The following pages will cover these topics:

The following pages will cover these topics:

This document serves to offer guidelines for Organized Play concerning Grand Archive TCG. In this document, topics will be covered from tournament formats, registration procedures, match structures, regulations regarding cards in a tournament, recommended practices, rule interpretation and judging, and other topics related to organized and structured play. Some of the topics covered in this document are also discussed in our Comprehensive Rules. This document will be updated regularly based on any necessary changes, new additions or rulings regarding the regulations, or any other extensions of the scope of practice or enforcement regarding Organized Play. This document is not intended to provide advice on general free play; the Comprehensive Rules comprises all rules that should be followed in all forms of play. The Index will provide additional insight into specific card rulings. However, should this document contradict the comprehensive rules, the rules in this document will supersede.

Following the regulations advised within this document will ensure fair tournament settings for all players and equal treatment of players by their tournament organizers (TOs) and appointed judges. All actions taken to enforce these rules to achieve the purpose and goals for which this document is created should be fair and respectful. It is the shared responsibility of players, TOs, and designated judges to follow the rules and regulations established by the most up-to-date tournament documents and comprehensive rules provided on our main site. This document will also offer guidelines to be followed by all people and personnel not actively participating in the tournament.

While this document may be modified, changed, or updated without formal or prior notice, we (Weebs of the Shore) will do our best to communicate any impactful changes to this document. Releases of new products or sets containing new mechanics or cards that need expansion of the comprehensive rules or tournament regulations will always be accompanied by updates to the Comprehensive Rules and possibly this document as needed.

The following pages will cover these topics:

Tournament formats fall into two broad categories: Constructed and Limited. Constructed formats require players to provide their own decks for tournament play while limited formats involve players constructing their deck at the tournament venue from sealed products.

Constructed

Limited

Any role participating in a tournament may call for a judge with a question. In between rounds, tournament participants and personnel can approach judges for questions. This should be done in a calm and orderly manner, particularly if multiple people require a judge’s assistance. During games in a round, players should remain seated and may verbally call out for a judge or physically motion or signal to a judge for assistance. Simply requesting a judge suffices; players do not need to also exclaim the reason for the judge call. Judges should be attentive to requested attention and should attempt to respond in the order in which the calls are made. Judges should also be attentive to player interactions and be proactive in responding to situations that might result or should involve a judge call, even if a call is not explicitly made. All calls for a judge from tournament participants or personnel should be done calmly and respectfully. Spectators may discretely request for a judge to view a particular game or match. Any player or spectator may interrupt a game to call for a judge if:

• A player threatens any tournament attendees

• There is an issue or emergency that requires a tournament official

• A player needs to leave or has left the table for any reason.

In tournaments where there are both appointed Head and Floor judges present, Floor Judges should be the first ones to respond to a judge call. Players cannot request a specific or different judge to attend a judge call and this applies to both the initial call and any appeals in which a Head Judge is involved. Before any penalties are applied from a decision made by the attending judge, the ruling may be appealed. A Head Judge will attend to the call, ask any other investigational questions they feel are warranted, and then will issue a final ruling. If a Head Judge is the first attending judge to a call and their ruling is appealed, they must consult with at least two other judges before issuing a final ruling can be made.

The following pages will cover these topics:

Prior to beginning the first game of a match, if players submit decklists, they must ensure that their starting Main Deck, Material Deck, and Sideboard in the first game of each match exactly match the lists on the submitted decklists. For tournaments that do not require submitted deck lists, players must ensure that their starting Main Deck, Material Deck, and Sideboard exactly match the Main Deck, Material Deck, and Sideboard used for the first game of the first match of the tournament.

Once players are seated and ready to begin a game of a match, players proceed through the following steps:

1. Players place their Material deck in the appropriate zones and set their Sideboard off to the side, away from the play area.

2. Players shuffle their own Main Decks to ensure that it is sufficiently randomized.

3. Players present their Main Decks to their opponents to shuffle/cut.

4. The shuffled Main Decks are placed in the appropriate zones in the play area.

5. A selected player becomes the first turn player and their opponent is the second turn player. If it is the first game of a play-off round, the player with the highest standing chooses which player becomes the first turn player. If it is the first game of a round, the selected player is randomly determined (coin toss, die roll, etc.). Player may only proceed to the next step if the round timer has been started. If players begin playing their first game before this point, it is considered a false start.

7. Once the first turn of the game ends, the second turn player places a Lv 0 champion from their Material Deck onto the field and triggers its On Enter ability. The second turn player skips their Wake Up, Materialize, and Recollection phases and begins their Draw Phase.

After the first game of the match, the loser of that game decides whether they wish to be the first or second turn player. That player must decide whether they are playing first or second before a spirit champion is placed onto the field and a starting hand is drawn, after sideboarding is complete (after decks have been presented for final cut/shuffle). However, that play may decide to declare whether they will play first at any point after the end of a game. If the declare a choice early, that player is expected to abide by that decision even if players are still in the process of sideboarding. If that player does not explicitly declare a choice, it is assumed that they will be the first turn player. In the case the first game ends in a draw, the first turn player of the drawn game will become the turn player of the next game.

In Grand Archive TCG, tournaments are divided into rounds, each of which consists of a match between pairs of players. The winning player of a match is the player who has won the necessary number of games to win that match or was deemed the match winner as a result of a judge ruling.

There are two main types of round structures: Elimination and Swiss.

• Elimination rounds follow a knockout-style tournament where a player is eliminated from the entire tournament and subsequent rounds in the tournament after a match loss (Single-Elimination) or a loss in a lower bracket of playoffs.

• A Swiss-system tournament follows a format where players participate in each round with pairings based on player standings, match history, and tournament format.

Round structures and times can vary between tournaments and tournaments can be composed of hybrid formats. Tournaments generally follow a single format. For tournaments that involve a top-cut or playoff rounds, the initial rounds are timed while the playoff rounds will be single-elimination with untimed rounds. For timed rounds, players play games until a player has won the match or time in the round expires and the match result is determined. In untimed rounds, players play games until a player has won the match. If a result is not determined at the end of a match, players complete end-of-match procedures to determine the match result. Match results are reported to the event reporter.

Timed Rounds

Timed rounds ensure that tournaments proceed smoothly and in a timely manner. Timed rounds also allow tournament attendees to plan their tournament experience.

Once a game ends, players in the game proceed through the following steps:

1. Players turn all characteristically-defined, face-down cards in all public zones face-up.

3. If no player has won the match, players may begin sideboarding for the subsequent game.

At the end of a game, any face-down cards in public zones must be turned face-up and revealed to all players before cards are collected for sideboarding and reshuffling.

Tournament participation as a player is open to any persons over 13 years of age or with the approval/permission of their legal guardian/parent. People may be restricted from entry if prohibited by federal/state/local laws, rules enforced by the TO, or by management of a tournament venue. Tournament organizers may assist players in the application process.

After a game concludes, players may move cards between their Main Deck, Material Deck, and Sideboard (as long as the new decks follow format conventions). Sideboards are collections of cards that are extraneous to the starting main deck and material deck which serve as cards that may be accessed and included in main decks and/or material decks after the first game in a match. Sideboard restrictions and criteria are dependent upon the tournament format type.

Before a game starts, players must present their face-down sideboard to their opponents. Opponents can count the number of cards in a player’s sideboard at any time but players are never required to discuss the amount of cards they have added or exchanged from their sideboard to their main and/or material decks.

For constructed formats, the combined number of copies of a card within the main deck and sideboard cannot exceed 4 total copies unless otherwise specified by the card. Similarly, the combined number of copies of a champion or regalia card among those in the material deck and sideboard cannot exceed 1 copy. Cards moved to and from the material deck to the sideboard and vice versa can only be done in such a way that deck-building constraints are not transgressed. All deck restrictions and format conventions for deck construction must be met after sideboarding is completed. If sideboarding results in illegal deck constructions, this can be penalized by judges by an issued game loss.

