Tardiness

Penalty: Game Loss

Definitions and Philosophy: When a player is not in their seat at the start of a round or has not completed assigned tasks (such as registration procedures) during the allotted time. This penalty will not apply until the official scheduled end of a prior round.

Players can request permission from a Judge for a delay before the start of their games in the round, up to 10 minutes until they are considered tardy. Valid reasons include bathroom breaks or replacing missing cards. Other tasks may be permitted by Judges if deemed reasonable. If a player returns within the 10-minute period, the Judge can issue their match a time extension up to the maximum allowed and no penalty should be applied.

Players hold responsibility for being respectful of tournament proceedings and their opponent’s play time in the match. Tardiness detracts from the integrity of a tournament by potentially not giving players sufficient time. Players are also expected to complete their registration and other tournament-necessary tasks in a timely fashion. If players need assistance with these tasks for any reason they believe is justified, they are encouraged to call for a Judge and request assistance. Tournament Organizers reserve the right to allow additional time before any penalties might be issued. The larger a tournament is, the more Tournament Organizers are encouraged to provide ample time for players to reasonably obtain their seating and reach their seats before the round timer is started.

Corrective Procedure: Players can be given a time extension in a match up to the maximum allowed at the discretion of the Judge.

Upgrading: A player not in their seat or seated with their round opponent in the first 10 minutes of a round will receive a Match Loss. The player should also be dropped from the tournament unless the player reports to either the Head Judge or Event Recorder before the end of the round. If a player exceeds the time given to perform that task and then is tardy for their match (10 minutes), they will receive a Match Loss.

Downgrading: A player who arrives at their seat within 3 minutes of the round start (before 3 minutes in the round timer has elapsed) should only receive a warning. This will still count towards the violation count in the category of tardiness.

Examples:

• A player arrives at their seat 5 minutes after the start of the round is announced (5 minutes after the round timer is started).

• A player hands in their decklist after the submission time announced by the Tournament Organizer or Judge.

• A player loses their deck and cannot replace their cards within 10 minutes of the round start.

• A player sits across from the wrong opponent and plays them (under free-seating) or sits at the wrong table and plays the wrong opponent (under assigned seating) and realizes the mistake before 10 minutes have elapsed, arriving at the correct seat and playing the correct opponent.

• The same as above, but they instead realize the mistake and arrive at the correct seat against the correct opponent before 3 minutes have elapsed. This would result in a downgrade from a game loss to a warning.

VARIABLE ENFORCEMENT: At events of lower tiers than Regionals and Store Championships, event staff are encouraged to be somewhat more accommodating with respect to tournament start times and allow more time to a player before a game loss is issued. It may be recommended to allow up to 5 minutes to be seated without a penalty with a game loss issued at 10 minutes, as normal. There should still be reasonable expectations to complete tasks on time such that an entire event does not go on pause to the detriment of all other players.