Dumb question: how do we know the altered card is a Snapcaster if it's unrecognizable? If you can't tell what the card is, that should save you the trouble of having to determine whether or not it's offensive.

Originally posted by Aaron Huntsman:

The card name and/or text box are probably still legible. However the art has been altered enough that it is unrecognisable from across the table (plus it's inappropriate)

I would absolutely issue temporary proxies for the unacceptable Snapcasters–taking the deck and hand away from the table to perform the replacement–and instruct the player to either acquire real ones before the start of the next round or replace them with basics.

Pausing the match to get the player to replace his Snapcasters right now is just too disruptive to the tournament, for two reasons. First, as mentioned already, we have the issue of the time extension holding up the round directly. But second is the issue of where the player's going to get those Snapcasters in the middle of the round. It's quite likely he's going to try to borrow them off of a friend, and that friend is likely going to be in the middle of his own match right now, so by sending the player off to fetch cards right now we disrupt not only his match, but also the matches of the other players he's going to try to borrow from.

Issuing a temporary proxy avoids delaying the match, gives the player more time to comply, allows the player to wait until his friends are done with their matches before borrowing, and in the event he can't borrow it also gives him a far wider selection of people available to trade with. It may not be supported by the MTR, but as far as I can see it's absolutely the best solution from a tournament disruption and customer service point of view.

Originally posted by Toby Hazes:

That would be failure to follow a direct instruction from a tournament official. I don't think the player would want to risk that just to look at his snappies a few seconds longer (which he can still do in a bathroom stall between rounds anyways).

Also, even if you have a judge around, those snappies will still be in his hand when he draws them, so anyone walking by could still see them. So it's added hastle for not even 100% security.

I'm talking about laziness here and I think you're steering off with the off-handed jab at just wanting to look at his alters.

There is a point there about how the snappies will be in his hand when he draws them, which I admit I've overlooked.

As an amendment, I'd say the fix from me after considering the points and newer posts would be to pause the game, and just swap the snappies for cover-up proxies away from the table, giving him until the next round to find replacements or have his deck “fixed”.

What would be the problem with giving 4 proxies regardless of the actual number?

As I've mentioned already, that in this case, he runs 4, which is coincidentally the same number of proxies possible to be issued. The total quantity of a card in a player's deck should not be revealed, coincidentally or not.

Originally posted by Joshua Feingold:

Personally, unless I felt the situation was really urgent for some reason
(maybe the kids from the Pokemon league are wandering around the event and
the alter was extremely racy), I would just issue the proxy for the bent
card for the remainder of the round and require the player to find 4 legal
Snapcasters before the start of the next round.

The scenario is that this is a PTQ. That means we're talking 200+ players waiting on a 10 minute time extension that I gave this player to find normal Snapcasters. That's far more disruptive to the tournament than the mere POSSIBILITY that someone seeing the cards is offended. Keep in mind that we're talking about Magic: the Gathering. The ‘chicks in chainmail’ theme is common in Magic art. There are a number of Magic cards that are well recognized and notable not because of their play value but because there are half naked girls on them. Elvish Ranger, Earthbind, Shelter, Hero of Bladehold (the normal version, not the promo), etc. Razia, from the original Rav block, is wearing either the shortest shorts ever or a skirt so narrow she could use it for a headband. If we're not worried about the kiddos seeing art like that, chances are letting the Snapcasters go for another 30 minutes isn't going to cause any harm.

I realize that this is a hot button topic in the Magic community right now. I realize that there are Magic players (and judges) out there that are incredibly offended by anything that they feel is objectification. But let's try and maintain a little perspective on which is more disruptive, a racy alter or 30+ man-hours of wasted play time. Some of these people have almost certainly driven in from 2+ hours away and still have to make it home at a reasonable hour when they leave. A 10 minute delay is probably not the end of the world. But it adds up over the course of 8 or 9 rounds. That's why Eggs got amputated in Modern. I would prefer to minimize the disruptions and if 1 or 2 people happen to be offended in the course of the 20-30 extra minutes those Snappys are visible, well, I still find that far preferable to 150 irritated players sitting and waiting on the next round. Those people that are offended are in the minority (be honest, most players would find the alters ‘cool’, that's the demographic we're primarily working with) and while I will try and accomodate everyone, I'm catering to the majority.

I've determined that the alters are outside of what's acceptable (whether it's because they're potentially more offense than the ‘girl wearing dental floss’ art that is printed on most angels or because the art is unrecognizeable from a reasonable distance) and they need to be replaced, but I'm going to ask the player to wait until the end of the round to do so. There's no potential for competitive advantage here and so no way that my decision impacts the outcome of the tournament.

Edited Mike Torrisi (May 6, 2013 06:59:42 PM)

Posting on behalf of Patrick while he's unable to access a computer
Thanks for the great discussion this topic generated! To wrap up, here's our solution:

The card that became creased during shuffling is a simple fix. Because he called a judge as soon as it occurred and before he could possibly have gained an advantage, there is no infraction here. If the player has another copy on hand, allow them to replace it. If not, issuing a proxy is acceptable because the card became marked in the course of playing in the tournament.

The disallowed Snapcaster Mages are another story entirely. While Amleth is missing cards due to your decision, it is still Amleth's actions that forced your decision. With the rise in popularity of altered art cards, it becomes increasingly important to teach players that they should check with the Head Judge before they play with altered cards. Amleth did not do this; the issue we're correcting remains his responsibility.

If the art is simply unrecognizable, we can allow the match to finish normally before Amleth replaces those cards. If he can't find enough Snapcasters, he'll have to swap in basic lands - and we'll adjust his deck list to match, without penalty.

If the art is offensive, however, Amleth's error is more difficult to correct without disrupting the game. Amleth should be directed to replace all offensive alters immediately. If he has or can quickly acquire enough replacements, we can assist with the replacement in hidden zones: take his hand and library aside, swap out the cards, and return hand and library to the players and have them continue the game.

If Amleth is unable to replace all of his offensive alterations, then his “crime” is egregious (for non-English speakers, that means Really, REALLY bad!). His actions have led to a situation where we can't continue the game as is; he will have to add basic lands, we will adjust the deck list, and issue a Game Loss for D/DL Problem (which ends the current game). Please don't consider randomly determining which Mages to swap for lands, esp. when at least one is in a public zone.

Temporary proxies were proposed in a number of responses to this scenario. Nowhere in any of our documents are temporary proxies mentioned or allowed. When proxies are to be issued, they remain valid for the duration of the tournament as outlined in the IPG and MTR, or not at all. Also, keep in mind that, if Amleth finds more replacements later, he is no longer allowed to swap them for those basic lands he added. (That's specified twice in the IPG, under Marked Cards and again for D/DL Problems.)

Finally, remember that we as Head Judges must be firm with our handling of offensive material, including card alterations (or sleeves, playmats, etc.). While the player's opponent and even neighboring matches may not be offended, it's possible - perhaps even likely - that someone will be quietly offended, say nothing, and leave the event with a very negative impression.