Starting a tournament game

A tournament game starts like any other (see the first lesson), with a few rules added around it.

Who plays first. For the first game of a match, a designated player decides whether to play first or last. Any random method that all the players agree on may pick the designated player (TR 407.1, TR 407.2 and TR 407.3). At high OPL (Organized Play Level), in the playoff matches that follow the Swiss rounds, the designated player is instead automatically the higher-ranked player from the Swiss rounds (TR 407.2.a). For later games, the loser of the previous game chooses whether to play first or last, and if the previous game was a draw the starting play from it is kept (TR 407.4).

Battlefields and decks. After a drawn game the players must use the same battlefields again, but if a game ended by a Game Loss penalty after the battlefields were selected and revealed, they must use different ones (TR 406.1.b and TR 406.1.c). Each player shuffles their Main Deck and Rune Deck and presents them to their opponents, and each player may shuffle their opponents' decks, which is required at Professional OPL (TR 406.1.d, TR 406.1.e, TR 406.1.f and TR 406.1.f.2). Cards recycled together in the mulligan go to the bottom of the Main Deck in a random order, so at a tournament that pair is made random with the shuffling procedures before it is recycled (rule 417.5 and TR 421.8).

Errors at the start. A Mulligan Procedure Error is a Warning. If a player recycled and replaced more than 2 cards, the next opponent in turn order looks at their hand and may choose cards, up to the number of extra cards, for them to recycle and replace, and if the error is found after gameplay has begun, the players just proceed (TR 702.14, TR 702.14.a.1 and TR 702.14.a.2). Drawing more than the 4 opening cards is Drawing Extra Cards: if it is caught before the mulligan, the extra cards are shuffled into the Main Deck (TR 702.12 and TR 702.12.b.2).

Worked example. Player A draws 4 cards and then replaces three of them in their mulligan. The opponent notices before play begins and calls a judge. That is a Mulligan Procedure Error, a Warning. A replaced one card too many, so the next opponent in turn order looks at A's hand and may choose one card for A to recycle and replace. Had nobody noticed until a few turns into the game, the judge would simply tell the players to proceed.

Common mistake. "The higher-ranked player always plays first." Only in the playoff matches at high OPL, and only as the designated player, who then chooses to play first or last.