This MTG Shuffle Cheater Actually Got Disqualified 

I was the finals player against him. He did so much more than just cheating in game. Of the tables he was manipulating players in conceiding for him pre game because he wanted to farm points for the cardmarket series. He also initiatited to the Top 8 to split prizes and then begged to not play quarters and semis against him cause of the points system lol

Fun fact: If there was money at stake, he actually committed a crime under German law (where this tournament was held). So police could have been called, or a criminal complaint be filed for attempted fraud.

The audacity to celebrate your victory like that when you know full well that you were busted for cheating...

Back in 2016/2017 i first ran into Sebastian. He used to play very frequently at a LGS in Regensburg, Germany. He won every Legacy tournament and i knew there was always smth off about him. He not only cheated in a classic sense but always tried to redeem decisions, talk you into bad moves and making you feel uncomfortable (He once called a judge to check if my cards were real to distract me). Very unpleasant guy in general, who did everything to win. He had a huge character break and almost acted insulted after loosing to my (back then) 16 yo brother‘s Budget Burn deck once.

My job is to deal with thieves. Every single day. I have seen that fake exasperated expression and hand gesture combined with anger at an accusation a thousand times at this point. I'd recognize it anywhere.

Cheaters caught red handed like that should be ban for really, really long times. Meaning 10+ years. They're detrimental to everyone's experience.

That Wasteland cheat was so brazen my jaw hit the floor. It's crazy to me that no one spotted it. I can understand why the opponent might have missed it since they were focused on their own plays, but how did no one on the commentary team or judging staff notice a cheat that obvious?? Especially since he had literally used a Wasteland the previous turn too?

PSA: do not cut your opponents deck after they shuffled. Shuffle it as well.

Good on the viewers for catching it. But honestly, how the hell did no one catch the double land play? Everyone saw it and the commentators are just "Oh well, nothing to see here." I get why his opponent didn't catch it, he's focusing on himself, but the commentators, judges, and viewers?

I normally try to play as quickly as I can but when I see players like this one that are playing so frantically and constantly fidgeting things all over the place, shortcutting effects, etc. I slow waaaaaay down because they often are trying to do something like this.

That wasn't smooth at all! Lol his opponent didn't even get to see what was destroying his land until it was in the bin. He probably thought dude cast a spell. That's what it looked like on camera. Idk how he wasn't caught instantly

Shuffle-cut fatigue has been enabling cheating for a very long time. Stay strong, don’t get bored. Yes it’s tedious to shuffle your opponents deck every time they fetch, but if you don’t this is what you can expect. There’s a reason beyond “deck thinning” people run so many shuffle effects.

Imagine a cheaters league where all the known cheaters are gathered together to play underhanded against one another.

TWO VIDEOS IN THE SAME MONTH!?!?! We are having christmas early boys!!! ❤❤

You can see that final deck shuffle at 9:30 he once again, didn't present the deck for cutting to his opponent.

You know, opponents would more likely catch cheaters in the act if they stopped shuffling their damn hands and focused on what the cheater is doing.

What's the point in "judges" watching the game if they literally catch nothing.

YESS!!! More cheating coverage, the content I joined the channel for! I love your explanations of how these scumbags cheat, please do more like this if you find the content!

One way to work out if someone cheats, or is just a sloppy/bad player, is to look at whether or not their misplays only ever advantage them. Bad players will make mistakes which sometimes hurt them. Cheaters usually don’t.

I feel like he also knows roughly where the camera's field of vision is and is trying to pull his deck back as close to himself as possible to maybe not have his shuffling be in view (or at least as close to it as won't be noticed). But he's also holding it at an angle which gives it away even if the cards are half offscreen. (I don't know how you'd manage to cheat while holding your deck flat with the plane of the camera, but I'm sure a sufficiently skilled cheater could find a way.)

If I were in charge of MTG tournament rules, I would categorically forbid drawing 3 cards in one single motion with brainstorm, and putting 2 cards back likewise in one single motion. It's IMPOSSIBLE to see if someone is cheating in that situation if they draw all 3 cards at the same time and put 2 cards back at the same time. All 3 cards should be clearly drawn one by one, clearly displaying that it's just 1 card each time, and the 2 cards should be clearly put back one by one, showing that indeed 2 cards are being put back. I'm actually baffled why that isn't a rule.

