Announcements

PAC Rules Updates

November 24, 2020 /

The Plague Continues…

As 2020 continues to progress it’s been an interesting year for Old School Magic. Events have been cancelled, bars have been closed, in-person play has been almost non-existent. All this being said, the community continues to thrive and online play and webcam tournaments have flourished during this season.

During OSPC Convocation 6, there was much discussion on the current state of the format and ways to continue to progress and promote the Old School flavor and play. You can read the minutes for deeper discussion; however, we’d like to announce two new additions to the PAC format.

Mana Clash as a New Tiebreaker!!

This one is a fun option that we’re officially adding as an alternative to the ‘standard’ Chaos Orb flips. Removing the dexterity aspect is a welcomed addition for webcam play or in the future when there’s been too many drinky drinks in person.

Tournament organizers may choose to use Chaos Orb flips or Mana Clash coin flips as the official tiebreaker for an event. Players do not choose which tiebreaker they prefer to use themselves. Here is the new Mana Clash rule:

A winner by sudden death is determined by repeated Mana Clash effects until one player is the winner. Players flip a coin simultaneously. Each player whose coin comes up tails is dealt one damage. Players may not perform any game actions throughout this process, and the damage may not be prevented. This coin flipping process is repeated until one player wins the game. If both players would lose the game at the same time, the coin flipping process is repeated until one player flips heads and the other flips tails. The player who flips heads wins the match. Some additional notes:

  • Because you cannot take any game actions during this process, you may not use a Circle of Protection to prevent the damage from a tails.
  • Additionally, because this damage may not be prevented, an active damage Samilte Healer damage shield from the game does not prevent the damage from a tails.
  • If there are any active Shahrazad subgames when a match moves to Mana Clash, all such subgames immediately end in a draw, and no player loses life due to Shahrazad.
  • If a player has a Lich in play, they do not lose the game for having less than 0 life, but they must sacrifice a permanent for each damage they take. If Lich leaves the battlefield, that player loses.

Before we announce the second change, we’d like to pause and take a second to talk about functional errata. Having functional errata is often a necessary aspect of 93/94 Old School play just due to the mechanics changes and flavor matching of the era. While adding too much functional errata can be a slippery slope, the OSPC clubs have decided there are opportunities to introduce additional functional errata that is easy to understand, low barrier to entry, and overall a net positive for play.

Plague Rats Now Have Zombie Subtype!!!

We announced back in March that PAC format would allow for INFINITE Plague Rats! In keeping with the 2020 Pandemic flavor, we’re taking it one step further and allowing the Zombie subtype as well. Again, the OSPC understands the complexity of adding a functional errata like this; however, with many other Old School Creatures gaining Zombie subtypes in gatherer (Khabal Ghoul, The Fallen, Headless Horseman, etc), we’re hoping to give Zombies a chance!! There’s an underplayed archetype that is possibly viable and fun. So bust out your Zombie Masters and let’s build something fun!!