1. Don’t be a dick
This is the most important rule. Players must treat opponents, spectators, and the Tournament Organiser with respect.
Prohibited conduct includes harassment, abuse, bullying, discrimination, intimidation, threatening or deliberately hostile behaviour, cheating, collusion, deliberate slow play, intentional misrepresentation of rules or game information, manipulation of results or league points, and repeatedly arguing after the Tournament Organiser has made a ruling.
A player may receive up to two warnings. A third offence results in disqualification. Serious misconduct may result in immediate disqualification without prior warnings where necessary to protect players or league integrity. The Tournament Organiser has final authority over warnings and disqualifications.
2. Registration and entry fee
Players must register through TopDeck. The entry fee is €15 per player and may be paid upfront. Anyone having difficulty paying in full upfront may contact the Tournament Organiser privately to arrange a discreet payment plan.
Players do not register a commander or submit a decklist. They may change decks and commanders between games, provided the deck is legal when the game begins.
3. League structure
The league stage runs from 1 October 2026 through 31 December 2026. The elimination stage is planned for early 2027; its exact dates and venue will be confirmed later.
The league has no scheduled rounds or organised weekly events. Registered players arrange games at mutually convenient times. Games may be played in person, by webcam, or on a mutually accepted digital platform.
A game must be declared a league game before it begins. Every participant must be registered, agree before starting that the game counts, and submit or confirm the result through TopDeck. The normal pod size is four; three-player games are also permitted.
4. Prize support
Prizes will be awarded to the final top four players. Their value and distribution depend on total registration. The final prize breakdown will be announced after registration closes and the available pool is confirmed.
5. Commander rules
Games use current official multiplayer Commander rules except where this document says otherwise. Normal construction and gameplay rules apply, including 100 cards, singleton construction, colour identity, 40 starting life, commander damage, mulligan, and command-zone rules.
6. Card legality
The league uses the designated Ban List. A listed card cannot be used in the command zone. It remains legal within the 99, subject to normal Commander legality and colour identity.
Legality is determined when a game begins. A later ban or rules change does not retrospectively alter completed games.
7. Trial commanders
The following cards are provisionally legal as commanders only:
- Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
- Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
- Leovold, Emissary of Trest
- Nadu, Winged Wisdom
- Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
These cards are provisionally legal in the command zone despite the normal Commander ban list. Their legality within the 99 follows normal Commander rules. Any trial commander may be suspended or banned immediately and without notice if it proves excessively powerful, repeatedly produces undesirable games, warps the league, or undermines its off-meta purpose.
An emergency ban applies to games beginning after its announcement. Completed games and previously awarded points are not altered.
8. League scoring
The league uses the Hareruya Commander Point System, commonly called the Japanese point system. Every registered player starts on 1,000 points.
- Each defeated player loses 7% of their pre-game points.
- Fractional losses round up.
- The winner gains the total lost by defeated players.
In a three-player game, each defeated player loses the normal 7%. Add both losses, multiply by 1.5, and round up for the winner’s award.
If a game ends without a winner, no points move. Players must not manufacture draws to protect or manipulate standings.
9. TopDeck reporting
TopDeck is used for registration, results, points, standings, and elimination qualification. A submission must identify every player, the winner or draw, pod size, and anything else required by TopDeck.
All players share responsibility for accuracy. Errors should be reported promptly. Decklists and commanders are not submitted.
10. Concessions and point manipulation
A player who concedes loses. If every remaining opponent concedes to one player, that player wins.
Concessions may not transfer or deny points, predetermine a result, manipulate standings or qualification, or improperly influence elimination. Players may not invent games, trade or sell wins, farm points, collude, or deliberately misreport results.
The Tournament Organiser may cancel, reverse, or correct a manipulated result. Normal politics, threat assessment, and temporary alliances remain part of Commander.
11. League-stage game duration
League games have no strict time limit. Players must play at a reasonable pace, avoid unnecessary delays, arrange enough time, manage breaks sensibly, and respect others’ time. Untimed games are not permission for slow play.
Proxies and Moxfield
Proxies are permitted. Games may also be played using Moxfield if every participating player agrees before the game begins.
12. Cut to the elimination stage
- 32+ players: Top 16.
- 20–31 players: Top 10.
- 8–19 players: Top 4.
- Fewer than eight: the organiser decides whether the league proceeds or uses an alternative structure.
Top 16
Sixteen qualifiers are randomly divided into four semifinals of four. Each winner reaches the four-player final.
Top 10
First and second receive semifinal byes. The remaining eight qualifiers form two random semifinals of four. Their winners join the two bye players in the final.
Top 4
The four qualifiers advance directly to the final.
Location
The intention is to hold semifinals and the final in person. Feasibility, venue, date, and alternatives will be announced later.
13. Random pairings and seating
Standings determine qualification but do not seed elimination pods. Semifinal pods and every semifinal/final seating order are random. The Top 10 byes are the only standings-based elimination advantage.
14. Elimination games
Every elimination game must produce one advancing player or league winner. Players may not split advancement, share the title, predetermine the winner, decide randomly, or offer benefits for a concession.
15. Semifinal timing
Semifinals have a maximum duration of three hours. The limit is a safeguard; players should complete games naturally at a reasonable pace.
The Tournament Organiser will announce when 15 minutes remain. If no player has won when the three-hour limit expires, the game is a draw. The player who entered the semifinal with the highest league-point total advances, using the final league standings before the elimination stage.
16. Final timing
The final is untimed. Players must still maintain reasonable pace. If they abuse the absence of a clock or allow unreasonable delay, the organiser may impose timing or pace measures.
Plain language: the final is untimed unless the players behave like assholes and force the TO to intervene.
17. Rules disputes
Players should first use the Magic Comprehensive Rules, official card rulings, current Commander rules, and this document. Unresolved disputes go to the Tournament Organiser, whose league ruling is final.
18. League updates
The organiser may update the ban list, trial list, scoring/reporting, elimination procedures, and rules needed to address unforeseen interactions, loopholes, or abuse.
Emergency commander bans and urgent integrity measures may take effect immediately. Unless stated otherwise, changes affect only games beginning after announcement.