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What follows is a quick guide to the DCI's Premier Events, the formats used in them, and some general tips on the differences between tournament and casual play.

Some events have specific criteria, such as the ratings value (also called K-value; the higher the number, the more points each match is worth), the Rules Enforcement Level (REL - the higher the number, the more strictly the rules are enforced), and if a specific level of Judge is required. The highest-level DCI events are invitation-only. Complete details of the invitation policies for various events are located in the DCI Magic Tournament Policy document.

To play in a DCI event, you must have a DCI number - but fortunately, signing up for the DCI is free. All you have to do is fill out a small form and hand it back in; you'll be registered on the spot and given a small card with your DCI number. Be sure to keep the card, since you'll need it for future events.

All new players are also given a DCI rating, which starts at a baseline of 1600. If you win a match, your rating will go up a few points; if you lose, your rating will drop. The exact amount of points your rating will change depends on the K-value of the event and the difference between the ratings of the two players. A player who's won a lot of DCI events won't get many points for beating a low-ranked player... But if a novice manages to beat a very experienced player, he'll get a ton of points. The most points that can ever be won or lost in a single match is 48 - but that's at Worlds, which is an invitation-only event for the finest players in Magic! At most events, your rating will only change by about 3 to 10 points per match.

You also have different ratings for the different types of play - since Limited is a different skill than Constructed is, they're ranked separately. Though it's unlikely, you could be one of the world's finest Limited players and the world's worst Constructed player. There is also a Composite ranking, which is an average of all of your both of these ratings. Finally, Vintage has a rating all its own, which includes Type 1 and Type 1.5 (see below).

For the record, the highest-ranked player in the world at the time of this writing is Anton Jonsson, with a 2110 Composite rating. As a rule, getting an 1800 or higher ranking means that you're a very good competitive player.

What Sorts Of Games Can You Play In Tournaments?
There are two basic forms of play: Limited and Constructed.

Constructed means that you bring a deck to the tournament that you have created beforehand. Every Constructed deck must contain a minimum of sixty cards, as well as a fifteen-card sideboard.

In Limited, you are given packs and/or tournament decks when the day begins, and you create a forty-card deck out of the cards that you have to work with. Your sideboard is any cards you have left over when you create your primary deck.

Every tournament has several fifty-minute rounds, and each round you'll be paired up against a new player, trying to win the best two out of three games. After the first game, you're allowed to exchange cards in your sideboard with the cards in your deck; this is called sideboarding.

Sideboarding for Limited and Constructed are different. In Constructed, you may exchange cards on a one-for-one basis; for each one you take out, you have to put one in. In Limited, the only restriction is that you maintain a legal deck size of forty cards. You could take out six cards and sideboard in nine to have a 43-card deck; that's legal. You can't do the reverse, however, since that would leave you with a 37-card deck.

In both formats, you must return your deck to the original configuration when you start a match with a new opponent.

If you're still playing when the round ends, you'll have five turns total, split between you and your opponent, to try to pull out a win. If neither of you can win it in that time, then that game ends in a draw.

At the end of fifty minutes, the player with the most game wins takes the match - so if your opponent won the first game and the second game ended in a draw at the end of fifty minutes, your opponent would win. A match only ends in a draw when both players are tied for game wins - either 1-1 or 0-0.

Each format has its own subformats, which you're expected to be familiar with: Constructed has Standard, Extended, Block, Type 1.5, and Vintage, while Limited has Sealed, Draft, and Rochester.

Let's take a look at Constructed formats first:

Constructed
To understand how Constructed works, you must understand that each Constructed format limits the amount of cards that you can play with. For example, you might be tempted to put together all the cards you own and create a deck... But Standard, the most popular format, only allows decks made from cards that are in the current base set and the past two blocks. You could make a deck that's based on an older card, like Mogg Fanatic - only to discover that you can't play Mogg Fanatic in your weekly tourney!

This is a strange concept to new players - why can't I just play with the cards that I own? - so we'll get into it in a bit more detail.

For each Constructed format, you play with a sixty-card deck and a fifteen-card sideboard, using only cards from the expansions that are listed in the official Magic: the Gathering floor rules, which you can find here. If a card is not from that set, you can't play with it.

However, if a card has been reprinted in a legal set, you can use an older card as long as it has the exact same name.

For example: Gravedigger was originally printed in Tempest, but was reprinted in Odyssey. As long as Odyssey is a legal Standard block, you can use your Tempest Gravediggers in Standard-legal decks.

However, Tempest's Cloudchaser Eagle is functionally the exact same thing as Odyssey's Aven Cloudchaser - the same mana cost, the same 2/2 flying creature, the same"destroys an enchantment when it comes into play" effect - but it has a different name. You can't play Cloudchaser Eagles in Standard tournaments.

Quite often, a set will"rotate out," thus rendering a previously-legal card illegal.

For example: Llanowar Elves was a card in 7th Edition, but is not in 8th Edition. When 8th Edition replaces 7th Edition in Standard, 7th is said to have"rotated out" of Standard, and you can no longer play with your Llanowar Elves.