We once caught a cheater at my LGS. He would purposely keep a very messy board state and I caught him a few times trying to tap mana he didn't have. He complained to the store owner that I asked him to count his mana when he made plays after that

they give cheaters a slap on the wrist and the judges are useless and depend on chat to catch cheaters..... wtf is the point in even playing in tournaments?!

I was expecting him to drop the wasteland under another land and then blow it up later so that people may have not caught it but he just straight up made that as obvious as possible. How did they miss that???

It's so strange how complacent and oblivious high level Magic players are. They're so focused on their gameplan and outs that they don't even notice blatant cheating from the guy 3 feet across from them.

God damn that wastland "play" made me laugh out loud. What an insane and ballsy move, and the best part? IT WORKED! Even on camera, with a pair of commentators, a judge and an opponent, nobody saw it!

I stopped playing against 3 specific people that would pod up to 4(me) due to the fact they never allowed/discouraged deck cutting. All 3 kept close watch while others shuffled which was odd since they always kept their eyes focused on their decks while shuffling, very slow shuffles as well. I always made conversation to make them break the shuffle focus but to no avail. Even after their shuffling i would call out "let me cut" or "so no cuts?" and they would say "well im not cheating" and that they don't need to cut mine cause they're watching to make sure im not cheating". I always offer a cut and they would say no so i would cut it myself right infront, on their playmat, they would get pissed saying im cheating or i should scoop for cutting. The biggest upset is that 2 of them apparently are/were judges and all 3 run decks with the most expensive, powerful cards in magic. I never won a game against them, i know why. It would be embarrassing if my low level cheap deck obliterated a $500+ deck. They also highly discouraged proxies.

Oh please keep doing this. It amazes me how much cheating is going on in magic.

the extra land problem has happened to me before, I once played like 2-3 horizon canopy in a turn and sack them because in my min was "i am just cycling them", the land drops were not processed in my mind, until my opponent pointed it out.

I'm really happy that you kept the phrase "underground dojo keyboard cagefighters" alive. Cheers!

The only thing cheaters ever prosper with is getting dq'd for cheating

at 9:27 when he reshuffles, he stack his deck AGAIN (although more subtly only the top card doesn't move and isn't cut either) just look how wary of being caught he is ^^ (nervous eye up and down to gauge if his opponent is cautious or not)

"Essay ahead. In short, time for reading." Shuffling the opponents deck instead of simply cutting it is a bit of a superstition. Your cut isn't gonna be the exact same every time so it's basically impossible to stack the deck and still account for the opponents cut. If you get the feeling that they're stacking to the middle cut the deck awkwardly. If you feel like the cards might be marked from your perspective cut the marked one you see from your angle towards the bottom as a precaution (judges aren't gonna just walk up and stop the game if you call one over and declare they're stacking or have marked card unless it's finals or something). As a player it is within your right to shuffle the opponents deck but the grand majority of players would prefer that you don't handle their deck (for theft and damage reasons) so if you can help it you really should avoid doing it out of courtesy to them. Which is why you rarely see someone shuffle the opponents deck over cutting in other games. Shuffling is most common in MTG because stacking any one of their many lands on top of their deck can win games and you don't have to know their strategy or their cards in hand to know that any Land is probably a dead draw. Though one thing you *can* do to reduce stacking is request a judge cut. Your opponent always gets the final shuffle/cut of your deck, even if you're concerned they're cheating, so if you think the opponent is stacking your deck simply call a judge over and ask them to shuffle/cut your deck which takes away your opponents right to handle your deck. Pro tip to detect cheaters: If they're shuffling your deck for a *really* long time they're almost definitely Land stacking you. So when they give your deck back, shuffle it again very briefly and present it back to them. If they spend the same long amount of time shuffling your deck again its probably time to ask for a judge cut.

I remember whatching this match live and the chat going crazy.