Players may access and look at their sideboard at any point in time between games and rounds. For constructed events, the starting main decks, material decks, and sideboard must be reverted to their starting compositions as described in the decklist registration; any sideboarding must be undone and reverted to the pre-sideboarding state after a match is concluded.

Players may only sideboard cards to and from their main decks and material decks after each game in a series after the first game of a match is played, regardless of whether or not an intentional draw is made or if a game loss is issued before the first game is played.

Sideboarding is considered concluded after both players have presented a sufficiently shuffled deck to their opponent for final shuffle/cut). Players may not continue sideboarding or change their sideboarding decisions after a shuffled deck is presented an opponent.

Roles for tournament settings that will be discussed include the Tournament Organizer (TO), Head and/or Floor Judge, Event Recorder, Player, and Spectator. The roles officiating an event are the TO, Judges, and Event Recorder. Some events may allow a judge to be appointed as the Event Recorder.

Tournament Organizer

Judge

Judges who officiate tournaments typically have sufficient knowledge and familiarity with the rules of Grand Archive and of the rules and guidelines established in this document. Judges typically resolve tournament disputes, are allowed to interpret rules, answer rules questions, and make other decisions regarding an event. If there are multiple levels of judges at an event, appeals for decisions must go through the highest-tier judge or appointed head judge of the event. Decisions made in the context of appeals in this manner are considered final.

Judges must take all steps necessary to deal with game rules, regulations, or policy violations. Judges serve as a resource available to all players and spectators as needed to answer questions, investigate and resolve illegal plays, or assist in reasonable manners as tournament officials.

Valid questions that may be answered can be regarding general rules, card interactions, and providing information on cards using the Index. Players may request that questions be answered away from the table but may not ask specific individuals to answer their questions. Judges can’t interfere with a game unless a rules infraction has occurred or if it is done in anticipation of an imminent infraction. Judges may not take any actions for a player unless this is done to provide reasonable assistance (i.e. assisting with completing an intended action if the player is having difficulty doing it). Judges cannot answer hypothetical questions in a game of Grand Archive; players should not ask Judges hypothetical questions during their games.

Event Recorder

The event recorder is designated as the person that can enter round scores for players, generate tournament pairings, generate and list standings, solve any problems related to the score reporting by working with the TO or judges, as needed, and ensure that player information matches the tournament registry. Event recorders may answer player questions about tournament scores, standing, or other relevant information. Players may appeal the incorrect entry of their information or round scores to a leading judge for remediation.

Players

Players registered in a tournament are considered to have agreed to adhere to any rules in a tournament, any rules established by the TO, and/or rules of the venue/venue management. Players must be respectful to all persons involved in the tournament including tournament officials, other players, spectators, or other auxiliary staff. Players must uphold sportsmanship at all times and must always play in matches upholding the spirit of the game. Players must be physically present for a tournament in which they are registered. Players should be familiar with both Comprehensive Rules and rules/regulations described in this document.

During a game, players must be clear about their board, may not deliberately confuse or misinform their opponent or other players, and must provide any public information correctly to their opponent and judges at any point in time. Players have a shared responsibility to ensure that their games avoid rules infractions and if an infraction or impending infraction is noticed, this should be brought to the attention of a judge for remediation. Players must be aware of and compliant with round timings. Players hold a shared responsibility to communicate with their opponents and the Event Recorder to ensure that proper match results are submitted and entered and that any issues are identified before the start of the next round.

Players are responsible for providing material conducive to recording, representing, and maintaining proper and correct game information during an event, as well as providing any necessary supplemental cards/tokens, pen/paper, dice, coins, etc. Depending on the format of an event, players may be required to bring their assembled decks (main, material, and sideboard), decklists, or any other material as required by the TO. If dice are used, their faces must be clearly and easily distinguishable and, if using numerals for the face values, must be easily legible.

Spectators

Any person present at the venue or physical place where a tournament takes place that is not a player or a tournament official is considered a spectator. Spectators must provide a safe and respectful environment for all players and officials in a tournament. They may observe for and report suspected policy or rule infractions to tournament officials. Players reserve the right to ask spectators to respect their space and not spectate them; spectators must respect these requests. Spectators may not offer any assistance to players in the game.

At the end of a match, players must agree on the match result, record and/or report the result to the event recorder, and clear the playing area of any cards, dice, and other equipment and belongings.

Timed Rounds for Non-Single Elimination:

Once round time has been called, no new games in a match can begin and match results should be reported. Judges may put in place a time extension not to exceed 5 minutes. If a time extension is applied in this manner, round-ending procedures will not begin until the time extension is over.

Timed Rounds for Single Elimination:

For timed single-elimination rounds, matches can’t end in a draw. Once players have finished the 3 additional turns or 5 minutes have passed, whichever comes first, and a winner of the game is not determined, the following steps are used to determine the match winner.

1. The player with more games won wins the match. If neither player has won more games, advance to Step 2.

2. The player controlling the champion with the highest available life pool wins the current game. If this step determines a game-winner, players go back to Step 1. If both champions have equal available health pools, advance to Step 3.

2. The player with the most cards in their Main Deck wins the game. If both players have equal cards in their Main Deck, the player who took the final turn of the game wins. Then players go back to Step 1 to determine a match winner.

Players may intentionally draw games and/or matches by mutual agreement at any time except for during elimination rounds and only if the first game in a match has not been started. Intentional draws are recorded as 0 Wins - 0 Losses for the players in a match. Once the first game in a match has begun, players may not intentionally draw.

Players can concede a game and/or match at any time. When a player concedes a game or a match, it will be considered a game loss or a match loss for that player, respectively, and reported as such. Players should notify judges if they wish to concede. If a player refuses to play a game or a match, that player is considered to be conceding the game or match. If all players refuse to play a game or match, the match result is recorded as a loss for all players in that match.

Some tournaments may require the submission of their decklists to the TO. If so the starting assortment of cards in the main, material, and sideboard decks may not be altered before the start of game 1 in a match. Deck checks can be performed by judges throughout a tournament or if reasonably requested by a player and ought to be performed before any cards are drawn from the deck for a game.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

3/14/25

3/7/2025

• Abyssal Heaven Release Update!

  • Legal product lists have been updated

• Slight addition to deck check guidelines as a suggested action.

• Other minor, indescript fixes

1/23/2025

• Minor revisions to draft format regarding deck constraints. Construction rules follow standard deck construction rules regarding allowable numbers of copies of a card in addition to requiring only up to a single copy of a card in the material deck. The original rules were put in place early during DOA as a draft format with variations on the rules taking place for subsequent drafts. The intention is to standardize all base draft rules to the now-changed version and allow for any format-specific rules to be enumerated within the format.

• Updated section on drafting procedure for limited tournaments, detailing inclusion of sealed draft packs. Also modified language regarding suggested time constraints.

• Updated card legality section.

• Slightly changed wording in the player equipment section regarding inappropriate materials.

• Correctly updated policy on Proxia's Vault (no time limitation clause for proxy eligibility duration)

• Added slight wording for Start of Game procedures to account for "False starts" when players begin before a round timer has begun.

• Added brief section covering Media regulations. This covers basic rules for media coverage at higher-tier competitive events (e.g. Ascent, National). Each event will detail media policies in greater detail and, as such, this section will not be exhaustive in content and policy guidelines.

12/4/2024

• Slight fixes

10/9/2024

• Updated format legality to include Mortal Ambition products

• Added section for additional guidance on Deck Checks

9/23/2024

• Added section for current ban list(s)

• Various typo and redundancy fixes

8/22/2024

• Various fixes and clarifications, mainly typos.

