What is a League?
Leagues are much like tournaments that run over a period of weeks instead of hours. When you play league matches, you earn points that affect your rank in the league. However, wins and losses in a league won't affect your official Magic Online ratings.
Each league runs for a minimum of four weeks, though some leagues may run shorter (Release leagues in particular). Each week, participants can play up to five matches that count towards their league rating.
If you don't play all your matches during a week, those matches are added on to the total you can play for league points in the next week. For example, if you only play two matches during a week, the next week you may play eight for league points (5 matches for the new week + 3 matches not played in the previous week). This also means that, if you join a league sometime other than during the first week, you can make up the matches you could've played for league points. For example, if you join a league that's in its third week, you may play up to fifteen matches for league points in the week you joined (5 matches for the first week + 5 matches for the second week + 5 matches for the current week).
You may play more matches than you have available that count towards your league total, but the results of those matches count only towards your tiebreaker points.
Each match is best two-out-of-three games, with a 90-minute time limit.
Why do I always get the same rares in my leagues?
All cards come from a print run. This run serves a few purposes.
1. It ensures that an equal number of rares hit the system.
2. It keeps sealed in check so no one opens 3 Birds of Paradise, while the next person cracks 3 Okk's
For a little more in depth look, please check this post:
http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost....17&postcount=6
How do I join a league?
After obtaining your product (usually through the MTGO store), navigate to the Leagues room.
1. Make sure you are in "Expert Mode"
2. Click the "Home" button on the left side of the screen.
3. Click the "Leagues" button. (Upper left of the middle buttons)
4. Sort the league's by week (you might have to scroll the spreadsheet view)
5. Select a league with less than 256 players, in the week you want to join. (Usually week 1, but you may want to join an already running league sometime).
6. Click the "Go to" button. (Bottom Right)
7. Click the "Join" button. (Bottom Right)
What do I need to join the league?
Product + Event Tickets (Tix).
For base set you'll need
1. 5 boosters of Nth edition
2. 2 tix
For fully released sets (i.e. Chk + Bok + Sok) you'll need
1. Main set (Chk) tournament pack
2. 1 booster of Bok
3. 1 booster of Sok
4. 2 tix
For a non fully released set (i.e. Ravnica + Guildpact) you'll need
1. Main set (Rav) tournament pack
2. 2 boosters of Guildpact
3. 2 tix
How do I add cards to my league card pool?
NOTE: Adding cards in a league is optional.
In 4 week leagues (non release league) you add boosters through the league deck builder screen. You will need the appropriate unopened product to add to your pool.
For base set you'll need
Week 2: 1 booster of Nth edition
Week 3: 1 booster of Nth edition
Week 4: 1 booster of Nth edition
For fully released sets (i.e. Chk + Bok + Sok) you should need
Week 2: 1 booster of the base set (Chk)
Week 3: 1 booster of the 2nd set (Bok)
Week 4: 1 booster of the 3rd set (Sok)
For a non fully released set (i.e. Ravnica + Guildpact) you'll need
Week 2: 1 booster of the base set (Rav)
Week 3: 1 booster of the 2nd set (Gpt)
Week 4: 1 booster of the 2nd set (Gpt)
**HOWEVER** CBS leagues currently have a glitch that only allows you to add Sok and Bok boosters during weeks 2, 3, and 4 (Sok, Bok, Sok instead of Chk, Bok, Sok)
For a non fully released set (i.e. Ravnica + Guildpact) you'll need
1. Main set (Rav) tournament pack
2. 2 boosters of Guildpact
3. 2 tix
How are leagues games rated?
How you earn points in a league is one of the main differences between leagues and tournaments. For your first five matches per week, you get 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 1 point for a loss. You can't play the same opponent twice in the same week. In any league that awards prizes, you can only play against a particular opponent in matches that count towards your league points twice per league.
You can play more than five matches a week to earn tiebreaker points. Tiebreaker points are what make a the difference between two players with the same number of league points. Matches after the first five award 2 tiebreaker points for a win, 0 tiebreaker points for a draw, and -1 tiebreaker point for a loss.***
At the end of the league, players are awarded prizes based on their league rating.
Can I go negative in tie breaker points?
Currently, no. If you have a deck idea you want to test, doing so after your points matches is the best time to do so.
How do I play a League match?
You can use the My Leagues window to select the league you want to play a match for and then click Play. You can also go to the Leagues room, select the league you want to play a match for, then click Go To. Once you're in the room, click Play.
