How to Catch People Cheating at Magic: The Gathering 

Like a 3 strikes your out rule, you get 3 counters you lose or are penalized ie you lose a turn, you discard your hand, you sacrifice your highest strength creature etc

Like naruto chunin exam

What a weird way to cheat 🤔 even if you weren't cheating, you'd still be known as the toilet drafter

One of the regulars at my LGS has a story from his previous LGS. There was a guy who showed up at an event tried to sneak a card from his collection into his sealed pool. But English wasn't his first language, so he thought nothing of inserting the _Portuguese_ version of the card. Mixed card languages were just normal to him, I guess. Or maybe the guy made the story up. Either way, it's interesting!

@@outputcoupler7819 A similar thing happened with my local cheater. He accidentally snuck in a jumpstart card into a New Capenna prerelease kit.

We had a clique who would just blatantly go to the backroom, open packs and then trade each other so they all made great decks.

I love sealed players who cheat and still lose

Have you tried using the torus knot cheat?

I have a question for the judge. If my opponent chooses to shuffle my deck rather than cut may I cut afterwards to prevent them from putting a card to the top of my deck?

This is a very good tip for whoever plays in competitive level tournaments ☝️

You should spray perfume over specific ones so you can fetch them by smell!

@@Rodinj10 I just watched that episode for the first time and laughed so hard at the perfume thing. The recent Yu-Gi-Oh crossovers have borne many unexpected fruit.

@@outputcoupler7819 The marked card bit only made me think of the ridiculous Yu-Gi-Oh stuff. Honestly glad someone got that reference 😁

Also, when you resleeve, shuffle your sideboard and your deck together first. It's possible that some sleeves might have factory defects, and they might be on clumps of sleeves next to each other in the box. So if your cards are all nice and organized when you resleeve, you could end up with slightly different sleeves on only lands, or only your sideboard, for example. If you shuffle everything together, any defects would be more uniform and spread out. It's unlikely, but possible

That sucks. I hope you won anyway.

Just random cut his library each time As far as preventing the chuffle (cheating shuffle) split shuffle before you present your deck to your opponent or make sure your deck stays face down Also some opponents will shuffle in a way it lightly bends a corner

Call a Judge! This is a rules violation. If I would get called in such an Instance, this would get him a warning.

@@badvoodoo2097 Good advice but if your opponent picks it up and fully rotates it in his hands so he can see the bottom of your deck, it doesn't matter how you present your deck to him.

In cases like this, if you are at a game store or a tournament, please always call a judge. Even if it does not end up amounting to much in your game, if enough people notify the people responsible for the tournament, this person will get penalized and will think twice before doing this in the future

Yeah, exactly, you gotta know the difference between someone who means no harm and someone who does. Recently I played a few games with a few friends, including a guy I had never met before.The guy was very blatantly mana weaving in between games, as in, doing it right in front of us.He clearly didn't think of it as cheating, and you know, I can see why, most people grow up playing playground magic without actually learning the proper rules and stuff. I didnt bother calling him out on it cause I didnt wanna be that one "Aksually" guy, and we were only playing for fun anyways so who cares if he does it, but were it in a competitive enviroment I'd do it for sure.

It's important for people to know about mana weaving since a simple cut doesn't fix anything. I'm surprised it didn't come up in the video.

@@ElGrandeFatso Aksually, mana weaving is not cheating. The official rules state you are allowed to do any ordering to your deck before the randomization occurs. At the end of the game your lands are all clumped up, but even more you touch them more often during a game and spread more oil from your hands, causing them to stick together when you're attempting to shuffle. If you roughly spread them out throughout the deck before a shuffle they stick less.

@@DiegoSanchez-tb2bo That part isn't the cheating, you're right. But the player who did it has still cheated provided they did not then sufficiently randomize. When I have to explain it I like to use the example that if you have sufficiently randomized, your mana weaving didn't have any impact, and if you mana weaving did affect the order of your cards, then you haven't sufficiently randomized. You bring up an interesting point in relative stickiness. I haven't experienced that myself, but it seems reasonable. I'd prefer to discourage the practice of mana weaving and suggest other methods of distribution, but hey, as long as you thoroughly randomize, you do you.

@@DiegoSanchez-tb2bo If you're like me and sweaty hands cause gloss back sleeves to stick together, then just play with single or double matte sleeves. Makes shuffling easier. In terms of weaving, it looks bad on the person doing it as they are manipulating their deck before shuffling. A lot of people I've seen at my LGS weave but when you watch them attempt to mash shuffle, it's painful. They've obviously learned that they have to weave because they're just crap at shuffling in the first place. Two pile shuffles (into piles of 7, natch) with a couple of mashes in-between, has never failed me with proper randomisation of the deck. Commander decks are a PITA, especially if your deck is search heavy so I usually only pile shuffle between every couple of games to smooth the land around.

