The SPELLFIRE LEAGUE RULES ********************************************************** Season 1 - Fall/Winter 2004/2005 =========================================================== I. What's New/Noteworthy This Season ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * PLEASE note that if you intend to play in Season 19 that your deck list (via e-mail in Crossfire Deck-it format) AND franchise/entry fee ($10) are DUE NO LATER THAN 10-31-04! * Our Timeline for Season 1 will be as follows: Rules Published - 10-1-04 Season Opener/Deck Deadline - 10-31-04 Mid-Season - 1/1/05 Finals - 3/1/05 thru 3/21/04 ============================================================ II. Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The SPELLFIRE LEAGE (The LEAGUE) is an association of people who want to play Magic on a seasonal/league basis. The League is managed by Michael Huebbe. The LEAGUE is *not* affiliated with Wizards of the Coast, TSR, or any other governing body involved in organized card game play. Players who wish to participate should: 1. Design a deck (See IV. Deck Construction), 2. Name their deck (decks w/o names will be ridiculed, not accepted), 3. Submit a Crossfire file (via E-mail) listing of your deck to the Manager before 10/31/04 4. Provide the League Manager with their $10 franchise/entry fee (non-refundable, used for buying prizes and for Server usage), address and an e-mail address 5. Arrange to play matches against the other participants. If a player has had a reasonably successful season, he or she will have earned the right to compete for prizes in the post-season play-offs during the season's Finals. ============================================================ III. Administrative ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Manager: The League is coordinated by League Manager, Michael Huebbe. The Manager is in charge of recording league stats and match results, making decisions about rules interpretations, selecting prizes, and generally running things and handling any problems. All game rules decisions and decisions about the operation of the League will be made by the Manager and will be final. Game rulings will generally be taken from the most up-to-date information available. The e-mail address (the preferred communication method) for the Manager is: Home: lordogre@aol.com Phone Number will be given out only in extreme circumstances. Entry Fee & Prizes: The NVML has a non-refundable entry fee of $10. The entry fee is due as of the Season Opener/Deck Submission Deadline. Once you have submitted your deck via e-mail (in Crossfire Format), you are obligated to pay the entry fee even if you decide to drop from the league mid-season. Entry fees will be used to purchase prizes and to reimburse for server time. Prizes of single Spellfire cards will be awarded to the top finishers of the season's playoffs. This season's prizes will be selected shortly after the start of the season and will be announced at that time. League Franchise: A franchise or membership in the league consists of a player and his deck. Both of these must be present at any occasion where a league match is to be played. No substitutions for either will be permitted in either regular-season or playoff matches. ============================================================ IV. Deck Construction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each player is responsible for constructing a (single) play deck that meets the following criteria: Size: A deck must have 55 cards (and no more than 5 chase), not including a Dungeon . Card Restrictions: For the duration of Season 1, we will be playing the 3-booster set format. This translates to the following: All cards in your deck must come from 3 booster sets of the deck owners choosing. Booster sets that are legal are: Ravenloft Dragonlance Forgotten Realms Artifacts Powers UnderDark Runes & Ruins Birthright Draconomicon Night Stalkers Dungeons Banned Cards: The following cards are NOT permitted for use: Poor Oriental Lord Cards from the 1st Edition thru 4th Edition Sets Deck Name: Your deck should have a cool name. What's *cool* is left up to you, but once you choose it, you are stuck with it for the season. ============================================================ V. Deck Valuation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This area is reserved for a time where the manager MAY decide to use a Salary Cap (or like) system for deck making. ============================================================ VI. Scoring, Standings, Schedule, League Structure, Playoffs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matches: Each