprinted card becomes visible and have the correct printed information available for their opponent to refer to.

Damaged cards
A damaged card is a card that has received physical treatment that ruins its aesthetic quality and/or functionality as a game piece. A Player may use an otherwise-legal damaged card provided that the damage was due to wear and tear or is otherwise accidental, and the damage does not cause the card to be unrecognizable, or give strategic assistance. Intentionally damaged cards, such as cards that have been cut, ripped, or shredded and reconstructed, are not legal - this does not apply to cards that have been intentionally altered, especially for artistic purposes. If a Player opened a damaged card from limited product, or their card was damaged by an opponent or tournament official, the Player may be issued a proxy ([4.3]).

Altered cards
An altered card is a card that has been intentionally physically altered, especially for artistic purposes. Alterations include, but are not limited to, painting, signing, foiling, collages, printed inner-sleeves, and anything that intentionally alters the visuals of the card.

A Player may use an otherwise-legal altered card provided that any modifications do not cause the card to be unrecognizable, contain offensive material, or give strategic assistance. An altered card must originally be the official Flesh and Blood card that the alter will represent in the game. Any alterations should allow tournament officials to validate the original card's authenticity, and must not cover or obscure the name, color bar, or numeric properties (cost, defense, life, pitch, power etc.) of the card. For collage-like alterations (e.g. shadowboxing), only arena-cards may be altered this way. The Head Judge decides what is an acceptable alter for the tournament.

At competitive and professional REL, a Player must receive approval from the Head Judge before using an altered card for the tournament. The primary subject(s) of the artwork must not be altered beyond recognition, including drastic changes to the silhouette, color scheme, and focus of the primary subject(s) in the artwork.

4.3 Proxy Cards§

A proxy card (proxy) is a card that is used to represent an official card in a game. Proxies are not permitted unless officially issued by the Head Judge of the tournament. The Head Judge may issue or approve a proxy at their discretion in the following situations:

  • A foil card where the foiling is the cause of it being marked in the deck, and there is no non-foil version of the card or it would be unreasonable to expect the Player to find a substitute.
  • A damaged card where the damage is the cause of it being marked in the deck, and the card was opened from limited product damaged or the damage was caused by the Player's opponent or a tournament official.
  • A basic-rarity card at a limited event where there are insufficient official cards.
  • A created card where a Player has made a reasonable attempt to supply enough created cards for their game but it is not sufficient for the current game-state.
  • Printed Ira Welcome decks at a Learn to Play event.

A proxy is used during the tournament to represent an official Flesh and Blood card. The player must have the original card or the information of the original card for the opponent to reference during a game that involves the proxy.

The proxy is only legal for the duration of the tournament it is issued. Proxies that have been issued from other tournaments and self-made proxies are not tournament-legal.

4.4 Placeholder cards§

A placeholder card (placeholder) is a card that represents another deck-card (typically a double-faced card) while it is in a private zone. Placeholders are designed so a Player can play with unsleeved double-faced cards or so a Player does not have to unsleeve double-faced cards to use their back-faces.

Players may only use official placeholders in place of cards in their deck. To use a placeholder, the player must ensure that the name and pitch of the card it represents are legible; any other modifications must follow the same rules as altered cards.[4.2]

A placeholder card can only be used while the card it represents is in a private zone. While the placeholder card is in a private zone, the card it represents is not outside of the game. When the placeholder card moves into a public zone the player must swap it out with the card it represents (in the correct orientation). If the represented card would then go back into a private zone, the placeholder card is swapped in again.

A checklist card is a placeholder that contains a list of cards that the checklist card could possibly represent (with a checkbox next to each card). Each individual checklist card used by a Player must have exactly one card checked - the checklist card represents the card that is checked.

4.5 Tokens and Macros§

Tokens and macros are card-like objects that represent tokens and macros within the game respectively. Official tokens and macros are printed similarly to official cards but have the "token" or "macro" type printed in the typebox. Token type is not to be confused with the deprecated token-rarity (replaced by basic-rarity).