That is so kind of you to say 😃 I mean, we definitely have fun hanging out. If ever you are in Berlin, you should write us to maybe join our next FNM :)

JEEEEEZUS, thats fucked

eww

That's the grossest cheat ever. Eww

That's a good rule.

I see the point but if a game goes long sometimes things can slip the mind every now and then I play commander with a buddy and it happens a decent bit. Call my memory faulty but it can happen.

Thats mostly just accident not cheating

@@mrfoodskater not with the rate it happens.

@@bobowon5450 in tourneys maybe

Judge Tower 2: Electric Boogaloo, now with cheats. Get your binders of Cheatyfaces!

Close to a decade ago, there was someone who won a Star City Games doing exactly this. His name was Trevor Humphries, and I remember it was the first time I witnessed a cheating incident in magic. He shuffled instead of doing a normal cut, and he even did it on camera. You'd think if you're the featured match that you'd stop cheating to not get caught

This! So much this! Always call the judge! They're there to help. Never decide against calling them because of social pressure. The judge system only works when we let it work.

@@outputcoupler7819 Exactly. The only people that are going to care about you calling a judge are the people trying to angle shoot. 99.9% of the time, it's nothing serious. Maybe at worst someone gets a warning. But you make sure that you get the ruling right and that the judge team is made aware of the situation so that if further incidents arise with the same player it can all be taken in to account for the proper punishment. Cheaters get away with cheating for so long because most players are too afraid or embarrassed or w/e to call a judge. Don't let them.

​@gravitronlocksport9925 nah or you are calling a judge cause you are angle shooting or thought you caught your opponent out somehow. There are times to call judges and times where you are a dingus

I don't like the shuffle in addition to cutting rule, as that allows the opponent to do a "choice card on top" shuffle. A clear cut is the best way to avoid any cheating from any of the players.

ru-vid.comH1e8JpRJXys ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nQnswlmx28I.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_EFuElOXRIU.html There ya go

Yeah, Thoralf already has made this video... especially with EDH decks, which are harder to shuffle.

If you're anything like me, the correct way to shuffle a deck is "continuously, for fifty minutes, between draft rounds because you got a bye." And then you mull to five on two one-landers. Every. Time.

Id have decked the guy after the event, if any cards got physically damaged. Super selfish and disrespectful.

I had a dude at a GP flip half of his own deck around when shuffling, and then call a judge and claim i did it when i cut his deck. the judge didn't buy it but this kind of angle shooting def happens and is a really really pathetic way to try to get a free win.

I’d be very angry if my opponent deliberately damaged my cards just to get a free win! Very selfish, cruel, and disrespectful!

At Competitive REL or higher, pile shuffling is not considered sufficient to randomize your deck. If someone does it, tell them to pick it up and shuffle it for real or call a judge.

@@gravitronlocksport9925 you are allowed to do it though

@@SniperGoldfish Only as the first thing you do, to count the number of cards in your deck. Pile "shuffling" is still not shuffling.

@@JivanPal okay. if I shuffle the deck, and then last decide the pile shuffle is it then shuffled?

@@SniperGoldfish According to the Magic Tournament Rules (MTR), no, it isn't. There is every possibility that you may be using pile shuffling to stack your deck, i.e. to place cards in specific positions within your deck. The MTR is very clear on this: §3.10 Card Shuffling: "Pile shuffling may not be performed other than once each at the beginning of a game to count the cards in the deck."

I would let the Tournament organizer and Head judge at the event know in advance in case anything happens in a game and there are some clarity problems. I would also inform your opponent of your hearing loss to ensure they understand where you are coming from for everyone to be on the same page to avoid confusion and potential problems. I'm sure this is what you probably planned on doing anyways and do not need a random on the internet to tell you.

@@AbstractMarcher luckily it's being played at my regular store so the organisers know about the help I need. It's not usually a huge problem but I figure that it does inconvenience opponents whilst playing under time. I just get jumpy about it because people have used it to their advantage in the past. Still, I'm playing goblins so it's scientifically impossible for me to have a bad time.

J!mothy is correct. There is no reason for you to worry about your opponents if it comes to taking their time to clearly pace out their plays. It's part of the rules for them to do so :) make sure everyone is understanding what is going on and playing fair magic, and then you are in a space that should ensure everyone has fun. Feel free to let the judges present know if ever an opponent is not making you feel comfortable. Also... Goblins ❤️

@@incredibleflameboy That's good to hear. I would double check who the Head judge is for the event to be safe due to the significance of the event. It may not be who normally does it. Definitely make sure to get a judge call at the ready by any means you can if someone tries that crap. Don't need that at an RCQ. Gobbos gonna gobbo. Best of luck to you at the RCQ. Kickass and take names.

