Leagues

Index	Table of Contents	Terms
	Leagues

The Leagues room is where you can play matches against other players in a competitive environment without affecting your Magic Online ratings. If you want to get used to competitive Magic play in a more casual environment, this is a good place to start.

Click this icon in the Main Room to get to the Leagues room.

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 longer. Each week, participants can play up to five matches that count towards their league rating. Additional league matches played during that week count only towards players' tiebreaker points.

Each match is best two out of three games, with a 90-minute time limit.

League Formats
League play is a form of Sealed Deck. You begin the league with one tournament pack and two boosters to build your deck. Each following week, you purchase an additional booster to add to your league deck.

The product used in each league is different, so check the listing to see what sets cards will be from.

Note: Until a league finishes, you can't trade cards purchased for use in the league. You don't have to keep track of which cards you're using in the league, Magic Online will keep you from trading them away.

League Ratings
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 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 1 point for a loss. You can't play the same opponent twice in the same week.

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 3 tiebreaker points for a win, 1 tiebreaker point for a draw, and 0 tiebreaker points for a loss.

At the end of the league, the player with the most points is the league winner.

How Do I Join a League?
To join a league, click Leagues in the Main Room. In the first part of the Leagues room is a list of leagues that are running. Look over the list to find one you want to join, select it, then click Go To to enter the room for that league. In that league's room, click Join and you'll be taken to the Deck Builder screen to put together your league deck.

Note: Make sure you check the date the league started. Joining a league that's been running for a while will put you far behind players who began in the first week.

How Do I Play a League Match?
League matches can be played any time you can find an opponent in the league. To find an opponent, go to the League room, select the league you want to play a match for, then click Go To.

Once you're in the room, click Play. If another player is waiting for an opponent, you'll be paired with that player for a match. If no players are waiting an opponent, the Waiting for Players screen will open with your avatar at the table. When another player clicks Play in the league room, he or she will be paired with you for a match.

Quitting a League Match
Before a league match begins you can click the cancel button to drop with no penalty.

After a league match begins, you can quit by clicking Concede Match. If you do, you'll receive a match loss.