Time, slow play, overtime and drawn games

A round has a clock, and four things revolve around it: the pace of play, time extensions, what happens when time runs out, and games that end without a winner. Swiss rounds are recommended to run 60 minutes, and single-elimination matches are recommended to be untimed so games reach a natural end, though players are still expected to play at a reasonable pace (TR 604.1, TR 604.2 and TR 604.2.a).

Slow Play is a Warning for a player who is starting a game or playing at an unreasonably slow pace (TR 703.2). Players must take their turns in a timely way, a player may ask a judge to watch a game for slow play, and intentionally stalling to gain an advantage is cheating (TR 703.2.a, TR 703.2.b and TR 703.2.c). Stalling has other disguises. Players cannot use a loop to stall, and opting out of a shortcut or proposing a wrong one to use up time is cheating (TR 505.12 and TR 505.13). Time lost to judges is given back. A time extension is granted when a judge call takes more than a minute, and for a Warning when the ruling and correction take more than a minute (TR 412.2 and TR 701.2.a.1).

Late to Match has its own ladder: a Warning and a time extension within 2 minutes of the round start, the same within 10 minutes with the penalty rising to a Game Loss at high OPL (Organized Play Level), and a Match Loss after 10 minutes. A player who never arrives takes a Match Loss and is dropped unless they report to a judge before the next match begins (TR 703.8.a, TR 703.8.b, TR 703.8.c and TR 703.8.d). A player can instead call a judge before the clock starts, or between games, to ask for up to 10 minutes in lieu of a penalty, at the judge's discretion (TR 703.8.e).

When the time limit is reached in the middle of a game, the end of match procedure begins. The player whose turn it is finishes their turn (a turn is over once its phases are done, rule 306), then three additional turns are played. If the game is still incomplete, a player wins it with a point lead of two or more, and otherwise the game is a draw (TR 408.2, TR 408.2.a and TR 408.2.b). This is separate from the normal win, which needs the Victory Score and more points than anyone else in a cleanup (rule 194.2). The additional turns are untimed, though at Professional OPL a judge must be present to keep a reasonable pace (TR 408.2.c). Players must announce and acknowledge the additional turns as they occur, since where the game is in them is public information (TR 502.4.b). If time runs out between games, no new game is started (TR 408.2.d). The match, which is most often a best of 3 (TR 404.2), then goes to the first player to reach the game win score, or else to the player with more game wins, and if those are equal the match is a draw (TR 408.3, TR 408.3.a and TR 408.3.b). This is the procedure for Swiss rounds. If a single-elimination round must be timed, TR 408.4 replaces it: after the current turn and three additional turns the player with the most points wins the game, with no lead of two needed, and if the points and the game wins are both tied, players keep playing until the next point is scored (TR 408.4.c.1 and TR 408.4.c.3). Do not confuse these turns with an Additional Turn from a card such as Time Warp, which does not affect the round cycle (TR 206.1).

A drawn game does not count towards a player's wins, and if the round ends with equal game wins the match is a draw (TR 404.3 and TR 404.5). After a drawn game neither player sideboards, they use the same battlefields, and the starting player from the drawn game is kept (TR 403.10, TR 406.1.b and TR 407.4). A game can be drawn in three other ways: by all players agreeing to it, by every player receiving a Game Loss at once, or by a loop that nobody is needed to maintain and nobody breaks (TR 410.1, TR 701.2.b.3 and TR 505.6). Players can't agree to a draw or a concession in exchange for anything (TR 410.3).