⚠️ WARNING: OUR FULLY-WRITTEN, COMPREHENSIVE RULES ARE STILL IN BETA. SOME PARTS MIGHT BE MISSING, OR PARTIALLY WRITTEN. 

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, BUT SHOULD HELP YOU IN THE MEAN TIME.

1. PREAMBLE

100. Definitions

100.1. About This Document

100.1a This document represents the complete rules regarding AeonShift. It is not designed to be read in one shot, especially for new players. Please turn to the AeonShift Quick Start Guide for this.

100.1b Should one ever want to ask precise questions regarding playing, special questions, or concerns, please have a look at the document named “Frequently Asked Questions”, which is excluded from this document and serves as a complementary source of information for common mistakes, questions, and information.

100.1c This document is based on many other ones and represents an exhaustive and comprehensive guide and rules reference for any player, judge, and tournament organizer in the world who would like to follow official AeonShift rules. This document may be updated as time goes on, without any warning (even though changes might be broadly announced to the community), and will be maintained by the AeonShift Team only.

100.1d The document you’re reading is based on the work of the AeonShift Team, but the people who helped this existing and made this be brought to light remain.
Please note that AeonShift game is not affiliated to, maintained by, nor having any support from Wizards of the Coast™.

100.1e We would like to thank everyone who made Magic The Gathering™ possible (because without Wizards of the Coast™ / Hasbro™, we would certainly not be here today), but also the makers, maintainers and communities of Singleton formats, Elder Dragon Highlander and Multiplayer Commander teams, as well as some people who made this game possible around the world.

101. Playing AeonShift

101.1. About the Numbers in this Document

101.1a We tried to follow Wizards of the Coast’s way of writing rules so as players and judges can refer faster to them while in a tournament or while discussing. Rules number follow the number of this document’s section as the hundreds digit, the unit/tenths digits are to be incremented as rules definitions go on, and some specific and divided rules might be iterated with letters in addition to numbers (example: 210.1a).

101.1b Please be aware that this document on our website (AeonShift) is the only official source of information and real-time maintained reference. Anything else one may find on the internet is to be considered as possibly edited, outdated or a scam, even if its contents look the same. 

101.1c  If one is to make references to the DC Rules, please refer to this document. The URL of this document is public and accessible to anyone and is the following: https://www.mtgdc.info/comprehensive-rules.

102. Concepts Inherited from Magic The Gathering™

102.1. Base Game Rules (Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules)

102.1a Every time Magic The Gathering™'s Comprehensive Rules are mentioned in this document, please refer to their official location (as the writing of this document, at: https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules).

102.2. Base Tournament Rules 

102.2a Every time Magic The Gathering™'s Tournament Rules are mentioned in this document, please refer to their official location (as the writing of this document, at: https://wpn.wizards.com/en/rules-documents).

102.3. Base Infraction Procedure Guide

102.3a Every time Magic The Gathering™'s Infraction Procedure Guide is mentioned in this document, please refer to their official location (as the writing of this document, at: https://wpn.wizards.com/en/rules-documents).

102.4. Magic The Gathering™ Formats

102.4a Every time Magic The Gathering™ formats are mentioned in this document, please refer to their official location  (as the writing of this document, at: https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats).

102.5. Gatherer/Oracle Card Source Reference

102.5a Every time Magic The Gathering™ Gatherer/Oracle is mentioned in this document, please refer to its official location  (as the writing of this document, at: https://gatherer.wizards.com).

102.6. Rules Precedence and Application Order

102.6a Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules apply by default. In case ruling a game situation needs to be assessed, the order of precedence while playing AeonShift is to apply the following documents in order: 

1. This document

2. Official Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules

3. Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules

4. Magic The Gathering™ Infraction Procedure Guide

2. GAME CONCEPTS

200. Formats

200.1. Game Formats

200.1a AeonShift Magic The Gathering™ offers hundreds of format possibilities, modulated by complementary choices.
In AeonShift Magic The Gathering™ a game format is a combination of the following:

• Players/teams/life (How many players (teams) and life points do you want?)

• Maximum copies of a card in a deck (What's the maximum number of copies a card in a deck should have, including Command Zones and Sideboards?)

• Cards in main deck/sideboard (How many cards sould a deck have (main deck/sideboard)?).

• Commanders/Command Zones (Do you want to use Commanders/Command Zones?)

• Maximum legality timeline (What's the maximum legality timeline you want to play with?)