I played against a deaf player at GP Copenhagen one year and it was a pretty cool experience. Before the start of the game, they handed me a piece of paper explaining they were deaf and politely asking to be extra clear when taking game actions to avoid confusion. I mostly used hand gestures to communicate and checked frequently with my opponent that we were both in agreement about what was happening. We completed the match without issue and well within time (I lost lol).

> Playing MTG at a competitive level for a number of years definitely made me really picky about shuffling etiquette. It's not just you; watch how Reid Duke shuffles. He always very intentionally looks away from the table/deck.

Loved the pau-pun!

As long as it's an honest mistake and you notify a judge immediately, no harm done :) congrats on the win!

i've seen these on the clear front; have you encountered them on the back as well? were they dual mattes or mattes or custom art?

We are filming commander with MTG Goldfish next week :)

Thank you for the kind comment :)

TWO explores. It's not an accident he's called BertonCheaty.

Yes we forgot to mention the best way to avoid cheating: have a wholesome playgroup :)

Yes this is very important :)

Ya especially at 3:20,

This is only to help people avoid these situations in the future. We realized that so much of the content about cheating on RU-vid is about shaming players, we thought it would be good to put something out there that is about helping others instead of bullying specific individuals

@@CardmarketMagic Oh, absolutely. I intended my comment to be mildly humorous. The videos on this channel are always so much appreciated!

Hey, more views are always appreciated! Lol

As long as you are not playing competitive tournaments and you don't use the difference in your sleeves to an unfair advantage, if your friends don't mind, then you are doing nothing wrong :)

It's my understanding that if your opponent fully shuffles your deck, you are allowed to cut it yourself. I might be wrong though.

@@Arrzarrina I looked through the tournament rules and did not see anything about additional cuts being permitted after your opponent shuffles your deck. It would cut down on the ability of your opponent to cheat you, but re-introduce an opportunity for you to cheat as well, which is probably why it's not permitted.

I feel like this order of operations if made allowed in tournament would solve a lot of issues. 1. Player shuffles 2. Opponent shuffles 3. Player cuts 4. Opponent cuts

Honestly if it was randomly distributed, I wouldn't even be mad. I know how it is to be broke and not afford sleeves lol.

Unfortunately, not any time soon. We play a lot of pauper, which is why we had the decks laying around :)

It's such a banger! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JKU3WfPgdNU.html

Or you could use your powers for good and entertain your friends with cool tricks using their decks :)

In competitive paper events, such as RCQs, MagicFests, and so on, there is supposed to be a sanctioned judge present. If you suspect your opponent is slow-playing, always call your judge and explain. This lets your opponent know that you are aware of what they are/could be up to and will usually incentivize them to play correctly, because they know that if anyone else calls them out for slow playing it will look that much worse on them. Just be mindful of the deck they are playing. I play a Mardu control list in pioneer and I have to think and do math in my head a lot, which can be interpreted as slow play when I really am just thinking about my next action to minimize my potential errors. TL;DR, when in doubt, call a judge. If your RCQ or other competitive event has no judge, contact WotC when you can. For casual events, just be vocal and discuss matters with the person running the store when you can.

There’s no solution to this because when you call a judge over your opponent has already successfully wasted enough time.

before calling a judge it is polite to tell opponent "I need you to play faster."

@@johnlancaster2841 I absolutely agree with this stance. Sadly, this type of situation won’t always be as clear cut. Store championships, at least in my region, typically will not have judges in attendance. This is especially true if the event is a limited format. For example, I attended a sealed store championship a couple weeks ago at my lgs where I played alongside a couple judges. The event had no judge moderating. Round 3 myself and one of the judges who were done with their matches were watching a seemingly tight match when we realized that the players were only on game 1 after 30 minutes. When game 2 eventually took place we immediately noticed that one player (the slow-player) was taking a considerable amount of time for each turn with what appeared to be a Boros Aggro deck. There were instances where the player would start his turns with long periods of thought which we didn’t pay any mind too originally. As the game progressed and we noticed this occurred every turn, I went ahead and looked at the player’s hand to understand what his thinking may be and his hand was entirely lands besides 1 Cut Short (kill spell for tapped creatures or planeswalkers who activated their ability that turn). At that moment I relayed the info privately to judge who was participating in the tournament and spectating and the player was told to increase their pace of play. This worked for a while until they began to slow play again. When their play slowed again we went over to the store owner to explain the situation and they issued a warning to the player, but at that point 45 minutes had passed in the round and the damage had been done. That player ended up winning the event with less total matches played than the next 3 players, not due to 2-0ing opponents but by winning a game and stalling out the second match in multiple rounds. Even in situations where players understand that some form of cheating may be occurring, if an event does not have a judge there’s hardly anything the victim players can do in response even if they’re knowledgeable of proper etiquette. For players who are newer to competitive events or haven’t run into situations like this before, they’re either not going to understand their rights as a player for fair play or worse be taken advantage of by their opponents. I think it’s also fair to assume that most paper magic players that attend events wouldn’t even know that slow pace of play can be a legitimate form of cheating if done maliciously to gain an advantage. I believe that it leads to an interesting discussion in whether paper events should have play clocks. I’m cautious to compare the thinking in paper magic to online magic and even to other thought-intensive games such as chess, but their could be a feasible solution besides having judges at every competitive event and getting the general player base to have a better understanding of rules that players may attempt to break.