player will play a set of matches (in a format of rounds per number of players for the season once it's determined how many players we've got for the season) against all (or some) of the other players in the League. A match is composed of a series of duels/games, played to the best two-out-of-three. If no victor can be determined after three duels (i.e. one win, one loss, one draw or three draws), the match will be declared a draw. Points: A point system will be used to determine League standings. For each match, a total of six (6) points will be awarded: Two (2) points will be awarded to the winner of each game. An additional two (2) point bonus will be awarded to a victor who vanquishes his/her opponent in each of their first two games. Also, each player will receive one (1) point for each match that they complete. The total of these points per player over a number of rounds will determine their seeding/inclusion in the season's playoffs. Match Results Reporting: Match results need to be reported to the Manager. Please include any write-ups of any interesting highlights of the match (if you wish). All match results and highlights will be broadcast to the LEAGUE via e-mail newsletter, and posted at the Yahoo Group site. League Standings: Regular-season standings will be determined using the following criteria, in this order: 1. Highest number of points earned 2. Best match win-loss record 3. Head-to-head match results 4. And if all else fails - an additional playoff match. Match Scheduling: Matches will be held on the Crossfire Server. A strict schedule will not be maintained. However, all players are expected/encouraged to play matches in a timely manner and attempt to complete all matches in a season. The season will begin with a Season Opener and end with a Grand Finale. If any matches have not been completed by the close of the season, their outcomes will be decided by the Manager. If you find yourself with the likelihood of having unfinished matches at the end of the regular season, you are encouraged to provide the Manager with written (via email) justifications as to why you are or are not to blame for this occurrence. In the absence of a suitable justification, the record of both players will suffer for the season. Any player who fails to play at least 50% of their matches will have ALL of their results stricken from the league standings. Further, players must complete at least 80% of their matches to be eligible for participation in playoffs. Exact numbers will be announced when we know how many players we have for the season. Rules Published - 10-1-04 Season Opener/Deck Deadline - 10-31-04 Mid-Season - 1/1/05 Playoffs - 3/1/05 thru 3/21/04 League Structure, Playoffs & Prizes: At the beginning of the season, each player will be informed of what matches he/she must play over the course of the season. It is the player's responsibility to see to it that these matches get played. The exact layout of rounds (or divisions) will be announced at or immediately after the Season Opener of the regular season. The Playoffs will occurs over the course of 3 weeks with one round being completed each week. If a player who is eligible for the playoffs cannot attend the playoff event, then he or she will be excluded from the playoffs and all playoff contenders seeded below him/her will move up in seeding. This will also result in a non-playoff contender being given a berth in the playoffs. Runner-up winners that cannot attend the playoffs still be awarded their card prize at a later date. =========================================================== VII. Special Game Rules ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ante: Games will -not- be played for ante! Multiple Wordings: Cards that have appeared in multiple editions with multiple wordings will be interpreted according to the wording of the most recent printing of the card. Who Goes First: Standard cut and look at number for the first game, but the loser of the previous game in the match will have this option for subsequent duels. Mulligans: Standard 2 turn no-realm mulligan Time Limits: If a game (not a match) continues for 90 minutes, it will be called. At this point, the players involved should attempt to determine between themselves if one player has a superior position (be honest). If both players can agree on this point, the player with the better position will be awarded a win. Alternately, if both players agree that the game is too close to decide, they may declare the game a draw. If the players can not agree, the Manager may be called in to examine the situation. If the Manager is unavailable, or if they