• P-value (What's your reference P-value? The P-value determines the base points for building, before any modulations.).

See this document below for specific information about these conditions.

200.2. Format Full Names

200.2a A format always has a full name, describing each of the points above. (e.g. "Duel Singleton Eternal Highlander Commander Standard Play").

200.2b Any change in a word given to refer to a format means a different format, and a different set of applied rules.

200.2c All players within a game or a series of games (i.e. a tournament, a league, or else) must use the same format and its rules set.

200.2d Financial constraints do not alter a format name, but are considered part of a format definition for playing and must be identical for every player within a game or a series of games.

200.2e The default P-Value when refering to a format may be omitted. If it is omitted, this means the default P-Value, "Standard Play" is used.

200.3. Named (Star) Formats

200.3a A format may have a named/star format name. This named/star format name is just a shortcut/alias to refer to a specific set of format choices as determined above, as the full name may be hard to remember and communicate with.

200.3b A format may be indifferently referd to by its full or star name.

200.4. AeonShift Duel Commander Format

200.4a Duel Commander is a named/star format, referring to "Duel Singleton Eternal Highlander Commander Standard Play".

200.5. AeonShift CEDH/AeonShift Commander Format

200.5a AeonShift Commander or AeonShift cEDH (the "c" might be upper or lower case) is a named/star format, referring to "Free-For-All Singleton Eternal Highlander Commander Standard Play".

200.6. AeonShift Highlander Format

200.6a AeonShift Highlander is a named/star format, referring to "Duel Singleton Eternal Highlander Standard Play".

200.7. AeonShift Eternal Format

200.7a AeonShift Eternal is a named/star format, referring to "Duel Quadruples Eternal Constructed Standard Play".

200.8. AeonShift Modern Format

200.8a AeonShift Modern is a named/star format, referring to "Duel Quadruples Modern Constructed Standard Play".

200.9. AeonShift Pioneer Format

200.9a AeonShift Pioneer is a named/star format, referring to "Duel Quadruples Pioneer Constructed Standard Play".

200.10. AeonShift Standard Format

200.10a AeonShift Pioneer is a named/star format, referring to "Duel Quadruples Standard Constructed Standard Play".

201. Players and Teams

201.1. Player

201.1a In AeonShift, the definition of a player follows the rules as defined by Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 102. Players). Which means: "A player is one of the people in the game.".

201.2. Teams

201.2a In AeonShift, the definition of a team follows the rules as defined by Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 808. Team vs. Team Variant).

201.3. Duel

201.3a A duel game is a game where there are exactly two teams of one player playing against each other.

201.4. Two-Headed Giant

201.4a In AeonShift, the definition of a team follows the rules as defined by Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 810. Two-Headed Giant Variant).

201.5. Free-For-All

201.5a In AeonShift, the definition of a team follows the rules as defined by Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 806. Free-for-All Variant).

201.5b In a game that uses both Free-For-All and Commanders/Command Zones, the default rules to apply are those defined by Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules for Commander (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 903. Commander), but with the following additions:

201.5c In a game that uses both Free-For-All and Commanders/Command Zones, the number of players needs to be 3 or more, each of them being a team.

201.5d In a game that uses both Free-For-All and Commanders/Command Zones, the multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option.

201.6 Team Trio Unified

201.6a In a game that uses Team Trio option, the setup is: duel games of three players simultaneously, all being part of one team. In a tournament, each team has exactly three designated players, making three effective duel games per round. The games happen as defined by Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules (see Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules at section 8. Team Tournament Rules).

201.6b In a game that uses Team Trio option, the Unified Deck Construction Rules are used, as defined by Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules (see Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules at section 8.4 Unified Deck Construction Rules).

201.6c All rules that apply to duel games apply to Team Trio Unified by default, with some exceptions (see below in this document).

201.6d The "Team Trio Unified" option will be released soon, and is not playable yet.

202. Card Copies in a Deck or Decklist

202.1. Concepts

202.1a A card is considered only through it official Gatherer ("Oracle") name in English.

202.1b The card information is taken from official, latest information available at the official Gatherer ("Oracle"), based on its name in English.

202.2. Decklist Zones

202.2a AeonShift uses Magic The Gathering™ decklist zones and parts, which means, depending on the chosen format, that a deck (hence a decklist) can use:

• Main Deck

• Sideboard

• Companion

• Command Zone

• Contraption Deck

• Sticker Deck

• Attraction Deck

202.2b Reminder: Dungeons do not need to be explicitely listed.