Older formats also have banned or restricted cards - cards that are so overwhelmingly powerful that they ruined the fun for everyone. You can't play with banned cards at all, and you can only play with one copy of a restricted card. Check the list before you bring your deck to the tourney.

In addition, all Constructed cards must have the normal Magic backs. There are Unglued cards, special promo cards, and limited-edition releases that have"World Championship" backs and other variants - but you can't play with them. Don't even try.

Rather than rehash the legal sets in each form of Constructed - which, as we said, you can just look it up at the official Magic site - we'll just list what the formats are and how popular they are.

Standard, or Type 2
The most popular format by far, most players have a Standard deck they carry around with them - and most regular tournaments, like the weekly Friday Night Magic tourneys around the world, use Standard. Standard consists of the current base set and all cards from the last two blocks and their expansions. It is also the second-cheapest Constructed format to get into (the cheapest is Block Constructed, but that is only played at certain times of the year).

Extended
An older format that consists of six blocks and their base sets, Extended has just gone through a major change, where a significant number of staple cards rotated out of the environment - but it will remain static through 2004. It remains to be seen how popular it will be, although a lot of pro events are held in the Extended format. . There is an Extended"season" on the Pro Tour.

Block Constructed
Every summer, there is a Block Constructed format, consisting of only the cards from the current block. This is the least expensive format to get into, since there are less than eight hundred cards total to build your decks with - but many players feel the low number of cards decreases creativity in deckbuilding. It is a good place to start if you're aiming to go pro, however.

Vintage, or Type 1
The oldest format, this consists of all the cards ever printed. Unfortunately, Vintage decks tend to have a lot of older"power" cards that sometimes cost upwards of $100 per card to buy, making this an expensive format to get into at the pro levels. You can find inexpensive decks to start off with, however, although if you play Vintage a lot you'll probably want to buy the"power" cards eventually.

Type 1.5
This is Vintage format, with most of the"power" cards banned, thus making it an easier format to get into. At the time we wrote this, however, Type 1.5 was the least-played format of all, making it somewhat the weak sister of all other formats.

Limited
Limited formats are all about deadlines: You're either given or choose a set of cards, and you have about a half an hour to build the best deck you can out of what you have.

Sealed
The most common form of Limited, you are given a Tournament pack and two booster packs, then must build a forty-card deck out of your card pool. Many Magic players don't like Sealed because they feel it has a heavy element of luck, but it is the format of most limited PTQs and Grand Prixs because drafts - the better skill-tester, in many people's opinion - require a lot of supervision to do properly.

Draft
Draft is a strange format and it requires at least six people to work, but it is very popular. Each player is given three booster packs; at the judge's signal, each player opens a pack and chooses a card, then passes the remaining fourteen cards to his left. That player then picks a card from the fourteen cards that have just been passed to him, and then passes the remaining thirteen cards, and so on.

When all the cards have been picked, the second booster pack is opened and a card is picked, but this time the cards are passed to the right. For the third booster pack, the cards are passed, once again, to the left.

...It's a lot easier to watch than it is to explain.

At the end of the draft, each player has forty-five cards and must build a deck with the cards that they've chosen. There are many strategies involved in drafting, including seeing signals (realizing what colors someone is playing by the cards they're passing to you), forcing (staying in a color no matter what happens because you picked a powerful card in that color), and knowing what cards are high picks and what cards are low picks.

Rochester Draft
Called by many players"the most skill-intensive format," Rochester is, sadly, the most also supervision-intensive format ever - meaning that it doesn't happen that often, except at high-level events or with the direct supervision of a judge (or an experienced player who can direct events). Rochester Draft is similar to regular draft, except that everyone lays their cards out on the table and only one person picks at a time. Rochester is confusing to people who haven't played it before, since the order in which people pick is complex, so we suggest you either read the rules at Wizards' site or watch a game for yourself.

In your local area, there are one or more Premier Event organizers: Individuals, organizations, and stores hand-picked by the DCI to run local Premier Events. Because they're specially selected, Premier Event Tournament Organizers (frequently known as TOs) ensure a high degree of integrity for the tournament environment. The Wizards of the Coast Organized Play department serves as the TO for Worlds and the Pro Tour.

World Championships: The World Championships are the culminating event of professional Magic play for the season. Worlds is an Invitation-only event. There are several ways to get invited, but they all involve being really good (such as being on a National Team, super-high ratings, or scads of pro points). The five-day event showcases various individual and team, Limited and Constructed formats. It's run at REL 5, the K-value is 48 (the highest possible), and requires a Level 4 Head Judge.

European Championships (40K, REL 4, level 4 judge required): This multiple-day invitation-only event is currently open to the residents of about 40 countries in Europe, with the Top 8 qualifying for Worlds. To be eligible, you have to have been a resident of one of the appropriate countries since January 1 of the current year and meet the stringent qualification standards (like qualifying at National Championships or be highly-rated in Europe).

