I think the issue here is that those additional Pack Rats are being stored with the rest of the deck and sideboard. This causes issues of which cards are being boarded or not. If the player were to keep those extra Pack Rats separate from the MD/SB entirely, with different sleeves, then I think we could allow it as long as the player identifies what they are to the opponent. This way the opponent knows what and where they are so that they cannot be illegally boarded in. Again, this would require keeping those cards COMPLETELY separate from the MD/SB AND remembering to identify them to the opponent. With that said, it would probably be much easier on everyone if they just used some other means for Pack Rat Tokens.

A player at my LGS printed paper copies of Pack Rats and glued them onto Un-cards so that they had silver borders and put them in different sleeves than the MD/SB.

Originally posted by Dan Milavitz:

I could see an argument to allow the extra pack rats to be kept as tokens because they can't conceivably be played in that player's deck, they already have 4 in the deck, so they couldn't play the extras. Not sure I would agree with this argument, but if I were a player trying to avoid a GL for this, I would bring it up. Also, as a judge, would you allow a player to keep their extra pack rats in a separate box and bring them out when they need to use them as tokens?

I would not. First, because the chance of accidentally shuffling them into the deck (causing you to start the next game with seven Pack Rats in your deck) would be problematic. Second, because, as Gimena noted above, it's important for the opponent to be able to figure out which are tokens and which are actual cards.

Originally posted by Dan Milavitz:

Additionally, I would allow this at Regular REL because the IPG only applies at competative and I've never seen a judge ask a player to not keep his/her deck in a box with other cards, which is very common among casual/FNM players.

I'd discourage this at Regular as well. While we don't do deck checks at Regular, and the IPG does not apply, it's still likely to cause problems when you go to sideboard and 10 extra Pack Rats spill out of your deckbox - that's enough to make most players call a judge over to ask what's going on. Would I issue a game loss? No - that's not supported by the JAR. Would I ask you to not keep format-legal cards that could conceivably be played in your deck, and aren't in your deck/sideboard, out of your deckbox? Yes.

If you absolutely must use them, just keep them in your bag separate from your sideboard so you don't get them mixed in. Or use a Rat token. Or use a Relentless Rats or Plague Rats or Zodiac Rat. Just not another copy of one of the most important cards in your deck.

Additional Pack Rats should not be stored with the sideboard, even in different sleeves.

First, the complete text of the relevant part of the IPG:

Additionally, if there are extra cards stored with the sideboard that could conceivably be played in the player’s deck, they will be considered a part of the sideboard unless they are:
• Promotional cards that have been handed out as part of the tournament.
• Double-faced cards represented by checklist cards in the deck.
• Double-faced cards being used to represent the ‘night’ side of cards in the deck.
These cards must not be sleeved in the same way as cards in the main deck and/or sideboard.

That last sentence must be considered in context - “These cards” refers back to the cards that are noted as exceptions - i.e., those instances where the cards will be allowed. That last sentence does NOT allow additional cards (that could conceivably be played in the deck) just because they're in different sleeves.

Next, on that “could conceivably be played” phrasing:
• could they be cast using the mana in the deck?
• are they legal for the format?
Please don't add subjective criteria (e.g., “no one would ever play Scathe Zombies”) when applying this criteria; it leads to inconsistencies. (Sorry, Dustin!)
Another misconception to dispel: just because it's illegal to play 8 Pack Rats doesn't mean it's not conceivable they could be played. In fact, quite the opposite: the fact they could play more than four (of a very good card) is the very concern we're addressing here.

Now, could a player put Pack Rats in different sleeves, and store them separate from the deck & sideboard, and be OK? Technically, yes - that meets the requirements as stated above, and in this quote from the MTR:

Other items (token cards, double-faced card represented in the deck by a checklist card, etc) should be kept separate from the sideboard during game play.

I would urge players to NOT do this, as it causes confusion for judges and spectators.

d:^D

Then, based on this quote from the MTR (“Other items (token cards, double-faced card represented in the deck by a checklist card, etc.) should be kept separate from the sideboard during game play.”), my question is: what should I do if I make a deckcheck and I find a bunch of Delvers inside the same box where the sideboard is?

I usually find a player that runs Pack Rats and has over 10 “tokens” made of photocopies of the real cards. They are full color, high quality copies, and you would mistake them for real cards from far (but not from his opponent perspective, nevertheless). They are sleeved in a different color and kept in his box with his sideboard. Is this the same case, or since they are photocopies easily identificable by checking them there wouldn't be any problem?

High-quality copies of Magic cards should be avoided. Those could either be considered proxies or counterfeits.

I doubt if the player(s) in your example intended to create counterfeits, so it should fairly easy to explain why they should not use those tokens. All the same, we need to be firm on this.

Originally posted by Gimena Pombo:

Then, based on this quote from the MTR (“Other items (token cards, double-faced card represented in the deck by a checklist card, etc.) should be kept separate from the sideboard during game play.”), my question is: what should I do if I make a deckcheck and I find a bunch of Delvers inside the same box where the sideboard is?

Gimena, I believe what you do should depend on how the cards are sleeved and the number of cards.

If the Delvers are in the same sleeves as the rest of the deck/sideboard then issue a game loss as they will be considered part of the sideboard.

If the Delvers are in different sleeves then they fall under the exception listed in the IPG.

I would also check to make sure that the number of extra Delvers equals the number of Delvers being run in the deck. If the player is running 4 Delvers in the deck, I would be fine with them having 4 Delvers in different color sleeves in the sideboard- having any more than that would raise a red flag in my head.

Originally posted by Scott Marshall:

High-quality copies of Magic cards should be avoided. Those could either be considered proxies or counterfeits.

I doubt if the player(s) in your example intended to create counterfeits, so it should fairly easy to explain why they should not use those tokens. All the same, we need to be firm on this.

There's a player at a shop I judged at in Iowa who photoshopped Pack Rat into the token frame & printed a bunch of those (attached to advertising cards so as not to have the regular card back) to use as tokens. I allowed that (once) at regular REL because there's no way those could be mistaken for real cards, in fact weren't real cards & the player had nothing else with him that could legally be used to represent those tokens, but is that something that should be allowed in the future? It's treading dangerously close to the counterfeiting example you cited, but is it close enough to be a policy issue?

The player is clearly not trying to create counterfeit cards, nor even proxies.

However, he is using copyrighted material - including the art! - without permission. Granted, he's not seeking profit in doing so, but I have no idea what would happen if lawyers got involved. And, frankly, I'd not want to find out - YMMV!

d:^D