7/22/2024

4/28/2024

• Tournament Rules & Guidelines Document has been migrated to GitBook

• Rules enforcement tiers have been temporarily removed.

• End of Match procedures was slightly reworded to better mesh with sideboarding rules.

• Added 3v3 format to rulebook

5/17/2024 (MRC Launch)

• Updated format product legalities

It is at the discretion of tournament organizers how late player registration is done. It is recommended that late registration is not allowed after first-round pairings are posted or after draft pod seating arrangements have been determined. Tournament organizers should clearly announce tournament start times and interested players should be attentive and mindful of round times.

Any time a deck is handled for shuffling, the shuffling must be done in such a way that is “sufficiently random.” Any method is acceptable for sufficiently randomizing a deck that satisfies the following 3 conditions: 1. Any card from the deck can be in any position in the deck after shuffling is completed. 2. It is possible for a card to start from the bottom-most position and become the top-most card. 3. No players in a game know the position of any card or cards in the deck during or after shuffling. Any method of shuffling that is non-random or produces a predictable order of cards is unacceptable. If, at any point in time, players can see a card’s face during the shuffling process, shuffling and randomization must be restarted. Players should notify judges if they believe their opponent is not attempting to randomize the deck sufficiently. Players can request that a judge shuffle their deck for them, at the discretion of the judge. Once shuffling is completed, players must offer their decks to their opponents for final shuffling.

For deck shuffling in tournaments, acceptable forms of shuffling are riffle shuffling and mash shuffling. If players opt to use sleeves, mash shuffling is recommended. Decks in limited tournaments of size 30 cards, 5 riffle/mash shuffles is considered sufficient. For a deck size of 60, 7 riffle/mash shuffles are considered sufficient. A deck size of 75 requires at least 8 shuffles, and a deck size of 100 requires at least 9.

Pile shuffling, overhand shuffling, etc are not allowed as methods to generate a sufficiently randomized deck. If players would like to use pile shuffling as a method to ensure a proper card count, this is permissible provided it is followed by a valid shuffling method as detailed above.

Players may take written notes during a match. The sheet or device on which those notes are written must be visibly empty and remain visible throughout the match. Players can’t refer to notes from prior or other matches. Other players may not request that the contents of the notes be revealed/made public. They may also not request that the contents be interpreted by the player taking notes or by judges. However, judges may request to see the notes, the sheet or device they were written on, and/or have the player explain the notes to them discreetly. Any extra notes made before the start of the match must be removed from the play area before the start of game 1 in that match series. Digitally written notes follow the same guidelines as written notes; notes from prior matches must be cleared/deleted before the start of the next match.

Players are strongly encouraged to keep a written record of champion damage counters (damage dealt or recovered) throughout games. Recorded damage can be of great help to judges during judge calls.

No outside resources that may offer instructional, strategic, or decision-making assistance may be used.

Players can’t take notes while drafting in a limited tournament but may still take notes as normally allowed during playing matches within the tournament.

Players may drop from a tournament at any time. If they do so before the 1st round, they will have been considered as not having participated in the tournament. Dropping from the tournament must be reported to the event recorder before the generation of pairings. If a player wishes to drop after pairings have been made, they will be considered to have conceded and lost that match 0-1-0 and will be dropped afterward. Players that are not physically present for a tournament may be dropped automatically by the event reporter. Some exceptions or extensions may be allowed if a judge is informed before the absence if the player returns or will return shortly. Players may appeal being dropped by the event reporter to the leading judge for re-entry with their current score and standing, as applicable.

Players dropping from a limited format tournament owns all cards they correctly have in their possession from the tournament at that time including drafted cards, unopened packs, and/or partially drafted cards.

Players may not drop from a tournament in exchange for or influenced by the offer of any reward or incentive.

If a judge pauses a match for more than 1 minute while the round timer is running, the match time should be extended proportionally. Matches are allowed 5 minutes of overtime by default, however, judges are allowed to add up to another 5 minutes to the timer each round. For larger events where it may take time for a judge to reach a table for a judge call, judges are recommended to apply a proportional time extension for that match.

With the launch of Abyssal Heaven, Grand Archive introduced "double-faced cards" to the game. These cards will have specific rules that players must follow if their decks contain any number of these cards in any of the decks. Sideboards may be excluded from the following requirements.

1. Players may not substitute a regular Grand Archive card as a proxy for a double-faced card. Only the proper double-faced card may be used to represent itself in a deck. This does include any copies in the sideboard.

2. Players are allowed to use a duplicate copy of the intended double-faced card, held clearly and separately of any cards in their Main or Material deck for the express use of placing the duplicate on top of the actual card in the decklist to reflect or represent a "transformed" state of the card. These duplicate cards do not need to be sleeved and may also be sleeved in a different style sleeve that are not required to follow the opacity requirements for double-faced cards. Otherwise, players are expected to physically flip double-faced cards when they transform to reflect its correct state.

1. As long as a player has information permissions on a double-faced card (i.e. public information or the card is private to them), that player may pick up and examine both sides of the double-faced card. Players should ask the permission of another player before picking up double-faced cards to examine that they do not own or they do not currently control. Players have the option to request information of the card through the Index by asking a Judge for assistance.

2. If a double-faced card is found to be on the wrong side at the start of a game or before that card has been played, this will not be considered a deck issue under infractions and the player is allowed to flip it at any time, though it is recommended they do so as they play the card to reflect its correct state and to avoid disadvantage accidental disclosure of information.

If players wish to generate a random number for a random selection of cards or for randomly choosing which player plays first during a game, it is recommended that dice are employed. For selecting which player to go first, it is recommended that two six-sided dice are rolled (2 x D6) with the top face values added together. The player with the higher total goes first. If the result is a tie, the process can be repeated.

For generating a value to select cards for random banishment from among cards in memory to pay for memory costs, it is recommended to use six-, eight-, ten-, twelve-, or twenty-sided dice (D6, D8, D10, D12, or D20). This method should be used when there is a small number of cards in the memory zones, i.e. ten or fewer. If more than ten cards are present, it is recommended that the pile of cards is shuffled and the opponent randomly picks from among the shuffled cards to banish for cost payment. For randomly choosing cards to banish using die rolls, cards in memory can be laid out and each card can have a value assigned from 1 to n where n is the total number of cards in the memory zone. A die with more faces than n cards present should be rolled as many times as there are cards to be banished. The result of the face value of the rolled die will correspond to the assigned value of a card and that card will be banished. For values that do not have a corresponding card, the die may be rerolled until a corresponding value results.

At a minimum, players should provide their main deck, material deck, an optional sideboard, dice (recommended D6 dice), pen, and paper. At more casual rule enforcement tiers, pen and paper can be substituted with another appropriate manner to track champion damage counters (such as with a die or another counter) or an electronic note-taking method. Players may ask tournament organizers to borrow pen and paper, however, it is at the discretion of the tournament organizer to have these available and whether to lend these out to players.

Players should not bring any equipment or gaming paraphernalia that is offensive, inappropriate, or may be seen as such by others present at the tournament venue. Players may always confer with a judge and/or tournament organizer if they have questions about whether their personal effects may be deemed offensive or inappropriate. Judges and tournament organizers reserve the authority to disallow the use of any materials deemed inappropriate/offensive. As general guidelines, any art, depictions, text, or portrayals on the equipment that might reasonably make another player uncomfortable, at a minimum, and would reasonably detract from their experience in a competitive setting, the materials should be reviewed with a judgement issued.

Regarding the use of “Generated” cards, players must provide tournament-legal copies of cards they anticipate generating in a game. If a player attempts to generate the card but can't produce a physical owned copy of the card (with matching sleeve, if applicable), the generate will fail that card.

