Judge Tower

Judge Tower
Where to Play
Paper	MTGO	Arena
Constructed
Players	2+
Life	20 points
Decks	Typically 250 cards (no sideboard, shared deck)
Rules	See below

Judge Tower, or Judge's Tower, is a casual, constructed Magic: The Gathering format that was created as a training technique for Judges who need to keep track of lots of things at once.

Rules

There is no centralized authority for the Judge Tower format, so specific rules may vary between players. The rules listed here are the most common versions.

• All players share a single library and graveyard. The deck usually consists of 250 cards, but lists containing even more cards or as few as 175 cards are common.
  • The player who last played a card in a shared zone is considered the card's owner for effects such as Homeward Path.
• All players have access to unlimited mana of each type at all times.
• Each player's life total is reset to their starting life total of 20 at the end of each turn.
  • In most variants of the format, a player does not lose the game for having 0 or less life.
• If a cost includes X, the value of X must be 5.
• Players must cast all spells, activate all abilities, and take all special actions as soon as they are legally able to do so.
  • If a spell or ability has any optional or alternate modes, they must be used if able.
  • Each activated ability may only be activated once each turn.
  • If an object has multiple activated abilities, they must be activated according to the order they are printed, starting with the bottom-most ability and going up.
• All creatures must attack or block each combat if able.
• If a player is caught breaking the rules of the format or not strictly following the Comprehensive Rules, they lose the game.
• Each player has a starting hand size of 0.
  • Players may be given higher starting hand sizes as a handicap, such as a starting hand size equal to their judge level.
• Because games tend to end quickly, matches are typically played as a series of several games, with a player earning a point for each game they win. The match can end after a set number of games, after a player earns a specified number of points, or by removing cards that were played from the deck after each game and continuing until the deck is empty.