Tournament Rules
- Permitted and Banned Cards
-
-
Wave 1: Transformers TCG Booster Packs
• Convention Pack 2018
• Autobot Starter Set
• Metroplex Deck
• Convention Edition 2018
Wave 2: Rise of the Combiners
• Devastator Deck
• Bumblebee vs Megatron Starter Set
Wave 3: War for Cybertron: Siege I
• Convention Pack 2019
Blaster vs Soundwave (35th Anniversary Edition)
Blaster vs Soundwave (Retail Edition)
Wave 4: War for Cybertron: Siege II
Wave One Energon Edition (Character and Battle Cards) -
P1: Bumblebee - Electrum Warrior
P2: Omega Supreme - Autobot Defense Base
P3: Private Smashdown
P4: Flamewar - Veteran Decepticon (Gold Foil Variant)
P5: Bumblebee - Trusted Lieutenant (Gold Foil Variant)
P6: Private Red Alert - Medic (Gold Foil Variant)
P7: Nightbird - Enigmatic Agent
P8: Raider Runamuck - Infantry Soldier (Gold Foil Variant)
P9: Raider Runabout - Infantry Soldier (Gold Foil Variant)
P10: Raider Road Hugger - Infantry Tactics (Gold Foil Variant)
P11: All-Out Attack (Energon Edition Foil Variant)
P12: Tandem Targeting System (Energon Edition Foil Variant) -
The Battle Cards Swap Parts and Press the Advantage are banned from use in Constructed play.
The Battle Card Multi-Mission Gear has also been announced as banned.
-
- Sideboarding
-
-
Sideboards can contain 1 character card of 20 stars or fewer and up to 10 battle cards.
• No more than 3 copies of each Battle Card are allowed between a player's deck and sideboard.
• Duplicate character cards are not allowed between players' decks and sideboards.
• After sideboarding, decks must be legal. -
After each game in a match, the player who won that game chooses to sideboard a character
first, and declares their team. Then, the player who lost the previous game does the same. Then
both players swap battle cards between their main deck and sideboard simultaneously.
Players are not required to reveal how many battle cards they have swapped from their main
deck to their sideboard and do not have to swap one for one, but after sideboarding, their
sideboard may not exceed the maximum sideboard size (10 battle cards).
-
- Start of Match
-
-
For the first game of a match, the winner of a random method (such as a die roll or coin toss) chooses
either to play first or to play second.
After each game in a match, the loser of that game chooses to either play first or play second in the next
game. If the previous game was a draw, the player who chose at the beginning of the drawn game
chooses again.
-
- End of Match
-
-
A Transformers TCG match consists of a series of games that are played until one player has won two games. Drawn games do not count toward this goal. If the round ends before a player has won two games, the winner of the match is the player who has won the most games at that point. If both players have equal game wins, the match is a draw.
-
The player whose turn it is finishes their turn (including untapping all characters at the end
of the turn if all characters are tapped at this point). Play then continues as normal until a player
wins the game or all characters are tapped at the end of a turn. If the game is incomplete at the end
of the additional time, resolve Tiebreak procedures. -
If a judge assigned a time extension (because of a long ruling, deck check, or other reason), the end-of-match procedure does not begin until the end of the time extension.
-
If a game or match is not completed, players may concede or mutually agree to a draw in that game or match. A match is considered complete once the result slip is filled out or, if match slips are not being used, a player leaves the table after game play is finished.
Players may not agree to a concession or draw in exchange for any reward or incentive. Doing so will be considered Bribery (see section 5.2).
If a player refuses to play, it is assumed that they have conceded the match.
-
- Tie-Break
-
-
At the end of the additional time, if the players have won an equal number of games, each player counts the amount of health remaining on their characters on the battlefield. The player with the higher remaining health wins the match.
If the remaining health is tied, each player counts the total number of stars of their characters on the battlefield. The player with the higher total stars wins the match.
If the total stars are tied, each player flips the top two cards of their deck. The player who flips the most white battle icons wins. If still tied, players repeat flipping two cards from the top of their deck until the tie is broken. If a player’s deck needs to be shuffled, that player shuffles cards from their scrap pile and any cards flipped during the tiebreaker procedure.
