League Rules (Season 7)

Eligibility

You must be a person of a marginalized gender and 18 years or older to enter the VML.

VML eligibility is based on the sole discretion of the Tournament Organizer and may be revoked at any time.

League Structure

Players will be put into 8 person divisions and the league will consist of 7 weeks of round robin play within each division and 5 rounds of single elimination playoffs. At some point after registration is complete, the full list of divisions and schedule of matches will be published on the website.

For the purposes of the league, all times will be in US Pacific Time.

A “week” is considered to be from Monday to the following Sunday. Each week the players will get to submit a decklist which they will use to play a different opponent within their division. Decklist submissions are due by 11:59 PM PT on the Sunday before the week begins. Play for a week can commence once decklists are published on the website by noon on Monday. Each week will conclude at noon on Sunday. Match results must be submitted by this time.

Decklist Submission

Decklists must be submitted through the player portal by 11:59 PM PT the day before a week begins. The submission must be a link to a deck on mtggoldfish.com. Submitted decks must have a name which accurately describes the deck.

If a player does not submit a decklist by the deadline, their last submitted decklist will be used as long as it is legal in the current format. If they do not have a legal deck, then that player will receive a game loss and must submit a new, legal decklist.

Format

Format will be Standard, best of three, with a 15-card sideboard.

Unless otherwise communicated by the Tournament Organizer, the format for Season 7 will be Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Standard. The judge will communicate any changes in the event of a Banned & Restricted announcement.

Matches will be played using the ‘Direct Challenge – Constructed Tournament Mode’ option within the MTGA client unless otherwise directed.

Tournament Rules Enforcement

The VML is run in accordance with the Magic Digital MTR and the Magic Digital IPG. In the case of a conflict between these rules and those stated in the Magic Digital MTR or the Magic Digital IPG, these rules will take precedence.

Arranging a Match

Each week, players are required to coordinate with their respective opponents, via Discord or other agreed upon means, to establish a match time in the current week.

In the event the players cannot reach an agreement, the default time at which players will play is noon Saturday.

What to do if your opponent does not show up for a match

• Message your opponent and try to get in contact with them.
• If your opponent does not show up or contact you within 15 minutes of the agreed match time (or default match time), you should direct message the judge (Gabi, hope incarnate#0194) using Discord. Tell faer that your opponent has not arrived and provide a screenshot showing the agreed time between the players.
• If a player does not show up or contact their opponent within 30 minutes of the agreed match time (or default match time), they will forfeit the match. This forfeit applies regardless of whether the judge has responded or attempted to contact the player.
• To claim such a forfeit, please private message the judge (Gabi, hope incarnate#0194) and faer will be in contact with you to coordinate the match result submission.

Kindly remember that the VML staff are human and cannot be awake 24 hours a day. They will try to help you contact the other player if possible, but they are not responsible for scheduling your match.

If there is difficulty in scheduling a match, or special circumstances arise, please contact the judge (Gabi, hope incarnate#0194) on Discord as soon as possible.

Technical or Other In-match Issues

If a technical issue arises during your match, please contact the judge (Gabi, hope incarnate#0194) immediately.

Video evidence and screenshots may be used to assist in rectifying any problems, so we recommend recording your match if possible.

In-match issues are resolved on a case-by-case basis at the full discretion of the judges.

Players found to be intentionally exploiting bugs will be disqualified from the league and any prizes rescinded.

Reporting Results

Once the match is complete, the winner must report the match score using the “Submit Results” button on their player portal. The other player should confirm the match score through their player portal. If the result of the match does not align with the options presented, please contact the judge (Gabi, hope incarnate#0194) immediately. We recommend that you take a screenshot of your “Victory” or “Defeat” screen in case of a dispute. If there are any concerns, please contact the judge as soon as possible.

Tiebreakers

Tiebreakers are used to determine playoff eligibility and seeding based on division play results. The tiebreakers will be used in the following order:

• Matches won
• Head-to-head result vs. other player(s) involved in the tie
• Game win percentage

In the case where tiebreakers are used to determine seeding during the playoffs, if players are still tied after all of the above, there will be a coin flip to determine higher standing.

In the case where tiebreakers are used to determine if players qualify for the playoffs, if players are still tied after all of the above, there will be a playoff match to determine higher standing.

In the case of a three (or more) way tie, head-to-head will only be applied if a player has won against all the other players within the tie. If needed the head-to-head and game win percentage breakers may be applied iteratively to determine placement within a multi-way tie.