The properties of a token or macro are defined by the latest version of the Comprehensive Rules.

Players may create or use an unofficial token or macro, as long as it is card-like (rectangular with a height-width ratio of approximately 7:5), is no smaller than half the size of a card and no larger than a card (a standard card is approximately 88x63mm), any game-related properties are clearly readable, and it can't be confused with another card. Tournament officials and coverage may ask Players to use official tokens or macros to keep the representation of the game clear.

Tokens
At competitive and professional REL, if a Player has registered cards that create tokens, they must have the appropriate physical tokens to represent each of them. If the Player's cards may create the same token but with different states (e.g. creating a token under each player's control), they must have an appropriate amount of tokens to represent each token in those states.

A token should only be present in the play-space if it represents a token that exists in the game. If the Player's cards are able to create multiple instances of the same token, they may use a marker placed on top of a single token to represent how many of that token you control provided that all tokens are otherwise identical. Players may not start the game with a token in the play-space, with the intention of adding a marker when tokens of that type are actually created in the game.

Macros
Macros are meta-game objects and Player's are not required to supply their own macros for a format.

4.6 Counters§

A counter is a small item that represents a specific type of counter on an object in the game. Players may use any item to represent a counter, as long as it is clear what type of counter it represents; does not give the Player strategic assistance; is not so small or colored in a way that makes it difficult to see; and is not so large as to obstruct the play-space.

If two or more counters of the same type are on an object, they must be homogenous and must not be arranged in a way that makes it difficult to determine how many or what other counters are on the object. Dice and similar counting items may be used to represent the number of a specific type of counters on an object, instead of using an item per counter.

Examples:

  • A glass bead used to represent a +1{p} counter on a weapon.
  • A die to represent the number of steam counters on an item.
  • Two distinct dice on an equipment, one grey die to represent the number of -1\defense{} counters, and one red die to represent the number of energy counters.

4.7 Markers§

A marker is a small item that is used to optionally represent part of the state of the game. Markers are not to be confused with counters which represent a specific in-game element.[4.6] Players may use any non-card-like item as a marker, as long as it is clear what information it represents; does not give the Player strategic assistance; is not so small or colored in a way that makes it difficult to see; and is not so large as to obstruct the play-space.

Players may use markers to represent visible or public information in a game, but may not use them to represent information regarding cards in a Players deck or any historical, assisted, or private information.[5.1][5.8] Players may not use markers to represent information regarding cards in a deck, to avoid the potential abuse of tracking cards. A Player may only temporarily use a marker to represent information: once that marker no longer represents the current state of the game the Player must update the marker or remove it from use.

If two or more markers are used to represent the same visible or public information, they must be homogenous and must not be arranged in a way that makes it difficult to determine the information they represent. Dice and similar counting items may be used as markers to represent numerical information.

Examples:

  • A resource-shaped marker is used to represent the number of resources a player has.
  • A die marker is used to represent the modified power of an attack on the combat chain.
  • A metal Go Again marker is used to represent that an attack has go again on the combat chain.

4.8 Dice§

If an action requires the use of dice, any method may be used to simulate the dice roll, as long as the method can produce the correct range of possible results and they have an equal chance of occurring. At professional REL, electronic devices may not be used to simulate dice rolls.

Physical dice must have clear readable values, must be weighted to ensure that landing on each possible side has an equal chance of occurring, and is not so large that they are disruptive when rolled. High-value dice with similar values grouped together (such as spindown dice) may not be used.

When physical dice are rolled, they must be rolled from a discernible height and with enough spin to create sufficiently random results. Dice that leave the playing surface, become ambiguously mixed with other dice, or do not come to rest in a stable position on a flat surface, are ignored and re-rolled.

If the result of a dice roll would have no impact on the game, the Player may skip rolling them. If a Player rolls too many dice at once, they are ignored and the correct number of dice is re-rolled.

4.9 Sleeves§

A sleeve is a thin flexible card-shaped pocket that protects a card during play.