Players should also be able to represent or designate any summoned objects in a clear manner throughout the game.

Deck Checks are a regular process in tournament settings. They are a useful tool to ensure tournament integrity by allowing Judges to verify player deck legality. Players may ask that their opponent's deck is checked if there is concern for a deck issue or undue action. Tournament officials should run deck checks regularly throughout the event.

Below is a general guideline for how Deck Checks may be conducted:

1. Players should present the decks (Material, Main) and sideboard they are using in the tournament to the Judge completing the deck check. If applicable, players should also present their deck box or cardholder and any other equipment necessary for the deck check. If there are any questions of concerns regarding altered or proxied cards, they should be asked before the cards are presented for deck checks.

2. Judges should then organize the cards according to the appropriate deck and sideboard zones and ensure that proper card counts are found in each zone.

3. After the cards are sorted and accounted for, cards should be verified to ensure that no inappropriate markings are noted. If sleeves are being used, cards in the main deck must all be sleeved identically. The same is true for cards in the material deck, though main deck and material deck cards can be sleeved differently. Sideboard cards do not need to be sleeved until they are added to or replace cards in either the main or material deck, after which they are expected to be sleeved according to main or material deck rules.

   1. It is recommended that after the cards have been sorted and checked for markings that the cards are then shuffled again together to look for inconsistencies or patterns in cards that overly protrude or are more easily noticeable than others.

4. Any concerns for violations of guidelines should be addressed using the Infraction Policy Guide.

Proper and respectful communication between players in Grand Archive is a responsibility shared among all players in a game. A clear representation of the game state is essential in Grand Archive when there are many moving elements in a game between players.

It is encouraged that both players have an understanding of the rules and can appreciate the many different interactions that can occur within a game of Grand Archive. A player can have advantages in better game understanding, greater strategic skills, decision-making, and game awareness/”game sense.” A player is under no obligation to assist opposing players, however, any unsporting conduct will not be tolerated under any circumstance and may warrant action from tournament officials at any given event. Players must treat other players with respect and in a just and fair manner.

If discrepancies in recorded, tracked, or announced information are noticed, players are expected to point this out, and, if a judge’s intervention is required, that one is called to the play area. Players are obligated to answer all judge questions as honestly and as completely as possible, regardless of what was asked. Players cannot misrepresent, lie about, or confuse any person about public or derivative information in the game. While players are not obligated to assist other players in determining freely accessible information in the game, players must answer questions regarding public information completely and honestly to the best of their ability. Bluffing is allowed only to the extent that players do not lie or misinform other players regarding status or public information regarding the game state.

The types of Information in Grand Archive can be broken into the following different sections:

• Status

• Public

• Private

Status information is information that Must constantly be tracked at all times. Changes in this information must always be explicitly announced and tracked in the course of a game. Tracking this change must be clearly visible to all players in a game and must be agreed upon as an acceptable method. Acceptable methods are any methods that all players can access it. Use of dice that may be easily and accidentally changed, or shifted/disturbed is not advised. Status information in Grand Archive will typically be in the form of damage counters to be tracked on champions.

Public information can be defined as information all players have equal access to. If a player is ever unwilling/unable to provide the public information available to any opponent that requested it, then a judge can be called to come and investigate the situation. A judge may also ask about public information in a game and truthful answers must be provided. Public information can be defined as the following:

• Details of current and past game actions that continue to affect the game state.

• The name of any visible object in play.

• The amount and type of counters

• Properties of any card in play (awake, rested, etc.)

• The zone of any card in the game

• The face-up contents of all graveyards and banishments.

• Face-up or currently revealed cards in any zone.

• The current phase in a turn

There is also derivable information about the game state that, although is accessible freely to any player, it is not always innately clear, obvious, or statically reflected in a game. Such information typically requires a manner of calculation, counting, or assessment of the game state. This information is also considered public information which can be determined by players or judges if needed. Examples of public information in the form of derivative information can be the following:

• Number of objects/cards in a game zone (such as the number of cards in hand, memory, main deck, or material deck)

• Characteristics of cards in any zone that is not statically defined or represented (type-setting, etc.)

• Power/life stats (if modified or contingent on specific rule-setting)

• Specific game rules, tournament policy, card rulings, or any information regarding the Indexed text of a card.

Any information like this should be determined when relevant to the game state or at any time in which a player or judge asks for this value. Players should work together to ensure that the derived information is correct (such as calculating proper power and life stats) and judges can be called to assist, if any ambiguity or disagreement is noted. Judges can always be called to interpret specific game rules and tournament policies as enumerated in this document or assist in recalling rules text from the Index.

Players should also be able to keep track of recent significant game actions in the case that a game must be backtracked from a past game state to determine the current game state. While some mistakes can often happen with respect to inadvertently misrepresenting the public information in a game, players should work together to correct these mistakes quickly and as often as possible. Therefore, it is the responsibility of both players to engage in ensuring that the public information of the game is correct and properly represented. Non-game tokens, dice, coins, or other outside materials must be explicitly defined and identifiable separately from other similar non-game objects.

It is the current turn player's responsibility to dictate the current phase in turn. In doing this, they may not abridge the Opportunity of a non-turn player from acting when they are legally able to do so. If a non-turn player expresses the intent that they would like to act when it is reasonable to determine that they were legally able or there existed a game state where they were able, players and judges ought to allow non-turn players to act in this context.

Any card orientations must be represented in 90 degree increments, either placed upright (at 90 degrees) or turned horizontally (at 0 or 180 degrees). Orientation should be maintained in a clear manner and ambiguity should be avoided. If the orientation of a card is ambiguous, players should clarify card orientations before proceeding in the game.

Players should be explicit as to what a die represents and what value is being presented to represent the intended value. If a die is being rolled, players must be clear and explicit about what the face values will determine.

When counters (which may be dice) are used, players should be explicit as to what the counter is being used to represent and should be clear if the use of the counter is being modified or changed to reflect a different value or metric. Each counter can only be used to reflect a single value or metric and cannot be used to represent multiple values simultaneously.

Private information is any information that players can only access from their position in the game considering their view on the game state and access to private information. Except for the main deck, most face-down cards, and the identities (not number of) cards in hand and memory typically fall within this category. Players cannot freely access private information that is in whole or part hidden from them from their perspective in the game and, though players may be asked about private information, players are not obligated to share their private information. If any questions arise about whether specific information is public or private, judges may be called to clarify this.

Players have the liberty to discuss any private information known to them to any other players in a game, they may not explicitly reveal this information publicly unless instructed to by an effect.

Shortcuts in gameplay can take place. These actions can skip certain steps or small processes that might occur in a game. This allows players in a game to progress through a match smoothly. Shortcutting relies on clear communication between players and a shared understanding of the process involved in the shortcut. Shortcuts must generally be approved for use in a tournament setting or must be done in such a way that it does not create an unclear game state. If a shortcut is intended to be made that is not a common shortcut, an approved shortcut, or is not mutually understood by all persons in a tournament, the shortcut must be explicitly and clearly defined and demonstrated. if needed, a judge can assist in ruling over a shortcut and intervening, if necessary.

• Players adding an additional ability or card activation to the Effects Stack will be considered as having passed Opportunity by default unless they explicitly state they are maintaining Opportunity to act.

• If a player activates a card or ability with choices that are made intended for when that object resolves, they are obligated to follow those choices unless another player responds. If another player does, and that card or ability resolves, the on-resolution choices may be changed.

• A player that is instructed to glimpse but does not look at any cards is assumed to have not looked and chosen to leave the cards in the order they are currently in.

• Players may ask that other players pause at certain points in a turn if they intend to perform a player action at that time to avoid accidentally taking a shortcut to progress the game phase.

