So, there is some debate about the MTR and the rules pertaining to dropping during a Draft.

So a player, for reason such as family emergency, illness, or just opening a Tarmogoyf and Foil Tarmogoyf, decides to drop as soon as they open their first pack.
They haven't picked or passed anything yet, and they wish to drop and bring their three packs with them
The MTR says that the tournament materials are not theirs until the tournament is completed, or they have legally dropped. My question is if this is a legal drop or not? And if so, are they allowed to take their cards with them?

I'm inclined to believe yes, but have heard many conflicting things, so i a definitive answer would be appreciated.

Edited Don Diaz (June 4, 2013 06:03:53 PM)

This is really up to the TO to decide how he or she wants to handle it. Of course, the judge will get to figure out the best way to fix the draft, but the TO decides what to do with those cards.

That wording in the MTR is there to provide TOs with a solid position, if the TO elects to keep “their” cards. If the TO decides to let the player keep the cards, that's fine, too.

Imagine at a Grand Prix, for example, where you have thousands of players opening, registering, then swapping card pools. It can be disruptive to handle a scenario where a player opens something they want to keep, and exits before the deck swap. Again, that wording in the MTR backs up the staff when they tell that player “those aren't your cards, yet”.

I missed one key (recent) addition to the MTR:

Players are not considered to own the cards until
the tournament finishes or they legally drop.

Part of what we're thinking by adding that, is wanting to avoid the disruption caused by players who simply disappear. By extension, that means that a player who opens an insane card pool could inform the scorekeeper that they want to drop, then leave with the cards that they opened - they now own them, having fulfilled that obligation.

My first response to this probably put way too much emphasis on the idea that TOs could insist on keeping the cards. There is a basis for that, but it's somewhat offset by the simple requirement (legally dropping) before the player becomes the owner of those cards.

To be fair, it would probably be horrible customer service to refuse to let a player keep the foil Jace the Mind Sculptor they just opened. No matter how randomly you handle a deck swap, that player and their friends will conclude it was favoritism - and what if a known friend of the TO or a judge (who's playing) ends up with it? Public Outrage! :)

And part of the original question was, can a player “legally” drop in the middle of a draft? Yes. We can all imagine scenarios in which no one would question that player's need to drop (medical or other personal emergency, etc). I suspect none of us really wants to try and define all the circumstances in which it's justifiable, and those in which it's not. (One of the bugaboos of writing policy is all those fine little hairs that can get split…)

So, since it's damnably difficulty to define when it's NOT legal to drop from an in-progress draft? It seems much wiser to just respect that player's decision; obviously, the factors were sufficient for them to decide it was the better course of action.

Hopefully, I've cleared this up a bit, not muddied it further; just in case, I'll leave this formerly-closed thread open, in case there are clarifying questions. (Note: this is still not a discussion forum, it's for Q&A; please, respect that.)

James Bennett wrote up an excellent summary of this topic:

http://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1fmfas/the_11_modern_masters_cards_youd_be_crazy_not_to/cabsl9e

So with Modern Masters about to be drafted en mass, would it be wise as judge and TO make an announcement to just make it clear that while the DCI and their rules have no issue with dropping after opening a sweet pack, the TO has “X” policy (ours being that you can't participate in further Modern Masters Drafts)?

At least that is the general vibe I'm getting from reading the posts both here on reddit and others.

I was discussing this with one of my player/judges today.

I believe an answer to the problem is to not draft the foils.

The person opening the pack will keep the foil and the draft will go on with the 14 card pack that we have been used to drafting for the last year or two.

Yes it removes 3 cards from your possible playing pool but it no longer means you lose if you leave the draft because of a valuable rare/mythic and foil card.

Jim

Seems this question has gotten the attention of Wizards.
The Rules Manager for M:TG, Matt Tabak, posted this on his Tumblr just a few minutes ago:

Question:
There seems to be lots of confusion around what happens to product when a player drops mid-draft. Do they get to keep all of the product they've drafted? Everything including the pack they're currently picking from and unopened packs? I sit up to the TO? Any chance we can get 7.3 (and any other relevant sections) updated to make this 100% clear? - yeef
Answer:
If people leave during a draft, there’s nothing we’re going to do to stop them. It’s not Theft of Tournament Materials. It’s just them dropping. I bid them good day.
I’ll mention it to the tournament rules team, but I can’t say whether they will update anything.
You may find strong opinions to the contrary on Reddit and other sites’ forums, but they’re not correct. :)

http://tabakrules.tumblr.com/post/52389954890/there-seems-to-be-lots-of-confusion-around-what-happens

Edited Don Diaz (June 7, 2013 02:14:36 PM)

Removing the foils like that is probably not supported by the MTR (I don't have it handy on the phone). So if you do that you'll probably have to run it as a Casual Limited event rather than a sanctioned draft with PWPs for the players.

I hope we can get a pretty definite answer on this before my store's draft tonight, as I expect to see this behavior pretty heavily.

From what I understand, Matt Tabak is stating that it is perfectly within the rules to drop from a tournament and take your packs with you during the draft portion, correct?

EDIT: Completely misread James' post. All clear now, thanks!

Edited Christopher Heskett (June 7, 2013 03:21:16 PM)

@Christopher - unless I post otherwise in the very near future (or someone from Wizards does), assume that Jim's suggestion of removing foils is not allowed. (I'm currently waiting for confirmation on that very point.)

If you were referring to “is it legal to drop in the middle of the draft?”, then please review my posts, above; also, check the links provided by Toby and Don.

P.S. - closing the thread to avoid unofficial answers.

Edited Scott Marshall (June 7, 2013 03:26:37 PM)