202.2c A card can only be listed and played in a zone it would legally be listed or played in a Magic The Gathering™ game and tournament.

202.2d Some card have interchangeable names, sometimes refered as "Skinned cards", "Rebranded cards", or else. As for any deck with Magic The Gathering™, only the original names in English are considered (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 201. Name).

202.3. Singleton

202.3a Playing with singleton means that none of the cards a player lists (or plays, for casual use without decklists) is present twice, across all decklist zones, based on their English name.

202.3b Some cards are exceptions to that restriction:

1. Cards with the supertype "Basic"

2. Cards that explicitely state how many copies a deck can have. Some of them explicit a specific quantity, some others simply state that a deck can have any number of them.

202.4. Quadruples

202.4a Playing with quaruples means that none of the cards a player lists (or plays, for casual use without decklists) is present more than four times, across all decklist zones, based on their English name. This is exactly the way most Constructed Formats work in Magic The Gathering™, by default.

203. Decklist Zone Sizes

203.1. Concepts

203.1a AeonShift uses Magic The Gathering™ deck zones, known as "Main Deck" and "Sideboard".

203.1b AeonShift can also use, in some cases, the following deck zones:

• Companions (or Companion, if applicable) (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 702.139. Companion)

• Contraptions (if applicable, representing a Contraption Deck) (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 701.45. Assemble and Unstable FAQ)

• Sticker (if applicable, representing a Sticker Deck) (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 123. Stickers)

• Attraction (if applicable, representing an Attraction Deck) (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 717. Attraction Cards)

203.1c Main Deck zone includes:

• Main Deck

• Command Zone (if applicable)

203.1d Sideboard zone includes:

• Sideboard (if applicable)

203.1e AeonShift for Magic The Gathering™ currently supports only two deck zone sizes (abbreviated under the form "[Main Deck size]/[Sideboard size]"):

• 100/0 (also called Highlander sizes), which means 100 cards exactly in the Main Deck and 0 exactly in the Sidrboard.

• 60+/0-15 (also called Magic The Gathering™ sizes), which means 60 cards or more in the Main Deck and 0 to 15 in the Sidrboard.

203.1f When playing with 100/0 sizes, each deck must contain exactly 100 cards, including its commander(s). In other words, the minimum deck size and the maximum deck size are both 100. This can accept (at the date of writing this document) 1 Commander or 2 Commanders.

203.1g When playing with 100/0 sizes, the Sideboard deck zone is removed and cannot be used. Any listed card that uses the keyword "Companion" must be listed as part of the Companion(s) deck zone.

203.1h When playing with 60+/0-15 Deck Size, the Companion deck zone is removed and cannot be used. Any listed card that uses the keyword "Companion" must be listed as part of the Sideboard deck zone.

203.1i A decklist zone size of 0 means this zone does not exist and cannot be used. Like 100/0 means that sideboard do not exist.

204. Timelines

204.1. Concepts

204.1a Timeline (or "maximum timeline legalities" is a time + Magic The Gathering™-based concept that defines which sets of cards are legal. They're based on Magic The Gathering™ formats for reference. They define which cards are legal or not, and represent the only restriction of what cards can or cannot be included in a deck, when playing a specific format, regarless of any other rule. 

204.1b Timelines can be based on sets, frames, or individual card names in English.

204.1c When a card is not legal in a given timeline, it is not legal in any of the formats that use this timeline, regardless of any other parameter.

204.1d Only paper cards (i.e. cards that have been officially printed on paper) can be played in an AeonShift game. All digital-only cards are illegal in any format (which includes Gleemox, Alchemy/Alchemy Rebalanced, etc.).

204.2. Unranked and Unreleased Cards

204.2a Unranked cards are cards that are not playable at the date of the announcement, but that will be playable in the future. This can be checked using our official calculator.
A card will be listed as "Unranked" if it matches one of the following conditions:

• The card name is entirely unknown to the database (i.e. spelled correctly, one-character-level precision, but not found)

• The card name is known to the database, but not provided correctly, which includes any typo/spelling mistake: the provided card name must match EXACTLY the printed card name, which includes punctuation, special characters, whitespace and capitalization among other considerations. (for instance, "Ajani, Nacatl Pariah // Ajani, Nacatl Avenger" is accepted, "Ajani, Nacatl Pariah" is also accepted, but "Ajani, Nacatl Avenger" will not be accepted, neither will "Ajani Nacatl Pariah" nor "Ajani, nacatl Pariah")

• The card name is known to the database, provided with one-caracter-precision name, but has a first print date (i.e. a first time being legal in Magic The Gathering™ ever) that is after the date of the announcement Point List that you're using. This means, if you're using the latest announcement: "whatever hasn't been printed and legal once at least officially yet".

