Two-Headed Giant/Tournament rules

Tournament rules

The following rules are applied for play Two-Headed Giant in sanctioned Magic tournaments.

Match structure[ | ]

9.1 Match Structure
Two-Headed Giant matches consist of one game. All players from the two teams play in the same game. Drawn games (games without a winner) do not count toward the one game. As long as match time allows, the match continues until a team has won a game.

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.

9.3 Play-Draw Rule
A team determined at random chooses either to play first or to play second. The choice must be made before either player on that team looks at their hand. If either player on that team looks at their hand before their choice is made, that team plays first. The team who plays first skips the draw step of their first turn.

9.4 Pregame Procedure
1) Players decide which teammate will be the primary player and which teammate will be the secondary player. Players should be seated with the primary player to the right of their teammate. Players can choose a different primary and secondary player before each match.
2) Players shuffle their decks.
3) Players present their decks to their opponents for additional shuffling.
4) The appropriate team must decide whether to play first or second at this point, if they have not done so already (see section 9.3)
5) Each player draws seven cards. Optionally, these cards may be dealt face down on the table.
6) Each player, in turn order, decides whether to mulligan. (Rules on Two-Headed Giant mulligans can be found in the Magic Comprehensive Rules, rule 103.4c)

Once players have completed their mulligans, the game can begin.

9.5 Two-Headed Giant Constructed Rules
Two-Headed Giant Constructed tournaments use Unified Deck Construction rules (see section 8.4).

In addition to cards banned in particular formats, the following card is banned in ALL Two-Headed Giant Constructed tournaments (Vintage, Legacy, Modern, and Block Constructed):
• Erayo, Soratami Ascendant

Sideboards are not allowed in constructed Two-Headed Giant tournaments.

9.6 Two-Headed Giant Limited Rules
All the rules for Limited Tournaments (Section 7) apply, except as described below.

Eight boosters per team are recommended for Two-Headed Giant Sealed Deck tournaments and six boosters per team for Two-Headed Giant Booster Draft tournaments. For the recommended product mix for the current block, refer to Appendix D.

Cards not used in a team’s starting decks are considered a shared sideboard by the two players that both players can access.

9.7 Two-Headed Giant Booster Draft Tournaments
Teams (not players) assemble into random drafting circles (called pods) of roughly equal size at the direction of the Head Judge. Teammates sit next to each other. Tournament officials then distribute identical boosters to each team in the pod.

After opening and counting the cards in their first pack, the team chooses two cards from the booster pack then passes the remaining cards face down to the team on its left. Selected cards may be placed into one or two piles. The cards chosen are not assigned to a particular player; they become part of a pool out of which both players will construct their decks. The open packs are passed around the drafting pod—with each team taking two cards from each before passing—until all cards are drafted.

For the second pack, the direction of drafting is reversed as usual. Thus, the overall draft direction is left–right– left–right–left–right.