Playoffs

At the end of the regular season, the top 2 players from each division will advance to the single elimination playoffs. The division winners will be seeds 1-8 (based on tiebreakers) and given first round byes. The Division runner-ups will be seeds 9-16.

In addition, there will be wildcards awarded to players (number depends on total participants; 8 wildcards for 64 players) who will advance to the playoffs as well. Wildcards are the top players across all divisions who have not otherwise qualified, and will be seeds 17-24.

Wildcard standings will be available on the season page by the start of week 4.

The playoffs bracket will be published following the final week of round-robin play. Please note that the deadlines for match play will be different during the playoff weeks. These deadlines will be communicated prior to the start of the playoff rounds.

The Top 4 players will play their matches live on the VML Twitch stream on Friday, April 29th starting at 6:00 PM PT.

Prizes

The top 16 finishers of Season 7 will receive cash payouts. The prize pool for Season 7 will be $4,000.

Each player will also receive 500 MTG Arena gems per match win in division play. The gems will be awarded only to players that completed all weeks of division play.

Place	Cash Prize	Additional Prize
1st	$1,000	Invite to the Streets of New Capenna Set Championship
2nd	$600	Invite to a MTG Arena Qualifier Weekend
3rd & 4th	$400	Invite to a MTG Arena Qualifier Weekend
5th – 8th	$200	Invite to a MTG Arena Qualifier Weekend
9th – 16th	$100

*In the event that the winner of Season 7 is already qualified for the designated Set Championship event, the invite will pass down to the 2nd place competitor.

Payment Options

PayPal: Your first lifetime payment from the NRG Series will be sent as Goods & Services (30¢ + 2.9% fee). Additional payments from the NRG Series will be sent Friends & Family. Additional charges for Non-U.S. transfers may apply.

Check: This check will be mailed to the address stated on the W-9. U.S. taxpayers only. Please allow a few additional days for processing.

NerdRageGaming.com Store Credit – We will apply a 10% bonus to your total payment if store credit is selected. For example, a $100 prize winning will be converted to $110 in store credit. Please note that store credit can only be applied towards singles and entry for in-store events, not entry for NRG Series events.

MTGO Tickets – Redeemed at a $1 = 1 TIX rate.

U.S. citizens and legal residents (green card holders) are required to complete Form W-9 for Paypal/Check payment methods. Non-U.S. residents must complete the Form W-8BEN for Individuals. All cash payments to Non-U.S. residents will be sent via PayPal. Players who select Store Credit or MTGO Tickets as their payment method do not need to complete a tax form. Players only need to complete this form once per calendar year; if you receive multiple payments from Nerd Rage Gaming Ltd. within the same calendar year, we will default to the same payment method as previously declared

Deck Trackers and Streaming

MTG Arena deck trackers are allowed during VML play.

Streaming is encouraged! You can also check out our official broadcast each Friday at 6:00 PM PT on Twitch.

We recommend that you stream your match with a suitable delay. Any player found to be “stream sniping” will be disqualified and removed from the league.

Feature Matches

Each week, members of the production team will choose a number of matches to be recorded and shown on the Friday broadcast. If your match is chosen, you will be contacted via Discord (or other means if not available) and asked to record your match and answer a number of written questions.

If you are chosen for a feature match, please record your match and submit it according to the instructions pinned in the #match-recordings Discord channel. These recordings will be used during the Friday broadcast. Please also respond to the production crew’s questions in a timely manner as they use the information to make assets for the stream.

You may also be asked to do a recorded or live video interview with a member of the production team. These are 100% optional and we will help you with preparation if necessary.

Drop-outs

It’s incredibly important to the integrity of the league that players finish all weeks of division play. Please keep in mind your fellow competitors and display good sportsmanship by completing your match each week. If you cannot play your match during the week, please discuss with an admin. We will do our best to make it work; you may be able to play a week late if an emergency arises, we plan for it, and your opponent agrees.

In the unfortunate event a player cannot continue with the league, we will ask them to finish any matches they can as soon as possible.  If a match cannot be completed, their future opponents will receive match wins. The judge reserves the discretion to deal with these situations on a case-by-case basis.

Please remember that players receive 500 MTG Arena gems per match win during the division play rounds, so there’s still incentive to play your matches if you’ve been eliminated from playoff contention.

Changes to These Rules

The rules set out above are based on 64 players entering Season 7 of the VML. If the size of the league is not 64 these rules will be adjusted accordingly.

Any changes to these rules will be announced via Discord and email.

Enforcement of these rules is subject to the full discretion of the Tournament Organizer and may be changed at any time.