How do you not notice the wasteland thing? I never understood how twitchty and fidgety people are with Magic. People are always like that, cosntantly shuffling their hand like they haven't looked at the same 5 cards for the past few minutes and they might change. Nevermind, it's your deck. YOU built it. You should know exactly what cards you have in hand and what your gameplan is. When I play magic, I look at my hand, see my cards, then I place my hand in a small stack face down on the table and watch my opponent play out his turn so I can see everything he is doing and try to see how his plan develops. Usually, I have my next turn or two played out already, of course draws and opponents reactions depending, but I have an idea of what I will be doing and what plays I will make in the event of at least a few outcomes.

Cut my opponents' deck? Never. I shuffle it up myself after presented the deck.

This is so evil. This guy deserved to be banned for life. No more magic for you.

I cannot understand players who don’t cut their opponents decks. How is that not an ingrained habit?!? Great to see a cheater get caught though!

thanks for the coverage!

Hey, I knew i recognized your name! You played against shoktroopa in a league a long time ago (merfolk vs u-tron). He miraculously pulled out a mindslaver lock with 2 minutes left on the clock, and instead of running the clock on him, you just concede instead. That was probably nearly 8 years ago, so it left a great impression haha

back when i used to play tcg's competitively i would always force my opponent to slow down and even stop play to cut their deck when i had the chance, and to verify plays. had a few complain to judges and all the judges said was "it is his right to do that. he isn't stalling it is in the rules you have to give him the chance to cut your deck and verify what you are playing." only warnings i ever got was along the lines of just don't take like 3 minutes to cut or read the card.

remember everyone you must cut your opponents deck in comp play

Did anyone else notice Sébastien untapping that land there and trading it for another tapped land

Nikachu! Thanks for the New upload man! Always a good day to see that👍🏼 Btw, I will always shuffle my opponents deck as well.

This is the definition of 'just act like you know what you're doing and nobody will ask questions'

Did he switch his lands? He had a dual and another blue red land then flipped the land upside down and switched it for a fetch land? 3:38-3:52

Thanks, always enjoy the videos.

These videos are the best. Thank you for the time and hard work you must put into these. They are very entertaining.

Blessed for a Nikachu upload

that guy should have been disqualified the second the judge knew he cheated

Wrenn and Six? In a wasteland format? It’s more likely than you think.

Ive never seen someone do it so overtly on cam

Idk why Sven refuses so badly to cut

Hey @Nikachu, one question, what is the current most reliable source for card price viewing, i just bought a booster box from the LOTR set, and want to know if i got anything valuable, but i dont know where to check for prices, i haven been away from buying MTG for almost 12 years, and am lost, thank you in advance :) have a nice day!

At my lgs commander play day this weekend, I noticed one of the guys in my pod doing the same sort of shuffle and not oresenting his deck for cutting. I told him "I would like to cut before you resolve your draw for turn" since he had pulled a fetch at eot. He got huffy and the other guys, who usually play with him, suddenly acted as though this was new behavior for the guy. He made a fuss about "this is a casual game, what does it matter!?" and one of his friends told him to calm down and just cut the deck, "it doesnt matter if you shuffled anyway." He moved the deck to one of his friends, ignoring me wanting the cut, and the friend moved it back to me to cut. The look on his face was priceless and he targeted me down the rest of the game, full shuffle cutting my deck each time he got the chance. Still pulled out my necron victory against his angels deck with a well timed boardwipe and cauldron of souls trigger. I wonder what compels people to cheat even during casual games? What is there to gain except a victory in a social format?😂

These people all look exactly like what I always thought a weird Chinese cartoon card game people would be like.

“Underground dojo keyboard cage fighters” Is the best term for Twitch chat ever. Twitch chat to the rescue!

Shoutouts to our boi Jamin from cardmarket, commenting! Grat work dude! 👍

I love these videos man !

What I don't understand is every game these days being filmed at this level why do people think they can still get away with cheating, just don't do it or you will never be able to play at these events ever and no one is going to want to play against you because they know that you are a known cheater

I remember that event when this cheater did his work and even got confrontational with the judge. It was so satisfying to hear about the disqualification shortly after.

