5 Gameplay Logistics§

5.1 Game Information§

There are five categories of information in a game: Visible, Public, Assisted, Historical, and Private.

Visible information is information about that game state that is physically represented. Players are responsible for maintaining the physical representation of cards and tokens they own, counters on those cards and tokens, and their own record of hero life totals. Visible public information consists of:

State of cards.
Zone/location of cards.
Printed properties of public cards and tokens.
Counters on objects.
Life totals of heroes.

Public information is information about the game state that is not physically represented. Players are responsible for recalling public information about decisions they've made, cards and tokens they own, and assets they have. Players have a shared responsibility for recalling public information about the shared state of the game and match. Public information consists of:

Properties of public objects that differ from their printed properties.
Details of current public decisions, effects, or events that define the current game state.
Details of past public decisions, effects, or events that affect the current game state.
Assets of Players (unspent action and resource points).
Current turn player, phase of the game, and step of combat.
The game score of the current match.

Assisted information is information unrelated to the game state. Players are not required to recall assisted information, but it may be requested from a Judge. Assisted information consists of:

Printed properties of any card or token in Flesh and Blood.
Game rules.
Tournament rules and policy.
Official information regarding the tournament.

Historical information is information that was previously public information but does not affect the current game state. No Player is responsible for recalling this information. Historical information consists of:

Printed properties of cards that have been revealed but are now private.
Details of public decisions, effects, or events that do not affect the current game state.

Private information is information that is not, or can not be, known by all Players. No player is responsible for recalling private information. Private information consists of:

Printed properties of private cards that have not been seen by all players.
Details of private decisions, effects, or events.

Players are responsible for recalling Visible and Public information, but not for Assisted, Historical, or Private information. Players must answer questions about Visible and Public information completely and honestly. If a Player notices that Visible or Public information is incorrect, they are responsible for pointing it out.

Players have the privilege to know Visible, Public, and Assisted information, but not Historical or Private information. Judges must provide any requested Assisted information if logistically possible.

Players may not misrepresent (or mislead another Player about) Visible, Public, Assisted, or Historical information.

Players may not misrepresent (or mislead another Player that) a type of information is a different type of information.

Examples:

A Player has a Frost Fang in their hand (private information). They reveal Frost Fang to pay an ice fusion cost, showing the card to all other Players (visible information). After the reveal, all Players are responsible for recalling that an Ice card was revealed to pay the ice fusion cost (public information) but do not have to recall exactly what card was revealed (historical information).

A Player plays Twin Twisters (visible information) and chooses the second mode to get +1 (public information). The opponent calls a judge and asks about the card text of Spinning Wheel Kick (assisted information).

A Player accidentally drops the cards in their hand (private information). Even if the opponent sees all of the cards' faces this way, it is still considered private information - it does not become public or historical information.

5.2 Shortcuts§

A shortcut is an action (or lack of action) taken by Players to skip parts of in-game play without explicitly acknowledging them. Shortcuts allow Players to efficiently progress a game with a shared understanding of the game-state by not having to perform otherwise irrelevant and tedious actions.

A shortcut can only be performed if all Players mutually understand what shortcut is being performed and what the game-state will be as a result. The types of shortcuts that can be taken vary between different Players based on their mutual understanding, but the majority of shortcuts involve skipping one or more passes in priority. Shortcuts that involve skipping decisions (other than passing priority) of the opponent must be explicitly explained and agreed upon before being performed. Once all Players have acknowledged the final result of the shortcut, the shortcut has been completed.

Players may interrupt a shortcut (including their own), but only if they do so before all Players acknowledge the result of the shortcut. They must explain how they want to deviate or at what point they want to respond, in which case the game-state continues from the earliest point of interruption.

Players may not use shortcuts to take advantage of poor communication or create ambiguity in the game.

Examples:

A Player plays a non-attack action card with go again. The Player takes a shortcut to skip all Players passing priority the and card resolves. Then the Player plays another card.

A Player controls 5 Runechant tokens and plays an attack action card. The opponent proposes a shortcut to go to the defend step by saying "I won't prevent the Runechants", and the Player accepts. They both skip passing priority and the opponent takes the damage from the 5 Runechant tokens.