There is no formal method of representing zones, cards in zones, or the various decks in a play area. Broadly, requirements are that the main deck and material decks are each separate and plainly visible and that the graveyard and banishment are explicitly noted and visible. Furthermore, champions should be placed such that they are clearly and easily visible in the play area. The memory zone should not be confused with any other face-down cards and should be positioned closer to the player whereas objects in the game are positioned closer to the opponent(s). It is recommended that the main deck, graveyard, and banishment are all kept to either the right or left side of a player and that the material deck be positioned on the opposite side. Cards in one zone may be referenced or tied to by an ability of a card in another zone; this relationship should be clearly denoted and represented.

It is recommended that players adhere to the following conventions of card layouts during a game of Grand Archive:

• The main deck and material deck should be on opposite sides, left and right, of the player. E.g. If the main deck is on the player’s left, the material deck should be to the player’s right.

• The graveyard should be kept in front of or adjacent to the main deck.

• Banishment should be either set off to the side or represented in an organized pile horizontally beneath the graveyard or in front of the graveyard.

• Cards in the memory zone should be kept directly in front of the player near the end of the table. Cards in the memory zone should be kept in a manner that makes each card easily singled out, if possible and reasonable.

• Cards in hand should be held in hand or may be temporarily set face-down together on the table when needed.

• Champions may be set upright in front of the controlling player either in the center of the playing area or in a corner of the playing area near the material deck (but not further out than the material deck).

• Weapons should be kept near the champion.

• Regalia should be kept near each other in an area of the play area.

• Allies should be maintained in front of the player in front of the memory zone and in the center of the board adjacent to the champion or flanking the champion if the champion is centered.

• If any cards exist in a zone that is referenced or tied via an ability to another card or object, that card can be placed underneath or next to the tied card while the zone of the card is mentally tracked or physically denoted.

Players are allowed to use card sleeves for their decks. All cards in a player’s main deck must use identical sleeves and all cards in a player’s material deck must also use identical sleeves. Players are allowed to use different sleeves between the main deck and material deck but all sleeves within each group must match. Cards in the sideboard may be left unsleeved but must match the sleeve of the deck it is sideboarded into. If any markings appear on the sleeve, these markings may only be visible on the side with the face of the card and may not uniquely identify or distinguish the card.

Players can request for a judge to inspect their opponent’s card sleeves during a match.

Judges reserve the authority to disallow the use of sleeves if the sleeves are deemed too damaged, marked, or having a condition or design interfering with gameplay or shuffling. If sleeves are disallowed on this basis, they can ask that a player replace the sleeves. If a player is unable or unwilling to replace the sleeves, judges may require that player to play the remainder of the tournament without sleeves. For timely gameplay, unless there is a compelling reason for sleeves to be replaced or changed during a game or round, replacements should be done after a match is finished or between rounds.

Significantly disruptive designs that produce intense reflections or other significant visual effects are not allowed. Tournament organizers and judges reserve the right to disallow the use of any sleeves deemed inappropriate or disruptive to the venue or the gameplay.

Players should be expected to play games with the intention that their cards, game state, and decision options have been carefully considered before taking any player actions. Physical and/or verbal commitments to a player's action are expected to be followed through, though players should be explicit in communicating the intended action. However, wrong decisions can occur and there are some cases in which changing a decision is permissible. If no new information is gained by that player in wanting to reverse a decision or make another choice, judges may allow a play to be taken back. Players may not leverage opponents’ expressions or lack of reactions to decide whether they should take back or modify a decision. If there is any suspicion that information may have been gained, or that it is uncertain if new information was gained, the decision should not be allowed to be reverted. In general, reverting decisions may be permissible if no significant change in the game state or information about the game state has occurred after the initial course of action.

Players are responsible for remembering their own triggered abilities; players are not obligated to point out triggered abilities they do not control. Players intentionally leaving triggers unacknowledged constitutes cheating. Players may inadvertently forget about a triggered ability. Such abilities are considered forgotten and will have subsequently not entered the Effects Stack. Forgotten triggers that specify a “may” component that gives the controller a choice as to whether that ability takes effect will assume the ability was declined. Abilities without a permissive or optional component are handled via rules enforcement.

Loops are considered actions or a sequence of events that can occur an arbitrary amount of times, each iteration completed identically through that sequence of actions. players must demonstrate a loop exists by performing an action or sequence of actions that do not produce a conditional effect. If a sequence of actions results in the player being required to make a decision or where they intentionally make a choice, it is either not considered a loop or will stop being a loop at that point, if a player was demonstrating a loop previously. If a loop can be demonstrated to be “infinite,” the player must choose a number equal to how many times they wish to iterate through the loop. When this is done, that loop will iterate that many times; players cannot choose “infinity” as a number. If a loop depends on hidden information for continuity, a judge may be called to determine the continuity of the loop. Loops must be deterministic, i.e., the outcome of the loop must produce the same effects for each iteration in the loop.

Loops must be able to progress the state of the game. If a loop or series of iterations in a loop does not produce a meaningful progression of the game state, a judge may rule that the player must take different actions.

Concessions are a common tool in competitive games where a game or match may be ended prematurely and the game forfeit by a player. Players may have many reasons for voluntarily conceding a game. Most often, players may forfeit due to being in a position in the game that does not allow them to win the match through any means. In this case, it is beneficial to accept defeat and allow time in the round for additional games while also respecting an opponent's time and playing ability in the tournament. Players can concede at any point in a match and it is effective immediately; the game will end with their opponent being the winner of the game or match (whichever is specified) and the game can move to the next game.

• Conceding the first game without having played the full match will still allow both players to sideboard and allows the conceding player to pick who becomes the first turn player.

• Concessions can't be made in exchange for any material or non-material considerations or offerings. Similarly, concession can't be offered as a leveraged strategic piece for exchange of any kind of consideration. Both of these situations are seen as a part of bribery.

Intentional Draws (IDs) are similarly a common tool in many competitive games. Intentional draws allow for players to agree on a match result (in applicable formats and settings) that may be mutually beneficial. We believe that allowing intentional draws in some scenarios is more acceptable and ethical for players than disallowing them, since by disallowing them would only incentivize some players to see out the same draw result through needlessly convoluted gameplay, compromising the integrity of fair and honest play, and of the tournament as a whole. Players might otherwise attempt to create a false scenario where an ID emerges, either through stalling or other ploys, in addition to being difficult to police effectively if it were disallowed. While this is a debated topic, there are a few guidelines players and judges need to be aware of regrading intentional draws:

• IDs are expected when mutually favorable situations between players may arise, typically regarding tournament standings and top cuts.

• If players are seeking an ID, this must be done within the first 5 minutes of the match and before the match has started, otherwise the players are expected to determine the result through a fair match and may only determine the winner of the match by within-match factors.

  • If an ID decision is sought but not made and a match has not begun after 5 minutes, both players will be penalized under Tardiness.

• IDs cannot be made in exchange for any considerations or take into consideration external match results. E.g. Players can't wait for the result of another set of opponents' match or matches to inform their decision to ID. They may only use the information presently available to them. If an ID is made in an unethical or erroneous way, this may be seen as collusion or bribery.

Swiss portions of a tournament should use the following values attributed to match records: A match win is worth 3 points, regardless of how many games are played. A match draw/tie is worth 1 point. A match loss is worth 0 points. Intentional draws should be reported as 0 wins and 0 losses for each player when entering scores. Omnidex will automatically award points for wins during the tournament and use the points earned, as well as opponents’ match-win percentage, player game-win percentage, opponents’ game-win percentage, and player registration times to factor in for tie-breaks.

A player’s opponents’ match-win percentage is the percent average of matches won out of matches played by each of that player’s opponents. A player’s game-win percentage is the percentage of games they have won. A player’s opponents’ game-win percentage is the percent average games won out of games played by each of that player’s opponents. Registration time is considered as the time at which a player registered; an earlier registration time trumps a later registration time.