I used to play competitive yu-gi-oh! And man, something all the "top" players had in common is that they would eventually get permanently banned for cheating.

man bun, templar ring, yeah im not surprised

It’s honestly kinda interesting, i play the pokemon card TCG, and ive seen a share of similar cheats while playing, watching videos like this honestly helps keep your eyes more sharp and aware of possible anomalies, it’s amazing what people will do UNDER A HUGE CAMERA STARING AT THEIR PLAY

I remember being a 5 year old and cheating at games and then realized how not fun it made the games. This guy cares about nothing but money. No respect for MTG, for himself, or for anyone else.

I haven't played or really thought about magic since the mid 90's....what a fascinating journey it has went on.

That overreaction, though. You'd think he'd try to play it off, to be like "Sure, I have nothing to hide, cut my deck." Seriously, if you have randomized your deck, why get that animated about someone cutting it?

I love when you show us some cheaters.

I'm not sure if Legacy is full of cheaters, or that's where they all go because they feel they have to cheat since their cardboard is worth so much, or that's just where it gets pointed out the most.

Thanks for explaining I have no clue what I'm watching, just that it's entertaining

i refuse to play IDIOTS who keep the hand shuffle going as you play them.

Hate that players fidget their hands like that it's the sketchiest of all tells

Makes me wonder how often cheating isn’t caught.

You don’t have to cut your opponents deck, but you do have the right to do so after opponent shuffles their deck

It would have been so much better seeing his reaction for getting disqualified rather than seeing his reaction for winning the finals.

I dont even play this game but you make the videos fun to watch! I barely know the real basics of magic but even i know you cant play 2 lands in a turn!! Haha

I'm in this weird state where I just recently became active on arena mostly on standard, but also played a lot about 20 years ago and almost none in between so I don't know all the cards on your streams but they are very entertaining.

This is why I don't play in major events like this. I don't like cheaters and I will call them out.

Good to see some uploads.

I caught it instantly. There is nothing in magic that just destroys a land from the hand without using mana for it. Then I see you just discarded a wasteland to try to do it. Immediate judge call and hopeful DQ or at least a game loss.

I have no earthly idea what you're talking about, but I love the enthusiasm and all in your video.

He even celebrates like he actually achieved something...

Calling anything this guy does in the video "Sleight of hand is too much of a compliment for him" lmfao

Sebastian Wibmer is going to be our champion ‘for the weekend.’ 😂

Just to be clear here. With Young Pyromancer on the board. As soon as you cast an instant or sorcery, YP's ability is put on the stack, thus Sven being able to create a 1/1 elemental creature even though his opponent destroyed YP as an answer to the Lightning Bolt. Thus being able to block (and save 5 points off his life total) the 5/5 creaure.

Sebastian's pupils turned into an anime character when he realized he was caught, wow... I didn't know that was a thing..

I’ve never seen the draw of reaction videos, but you Sir are the only RU-vidr that can make me watch them 😉

Stupid question time: If you are suspicious of an opponent manipulating your deck on a "Cut" where they just shuffle and not cut, could you cut your own deck afterwards?

And that's why I waste time reading every card during a game

I was at that tournament with a lot of my local players. We joked about stuffing our decks full of Demonic Tutors (= fetch lands) for months after that.

He still tried to celebrate after getting caught 😂

do players just not pay attention when playing the game? That wasteland cheat seems dumb lol

My dumbass Yugioh brain legit went "Oh MST" at 1:05

Nerds are terrible liars😂😂😂 The second that judge walked over. He started flapping those arms like the Wacky waving inflatable arm tube man😅

With all the cheating in online tournaments and video evidence of it nikachu could make a video in this series once every week.

It's a good thing you give some public accountability for these cheaters. Hopefully you aren't getting cease and desist letters, though this would definitely qualify as journalism, which should give you some protections. No one wants to play with cheaters, it's pathetic

If you can't see your opponent playing 2 lands in a turn, you really have some culpability.

At the shuffle around 800 one could argue the top few cards of his deck dont really change so if the cut happens he has zero chance to redraw the 3 cards he saw.

He stole a potentially great moment from his opponent as well. Winning a tournament feels great, and he was potentially robbed

Gotta love the ol' 0 mana stone rain.