A Player is targeted by an attack with 3\power{}. The Player proposes a shortcut to go to end of the damage step by saying "I'll take the 3 damage" and the opponent accepts. They both skip passing priority and declaring defending cards, and the Player takes the damage.

A Player has a Fyendal's Spring Tunic with 2 energy counters on it. The Player takes a shortcut to resolve the start-of-turn trigger, activate and resolve the ability to gain 1 resource, and play Tome of Fyendal paying 1 resource. They do this by saying "Tunic, paying for Tome", physically removing the two existing counters, and putting Tome of Fyendal into the play-space. They skip putting a counter on the Fyendal's Spring Tunic in the start phase and passing priority in the action phase.

A Player plays a non-attack action card with go again. The Player takes a shortcut to skip all Players passing priority and plays another card. The opponent interrupts the shortcut to skip priority and wants to play a card in response to the non-attack action card. The game-state continues from the point where the non-attack action card is on the stack and the opponent has priority.

A Player controls Teklo Pistol and Induction Chamber, with 1 steam counter on each of them them. The Player explains that they want to use the verbal shortcut "Pistol for 2, go again" to mean attacking with Teklo Pistol and activating Induction Chamber, skipping priority and the opponent deciding to defend. The opponent declines the use of the shortcut. The Player must now explicitly attack with Teklo Pistol and wait for the opponent to declare any defending cards before activating Induction Chamber.

5.3 Out-of-Order Play§

An out-of-order play (OOP) is when a Player executes a set of in-game actions that are not strictly sequenced correctly (as defined by the Comprehensive Rules). All in-game actions a Player makes as part of an OOP must be legal and the resulting game-state must be correct and clearly understood, as if those actions were performed in the correct order. Actions in an OOP can not been made based on information that would not have been available if the actions were in the correct order.

A Player may ask the acting Player to perform the actions in the correct order so that an action can be responded to at the appropriate time. If any Player wants to respond during an OOP, the game state continues from the point where the Player wishes to respond and the acting Player is not committed to any pending actions they would have otherwise made during the OOP.

A player may not add to, or modify, their OOP based on the reactions of an opponent or the information they have gained by making the actions out of order. A Player cannot use an OOP to retroactively take an action they have previously missed. In general, a substantial pause indicates that an OOP has been made and completed, and that the game-state correctly represents the result of the actions in the OOP.

Examples:

A Player pitches cards before declaring the card being played or the ability being activated.

A Player, playing as Briar, plays three non-attack action cards and then creates an Embodiment of Lightning token as a resolution of a trigger from playing the second non-attack action card.

A Player announces defending cards and a defense reaction at the same time. The attacking player wants to play an instant in response to the defending cards, so the defense reaction goes back to the Player's hand.

A Player has a Fyendal's Spring Tunic. At the start of their turn they immediately play a card, pauses, then realize that they missed their start-of-turn trigger. The Player can not retroactively resolve the trigger, claiming it was an OOP.

A Player, as an attacking player, asks "Any reactions?" during the reaction step of combat and their opponent says no. The Player can not record the damage and then retroactively play an attack reaction, claiming it was an OOP.

5.4 Reversing Actions§

Players are expected to consider their options, then take actions intentionally and commit to them. In general, Players are not permitted to reverse a complete action that has been communicated either verbally or non-verbally (a.k.a. taksies backsies). Players may not coerce their opponent into allowing them to reverse an action they have completed. Dexterity errors are not considered actions taken by a Player.

If a Player realizes they have made the wrong decision for an action they have just taken and wants to make a different decision, a Judge may allow that player to change their action as long as they have not gained any information since. If the Judge cannot be sure that information was not gained, they should not allow the action to be reversed.

Examples:

A Player pitches a card to pay a cost, then before anything else happens they say "Sorry, I meant to pitch this card." A judge determines they have not gained any information and allows the player to take back the pitched card, and declare a different card to pitch.

