Disconnection Policies

Index	Table of Contents	Terms
	Disconnection Policies

Two disconnection policies cover what happens if a player loses connection to Magic Online during an event. The Server Disconnection Policy applies when players lose connection because the Magic Online server stops responding. The Player Disconnection Policy applies when a player intentionally or unintentionally disconnects from the server, or is logged on but unresponsive.

Server Disconnection Policy
If the Magic Online server stops responding during an event, what happens to that event depends on how quickly the server is brought back online.

If the server begins responding within fifteen minutes, all events return to the state they were in before the server went offline. Players in an event are expected to attempt to log on until fifteen minutes have passed.

If the server doesn't begin responding within fifteen minutes, all running events are canceled. For large events (more than eight participants) still in the Swiss portion and eight-player events, participants get back any product they provided. For large events in the playoffs, participants return any product they were given for the playoffs.

Player Disconnection Policy
The player disconnection policy covers what happens if a player intentionally or unintentionally loses connection to Magic Online during an event. They also cover what happens if a player is still connected but unresponsive.

In these cases, refunds will not be given and product will not be returned. It's the player's responsibility to maintain an Internet connection. See What Happens if I get Disconnected? for more information.

During a draft
Players who don't pick a card in the allotted time receive a random pick until all required picks are made.

During Limited deck construction
If a player fails to submit a deck before time expires, the program will attempt to submit the cards currently in the Deck window of the Deck Building screen. If there are less than forty cards in the Deck window, Magic Online will randomly add lands to the deck from the Sideboard window. If there are not enough land cards available, Magic Online will randomly add cards from the Sideboard window until the deck is valid for submission.

During rounds
If a player is unresponsive for ten minutes, that player will receive a game loss. After this penalty is given in any match, if the same player is unresponsive for five minutes in any subsequent games in that match, that player will be given a match loss. In a Swiss draw tournament, players who receive a match loss due to being unresponsive in two games in a single match will be dropped from the tournament.

Pairing issues
Once players get to the deck building stage of a Limited tournament they are automatically included in the first round pairings. If a player has no opponent or a player's opponent drops during the deck building stage, that player receives a match win.

Players who drop during the deck building stage will receive a match loss, since they were included in round one pairings. Players who drop before the deck building phase won't receive a match loss.

Ranking issues
If a player is dropped from an event due to disconnection from Magic Online, that player will be included in the final standings. The player's record will include the results of the last round he or she was paired in.

If multiple players in a playoff are dropped due to disconnection, rankings are first determined for all players based on their standings in the playoff portion of the event. Any logged off players with the same record will be ranked based on their standings after the Swiss portion.