The Waiting for Players screen will open with your avatar at the table. Within a few minutes, if another eligible player is available, you'll paired with him or her for a match.
Can I play other games with my League Cards?
Yes! Cards from your league can be used in any other aspect in MTGO.
Can I trade my League Cards?
No. The system protects you from completely hosing your sealed pool by trading league cards away. They won't even show up when people view your binder. However, once the league is finished, cards become normally tradable and will show up in your binder.
Can I drop from a League early?
No. The current league system does not allow you to drop from the league.
How can I practice alone with my deck?
1. While in the league deck editor, save the deck to any directory.
2. Navigate to one of the casual rooms (New Players/Casual/Anything Goes)
3. Click on the "New Game" button.
4. Change "Standard" to "Freeform" (2nd from the bottom) in the game type drop down
5. Change "1 on 1" to "Solataire" in the players drop down
6. Change "Single game" to "Best 2 of 3" in the rounds drop down.
7. Finally navigate to your deck in the final box.
How can I practice against others with my deck?
1. While in the league deck editor, save the deck to any directory.
2. Navigate to one of the casual rooms (New Players/Casual/Anything Goes)
3. Click on the "New Game" button.
4. Change "Standard" to "Freeform" (2nd from the bottom) in the game type drop down
5. Type in "Rav league deck testing, 40 card league decks only!" into the Game Description box
6. Change "Single game" to "Best 2 of 3" in the rounds drop down.
7. Finally navigate to your deck file in the final box.
How can I tell what place I'm in?
When you're in your league room toggle between the Spreadsheet View and the Graphic View by:
1. If you see tables of players playing, click the little Spreadsheet icon on the top right of the client
2. Find your name
If you see a list of players, points, etc... you're already in the Spreadsheet View, and now just need to find your name.
What are Sharks/Campers?
Sharks or Campers are usually good players with really good decks that are building a great deal of tiebreaker points. They often "Camp" in the room waiting for the random player to try to get their games in.
Can I avoid Sharks/Campers?
Possibly. If you play on the "Pack day" there are often more players playing, which should increase your odds of getting a normal opponent.
Also, you can add the top players of the league to your buddies list ("/addbuddy player", without the quotes) and see if they're logged in and not playing elsewhere.
Lastly, it is often advantageous to play against sharks during tiebreaker matches, as it will count as one of the times you can play against them. Also, playing against better players is the best way to get better as a player.
How do league prizes work?
Prizes go from 1st to 128th as follows:
1st = 27 packs
2nd = 21 packs
3rd = 15 packs
4th = 15 packs
5th - 8th = 9
9th - 16th = 6
17th - 32nd = 3
33rd - 64th = 2
65th - 128th = 1
129-256 (nothing)
I'm tied with someone what place do I get?
If you're tied with another player(s), you are both rated at the lowest number. For example if you and 2 other people are tied for 6th, the league standings will show: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th ... 128th
Why is my league still going?
Matches can be started until the league end time is reached. If a match started before the end time runs past the end time, the league will remain open until the last match finishes, and the standings are recalculated.
How many times can I play against the same player?
As far as I know, twice per league. Once for points, and once as a tiebreaker (for either of you).
I just clicked "play" and got immediately matched against one of the top players, why?
The system tries to match tiebreaker to tiebreaker, counting match to counting match. However, this is not always possible. When a tiebreaker player has been waiting for 5 minutes, the system will automatically match them against anyone in the queue.
Can I save my league matches to replay them later?
Yes!
1. After you are done playing a game (or two or three), logout of the client (either exit the client or just logout).
2. Navigate to your MTGO directory (Generally "C:\Program Files\Wizards of the Coast\Magic Online")
3. Copy and rename your mygames.hamtastic.dat* to something else**.
4. Start MTGO again
5. Login
6. Delete the new mygames.hamtastic.dat*
7. Rename your old, copied .dat file back to mygames.hamtastic.dat*
8. Replay!
How do I post my card pool for members to help?
Follow the instructions in the following thread for a tool that can scrub the data in to a forums post.
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=691647
What's happened to Kamigawa and Mirage Leagues?
They have been cancelled due to low turnout. There have been murmurs about running one last 'Farewell' Kamigawa event right before Time Spiral is released, but it hasn't been confirmed as of yet. As for the Mirage leagues, the next ones will most likely be when Weatherlight is released and completes the block. Current ETA is December 2007