A Player says "No blocks", then immediately says "Wait, I'll block with these cards." A judge determines they have not gained any information and allows the player to take back the defending cards and declare a new set of defending cards.

5.5 Triggered Effects§

Players are expected to remember the triggered effects they control. Players are not required to acknowledge triggered effects they do not control, but may still do so.

A triggered effect is considered to be missed if neither Player acknowledges the trigger, and then its controller takes an action or allows an action to be taken, past the point in the game where the triggered effect would become relevant to the game. The point when a triggered layer becomes relevant is different for different triggers, and if the following criteria are met for the trigger is it not considered missed:

A triggered effect that requires its controller to make decisions (such as choose targets or modes) must be acknowledged before the controller next passes priority.
A triggered effect that affects the rules of the game must be acknowledged before an action is taken, or acknowledged by stopping an action taken by a player, that otherwise would be made illegal by the triggered effect.
A triggered effect that affects the game state in a visible way upon resolution, or requires any player to make decisions upon resolution, must be acknowledged before any player takes an in-game action that could only be taken after the triggered effect has resolved.
A triggered effect that affects the game state in a non-visible way must be acknowledged before it first visibly affects the game state.

If the triggered effect is optional and it is missed, it is considered that the controlling player decided to not apply the effect. Intentionally ignoring mandatory triggers is considered cheating.^[6.2]

5.6 Game Layout§

The play-space is defined as the area of zones owned and shared by the Players in a game. At competitive and professional REL, Players must follow the official Flesh and Blood official zone layout. From the Player's perspective:

The Player's hero, weapon-equipped cards (weapons, off-hands, etc.), and arsenal should be in the center of the play-space.
The Player's weapon-equipped cards should be adjacent to their hero on either side and the arsenal below their hero.
The Player's graveyard, pitched, and banished cards, should be adjacent to their deck and on one side (left or right) of the play-space, with their equipped head, arms, chest, and legs cards on the opposite side of the play-space.
The graveyard should be above the deck, pitched cards towards the center of the play-space from the deck, and banished cards below the deck.
An equipped head card should be above an equipped chest card, equipped arms card towards the center of the play-space from the chest, and equipped legs card below the chest.
Cards on the combat chain should be placed equally between all Players. Cards on a chain link should be grouped together, and chain links should be in an ordered sequence from one side of the play-space to the other.
Each face-up permanent controlled by the Player should be on their side of the play-space, above or next to their hero and below cards on the combat chain. Untapped permanents should face that player and tapped permanents should be turned approximately 90\textdegree{}.
Cards and tokens under a permanent should be clearly associated with the permanent they are under.
Cards that are in a Player's inventory, Cards and tokens that are not in the game, and other objects unrelated to the game should be outside of the play-space. They should not obstruct, or be placed next to or under, card-like objects in the play-space.

The official layout can be modified within reason to meet the physical requirements of a Player. If a Player would like to deviate from the official game-layout, it must first be approved by a Judge. Tournament officials and coverage may enforce and make exceptions to these guidelines in order to keep the representation of the game clear. The Head Judge is the final authority on what is an acceptable game-layout for the tournament.

In general, cards should be kept in neat piles in their respective zones. The deck and the combat chain are the only zones in the game where cards are strictly ordered; Players are not required to maintain the order of cards in any other zone. Players may rearrange cards in zones in the following circumstances:

Players may rearrange cards in their own zones, including their graveyards and/or banished zones to facilitate communication and efficient gameplay. Players cannot obsessively sort cards or rearrange cards to in order to track the contents and/or position of cards that are in their deck (e.g sorting by pitch, name, type, etc.) - this is considered note-taking.^[5.8] Players may not rearrange cards in zones that are not their own, unless they have the explicit permission of their owner.
Players may have one additional separate pile for each of their graveyards and banished zones for cards that are relevant to the current game state. If cards are separated this way, it must be clear what zone these cards are technically in. Additional piles may only be created for face-down cards that are affected by different continuous effects, so that it is unambiguous to all Players which cards the respective effects apply to.
If cards are playable, or have functional abilities while in a zone, they may be fanned/spread out, instead of being in a single pile - as long as it does not obstruct an unreasonable amount of the play-space.