National Championships (40K, REL 4): Again, residency since 1 January in the appropriate nation is required. The number of ratings-based invitations given depend on the population of the country. Additionally, at US Nationals, players can"grind" in, by playing in one of the events the day/evening just prior to the event. These single-elimination grinders are among the best-attended and most fiercely contended events on the DCI schedule. The top 4 finishers at Nationals go to Worlds; the Top 3 compete in the Team event, with the 4^th being the alternate.

Regional Championships (32K, REL 3): Regional Championships provide an opportunity for players to earn invitations to their country's Nationals. The format for Regionals is Standard, generally played on a single day. Any citizen or permanent resident of a country is eligible to compete in any Regional Championship held in that country.

State/Province/Island/Territory Championships (24K, REL 2): State and Provincial Championships are offered in select countries. The format is always Standard. The events are open to all players who reside in the appropriate state/province. Unlike Regionals, Nationals, and Continentals, State and Provincial Championships do not feed into any other tournaments; they're solely for bragging rights and great prizes.

Masters Series Tournaments (48K, REL 5, Level 4 Judge): The Masters tournament series showcases the most accomplished players from the Pro Tour circuit in single-elimination events. Three of these events invite 32 players, and the fourth invites three-player teams. Every participant in a Masters event wins money and the competitors battle for a total prize purse of $150,000. Each Masters tournament is held in conjunction with a Pro Tour stop. Competitors earn invitations to a Masters tournament by placing highly in a Masters Series Gateway Tournament (40 K, REL 3, Level 3 Judge) held the day before the appropriate Masters event or by being rated highly in pro point standings.

These are the big guns in the DCI arsenal. There are other events considered Premier Events, to include Junior Super Series Championship (32K, REL 3), Junior Super Series Challenge tournaments (16K, REL 1), Friday Night Magic (8K, REL 1), the Amateur Championship (24K, REL 2): this title event is open to all players who have never earned a pro point. The format is Standard. Finally, there are the ever-popular Prerelease tournaments (16K, REL 2). Easily the best-attended Magic event, Prereleases showcase upcoming expansions before they're commercially available. It's most likely that a Prerelease was your first big DCI tournament. They remain to this day the most fun and interesting events sponsored by the DCI.

Tournament Tips
Let's be honest: There aren't many of them... But there are people who cheat at Magic, and there are more of them than you probably think. When there's a prize at stake, no matter how small, some scumbags will do anything to win it.

We're not saying that everyone who beats you is a cheater... But you should definitely take some precautions to make sure that some idiot doesn't get one over on you.

First of all, and most important: If you're unsure how something works, call a judge! Many people are reluctant to call a judge because it seems unsportsmanlike... But making sure that things are going right isn't unsporting, it's diligent. If you don't understand how something works, or you think that you (or your opponent) has done something wrong, raise your hand and ask a judge. This serves three purposes:

1) It makes sure that the game runs correctly. Your opponent may or may not know the most recent rulings, but the judge does - and more importantly, the judge doesn't care who wins.

2) It keeps the judge informed. Sure, maybe that guy made an honest mistake. Maybe he's made fifteen or sixteen of them over the course of the tournament. Telling the judge lets him know who's making mistakes, and how often... And in turn, that lets the judge know who he needs to be watching.

3) It educates you. Even if you're totally wrong, a good judge will explain what your mistake was. Think of calling the judge like raising your hand in class to ask a question - it takes time, but it benefits you.

Second rule: Always shuffle your opponent's deck. It's rare that anyone actually knows sleight-of-hand well enough to stack their deck... But why take a chance when it's so easy to prevent it? A couple of riffle shuffles will take care of that problem. Get in the habit.

(Incidentally, a lot of the guys who do stack their deck don't offer to shuffle yours, hoping to guilt you into not shuffling. They have no need to touch your deck - they're already guaranteed the best hand they could possibly have! Shuffle theirs, chum.)

When playing, it's not a requirement to have sleeved cards - but it is a requirement to have all of your cards facing the same way. Some notorious cheaters early on in the game discovered that if they put their"business" cards facing one way and the land facing the other, they could tell exactly where to cut their deck. If you've made a habit of shuffling so that some of your cards are top-up and some are bottom-up, you could get a penalty for a marked deck.

Always take the time to register carefully, and return your deck to the original state at the end of every match. At the beginning of every tournament, you'll be asked to write down the cards in your deck and turn it in to the judge; take your time and get it right. At least one person in every tournament (and sometimes as many as five or ten) is careless when registering their deck and either writes down the wrong cards or leaves a couple of cards off - and the penalty for that is, at a minimum, a game loss. Is it worth losing a game over a typo? We think not.

In the same vein, the deck you register at the beginning of the tourney is the one you have to play with. After every match is over, make sure you return your deck to its original condition - if you sideboarded cards in, sideboard them out again!

This is especially true in Limited, where some players discover there was a much better way to build their deck later in the day. It doesn't matter how much better the new configuration is; you have to start off each match with the same deck you wrote down at the beginning of the day.

Lastly, have fun. Don't be a jerk. Shake hands with your opponent and smile. Enjoy yourself! After all, Magic can be competitive - but it is always, first and foremost, a game!

Good luck!

- The Ferrett, editor
- Sheldon Menery, Megajudge