Yeah I prefer that, too. Super hard to cheat (even a weighted die doesn't help because the opponent choses odd or even) and there is no way to bamboozle someone by lying about the results. In addition it is guaranteed that it is decided in one roll. If you do high roll both might roll the same number of eyes.

Also the entire having to pay to be a judge as well as having to find a higher level one to become a higher level is really weird. Just google it, it's faster, easier and you'll probably learn more anyways

I stopped playing at my LGS because the judge there was a massive cheater. He always had unrealistic decks, always won, always won any door prizes, etc. The shop owner let him run everything because he didn't know anything about Magic. I lost more games than I care to remember to him when I was still new to mtg. After a year or two of playing I realized he was not only cheating, but doing it so brazenly that it was offensive to me. I brought it up and basically got shrugged at. The fact that everyone just accepted it because we don't have any other LGS where I live was enough to make me leave and stop playing mtg for years. I just recently started again and am playing in house only.

If you are in doubt but want to play some sweet foils or alternate arts that only exist as foils, then go to a judge (preferably the head judge if there are many) before the event starts and ask him or her if they approve of you playing them. Offer to hand them your deck so they can check. They will now probably shuffle and try to cut to your foils. If they hit suspiciously often they will not allow it. Bring non-foil replacements for those cards with you in case you are not allowed to use these foils. I do this with my Lotus Combo deck in Pioneer because the Fields are secret lair cards that have no non-foil version of the artwork. The one time it came up the judge checked and gave me an okay, so everything was fine.

Some second hand store in Canada 😅 sorry. But I do agree that it's great!

Oh yeah! Doing card tricks with leftover draft cards is a great way to entertain people between rounds as well if you'd rather use your powers for good :P

​@@CardmarketMagic"Is this your card?"

I would LOVE a shuffle machine or something. I think they're frowned on because they damage cards? But most people I see "shuffle" cards are damaging them so how bad could it really be? And also, I'm just not confident I'm a good shuffler. When I see the same cards a lot during a draft or something it makes me wonder if I just suck at shuffling lol.

Even early in the game it can be difficult. Had it come up last week where I had 4 lands and my opponent (who was on the play had 3) and neither of us could remember if it was turn 3 or 4 and if he'd missed a land drop or not. I ended up just pulling the land I'd played back out of an abundance of caution (no one had anything beyond a 2-drop out that could have answered the question by board state) but he definitely could have gained an advantage from that if it WAS turn 4 and he had missed a land drop.

@@krimhorn yeah. I tried implementing a strategy where i would put the land i played for turn away from other lands, then during untap merge them all together but I keep forgetting to do that too :)

this is probably where you just call a judge, they are experienced and can hopefully help you logic out which turn it is and such doesn't need to be an accusation of cheating, just let them help you ensure you dont cheat by accident

You can count the cards drawn to know the turn. If you were on the play, take the total number of cards drawn, subtract your starting hand size, then subtract the number of cards drawn from card effects, then add 1. That is your current turn. On the draw, don't add 1. Example: You've played Ancestral Recall and Treasure Cruise. You did not mulligan. You have five cards in hand, five lands in play, three cards in graveyard, and five exiled. You know you made your land drop every previous turn, but aren't sure about this one. Can you play a land? If you were on the play, yes. On the draw, no. Working through it step by step, you've pulled 18 cards in total off the top of your deck. 3 cards came from Recall, 3 cards were from Cruise and 7 were in your starting hand, for 13 cards drawn from things other than your draw phase. So you've had five draw phases. On the play, you get your fifth draw phase on your sixth turn. On the draw, it's your fifth turn. Or, using just the math, 18 - 7 - 3 - 3 tells us it's turn 5. Add one turn if you're on the play. This gets trickier when things have optional draw effects, or triggered draw effects, to the point that it can quickly become impossible to perfectly recreate the game state to know the turn. But most of the time this works well enough.

Now you know how he won tournaments.

It's such a great track :) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JKU3WfPgdNU.html

I'm playing against Andrea in the Semi-finals of our best deck ever series :) it should be out in 2 weeks. We'll see if ever we can get Reid or LSV to fly over to play Thoralf though :) that would be fun

A VERY good hand, then.

Some people put their cards down out of their hands, so it's a confirmation