Examples:

A Player has cards with the scrap effect in their deck. They may order their graveyard so that the item and equipment cards are on top and can be accessed and evaluated quickly.

A Player has many cards with decompose effects in their deck. They may order their graveyard into 3 sections: Earth cards, action cards, and the rest; to count and quickly banish cards.

A Player is playing as Fai and has a Phoenix Flame in their graveyard. They may place that Phoenix Flame in a separate pile, so that both players can immediately verify it is in the graveyard and that Player can quickly access it for Fai's ability.

A Player has a card in their banished zone face-down. Their opponent intimidates the Player, causing them to banish another card face-down. They should put that intimidated card in a separate pile, so that it is clear to both players which card was intimidated and will return to the Player's hand at the end of the turn.

A Player has cards with a combination of Blood Debt and "You may play this from your banished zone" in their banished zone. They may place those cards into a separate pile from the other cards in their banished zone, and sort them to make it clear what cards have Blood Debt and what cards can be played from the banished zone. The cards that can be played may be fanned/spread to make it easier to work out what lines can be played.

5.7 Slow Play§

Players are expected to play games at a reasonable pace, for the interest of all involved parties. This includes respecting the time that their opponent must wait for them to make decisions, and ensuring that the tournament can proceed on schedule. Players dividing the round time between themselves, or untimed rounds, do not exempt a player from being expected to play at a reasonable pace.

Players are encouraged to remind their opponent about playing at a reasonable pace when the opponent is taking an unreasonably long time to make a decision that progresses the game state. Players may call a Judge to moderate the pace of play, which should be honored if logistically possible.

If a Player exceeds the time limit for the start-of-game procedure^[3.3], they have committed slow play and should be issued the appropriate penalty.

Intentionally playing slowly is considered Stalling.^[6.6]

5.8 Note-Taking§

Note-taking is a broad term that refers to the use of aids to record information relating to the game. In general, Players may not take notes during games.

Players may take notes between games and Spectators may take notes at any time, but those notes may not be referred to during a game.^[5.9]

Players may record hero life totals and changes to hero life totals^[5.1] in order to maintain the correct game state. Additionally, markers may be used to temporarily represent visible or public information (except information concerning a Player's deck), but they must be updated or removed when they no longer represent that information.^[5.1]^[4.7]

Any acceptable forms of note-taking must be clear, accurate, and available to all Players and judges. Acceptable note-taking during a game includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Examples:

Recording meta-game information such as the opponent's name and hero, who went first, and the winner of the game.

Using a marker to represent the current turn-player, phase of the turn, or step of combat.

Recording the life total, changes to the life total, and the source of the change (i.e. the source of the damage or effect).

Using markers or dice, to represent remaining resource and action points.

Turning permanents sideways or placing markers on them, to represent the use of activated abilities or triggered effects for the turn.

Using dice to represent the power of an attack or the damage of an effect.

Using dice to represent the number of specific cards in a public zone. (e.g. blood debt)

Using dice to represent the number of specific cards that have been played during the current turn. (e.g. lightning cards)

Using markers to represent gained abilities or effects (e.g. Go again).

Writing down, using dice, or using markers to represent the value of X for effects.

Recording a card named by a player due to a card effect (e.g. Chain of Eminence).

All other forms of note-taking during a game are not permitted, including recording assisted, historical or private information, and misleading or misrepresented visible and public information. Unacceptable note-taking during a game includes but is not limited to the following:

Examples:

Using a dice or marker to record the current turn number.

Recording the order of cards that you or your opponent pitch.

Recording opponent's cards that are revealed from effects.

Recording cards that have been played by you or your opponent.

Intentionally ordering your graveyard or banished cards to determine what is in your deck (except cards that are relevant to the game state).

Calculating numbers or future game-states by writing them down.

Using dice to track how many cards you or your opponent has drawn.

Using dice to represent how many cards are in your deck.

Placing markers on your deck to remind you of start-of-turn triggered effects.

Using a life pad with incorrectly labelled columns for the Player and their opponent.