204.2b Unranked cards have to be at least legal in one constructed format of Magic The Gathering™.

204.2c Unreleased cards are not legal in any AeonShift format. 

204.3d A card is determined to be released based on its release date (usually the release date of its set). Check the official Magic The Gathering™ website for more information.

204.3. Standard Timeline

204.3a The Standard Timeline is made of all cards that are either:

• Legal in Magic The Gathering™ Standard

• Restricted in Magic The Gathering™ Standard

• Banned in Magic The Gathering™ Standard

204.3b The reference for this timeline is normally found at this URL: https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/standard.

204.4. Pioneer Timeline

204.4a The Pioneer Timeline is made of all cards that are either:

• Legal in Magic The Gathering™ Pioneer 

• Restricted in Magic The Gathering™ Pioneer 

• Banned in Magic The Gathering™ Pioneer 

204.4b The reference for this timeline is normally found at this URL: https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/pioneer.

204.5. Modern Timeline

204.5a The Modern Timeline is made of all cards that are either:

• Legal in Magic The Gathering™ Modern

• Restricted in Magic The Gathering™ Modern

• Banned in Magic The Gathering™ Modern

204.5b The reference for this timeline is normally found at this URL: https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/modern.

204.6. Eternal Timeline

204.6a The Eternal Timeline is made of all cards that are either:

• Legal in Magic The Gathering™ Vintage

• Restricted in Magic The Gathering™ Vintage

• The card Shahrahzad

204.6b The reference for this timeline is normally found at this URL for Vintage: https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/vintage.

204.7. Funny Timeline

204.7a The Funny Timeline is made of all cards that are legal in Eternal Timeline, plus:

• All silver-bordered cards

• Contraptions (hence Contraption decks) and cards that either have the assemble, reassemble, or crank mechanics.

• Attractions (hence Attraction decks) and cards that would either open an attraction, open attractions, visit an attraction,visit attractions, or refer to Attractions.

• Stickers (hence Sticker sheets) and cards that would either use the sticker icon, use tickets, or refer to Stickers.

• All cards with a heart or acorn holofoil stamp.

204.7b We do not recommend this Timeline (Funny) for tournaments.

204.8. Printed Timeline

204.8a The Printed/All-Time Timeline is made of all cards that are correct size Magic The Gathering™ cards.
Which means all cards that are legal in Funny Timeline, plus:

• The playtest cards

• The cards that reference "playing for ante" 

• The cards Chaos Orb and Falling Star

• All cards that were marked as culturally offensive by Wizards Of The Coast.

204.8b We do not recommend this Timeline for tournaments.

204.8c Conspiracies do not function in any AeonShift format, as they're by definition related to Booster Drafting and Limited Play and cannot be play in any manner.

205. Commander and Command Zones

205.1. Using Commanders, Command Zones and Command Taxes

205.1a All of these concepts (what is a Commander, a Command Zone and a Command Tax) should be taken from Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 903.

206. P-Values

206.1. Standard Play

206.1a The Standard Play is the default value to be used, unless stated otherwise. If no value is explicited, then players are expected to be using the Standard Play Value.

206.1b The Standard Play P-Value is 100.

206.2. Lite Play

206.2a This section is to be announced yet. 

206.3. Power Play

206.3a This section is to be announced yet. 

207. M-Values

207.1. The M-Value Concept

207.1a This section is to be announced yet. 

208. Modulations

208.1. About Modulations

208.1a Modulations is the term that states that the P-Value can be altered by player choices before building, modifying the final Budget available for building.

208.1b Only using Commanders is subject to applying modulations. See Rule 301.

209. Points Budget

209.1. Budgets

209.1a The points budget, or simply "budget" is how many points a deck can spend. See Rule 303.

3. BUILDING DECKS

301. Modulations

301.1. Commanders' First Print Rule (Chandra's Rule)

301.1a The age bonus is determined by using the first print year number of the most recent first print of Commanders.

301.1b When playing with one Commander only, its first print year is used to determine the bonus.

301.1c When playing with multiple Commanders, the most recent first print year of them is used (e.g. if the years are 2016 and 2022, 2022 will be used).