The following pages will cover these topics:

Tournaments organized for Grand Archive should be hosted through the Omnidex. The Omnidex is a software that enables tournament organizers and players to host and participate in events, respectively. The Omnidex allows tournament organizers to create events, register players, create pairings, track brackets, and list player standings in the tournament. All events sanctioned through the Omnidex awards players points that contribute to their player ranking within the Omnidex and among all registered players of Grand Archive.

If Omnidex is not available or is under maintenance, tournaments can also be tracked through free 3rd party tournament organizer software. Such tournaments will not, however, be tracked on the Omnidex and no points can be awarded to players to contribute to player ranking.

A minimum of 8 players is recommended to run a tournament for Grand Archive. It is acknowledged that some circumstances may result in fewer than 8 players present during the first round of a tournament or during the drafting phase of a limited tournament. In such cases, tournament organizers have the discretion to continue or start a tournament with fewer players if all participating players are in agreement. Future guidelines regarding ranked or rated tournament play will require a minimum of 8 players, otherwise, it will not be considered rated.

In the case of Swiss pairing tournaments, the number of rounds is based on players and can be calculated via rounding up of log2(N) where N is the number of players registered for the tournament. (Generally, tournament software is capable of calculating the necessary number of rounds.) In this manner, a table such as the following can be generated giving recommended rounds based on players:

Thus, a tournament will always have at least 3 rounds. Rounds should be determined before initiation of the 1st round of a tournament and the number of rounds cannot be changed any further after this, regardless of how many players choose to drop. Tournaments may be set up in such a way as to have more rounds than suggested by the above table, however, this might result in a situation where a single player will have X match wins after X rounds in a tournament announced as having an X+1 round structure. Additionally, organizers may wish to hold playoffs for top cuts of players. After the Swiss rounds of a tournament have concluded, it is possible to do a play-off phase with only the top 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. players.

For 5-8 players, tournaments may be Swiss or single-elimination. For 9-16 players, 4 rounds are recommended for limited format tournaments with a cut to the top 8, otherwise, 5 rounds of Swiss pairings should be played with a cut to the top 4, instead. For 17+ player tournaments, the above table and formula can be reliable for rounds, and cuts to the top 8 are recommended.

Drafting

Some sets of Grand Archive are meant to be draftable. For tournaments where players draft decks to play, there is first a drafting period before pairings and round matches. In the drafting period, (recommended: 8) players are seated circularly (or in an arrangement where each player has a player to their right and their left) and randomly. Depending on the structure of the draft, players will receive a combination of sealed draft packs or regular packs which are meant to be drafted in the draft process. Sealed draft packs are not meant to have draft picks and are instead opened by players with their entire contents kept for construction. Aside from the sealed draft pack, other packs in the draft are randomly distributed to each player for the drafting portion. Of note, sealed draft packs are typically given to TOs to support drafting and are not organically available in products. Formats that do not require a draft pack may be organically drafted with the entire contents of the draft deck stemming from drafted packs.

Recommended Timing: Set a 60-minute timer and start it as soon as drafting can get underway. The draft itself can proceed untimed but it is recommended for all picks to be finished within 40 minutes. Deckbuilding is allowed the remaining time of the 60 minute timer. If all players are ready, the timer may be ended prematurely for round 1 pairings. Only products/cards received from the tournament officials may be used for these tournaments.

For the drafted packs, each player starts by opening their first pack, sets the cards facing down, and counts the cards to ensure the proper number of cards in the pack. If players open an error pack, they must notify a judge. Any token cards, rules cards, or other non-game cards are removed. Any cards with multiple faces must be announced to the table prior to selection. If there are no issues, the draft can start with each player picking one card to be set aside face-down. Players pass the rest of the pack contents to the right. Each player will then receive cards from the player to the left and must pick one card, and pass the remaining cards to the right, again. This process will continue until no cards are left to choose from. Players open another pack after each player has finished picking from cards in the first pack. They will do the same process, except cards will be passed to the left instead of the right, alternating directions after each pack that is drafted.

Cards that have been picked and set aside cannot be returned to the pack after the remaining cards in the pack have been passed to the next player. Players cannot reveal their card selections to other players and must do their best to ensure the face of their cards, selected or pending passing, is not revealed to the other players. Players are not permitted to reveal any hidden information regarding their picks, cards they are passing, cards they wish to pick, or cards they wish others to pick. Players are allowed to look at cards they have previously drafted and set aside at any time.

Each player can add Spirit of Fire, Spirit of Water, or Spirit of Wind to their draft material deck for free. Tournament Organizers are encouraged to have plenty of spare copies of these spirits to hand out to players for draft tournaments and otherwise should announce if they will not have them provided. Sealed draft packs will often have necessary champions for deck construction.

Players can leave or drop from a draft tournament at any time during the draft process. If they do so, any cards they have drafted and any of their unopened packs are in their possession. Additionally, if a player can’t or does not wish to continue with a draft, but wishes to participate n the tournament, they will not be allowed to draft any further and must try constructing a valid deck from their currently drafted cards. The players remaining in the draft will continue drafting with one fewer player and that missing player’s picks are skipped.

Current draft formats available:

Dawn of Ashes 1st Edition - 6 packs per player, no sealed draft pack

Dawn of Ashes Alter Edition - 6 packs per player, no sealed draft pack

Mortal Ambition - 3 packs per player, 1 sealed draft pack.

No specific distribution or frequency of card rarity is guaranteed in a single pack of Grand Archive. If an abnormal pack or product is opened, players must first notify a judge and it is at the discretion of tournament judges and the tournament organizer to allow or replace the product.

For any formats described as limited (typically draft and sealed events), players will construct their decks during the event; they will not provide their own preconstructed decks for matches.

Main decks must have a minimum of 30 cards and material decks will have a maximum of 10 cards.

• Material decks have the same restrictions as material decks in Standard; players may only have one copy of a card in the material deck.

• Main decks follow the same restrictions as main decks in Stadnard; players may only have up to 4 copies of any card in the Main Deck.

• Any cards obtained during construction that are not in either the main or material decks are considered a player’s sideboard.

Players will be able to exchange cards from their sideboard with cards in their main or material decks between games before drawing an opening hand and may change the composition of their deck at any time between rounds. It is recommended that players only play against others in their draft pod, but tournament organizers may choose to ignore this recommendation, especially for larger tournaments, or may combine players from different pods during top cuts.

For Standard Constructed tournaments, each player should provide their own main deck, material deck, and sideboard for the tournament.

Main decks must have a minimum of 60 cards with no more than four copies of any card. There is no maximum deck size, however, players must be able to shuffle their main decks unassisted. Players can request assistance from a judge with shuffling if they feel there is a compelling reason to receive such assistance.

• Material decks have a 12-card limit, must have at least one Lv 0 champion, and cannot contain more than one copy of any one card.

• Sideboards can contain a maximum of 15 cards. Sideboards use a 15 point system where cards in the Main Deck are worth 1 point and Regalia/Champion cards are worth 3 points. Sideboards can consist of any combination of Main Deck cards and Regalia/Champion cards that does not exceed 15 points or 15 cards for the Sideboard.

Players will be able to exchange cards from their sideboard with cards in their main or material decks between games before both players are ready to present their shuffled decks and before any starting hands have been drawn.