Leaving a dice above the pitch zone that no longer represents the number of resources a Player has.

5.9 Outside Assistance§

During a match, draft, or when otherwise directed by the Tournament Organizer or Head Judge, Players may not seek advice from a Spectator or refer to personal notes made before or during the event, and Spectators may not give play advice to a Player. However, Players may take and refer to personal notes during the start-of-game procedure before each game (e.g. sideboard guides). Electronic devices may also be used during the start-of-game procedure, as long as they are not used to gain or seek advice from a Spectator.

Players may be assisted by Spectators, notes, or electronic devices in order to make the tournament accessible for them.^[3.10]

At competitive and professional REL, Players and Spectators are expected to remain silent during a draft.

5.10 Card Identification and Interpretation§

A player may identify a card by name (or name and pitch), or they may provide a description or partial name that could only reasonably apply to one card (or card cycle in some cases). If a Player or Judge thinks the description or partial name is ambiguous, they must request further clarification before they assist with providing card information.

The official text for any card is the English text of the latest printing of that card, subject to any errata published. Players have the right to request the official text, which should be honored if logistically possible. Players may not use errors in the official card text to abuse the rules. The Head Judge is the final authority for card interpretations and may overrule official card text if an error is discovered.

5.11 Card Shuffling§

Shuffling means sufficiently randomizing a set of cards so that it is in a state where no Player has any information regarding the order of the cards in the set.

Players' decks must be shuffled at the start of every game and whenever instructed to do so. After a Player has shuffled their deck, they must present it to their opponent. It is recommended that the opponent cuts the present deck, but they may also shuffle it themselves. If the opponent does not believe the Player has sufficiently shuffled their deck before presenting, the opponent should call a Judge.

There are numerous ways to shuffle a deck. It is recommended that players use multiple riffle and overhand shuffles, followed by a cut, to get a sufficiently randomized deck. Pile counting and other deterministic forms of shuffling are not acceptable methods alone to shuffle a deck. Players are expected to be able to shuffle their deck sufficiently and efficiently.

If a Player had the opportunity to see the faces of any of the cards being shuffled, the deck is not considered randomized and must be shuffled again.

5.12 Random Values§

For simply determining random values by rolling dice, see ^[4.8].

If a Player is instructed to select one or more random cards from a set of cards, the Player should use dice to select those cards at random.^[4.8] To do so, the Player must announce what values of the dice correspond to what cards in the set before they roll the dice. If the possible values of the dice (or equivalent) do not equal the number of possible cards in the set, the player may, within reason, assign certain values to indicate a reroll of the dice. In all cases, all cards must have an equal likelihood of being randomly selected.

If no cards in the set are considered marked when they are face-down^[5.13], the Player may instead shuffle the set and have an opponent choose the card(s) while they are face-down.

5.13 Marked cards§

A card, or set of cards, is considered marked if it is distinguishable from other cards without being able to see the front of the cards. Players are responsible for ensuring that all of their deck-cards are not marked during a tournament. Players may alert a judge if they suspect their opponent's cards are marked in a way that would give that player an advantage.

If the cards are sleeved, this distinction is based on whether the cards are distinguishable while they are in those sleeves. It is recommended that players exercise care when sleeving cards, and that they shuffle the sleeves or cards prior to sleeving to reduce the likelihood of creating a pattern. Players should be mindful that sleeves may require replacement throughout a tournament as they become worn from use.

The Head Judge determines which, if any, cards are marked. If an issue has been found, Judges may request that a Player sleeve/resleeve their deck immediately or before the beginning of the next round.

Examples:

A player has reversed the orientation of one or more cards in their deck.

A player has a deck of otherwise flat non-foil cards, but one is significantly curled making it a marked card.

A player has a deck of otherwise slightly curled foil cards, but one is completely flat making it a marked card.

A player has an unsleeved deck and one of the cards is slightly bent.

A player has used the same type of sleeves, but from two packs: one with a lighter hue.

A player has sleeves where some of the corners are folded over from wear and tear from shuffling.

A player has sleeves with art on the back and some of the sleeves have art that is misprinted or misaligned.