If a Player chooses to use card sleeves, all deck-cards used during a game must be sleeved in an identical manner. At professional REL, the Head Judge may require all players to use sleeves for their deck-cards. Arena-cards do not have to be sleeved identically and may be sleeved or placed in heavy plastic cases, so long as they do not obstruct the game-space.

Double-faced cards in a Player's deck must be sleeved in completely opaque sleeves.

At Competitive and Professional REL, sleeves with highly reflective or holographic patterns are not permitted. The Head Judge has the final say on whether any type of sleeve is not allowed to be used in the tournament.

Players are responsible for ensuring that their sleeves do not cause their cards to be marked during a tournament.[5.13] A Judge may disallow the use of particular card sleeves if they believe that the sleeves are in a condition or of a design that interferes with shuffling or game play. A Judge may choose to delay having the Player change sleeves until the end of a match.

4.10 Inventory§

A Player's inventory is a group of cards that is a subset of the Player's registered card-pool but is not being used in the current game. During the start-of-game procedure for each game[3.3], each Player selects what cards from their card-pool they will start the game with and any remaining cards become their inventory for the game.

During a game, Players may look at their own inventory but not their opponent's inventory. The inventory must be kept completely separate from other cards in the game. Other card-like objects should also be kept separate from the inventory during the game.[4.1]

4.11 Electronic Devices§

An electronic device is a personal machine capable of recording or presenting strategic notes, communicating with other people, or accessing the internet (or a similar network).

In general, Players may use electronic devices during a match as long as the content presented is visible to all Players and it is not used to gain strategic advice.[5.8][5.9] If a Player wants to use a device privately, they must request permission from a Judge. Electronic devices may be used during the start-of-game procedure for strategic notes, but not for communication.

Physical records should be preferred over electronic records when resolving discrepancies in a game (e.g. life totals).

At competitive and professional REL, electronic devices may not be used at all during a draft.

Additional restrictions or exceptions to the use of electronic devices are enforced at the discretion of the Head Judge.

4.12 Infringing and Offensive Material§

Individuals may not possess material that infringes the intellectual property rights of LSS, or non-LSS material that is offensive, disruptive, or affects the enjoyment of others. If an individual is seen in the possession of such materials, the Tournament Organizer should request that the individual remove the material, or be disqualified (or for non-Players, leave the venue).

A detailed policy regarding IP usage rights can be found in the Terms of Use for Game and Studio Assets and IP. The Tournament Organizer determines what non-LSS material is acceptable for use throughout the tournament.

Examples:

  • Unofficial play-mats with unauthorized use of artwork or logos owned by LSS.
  • 3rd-party merchandise with unauthorized use of artwork or logos owned by LSS.
  • Counterfeit cards, designed specifically to mimic genuine Flesh and Blood cards.
  • Custom card sleeves or play-mats with overly sexualized characters.
  • Materials that are racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, ableist, or otherwise hateful.

4.13 Sealed Deck and Booster Draft Product§

Product for a sealed deck[8.1] or booster draft[8.2] format must be received directly from tournament officials, and must not be reused for another sealed deck or booster draft format. If the Tournament Organizer allows Players to provide their own product, that product should be pooled with the rest of the product for the format before being randomly distributed by the tournament officials.

Boosters given to each player in a pod for a booster draft format should come from the same box, if logistically possible.

Product must be unopened when distributed. Packs may only be opened in advance to be stamped with the explicit permission of LSS. When preparing stamped product for a draft, flip-cards should be replaced by an appropriate placeholder card indicating the card it replaces.[4.4] Then, Players who have drafted placeholder cards should be given the real flip-card after the draft has concluded but before the beginning of the first round of the format.

If the product does not contain enough basic-rarity cards for limited play, the Tournament Organizer is responsible for providing the additional cards or appropriate substitutes.[4.3] The Tournament Organizer may require that any basic-rarity cards supplied are returned at the end of the format. Players may use their own cards in place of basic-rarity cards, as long as they are the same unique card.