The vast majority of events you will play; the draft every Tuesday, Friday Night Magic, Pre-
Releases, Game Days… you get the picture. These events are run at Regular Rules Enforcement Level (REL). The focus of these events is in promoting a fun environment where you can enjoy yourself and learn. After a while, however, players start looking to play in Grand Prix Trials (GPT), Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers (PPTQ) and World Magic Cup Qualifiers (WMCQ).

These events are more serious and are run at Competitive REL, where the focus is on making sure players are playing correctly and fairly. What I plan to do with this article series is to go over the big differences between Regular and Competitive in short, easy to read articles.

Constructed ­ Decklists

When you go to an FNM or Game Day, you’ll likely tell the store owner you’re there, pay some money and wait for the first round to start. Competitive REL is slightly different, you are required to fill out a decklist. You can do this at home and bring it with you if you wish but most players leave it till the last minute for some reason! Decklists are then collected during a player meeting at the start of the event.

A decklist is a declaration of what you will be playing during the event. Over the course of the day the judges will choose random tables to perform a deck check on each round, where they will sort the deck and check the contents against the decklist. Don’t worry if this occurs during the middle of the round , your sideboarding will be maintained.

Submitting a wrong decklist usually happens because you wrote the down the wrong card, missed a card or registered less than 60 cards main deck (or more than 15 sideboard).

The potential abuse of someone attempting to benefit from confusion with an unclear decklist means that the penalty associated has to be harsh. We issue a game loss for such abuse. Here are some tips to avoid this:

● Write your name and DCI number on your decklist. ­ Most printed decklists have a box for each, but if you are writing on a blank sheet of paper, then put them at the top.

● Count your decklist. ­ You’ll have a fair amount of time just sitting around and waiting for the event to start, so why not use that time to count your decklist a couple of times?

● Try to write in clear handwriting,­ if your handwriting is a bit messy then you can always type your decklist and print it out.

● Use full card names. ­ If there is any potential for confusion as to which card you’re playing, you will have a problem: It’s better to avoid this.

● Separate your list into lands, creatures and spells. ­This isn’t a requirement but it makes it a lot easier for you to check it’s correct and helps the judges as well.

Keep an eye out for my next chapter in the REL series!