If the tiebreaker procedure can’t break the tie (for example, if all cards in all decks have exactly one white battle icon), flip a coin to determine the winner. -
If a player wins a game in extra time, bringing the match score to a tie, players present their teams and their decks (without sideboarding) as though they were about to start another game, and then resolve the tiebreaker procedure.
-
- Play
-
-
Players can’t take more than two turns in a row under any circumstances. Any additional turns beyond two consecutive turns are skipped and not deferred or saved for the future.
-
If a card is tapped, it must be clearly turned approximately 90 degrees.
-
Hidden information refers to information a player isn’t allowed access to, such as the faces of cards in an opponent’s hand.
Throughout the match and pregame procedures, players are responsible for keeping their cards above the level of the playing surface and for making reasonable efforts to prevent hidden information from being revealed.
However, players may choose to reveal their hands or any other hidden information available only to them, unless specifically prohibited by the rules. Players must not actively attempt to gain information hidden from them.
-
- Tournament Rules
-
-
The Tournaments Rules may be downloaded from the WPN Transformers TCG Tournament Rules page.
-
Deck checks may be performed at any tournament at the option of the head judge. A deck check compares the deck registration list to the current contents of a player’s deck. If they do not match, appropriate penalties may be issued.
-
Players are allowed to take written notes during a match and may refer to those notes while that match is in progress. At the beginning of a match, each player’s note sheet must be empty and must remain visible throughout the match. Players do not have to explain or reveal notes to other players. Judges may ask to see a player’s notes and/or request that the player explain their notes.
Players may not refer to other notes, including notes from previous matches, during games.
Between games, players may refer to a brief set of notes made before the match. They are not required to reveal these notes to their opponents. These notes must be removed from the play area before the beginning of the next game. Players taking excessive amounts of time reviewing notes may be subject to Slow Play penalties. -
Players may use electronic devices to do the following:
- Take and review notes (as outlined in section 2.11).
- Briefly answer personal calls not related to the game.
- Players may not use electronic devices to access outside strategic sources (websites, forums, etc.) or communicate with others in order to receive outside assistance. Players taking excessive amounts of time using an electronic device may be subject to Slow Play penalties.
- Players wishing to view information privately on electronic devices during matches must request permission from a judge.
- The Head Judge of an event may further restrict or forbid the use of electronic devices during matches.
- Use of the Official Transformers TCG Companion App is permitted for damage/health tracking.
-
Sanctioned Transformers TCG tournaments require a minimum of four (4) players, and a minimum of two rounds must be played.
-
- Contructed Deck Construction
-
-
Constructed decks must contain a minimum of 40 cards. There is no maximum deck size. A deck may contain no more than 3 of any individual card based on its English name. A player may not use more than one character card bearing the same complete card name (character name plus subname). A player’s character cards and deck may have a total of no more than 25 Stars.
A card may only be used in a particular format if the card is from a set that is legal in that format or has the same name as a card from a set that is legal in that format.
Cards banned in a specific format may not be used in decks for that format.
-
- Outside the Game
-
-
When a card refers to “a Character card from outside the game”, those cards from outside the game must be in the possession of the player at the beginning of the match.
Character cards from outside of the game do not count as part of players’ teams, decks, and sideboards, but must be referenced by other cards that are part of a player’s team, deck, or sideboard
At the end of each game, any Character cards from outside the game that were introduced during play must be removed from players’ teams, decks, and sideboards.
Character cards from outside the game must be legal within the event format. -
When a card refers to “a Battle card from outside the game”, those cards from outside the game must be in player’s sideboard at the time of using the effect.
At the end of each game any Battle cards from outside the game that were introduced during play are returned to players’ sideboards.
Battle cards from outside the game come from the sideboard and adhere to all sideboard rules.
-
- Limited Deck Construction
-
-
Limited decks must contain a minimum of 25 battle cards. The maximum deck size is every card in the player’s card pool. Unlike Constructed decks, Limited decks may contain more than three of any battle card and more than one of any character card, as long as those cards are in the player’s card pool. A player’s character cards and deck may have a total of no more than 25 Stars.
-
The card pool consists of each character and battle card a player opens or drafts in a Limited tournament. Players participating in Limited tournaments may freely change the composition of their decks between matches (but not games) by exchanging cards from their deck for other cards in their card pool without being required to return their deck to its original composition before their next match. Players must ensure their deck has at least the minimum 25 battle cards after making any modifications.
-