301.2. Commanders' Multiple Objects Rule (Will and Rowan's Rule)

301.2a When using multiple Commanders, the automatic malus for playing them is: -20% of the format P-Value for Background (checked on card type) + Choose a Background (checked on keywords/abilities), -40 otherwise.

301.3. Commanders' Mana Value Rule (Kytheon's Rule)

301.3a When using multiple Commanders, the mana value malus of each of them are used and added to the total to determine the budget.

301.3b Only the mana value of cards that are creatures (with the Creature type) are used when using Backgrounds. Background enchantment are excluded from the calculation for mana values.

301.3c When using multiple Commanders, the mana value of each of them is used and added to the malus.

301.3d When using multiple Commanders, the mana value malus is:

• -10% of format P-Value for each Commander which mana value is 3, -5% for Partner Abilities when using them, except for Background/Choose a Background case.

• -20% of format P-Value for each Commander which mana value is 2, -10% for Partner Abilities when using them, except for Background/Choose a Background case.

• -30% of format P-Value for each Commander which mana value is 1 or 0, -15% for Partner Abilities when using them, except for Background/Choose a Background case.

• None otherwise.

301.3e In case a Commander has multiple mana values (for instance, if it has multiple faces or sides, like Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern), the cheapest castable option (i.e. which has a mana cost) is used to calculate this modulation.

302. Choosing Commanders

302.1. How Commanders Affect Your Budget

302.1a When using Commanders in any format, modulations apply to Commanders. The modulations are based on: their first print year, their mana value, and their number used as Commanders.

303. Determining the Deck Budget

303.1. Budget When Not Using Commanders

303.1a When not using Commanders, the budget for building is simply given by the P-Value of the chosen format. The P-Value can be given by the Tournament Organizer, or chosen among players if playing outside a tournament.

303.2. Budget When Using Commanders

303.2a Using the calculator does prevent players from doing calculations. Only the calculator can validate a deck and its legality.

301.2b When using Commanders, the budget for building is given as follows:

1. Take the P-Value of the chosen format. The P-Value can be given by the Tournament Organizer, or chosen among players if playing outside a tournament.

2. Apply at the same time the modulations due to choosing Commanders (multiple commanders, first printed year, mana values).

304. Digital-Only Cards

304.1. Using Digital-Only Cards

304.1a AeonShift does not support digital-only platforms, so any card that is specific to these platforms is by definition illegal.

305. AeonShift Calculator

305.1. Using the Calculator

305.1a Our calculator is open-source, but its only official instance can be found at https://points.aeonshift.games/. Any other source cannot be trusted.

304.1b The results given by our calculator take precedence over any manually-calculated result.

306. Financial Constraints

306.1. Financial Constraints Game Mode

306.1a This mode is not release yet, and still to be announced.

4. GAMEPLAY

401. Starting Life Totals

401.1. Duel Life Totals

401.1a In duel games, each player begins the game with a starting life total of 20.

401.2. Team Trio Unified Life Totals

401.2a In Team Trio Unified games, each player begins the game with a starting life total of 20.

401.3. Free-For-All (FFA) Life Totals

401.3a In Free-For-All games, each player begins the game with a starting life total of 40.

401.4. Two-Headed Giant (2HG) Life Totals

401.4a In Free-For-All Unified games, each team begins the game with a shared starting life total of 30.

402. Mulligans

402.1. Taking mulligans

402.1a In AeonShift, all mulligans must follow their respective mulligan conditions, as defined by Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules (see Magic The Gathering™ Comprehensive Rules at section 103. Starting the Game). 

402.1b Mulligans have different rules depending on player structure as defined in section 2. of this document.

403. Game Zones

403.1. Outside the Game

403.1a In AeonShift, when using sideboards, "Outside the game" refers to sideboards in a tournament, and to any card you have in a friendly game.

403.1b In AeonShift, when not using sideboards, "Outside the game" refers to nothing. Cards that use the words "outside the game" do not function, except for subgames that consider "outside the game" to be whatever objects are in the main game.

5. TOURNAMENTS

501. Default Considerations

501.1. Document Fallback

501.1a Note that the official rules of Magic The Gathering™ are by default followed by all certified judges, as it would happen to be in any other Magic The Gathering™-based game. 

501.1b Should anything not be ruled explicitly by the present document, please refer to the official comprehensive rules by default.

502. Tournament Organization

502.1. Timings and Prizes

502.1a Timings and prizes have to be stated explicitly before the tournament begins to all players and Judges. 