The current standard constructed allows cards from the following sets and/or products:

Dawn of Ashes 1st Edition

Dawn of Ashes Prelude Starter Kit

Dawn of Ashes Alter Edition

Dawn of Ashes Starter Decks

Fractured Crown

Supporter Pack 1

Alchemical Revolution

Alchemical Revolution Starter Decks

Alchemical Revolution Alter Edition

LGS Demo 2022/2023

Mercurial Heart

Re:Collection Silvie and Tristan Decks

Supporter Pack 2

Mortal Ambition 1st Edition

Mortal Ambition Starter Decks

Abyssal Heaven 1st Edition

Re:Collection Diao Chan and Guo Jia Decks

For Team Standard Constructed, players play on teams of 3 where each player is designated as player A, B, or C. Each player should provide their own main deck and material deck. There is no sideboard for this format.

Main decks must have a minimum of 60 cards with no more than four copies of any card. The four-copy restriction also applies across each team. E.g. Players A, B, and C can't each have 4 Refurbish cards in their main decks. There is no maximum deck size, however, players must be able to shuffle their main decks unassisted. Players can request assistance from a judge with shuffling if they feel there is a compelling reason to receive such assistance.

• Material decks have a 12-card limit, must have at least one Lv 0 champion, and cannot contain more than one copy of any one card.

• Players can't use the same Lv 0 Spirit champions in their Material decks and the named spirit cards are treated as their generic counterparts.

In this format, games are played in a setting of three simultaneous matches between players A, B, and C from one team against corresponding players from another team. Seating arrangements will consistently be A-B-C and each player will only play against the other team's matching player in seating order. A plays A, B plays B, etc. Only one game is played per paired player and each game win awards a team a point. The winner of a match in Team Standard constructed is the team with the most points after the three games conclude. A win is worth 3 points, a loss is worth 0 points, and a draw is worth 1 point.

Teams must decide and declare their seating arrangement before the tournament begins. This seating arrangement will be kept constant for the entire tournament.

Players may communicate with the closest teammate(s) in their seating arrangement. Such communication will not be considered outside assistance. Player A may not communicate with Player C in seating arrangements by any means. Other rules surrounding player communication still apply regarding appropriate and respectful communication.

The current Team Standard Constructed allows cards from the following sets and/or products:

Dawn of Ashes 1st Edition

Dawn of Ashes Prelude Starter Kit

Dawn of Ashes Alter Edition

Dawn of Ashes Starter Decks

Fractured Crown

Supporter Pack 1

Alchemical Revolution

Alchemical Revolution Starter Decks

LGS Demo 2022/2023

Mercurial Heart

Re:Collection Silvie and Tristan Decks

Supporter Pack 2

Mortal Ambition 1st Edition

Mortal Ambition Starter Decks

Abyssal Heaven 1st Edition

Re:Collection Diao Chan and Guo Jia Decks

For all tournament matches, the first game may not begin until the official match timer has begun.

BO3 matches of Grand Archive are recommended to be played with 60-minute round time limits (excluding time or round extensions for any reason). Single-elimination match of Grand Archive should follow the same round time limits. For drafting, the same standard for 60-minute round time limits is recommended. BO1 matches may use the full 60-minute round setting, if necessary, though it is likely that all matches in a round will conclude before this duration. If this is the case, the round can be ended prematurely and the next round can begin.

Team Standard Constructed will use 50 minutes for the round times.

Judges may extend matches by up to 5 minutes (when appropriate) and end of round procedures follow the regular 3 turns or 5 minute extension, whichever comes first.

This section will contain any rulings to be used specifically for the context of webcam games.

In webcam events, players can look at cards they own face-down in banishment if they are considered private to any other player.

Byes in a tournament can occur whenever a player either received an exemption from playing the round (such as with some invitation-style tournaments) or by not having been paired with an opponent during a round, usually due to odd player counts or playing having dropped. In these situations, the player who received a round bye will be noted as having won their match for the round, scored 2-0-0 (W-L-D for BO3), and then reported to the event recorder.

The following pages will cover these topics:

Complex interactions may occur frequently in a game of Grand Archive. Players may sometimes wish to take a series of actions that result in a legal and unambiguous game state upon completion however, this may sometimes happen in illegal sequences. Opponents may ask that the player repeat the actions with correct sequencing to allow for appropriate and legal responses. Such sequences cannot result in additional information gained that might affect decision-making for that player or any other players in the game. Players may also not attempt to fish for opponents’ reactions to sequences of play to seek out modification of that sequence. sequencing errors cannot allow players to retroactively take missed actions. If there is a substantial time after a sequence has been announced and performed, it is considered that the sequence is finished and that the game state can progress to a new point.

Common sequencing error examples:

• Moving to materialization or attempting to materialize a card before waking up objects

• Resolving On Death abilities before placing that object into the graveyard

• Drawing a card from the Draw Phase after starting the Main Phase

• Paying costs of card activations or materializations before revealing the intended card

Players are expected to follow through on execution of the intended action, correcting the sequencing in the process. Only if the intended sequence is illegal can the actions be taken back and the game state reverted to the time before the sequence was tried.

Match results cannot be determined by coin tosses, rolling of dice, playing sub-games, playing other games, or any other method that deviates from the normal course of gameplay. Wins, losses, and draws may only be determined from the course of events in a game in the tournament and cannot be based on external factors. Intentional draws are allowed if they do not involve bribery or wagers and only if they occur before the first game of a match.

Participants of the tournament (players, tournament officials, spectators, etc.) cannot bet/ante/wager/gamble on any outcomes or results associated with the tournament.

No form of cheating is allowed. If there is any suspicion of cheating, judges should be called to investigate. If a player is found to be cheating, they can be issued penalties such as, but not limited to, warnings, game or match losses, or disqualification from the tournament. Labeling an action as cheating requires that the player suspected of cheating is attempting to gain undue advantage from their actions and that the player is aware that performing that action is illegal. There is no “accidental” cheating; inadvertent errors or mistakes in the game can typically be resolved with the assistance of a judge and, in some cases, warned to prevent similar mistakes. However, continued or repetitive errors that produce a reasonable semblance of cheating are treated as cheating. Mistakes or errors committed in such a way as to gain an advantage is considered cheating.

Examples of cheating:

• Drawing extra cards without game permission and failing to notify a judge.

• Arranging a card or cards in the deck in an ordered manner when not instructed to do so by the game.

• Lying to a judge during an investigation about a game.

• Ignoring detrimental triggers (from the perspective of the player detrimentally affected)

• Adding outside cards to a limited format card pool.

• Players notice game errors in their favor and fail to notify a judge.

Decisions made regarding the tournament in concession, drawing with another player (intentionally), or dropping from a tournament cannot be made or influenced by offers of reward or incentive of a reward. The same is true for any decisions while playing games in a tournament. Players may also not make offers of reward or suggest any incentives to tournament officials to influence rulings or outcomes for players. Breaching this is considered bribery.

The intention to share prizes from a prize pool by mutual agreement prior to having received those prizes is not bribery. This cannot involve deals for specific match outcomes, results, or a player dropping from a tournament; if such sharing of prizes does include this, it is then considered bribery. If players in the last round of a single-elimination part of a tournament agree to a winner and agree on prize allocations based on final standing/ranking, one player must drop from the tournament and prizes are then distributed according to the final standing/ranking; this would not constitute bribery. Additionally, if all players in single-elimination rounds of a tournament agree to split prizes evenly, those players can choose to end the tournament (with permission of the tournament organizer) or continue playing as per the normal course of tournament events.

Players and tournament officials cannot act in such a way as to suggest that tournament results and outcomes could have been “rigged.” If there is suspicion that this is the case, this may be investigated with the possibility of punishment to either involved players, tournament officials, or tournament organizers.

While players can use match wins, scores, or standings of other players to inform their own decisions as to whether to drop or attempt to intentionally draw with their round opponent, they cannot do so as a form of agreement with other players in other matches or pairings. If this is done via forms of agreement, it can be interpreted as bribery.

