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Last Commander Standing
Last Commander Standing is a single-elimination podded Commander (CR 903) event using the Multiplayer Free-For-All Magic variant. (CR 806) Rounds are played until we have one victorious player remaining. This event uses normal Commander rules for deck construction, following the official ban list found here. These are sanctioned events and may not use Gold-Bordered, Acorn stamp, Collectors’ Edition, playtest or proxy cards.
These events use the following documents:
Single-elimination means that once you have lost a game you are out of the event. Since this event by nature cannot have draws, if a pod hits time in the round, the pod will enter Sudden Death. Sudden Death rules state that after turns the player with the highest life total wins. If two or more players are tied for highest life total, whoever’s life total is highest first wins. Either from making their opponents life total go down or making their own go up.
Rules for Sudden Death and how turns for podded events are determined as follows:
2.4 End-of-Match Procedure
…If the match time limit is reached before a winner is determined, the player whose turn it is finishes their turn and five additional turns are played in total. This usually means that one player takes three turns and the other two, but a player taking extra turns may affect this. If the active player has already indicated that they would like to pass the turn when the time limit is reached, that is considered to be in the next turn. Team tournaments featuring multiple players playing together (such as Two-Headed Giant) use three turns instead of five. In multiplayer games using the Free-For-All variant, the number of turns played after the active player’s turn equals the number of players remaining in the game.
….
In single-elimination rounds, matches may not end in a draw. If all players have equal game wins at the end of additional turns, the player with the highest life total wins the current game. In the event all players have equal life totals (or are between games and the game wins are tied), the game/match continues with an additional statebased action: if a player does not have the highest life total, they lose the game. Two-Headed Giant teams are treated as a single player for determining a game winner.
Requesting Priority
Erroneous requests for priority in a game of Magic are illegal. (MTR 4.2) A player may not request priority to take an action and then do nothing with that priority. This slows game play and creates a play environment that is not conducive to competitive Magic.
From the Multiplayer MTR:
A player may not request priority and take no action with it. If a player decides they do not wish to do anything, the request is nullified and priority is returned to the player that originally had it. In multiplayer games using the Free-For-All variant, the request is nullified, and priority is returned to the player that had it at the beginning of the priority pass process; decisions made based on the erroneous request for priority may be rewound.
Table Talk
Multiplayer events have a unique aspect to them involving the social nature of a podded event. See the added MTR section below for details on the guidelines surrounding those social interactions as a function of game play.
From the Multiplayer MTR:
4.10 Free-for-All Variant Communication
Free-for-All variant games involve a unique aspect of play known as Table Talk. Table Talk is communication meant to influence another player’s decisions or negotiate in-game agreements between players, and it is a fundamental aspect of Free-for-All games. It is important to note that Table Talk is not the same as the simple social interaction that accompanies normal Magic play, it is a function of the game itself.Special consideration should be given to the communication and interpersonal interaction aspects of these multiplayer games. Slow Play (IPG 3.3) needs to be monitored closely, as players may not be aware of how long their discussions are taking. While this type of talk is an aspect of their game, the players within a game still need to progress their game state forward in a timely manner. Table Talk negotiations of game actions or other in-game politics should never involve undue pressure, coercion, or harassment. Repeated attempts to coerce an opponent or use of intimidation is considered Unsporting Conduct (IPG 4.1 & 4.2).
In Free-for-All variant games, once a player has been removed from the game, they are considered a spectator for its remainder.
Some penalties and fixes were created without best-of-one rounds or multiple players taken into account. For these events and others that have podded play or best-of-one matches there are some alterations to the normal IPG to account for those types of penalties. Judges and their interaction with restoring a game state, or applying a fix are never acceptable fodder for Table Talk.
From the Multiplayer IPG:
If in a multiplayer game, penalties and fixes are never considered appropriate for Table Talk (MTR.4.10). Only the player(s) and judge(s) involved in an infraction should be participating in its resolution. Judges may choose to involve player(s) or spectators in investigations as appropriate. For example, a player looking at a hand as part of a fix for Hidden Card Error may not ask the opinion of other players at the table; the choice is theirs alone.
Upgrades
Game Play Errors at competitive REL upgrade after three of the same penalty while Tournament Errors normally upgrade after a subsequent penalty. This is a harsher penalty than is meant for best-of-one events. To address this we have added the below to policy.
IPG 2
With the exception of Failure to Maintain Game State, which is never upgraded, the third or subsequent Warning for a Game Play Error offense in the same category is upgraded to a Game Loss. If the tournament is being run as Best of One, the impact of a Game Loss penalty is as heavy as that of a Match Loss. To offset this in Best of One events, the fourth or subsequent Warning for an error in the same category is upgraded to a Game Loss. For multi-day tournaments, the penalty count for these infractions resets between days.
IPG 3
A Warning for a Tournament Error offense is upgraded to a Game Loss if the player has already received a Warning for an offense in the same category. If the tournament is being run as Best of One, the impact of a Game Loss penalty is as heavy as that of a Match Loss. To offset this in Best of One events, the third or subsequent Warning for an error in the same category is upgraded to a Game Loss. For multi-day tournaments, the penalty count for these infractions resets between days.
Missed Triggers
In 1v1 competitive Magic when a player has missed a trigger most often the opponent is the one who will decide if the missed trigger will be added to the stack or not. In podded play there is a choice to be made for which opponent is the one who chooses the fate of that trigger. For our events this process involves a vote similar to the cards with Will of the Council.
From the Multiplayer IPG 2.1
In a Free-for-All variant multiplayer game, each remaining opponent, proceeding in turn order from the trigger’s controller, chooses whether the triggered ability is added to the stack. If not adding the trigger to the stack gets more votes, the ability is missed. If adding it to the stack gets more votes or the vote is tied, the ability is added to the stack.
Hidden Card Error
The fix for Hidden Card Error normally involves revealing the hand to the opponent to make choices. This is again impacted by having multiple opponents.
From the Multiplayer IPG 2.3
In a Free-for-All multiplayer game (Cr.806), or a multiplayer game using the limited range of influence option (Cr.801) the opponent before the infracting player in standard turn order is the opponent given this knowledge and used as the opponent in any fixes applied to the infracting player.
This choice is not available for Table Talk and should remain a conversation between the Judge, the player committing the infraction and the single chosen opponent. While there is nothing stopping a player from speaking about what the information they have after a judge has restored their game state, the act itself is not a communal decision.
Tardiness
Tardiness is normally assessed first as a game loss then as a match loss and a drop. As previously covered a game loss and a match loss in a Best of One game are the effective equivalents of each other.
From the Multiplayer IPG 3.1
Additional Remedy
The players are given a time extension corresponding to the length of the tardiness. In a non-team Multiplayer game, there is no Game Loss penalty. Instead, the Match Loss is assessed at 5 minutes into the round.
Decklist Problem
Decklist Problem is normally a Game Loss, this is downgraded to a Warning in Best of One matches.
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