502.1b Timings and prizes have to be announced and explicit prior to players registrations.

502.2. Tournament Rules and Latest Information Authority

502.2a Please note that all AeonShift tournaments should be ruled like any other Magic The Gathering™ tournaments: which means the only source of authority is the one one would expect on any kind of tournament. That means: Judges, Head Judges, and in certain cases and Tournament Organizers. 

502.2b All the official procedures of Magic The Gathering™ should apply, including Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules, which take precedence over the Magic The Gathering Comprehensive Rules (people may find documents regarding those procedures here).

502.2c This document lists additional ruling tips and explicit statements at sections 5. and 6., that override any other source.

502.2d When applying Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules, assimilate AeonShift as a "constructed format" from these documents by default.

502.3. Tournament Timelines

502.3a Only Eternal, Modern, Pioneer and Standard timelines are allowed for tournaments.

502.3b Printed/All-time or Funny  Timelines cannot be used for tournaments.

502.4. Tournament Variants

502.4a Tournament game structure variants have to be announced since the tournament is announced.

502.4b Two-Headed Giant variant is not supported yet for tournaments.

502.4c Team Unified variant is not supported yet for tournaments.

502.4d Vanguard, Archenemy and Planechase can be used on tournaments.

503. Financial/Money Constraints

503.1. Concepts

503.1a AeonShift supports three different financial playing constraints:

• Playing with original cards (i.e. authentic cards used exactly as printed, without any alteration)

• Playing with mixed original cards and proxies (i.e. authentic cards used exactly as printed, or alterered)

• Playing with original cards (i.e. cards used exactly as printed, without any alteration) and applying a budget constraint (this financial constraint is not usable yet).

503.1a The chosen financial playing constraint must be announced as the tournament itself is announced, and must be explicit to players.

503.2. Proxies

503.2a Though "proxy" is a word that only appears on an official website blog note and the Magic The Gathering™  Tournament Rules (at section 3.4 Proxy Cards), the word "proxy" has risen among the players' community and is now kept as a generic word to refer to an authentic Magic The Gathering™ card, as defined in Magic The Gathering™ Tournament Rules at section 3.3 Authorized Cards), with the following exception: when playing with "Printed/All Time" Maximum Timeline, the playtest cards, labeled with "Not for constructed play" are legal, and only in that case.

502.2b AeonShift strongly stands against the use of counterfeit cards or game items, across all licenses, and does not support nor apply to any game, player, deck that would include counterfeit items, like counterfeit Magic The Gathering™ cards. We promote accessibility, respect to brands and intellectual property, and strongly stand against theft.

504. Rounds

504.1. Round Types and Pairings

504.1a AeonShift tournaments should only use:

• Swiss Pairings or Single-Elimination pairings for regular, initial rounds (those from the start of the tournament), Swiss Pairings being strongly recommended

• Possible Swiss Pairings or Single-Elimination for facultative playoffs after the initial rounds, Single-Elimination being strongly recommended if playoffs happen.

504.2. Recommended Round Durations

504.2a AeonShift recommends the following round pairings:

• Duel and Team Trio Unified: 

  • 50 minutes + 5 additional turns extension after the current one, if needed, at timeout announcement for initial rounds (those from the start of the tournament)

  • 90 minutes + 5 additional turns extension after the current one, if needed, at timeout announcement for Single-elimination quarterfinal or semifinal matches

  • No time limite for Single-elimination final matches

• Two-Headed Giant: 

  • 50 minutes + 5 additional turns extension after the current one, if needed, at timeout announcement for initial rounds (those from the start of the tournament)

  • 90 minutes + 5 additional turns extension after the current one, if needed, at timeout announcement for Single-elimination quarterfinal or semifinal matches

  • No time limite for Single-elimination final matches

• Free-For-All: 

  • 20 minutes per player/team in a game, as defined by the Tournament Organizer for all round types and sequences (i.e. 80 minutes for 4-player games), without any turn extension, only the current one needing to end after timeout announcement.

