Communication

This page is about categories of information in tournament play, including "private". For the game theory topic, see Hidden information.

Communication between players is essential to the successful play of any game that involves virtual objects or hidden information. While bluffing may be an aspect of games, there need to be clear lines as to what is, and is not, acceptable for players to say or otherwise represent. This will confirm expectations of both sporting and competitive players during a game.

Player Communication

From the Tournament Rules (April 21, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

• 4.1 Player Communication
  A player should have an advantage due to better understanding of the options provided by the rules of the game, greater awareness of the interactions in the current game state, and superior tactical planning. Players are under no obligation to assist their opponents in playing the game. Regardless of anything else, players are expected to treat opponents politely and with respect. Failure to do so may lead to Unsporting Conduct penalties.
  
  There are four categories of information: status, free, derived, and private.
  
  Status information is information that must be announced upon change and physically tracked by the affected player. Methods for tracking must be visible to both players during the match. A shared method is acceptable as long as all players in the match have access to it. At Competitive and Professional REL, methods that can easily be accidentally changed (such as dice) may not be used. Status information consists of:
  • Life total.
  • Counters a player has attached to them.
  • Continuous effects with no defined expiration within the game that apply to that player, such as Monarch or City’s Blessing.
  • Unspent mana in a player’s mana pool.
  • Location in a dungeon.
  • How many times the Ring has tempted a player.
  * Current speed
  
  Free information is information to which all players are entitled access without contamination or omissions made by their opponents. If a player is ever unable or unwilling to provide free information to an opponent that has requested it, they should call a judge and explain the situation. Free information consists of:
  • Details of current game actions and past game actions that still affect the game state.
  • The name of any visible object.
  • The number and type of any counter that isn’t defined as status information.
  • The state (whether it’s tapped, attached to another permanent, face down, etc.) and current zone of any object or player.
  • The game score of the current match.
  • The current step and/or phase and which player(s) are active.
  
  Derived information is information to which all players are entitled access, but opponents are not obliged to assist in determining and may require some skill or calculation to determine. Derived information consists of:
  • The number of any kind of objects present in any game zone that are not defined as free information.
  • All characteristics of objects in public zones that are not defined as free or status information.
  • Game Rules, Tournament Policy, Oracle content and any other official information pertaining to the current tournament. Cards are considered to have their Oracle text printed on them.
  
  Private information is information to which players have access only if they are able to determine it from the current visual game state or their own record of previous game actions.
  • Any information that is not status, free or derived is automatically private information.
  
  The following rules govern player communication:
  • Players must announce any changes to status information about themselves and must represent it with a physical designation.
  • If a player notices a discrepancy in recorded or announced status information, they are expected to point it out as soon as the discrepancy is noticed.
  • Players must answer all questions asked of them by a judge completely and honestly, regardless of the type of information requested. Players may request to do so away from the match.
  • Players may not represent derived, free, or status information incorrectly.
  • Players must answer completely and honestly any specific questions pertaining to free information.
  • At Regular Rules Enforcement Level, all derived information is instead considered free.
  
  Judges are encouraged to help players in determining free and status information but must avoid assisting players with derived information about the game state.
  

Out-of-Order Sequencing

From the Tournament Rules (May 13, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 4.3 Out-of-Order Sequencing
  Due to the complexity of accurately representing a game of Magic, it is acceptable for players to engage in a block of actions that, while technically in an incorrect order, arrive at a legal and clearly understood game state once they are complete.
  
  All actions taken must be legal if they were executed in the correct order, and any opponent can ask the player to do the actions in the correct sequence so that they can respond at the appropriate time (at which point players will not be held to any still-pending actions).
  
  An out-of-order sequence must not result in a player prematurely gaining information which could reasonably affect decisions made later in that sequence.
  
  Players may not try to use opponent's reactions to some portion of an out-of-order sequence to see if they should modify actions or try to take additional ones. Nor may players use out-of-order sequencing to try to retroactively take an action they missed at the appropriate time. In general, any substantial pause at the end of a completed batch is an indication that all actions have been taken, the sequence is complete and the game has moved to the appropriate point at the end of the sequence.
  
  Examples

1. A player discards a card to pay for Masticore’s upkeep cost before untapping their land. 2. A player resolves Harrow and puts the card into their graveyard, then searches. 3. While resolving Restore Balance, a player discards before sacrificing lands and creatures. 4. A player with two creatures being put into the graveyard due to state-based actions resolves the leaves-the-battlefield triggered ability on one of them before putting the other creature in the graveyard.

5. A player declares a blocker, animates a Treetop Village, and then attempts to block with that Treetop Village.

Team/Two-Headed Giant Communication

From the Tournament Rules (May 13, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 4.6 Team/Two-Headed Giant Communication
  Members of the same team may communicate between one another except during times where explicitly prohibited by the team format rules. However, team members that have an opportunity to acquire hidden information (e.g., by speaking to spectators following their own match while a teammate is still playing), are restricted from communicating with teammates for the duration of that match. Prohibitions against written notes of any kind during drafts apply to team drafts as well.
  

Reversing Decisions

From the Tournament Rules (May 13, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 4.8 Reversing Decisions
  Players are expected to consider their options before taking an action and players are not usually allowed to take back an action that has been communicated to their opponent, either verbally or physically.
  Sometimes, a player will realize that they have made a wrong decision after making a play. If that player has not gained any information since taking the action and they wish to make a different decision, a judge may allow that player to change their mind. Judges must carefully consider whether the player has gained information since making the play that might have affected the decision; in particular, players may not try to use opponent reactions (or lack thereof) to see if they should modify actions they committed to. If the judge cannot be sure no information was gained, they should not allow the decision to be changed. Teammates intervening before information has been gained is acceptable when considering a backup.
  
  Examples

1. A player plays an Island and, before anything else happens, says “Sorry, I meant to play a Swamp.”
2. A player says “No blocks” immediately followed by “Wait, no, I block with this creature.”

3. A player says “Go. Wait, land, go.”