Outside Assistance

Penalty: Match Loss

Definitions and Philosophy: Outside assistance considers any advice or information about a match that is not public or readily available. An Outside Assistance infraction is committed whenever a player offers another player in a match advice or information that the player within the match should not have access to, or when a spectator or other tournament member similarly offers advice or reveals private information. A player within a match commits an Outside Assistance infraction when they seek advice or information regarding their match from any others outside of that match. Outside Assistance infractions also consider written or prepared notes outside of what is allowed per the Tournament Rules and Regulations document. For a limited format, Outside Assistance also covers advice on the draft process and deck construction.

Games between players in a tournament setting are meant to test the skill of the players in those games. Any communication in terms of advice, instruction, or unduly revealed information from outside of the game breaches the integrity of the tournament process. Players may ask Judges whether the result of an intended player action or set of decisions would be legal, but not whether those actions reach a specified outcome. The latter is considered a hypothetical question which Judges can't answer. Players should avoid formulating questions in a way they could be construed for requesting Outside Assistance.

Cards also can’t be physically modified in such a way that would reasonably indicate detailed tactics or strategies. Players may only use the notes during a game that they have written during the game; any referencing of notes over this is considered Outside Assistance.

Tournament Organizers reserve the right to remove spectators that commit Outside Assistance infractions from the tournament venue and premises.

Downgrading: If it is not clear whether the offending player or spectator is committing Outside Assistance or if it is a matter of lacking communication clarity, making the person aware that they are on the border of committing an Outside Assistance infraction in addition as a warning suffices. If the behavior isn't correct, follow through with the penalty.

Upgrading: If it is not the first time Outside Assistance has been incurred by the offending player, consider whether there are sufficient grounds for a Disqualification with the Head Judge or in conference with other judges and Tournament Staff.

Examples:

• A player writes lists of sideboarding notes before their matches and references them before/between games.

• A spectator giving instructions to a player regarding sequencing or decisions for player actions within an ongoing game.

• A player asking a judge if they would win the game if a card they intend to play resolves.

VARIALBE ENFORCEMENT: In many cases, novice players do not have a clear grasp of what phrasing they may use for certain questions and whether or not they are allowed to ask certain questions. During events at Store Championship or Regional levels, it may be appropriate to offer an additional reminder (see Downgrading) before a Match Loss is issued. At events of lower tiers than those, it may be helpful to have continued discussions and reminders as to what consitutes Outside Assistance. For players that are learning the game, it may be permissible to offer limited guidance on what actions they are able to legally make in a game without informing any strategy. Many of these considerations usually deal with times during release of new sets of cards and questions are mostly concerning interactions and understanding rules text rather than attempting to gain an advantage.