504.3. Recommended Number of Rounds in Swiss Tournaments and Single-Elimination

504.3a AeonShift for Magic The Gathering™ recommends following the following number and types of rounds:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

              ↓ Duel, Two-Headed Giant or Team Trio Unified   ↓ Free-For-All (3+ Players)

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Players Swiss Rounds Playoffs                 Swiss Rounds Playoffs

5–8 3 None 3 None

9–16 4 Top 4 3 Top 4 (one pod)

17–32 5 Top 8 4 Top 4 (one pod)

33–64 6 Top 8 5 Top 8 (two pods)

65–128 7 Top 8 6 Top 16 (four pods)

129–226 8 Top 8 7 Top 16 (four pods)

227–409 9 Top 8 7 Top 16 (four pods)

410+ 10 Top 8 8 Top 32 (eight pods)

505. Match Structure

505.1. Duel and Two-Headed Giant

505.1a A match consists of a series of games that are played until one side has won two (2) games (which differs from "Best-of-three" nor "BO3", and follows common Magic The Gathering™  Tournament Rules). 

505.1b Drawn games do not count toward this goal. 

505.1c If the round ends before a player has won two of games, the winner of the match is the player who has won the most games at that point. If both players have equal game wins, the match is a draw.

505.2. Free-For-All

505.2a A match consists of one (1) single game that is played until one player/team has won (which differs from "Best-of-one" or "BO1"). 

505.2b Drawn games do not count toward this goal.

505.2c If the round ends before a player has won a game, then as all players have equal game wins (0), the match is a draw.

506. Tiebreakers

506.1. Tiebreaker Precedence

506.1a The following tiebreakers are used to determine how a player ranks in a tournament, for all formats:

1. Match points

2. Opponents’ match-win percentage

3. Game-win percentage

4. Opponents’ game-win percentage

507. Match Points

507.1. Byes

507.1a Players receiving byes are considered to have won the match.

507.2. Duel, Team Trio Unified and Two-Headed Giant

507.2a Players earn 3 match points for each match win, 0 points for each match loss and 1 match point for each match ending in a draw. 

507.3. Free-For-All

507.3a Players earn 5 match points for each match win, 0 points for each match loss and 1 match point for each match ending in a draw. 

508. Game Points

508.1. Duel and Two-Headed Giant

508.1a Game points are similar to match points in that players earn 3 game points for each game they win, 1 point for each game that ends in a draw, and 0 points for any game lost. Unfinished games are considered draws. Unplayed games are worth 0 points.

508.2. Team Trio Unified 

508.2a If the round structure allows enough rounds to be played (i.e. if [2 power (number of rounds)] > [(number of teams)]), then Game Points can be discarded and as soon as a team wins 2 matches among the three matches of their round, they automatically win the round and the last game can be discarded and stopped. Otherwise, Game Points need to be announced as used before the tournament begins and all games must be played for each round in order to reinforce the tiebreakers.

508.3. Free-For-All

508.3a Game points are exactly equal to match points (as only one win is required for the round) in that players earn 5 game points for each game they win, 1 point for each game that ends in a draw, and 0 points for any game lost. Unfinished games are considered draws. Unplayed games are worth 0 points.

509. Providing Decklists

509.1. Decklist Validation

509.1a Players are expected to provide decklists prior to tournaments. This step is mandatory.

509.1b Digital decklist are strongly recommended, if not required.

6. JUDGING AND INFRACTIONS

601. Checking Decklists

601.1. Methodology

601.1a All tournaments must use decklists provided by players at registration time, ahead of tournament start. We strongly recommend using online submissions, requiring the decklist to be validated by the AeonShift calculator as is (i.e. copy/pasted in the decklist text area and returned as valid). This ensure that a simple copy and paste job of a couple seconds validates the decklist for Tournament Organizers and judges, and therefore the player's successful deck registration.

601.1b A player who failed to provide a valid decklist on time cannot participate in a tournament.

601.1c All decklists should be checked by the organizing team before a tournament starts. This is the best way to avoid any confusion once the tournament has started.

601.1d It is recommended to use AeonShift calculator (live on web, or a standalone downloadble version). The calculator can detect its freshness if the device running it has access to the internet.

601.1e When using the AeonShift calculator, only the latest information from the official version online is considered fresh. Make sure to double-check the version you will be using for a tournament.

601.1f A decklist in only checked over the course of a tournament against the latest Update/Announcement that was published when the tournament started, at the server time (which should normally be Paris Timezone, UTC+1 in winter, UTC+2 in summer).

601.1g If a tournament spreads over two Updates/Announcements, only the legality at registration lock time matters (i.e. the time at which the organizer locked the decklists submissions, or the time the tournament starts in case decklist are not provided ahead of tournament time).

602. Tournament Errors

602.1. Philosophy

602.1a If a player has an invalid decklist, efforts should be made to check that the error can be fixed before anything else.

