Welcome back everyone. This week were taking a peak at another Silver scenerio. Think carefully and let us know how you would solve the issue. Feel free to let us know any questions you may want to ask.
You are the Head Judge of a Legacy tournament being run at Competitive REL. In game two, Alex shows that they can gain arbitrary life using a combo with Kitchen Finks, and gains 10 billion life. Nathan agrees, then Alex says they have an Aetherflux Reservoir in their deck.
Nathan says that they have no outs, but wants to continue playing out the game. Nathan is up 1-0 in the match, and continues playing at their normal pace, attacking and casting spells that they draw.
Alex calls for a judge and explains they are worried about time running out when Nathan has admitted they have no way to win the match. Nathan explains they are aimng to draw the game by the time in the round running out.
What do you do?
Edited Matt Muckle (Aug. 25, 2025 02:14:34 PM)
Neither play has commited an infraction
As Blake mentioned Alex is concerned their opponet may be stalling as they are trying to take advantage of the clock to win the match rather than winning by their deck or boardstate directly. Stalling is defined as:
A player intentionally plays slowly in order to take advantage of the time limit.
Here Nathan is trying to take advantage of the time limit but is not intentionally playing slowly to do so. Its also important to remember that even though a player tells an opponet they dont have a way to win, this information does not have to be accurate. They would be allowed to do this then take advantage of a careless stratigic mistake.
It is also important to regognize a change of pace in play may also be stalling even if the pace would normally be fast enough. For example, if Nathan was instantly making every action in a rush before the infinite life and only slowed down to think about all their decisions after the combo, this is something we may want to review for slow play and stalling.
Great job with your answers everyone.
No issue here. Remind them to continue to play at a reasonable pace.
There is almost definitely some 'feels bad' here but you don't have to concede just because you can't win. As long as they are not slowing down to intentionally play the clock then I'm doing nothing.
In my imagination this is not the fastest judge call so I'm likely issuing an extension, which may be a touchy subject considering the matter
Alex is worried their opponent may be committing Slow Play or, more aggressively, Stalling.
This is not the case - Nathan is playing his turn at a normal pace, and he is not required to conceed even if he has no way to win a game. It is even possible that Alex does not actually have the Aetherflux Reservoir in his deck. It's highly unlikely, but given that the card is in a hidden zone he is more than permitted to lie to his opponent about its existence there (though not to a judge).
I would begin by informing Alex that Nathan is not currently Stalling, which is Slow Play with the intent of taking advantage of the time limit, and as long as Nathan continues playing at a normal pace, Nathan is not required to conceed, even if he has no means of winning the game. Continue playing, if Alex cannot win by the end of overtime turns, Nathan will have won the match.
Furthermore, as Head Judge, I would ensure the match continues to be monitored closely for slow play, most likely by situating a Floor Judge close to the game. While Alex's complaints are not valid at this time, he is correct that Nathan could be incentivized to stall if he believed he could get away with it. Ensuring the match is being monitored will help keep the game fair for both players.
Neither play has commited an infraction
As Blake mentioned Alex is concerned their opponet may be stalling as they are trying to take advantage of the clock to win the match rather than winning by their deck or boardstate directly. Stalling is defined as:
A player intentionally plays slowly in order to take advantage of the time limit.
Here Nathan is trying to take advantage of the time limit but is not intentionally playing slowly to do so. Its also important to remember that even though a player tells an opponet they dont have a way to win, this information does not have to be accurate. They would be allowed to do this then take advantage of a careless stratigic mistake.
It is also important to regognize a change of pace in play may also be stalling even if the pace would normally be fast enough. For example, if Nathan was instantly making every action in a rush before the infinite life and only slowed down to think about all their decisions after the combo, this is something we may want to review for slow play and stalling.
Great job with your answers everyone.
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