This page will contain all lists of cards banned across the various formats:

Standard Constructed (All variants including Online and team Standard. Limited formats are excluded)

• Baby Gray Slime

• Corhazi Outlook

• Crystal of Empowerment

• Erupting Rhapsody

• Icebound Slam

• Sword of Avarice

• Reckless Conversion

Only authorized cards may be used in tournaments of Grand Archive. These cards cannot be grossly physically altered in any way and cannot be counterfeit or “fake” versions of the represented card. If a fake/counterfeit card is used unknowingly and a player is made aware of this fact either by another player or a judge, that player must cease using that card and replace it with an authorized card. Tournament Organizers, judges, and other personnel do not have the authority to confiscate fake/counterfeit cards, and doing so is illegal. Judges reserve the right to determine whether a card is acceptable for tournament use or not. This may be appealed.

Authorized cards have the official Grand Archive TCG card back, standard round-cut corners, and are those that have been officially printed via Weebs of the Shore for Grand Archive. Miscut cards that do not conform to the standard authorized card dimensions and appearance are not permissible. Similarly, cards from an uncut sheet must be prepared to be identical to the standard cut Grand Archive cards. If a card is otherwise modified or exists in a non-standard state, it will not be considered permissible for tournament use. Cards that are excessively damaged such that they might be uniquely identifiable from other authorized cards are not permitted for use. Otherwise, Authorized cards must be legal for the format of tournament play it is intended to be used for.

Misprinted cards are acceptable for use provided that a full and clearly represented name, correct matching element, and correct matching cost appear together on the card, correlated with the appropriate card in the Index. Any artistic alterations to cards are permissible only if such an alteration does not cause the card to be uniquely identifiable from other standard Grand Archive cards or does not produce a significant degree of physical alteration to the card. Cards may also not be marked in a distinguishable manner on any side or edge of the card. If sleeves are used, the sleeves must not be marked or damaged in a distinguishable manner, as well.

The following elements must be completely visible and may not be obscured in any way:

• Card name

• Reserve/Memory Costs

• Champion card level indicators

• Element name AND symbol

• Card type symbol

• Card stat symbols AND text (life, power, durability, speed, etc)

If any of the above items are covered, hidden, or made to be unclear, the card is not permitted for use in tournament play.

Items permissible for artistic obstruction/alteration:

• Border/Border information (such as set ID, artist, rarity symbol, etc.)

• Typeline text (Symbol MUST be completely visible)

• Art box

• Any/all of the rules text box.

Additionally, the artistic content of alters cannot depict obscene or offensive elements. Artistic content should also not make the card unrecognizable Again, judges may determine if a given card is permissible and any rejections can be appealed to the Head Judge.

Unsporting behavior is not allowed. All players, spectators, and tournament officials are expected to behave respectfully and politely at all times. Tournament officials can examine issues regarding conduct and may take actions to avert further poor conduct. It is up to the discretion of judges, tournament officials, and/or venue management in how they wish to handle excessive unsporting behavior. In addition, players should not use listed rules and policies in such a way as to generate an advantage in the course of the tournament rather than using them for their intended purpose: ensuring fair and consistent gameplay in a safe and respectful setting. This has often been termed “rule-sharking” and will be considered unsporting conduct.

Other examples of unsporting conduct:

• Behavior that can reasonably or be expected to create feelings of harassment, bullying, or intimidation. Cyberbullying also falls into this category.

• Players repeatedly ask opponents to concede (more than once). This is considered intimidation.

• Acts that violate or can be seen as at risk of violating the safety or privacy of any persons involved in the tournament or at the tournament venue.

• Failure to comply with directions, instructions, or decisions made by a tournament official.

• Use of profanity, insulting tournament participants or any persons at a tournament venue, being involved in heated arguments with tournament participants or persons at the venue, or any similarly disruptive behavior.

• Intentionally stalling a game (playing slowly to gain an advantage).

It is understandable that some tournament settings cause a rise in competitive spirit among players and that disagreements are prone to happen in the course of the game, whether due to different interpretations of rules or as expressed discontent towards a certain game, situation, or result. Players may still discuss these topics civilly with each other and may always ask for a judge to mediate or assist in these interactions. If this behavior breaches the level of civility or respect that is expected and asked, it can be considered unsporting conduct.

While complex game states can often occur in Grand Archive, players are expected to take their turns and complete their actions in a timely manner and, in doing so, adhere to any time limits specified for tournament settings. This also ensures that each player has had a fair opportunity to engage in the game. Playing slowly, intentionally or inadvertently, must be avoided, and judges can oversee games upon request to ensure that games progress on time.

Players cannot seek play advice from spectators during a match. Spectators cannot give play advice to players. If there is a deck assembly or construction portion of a tournament, players cannot seek advice regarding deckbuilding and spectators cannot provide advice in this regard to a player until that player has submitted their deck list. If the tournament is of a limited format, players cannot seek out advice, strategic information, or information about pick selections from other players, spectators, or electronic media in the time between the pod seating arrangements are announced and when the draft is over. Players may also not consult physical notes brought with them during this time. Spectators should avoid making any remarks during drafting that might provide draft players outside or hidden information. Players should remain silent during drafting.

Judges reserve the authority to distribute proxy cards for use if a card becomes damaged or unusable as an authorized card during the course of a tournament. Judges may either issue a proxy replacement for a card requiring replacement or may ask that a player replace the card with another legal card from their sideboard (if the card needing replacement was in the main deck).

Players may ask judges to issue them proxies if they feel there is a compelling reason for a judge to do so, however, it is at the discretion of the judge/head judge to provide such a proxy.

Judges may use an inconsequential Grand Archive card (such as a Spirit of Fire or Spirit of Wind) and mark over the card using a permanent marker or pen to indicate the name/cost/element of the intended card being proxied.

Players should ensure that their cards and sleeves are not marked during the course of the tournament. Any discernable scratch, discoloration, bend, or other manifested change in the card or sleeve is considered to be a marking. Players may not roughly handle another player’s cards and should be respectful when handling them to avoid inadvertently marking or damaging the card. Intentional damage or destruction of a player’s cards or property is illegal.

At Grand Archive tournaments, it is common practice for there to be a component of media coverage, whether in the form of photography, live recordings, streamed events, or streamed gameplay from the tournament. At Ascent-level events or higher, Players participating in the tournament must understand their pictures may be taken in a group setting throughout the event. Individual pictures may be requested of them by tournament staff and officials. Consent is typically obtained by agreement as part of tournament registration, either by purchase of a ticket or acceptance of an invitation, such as at Nationals or Worlds. Any questions regarding the capture of a player's image or likeness should be directed to tournament staff for these events. Media coverage policies for Regional events and lower are not required to adhere to the aforementioned regulations and consent for capturing likeness or other similar media is not automatically collected at registration.

Some players in tournaments may be selected to play in a Feature Match zone where the gameplay is digitally recorded and replayed over an internet connection for a live audience and for video replay on official media channels or for ruling arbitration. Players reserve the right to refuse playing in the feature for any reason and this will constitute a concession of the match. Extenuating circumstances may be appealed and separately considered by the TO. Those that are recorded, in addition to their belonging, must follow a generally stricter policy regarding legal materials in the play area, including restricting the use of materials to only that of official art or brand-agnostic materials. Use of materials that are not official art must be reviewed and approved by the TO.

Cards within Proxia’s Vault are excluded from most rules regarding proxies. Any card printed from the Vault as a tournament proxy must be printed in full color with all of the text easily identifiable and legible. If a player uses a proxied card in their Material Deck during a tournament, their entire material deck must be sleeved with identical sleeves. If thin or typical printer paper is used to print the proxy cards, they must be held in the sleeve with another Grand Archive card (to provide a stiffer backing). Proxied versions of the card must follow the same guidelines with respect to card alters, as well. All cards in Proxia's Vault can be proxied indefinitely as long as the card is in Proxia's Vault.