603.1b A player normally receives a Game Loss if their decklist is altered after tournament play has begun.

602.2. Decklists

602.2a This section deals only with problems related to playing with an invalid decklist (i.e. providing a decklist that was found to be not legal for the current playing context, but the deck matches its decklist). The decklist is the provided list of cards, with enough information so that Tournament Organizers and Judges can fully and without any form of ambiguity determine what a players has listed for the time of the playing context (games, leagues, tournaments...). Please refer to the next section for infractions on decks.

602.2b The general approach for infractions related to points only in a decklist is to be handled like the 3.4 Tournament Error – Decklist Problem in the Magic The Gathering™ general IPG.

602.2c If the card list proves incorrect during verification, apply the first applicable solution from the following, in order:

1. If the found budget and total points used are correct, and the deck is legal in its expected format, but only some card names are wrong, fall back to Magic The Gathering™ general IPG document guidance, make a note of this, update the decklist but issue no penalty. If more than 4 cards are not listed correctly, consider upgrading the infraction to point 5 below.

2. If the decklist contains cards that are not legal in the expected format, notably against timelines, fall back to Magic The Gathering™ general IPG document guidance, remove the cards, replace them with basic lands as explained in Magic The Gathering™'s Infraction Procedure Guide, update the decklist and apply appropriate infractions (usually a Game Loss as defined above in this document). If more than 4 listed cards are illegal, consider upgrading the infraction to point 6 below. Then re-check points, and keep looking at the next solutions below.

3. If the found budget and total points used are correct, and the deck is legal in its expected format, but the decklist is missing cards against the minimum total, simply fill the deck with basic lands as explained in Magic The Gathering™'s Infraction Procedure Guide. If more than 4 cards are missing, consider upgrading the infraction to point 6 below.

4. If the found total points used while checking the deck is wrong but lesser than the one expected, simply fall back to Magic The Gathering™ general IPG document guidance, update the decklist and apply appropriate infractions (usually a Game Loss as defined above in this document). If more than 4 cards are not listed correctly, consider upgrading the infraction to point 5 below.

5. If the found total points used while checking the deck is wrong and higher than the one expected, but still remains below budget (i.e. if some usable points are still left),, update the decklist and apply appropriate infractions (usually a Game Loss as defined above in this document). If more than 4 cards are not listed correctly, consider upgrading the infraction to point 5 below.

6. If the found total points used while checking the deck is wrong and higher than the one expected, and overflows budget by maximum either of 5 points or 1 one card with non-zero points (or both), simply replace either the wrong card with a legal basic land, or iterate replacing all cards in the deck with legal basic lands, starting with the ones that would consume the most points, until the total points use remains below budget, then issue a Game Loss for the owner of the deck.

7. If the found total points used while checking the deck is wrong and higher than the one expected, and overflows budget by maximum either of 10 points or 4 cards with non-zero points (or both), simply replace either the wrong cards with legal basic lands, or iterate replacing all cards in the deck with legal basic lands, starting with the ones that would consume the most points, until the total points use remains below budget, then issue a Match Loss for the owner of the deck.

8. If the found total points used while checking the deck is wrong, and none of the previous cases applied, then disqualify the player after issuing them a Match Loss.

602.3. Deck Problems

602.3a This section deals only with problems related to playing with an invalid deck, against a valid decklist (which means the decklist supposed to match a given deck is correct and legal, but the deck was found to not reflect its contents). A deck is the physical materialization of what players play with (i.e. the cards and their related game material, which excludes tokens, emblems, counters, and other material that is related to gameplay). Please refer to the previous section for infractions on decklists.

602.3b The general approach for infractions related to points only in a deck is to be handled like the 3.5: Tournament Error — Deck Problem in the Magic The Gathering™ general IPG.

602.3c The general approach for infractions r

602.4. Missing Cards in Main Deck

602.4a Please refer to Magic The Gathering™ general IPG document guidance states at section 3.5: Tournament Error — Deck Problem. 

602.5. Missing Cards in Sideboard

602.5a As with Magic The Gathering™ general IPG document guidance states at section 3.5 Tournament Error — Deck Problem: if sideboard cards are missing, make a note of this, but issue no penalty, as this only decreases deck points usage.

602.6. Missing Cards in Attraction Decks, Contraption Decks or Sticker Decks

602.6a Please refer to Magic The Gathering™ general IPG document guidance states at section 3.5: Tournament Error — Deck Problem.