can not determine if one player has the advantage, the game will be declared a draw. The clock should be stopped for mundane pauses in a duel, such as phone calls or going to the bathroom. Stalling play to force the game to be called on time will not be tolerated. The Manager will give one warning before pitching any player out of the League for a second offense. Mistakes/Illegal Plays: If a mistake is discovered during a game in progress, the players involved may elect to settle it in whatever fashion both find agreeable. If the players cannot agree, the duel MUST be referred to the Manager for review. In lue of referring the duel to the Manager, the players can agree to call the game (not the entire match) and replay it. If a mistake is discovered in a concluded duel or if a duel is referred to the Manager for review, the Manager has the option of letting the duel stand or declaring a rematch. The Manager (in consultation with the players involved) decides the terms of all rematches. ========================================================== VIII. Special Playoff Rules ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Format: The Playoffs will feature the top 8 players (or maybe 12) from the regular season based on points earned during rounds played (see Section VI. VI. Scoring, Standings, Schedule, League Structure, Playoffs - Points). Time Limits: During the Playoffs, the 90 minute time limit for a duel will be suspended. All playoff games will be played to completion. Sudden Death: Draws will not be permitted in Playoff matches. If a match would otherwise be a draw, the players will begin a series of "sudden-death" duels. Duels will continue to be played until one player wins a "sudden-death" duel outright, thus winning the match. ========================================================== IX. Appendix - Banned Lists ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------- Banned Cards: The following cards not allowed in any deck... Poor Oriental Lord Cards from 1st thru 4th edition sets --------------- Permitted Sets/Cards: Ravenloft Dragonlance Forgotten Realms Artifacts Powers UnderDark Runes & Ruins Birthright Draconomicon Night Stalkers Dungeons =========================================================== SAMPLE DECK LISTING: (For example only - Some cards and format of deck may not be Season 1 legal.) Total Cards: 55 + Dungeon Card Total Levels: 90 Created by Michael Huebbe Email: lordogre@aol.com Ally (7) 4th/246 The Dreaded Ghost, (+9), C DU/046 Troglodyte, (+5), C DU/048 Lurker in the Earth, (+9), UC DU/051 The White Weird, (+7), R DU/053 Master Illithid, (+7), UC UD/074 Chitine, (+4), C UDc/23 Drow Assassin, (+3), VR Artifact (3) 4th/457 Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, (AD&D/+3), C 4th/468 Throne of the Drow, (AD&D/+4), C 4th/520 The Winner's Cape, (TSR/+10), VR Dungeon (1) MI/049 Barracks of the City of Greyhawk, (GH), V Event (5) 3rd/202 Slave Revolt!, UC 4th/119 Cataclysm!, UC 4th/120 Good Fortune, UC 4th/131 The Caravan, UC UD/021 Drow Justice, R Holding (3) 4th/085 Fortification: Bailey, (GH), UC NS/018 Cavern of Ancient Knowledge, (AD&D), R UD/015 The Tripolar Cavern, (AD&D), UC Magical Item (2) 4th/168 Ghost Crystal, (+5), C IQ/068 Orb of Delight, (+6), C Realm (12) 4th/001 Menzoberranzan, (FR), UC CH/068 Picque Moi, (AD&D), V RR/009 Demonweb Pits, (AD&D), C UD/002 The Unipolar Triumvirate, (AD&D), C UD/003 UnderKrynn, (DL), C UD/004 The Bipolar Triumvirate, (AD&D), UC UD/006 The Tripolar Triumvirate, (AD&D), R UD/007 UnderToril, (FR), C UD/008 UnderOerth, (GH), C UDc/05 The Deep, (AD&D/7), VR UDc/06 The Ultimate Triumvirate, (AD&D), VR UDc/07 The Dispossessed, (AD&D), VR Unarmed Combat (1) 4th/440 Blind Side!, (+4), C Wizard Spell (6) 1st/437 Estate Transference, VR 2nd/393 Disintegrate, R 3rd/347 Improved Phantasmal Force, (+6), C AR/058 Mirror Image, UC BR/063 Drawmij's Instant Summons, UC FRc/20 Phase Door, (+7), VR Champions (16) 1st/055 Crime Lord, (FR/7), UC 1st/166 Lolth, the Spider Queen, (GH/9), R 3rd/071 Drow Matron, (FR/5), UC 3rd/163 Tysiln San, (GH/5), UC 4th/253 Drizzt Do'Urden, (FR/8), C 4th/322 Malleyahl, (FR/4), C 4th/323 Malaruat, (FR/6), C 4th/324 Maleficent, (FR/8), C 4th/328 Salurana, (DL/3), C 4th/337 Ansalong, (DL/2), C 4th/489 Lolth, the Spider Avatar, (GH/21), R PO/059 Tako, (FR/6), UC UD/092 Jarlaxle, (FR/5), C UD/093 Ellorelloran, (GH/9), C UD/094 Zaknafein the Weapons Master, (FR/9), C UDc/01 Lazarus the Drow, (FR/4), VR Michael Huebbe aka The OGRE The Semi-retired Head Spellfire Geek **************************** Do not meddle in the affairs of ogres, for you are crunchy and good with catsup.