I have gotten a lot of mixed feedback regarding this one when I google searched it.
What is the extent in which one can use or make a basic land? I've been told that it's up to the judge, but it has to be recognizable as a basic land. To me, this seems a bit odd. Why isn't one allowed to use a custom basic land? That is to say, simply print what looks nice on a regular piece of paper and slide it over a regular basic land?
Furthermore, how recognizable does the land have to be? I have seen some people go completely crazy and make basic lands with Transformers on them. The only recognizable feature it seemed was the word "swamp". Would something like this be legal?
Basic lands follow the same rules as all other cards for alters. From the Magic Tournament Rules, Section 3.3 on Authorized Cards:
Artistic modifications are acceptable in sanctioned tournaments, provided that the modifications do not make the card art unrecognizable, contain substantial strategic advice, or contain offensive images. Artistic modifications also may not obstruct or change the mana cost or name of the card.
The Head Judge is the final authority on acceptable cards for a tournament.
So the head judge is the final arbiter to determine the legality, and the more you change, the more you risk the cards not being allowed. I would not allow a piece of paper slid into a sleeve in front of a card, because now you're changing the thickness of the card, thus making it marked.
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Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
Regarding lands, what would you view as acceptable? It says that it cannot make the card art look unrecognizable, but that seems hard not to do with *any* land.
There is no firm line. It's taken in a case by case basis, and it varies by judge. An alter that's accepted by one judge may not be allowed by another judge. If you want to use alters, your best bet would be to carry non-altered cards around as well, so if the judge does not allow your alters, you have backups you can play in their place.
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Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
Great. Thanks for the information. Just one last question.
I remember seeing a blog post on the wizard website speaking of this topic. It showed what was considered an acceptable card, but the card covered up almost all of the rules text, but the border was left alone as well as the name and mana cost.
Why is it that the rules text is allowed to be so covered? This seems to me like it allows cheating, for a player could say it does something that it does not. Furthermore, why is it that borders aren't allowed to be modified? This seems like a weird call, as some people enjoy borderless cards, and I can't see how it might equate to cheating.
We allow foreign language cards in tournaments, so there's a good chance that if I'm playing a Russian or Japanese card, you probably couldn't read what the text box says anyways. We don't let you mess with the name or the mana cost, so other people can at least identity the cards that way.
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Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
Certain older cards have been printed in promotional editions that were not intended to be tournament legal and used gold-colored borders as one way to indicate this. Theoretically, someone could alter such a card in order to obscure the fact that it is a gold-bordered, non-tournament-legal version of a card. There is a fairly low risk of this being an issue with basic lands, but it's easier to rule against alterations to the border in general. This is still a case by case type call that's up to the head judge though.
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What is the extent in which one can use or make a basic land? I've been told that it's up to the judge, but it has to be recognizable as a basic land. To me, this seems a bit odd. Why isn't one allowed to use a custom basic land? That is to say, simply print what looks nice on a regular piece of paper and slide it over a regular basic land?
Furthermore, how recognizable does the land have to be? I have seen some people go completely crazy and make basic lands with Transformers on them. The only recognizable feature it seemed was the word "swamp". Would something like this be legal?
So the head judge is the final arbiter to determine the legality, and the more you change, the more you risk the cards not being allowed. I would not allow a piece of paper slid into a sleeve in front of a card, because now you're changing the thickness of the card, thus making it marked.
Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
Regarding lands, what would you view as acceptable? It says that it cannot make the card art look unrecognizable, but that seems hard not to do with *any* land.
Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
I remember seeing a blog post on the wizard website speaking of this topic. It showed what was considered an acceptable card, but the card covered up almost all of the rules text, but the border was left alone as well as the name and mana cost.
Why is it that the rules text is allowed to be so covered? This seems to me like it allows cheating, for a player could say it does something that it does not. Furthermore, why is it that borders aren't allowed to be modified? This seems like a weird call, as some people enjoy borderless cards, and I can't see how it might equate to cheating.
Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
Do you know why the borders are not to be tampered with?