Illegal Deck Process
For Alternate Format Tournaments
When playing in an alternate format, it’s not impossible for a player to make errors in their deck construction that would cause them to have an illegal deck. Most often, a player will inadvertently add a card to their deck that is not legal in the alternate format being played. For example, a player may absentmindedly include Quick Ball in their Alola format deck list or perhaps include Marnie in a Pauper deck list. Errors like these aren’t the end of the world—but they can often feel like it for the player who has an illegal card in their deck.
What To Do If Your Opponent Has an Illegal Card In Their Deck
Directly message JustInBasil on Discord, ideally with a screenshot of the illegal card in play or otherwise being used. If you cannot get a screenshot of the card in use or having been used (via a copy or screenshot of the game log, for example), please at least include the card’s name when expressing your concern.
When an illegal card is reported, the reported player’s deck list will be reviewed. If their deck list contains the illegal card reported, that player will receive a game loss for the current round of the tournament, as per the official rules found in the Play! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook, section 7.3.2.2:
7.3.2.2 B.2. Deck Legality
| Minor: Warning | Severe: Game Loss |
Infractions that fall under the category of deck legality include all problems identified due to cards in the deck that are not legal for tournament play, either for reasons of condition, language, or format restriction. In addition to the penalty assessed, the offending card or cards should be replaced in all cases.
...Severe Deck Legality
Severe Deck Legality infractions result in an opportunity for a player to gain an advantage, usually through ambiguity or discrepancy caused by dissimilarity between the deck list and the physical deck, or by a pattern of marked cards.
If the reported player’s submitted deck list does not contain the reported card and either game log text or an in-game screenshot proving the inclusion of the illegal card is provided, the game loss penalty may be escalated to disqualification.
A Warning to Reporting Players
Failure to respectfully handle the discovery and reporting of an illegal card in your opponent’s deck may also result in a penalty for the reporting player, from a game loss up to disqualification. Harassing, belittling, or otherwise exhibiting unsporting conduct in the discovery or reporting of an illegal card will not be tolerated.
What To Do If You Realize You Have An Illegal Card In Your Deck
Alert your opponent of the illegal card, then directly and immediately message JustInBasil on Discord, noting the illegal card included in your deck list and proof that you have alerted your opponent to its presence (via either a screenshot of in-game chat or by @mentioning them directly in a public Discord channel—e.g. #leagueathomechat). After reporting the illegal card, do not use it during the game against your opponent. Your self-reporting may cause the penalty issued to be de-escalated to an official warning instead of a game loss.
Fixing A Deck That Contains Illegal Cards
As per the official rules found in the Play! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook, section 7.3.2.2, all illegal cards must be replaced with basic Energy cards:
In the case that a deck list contains fewer than 60 cards, cards that are not legal for play, or cards that cannot be reasonably identified from the information provided, the deck list should be made legal by adding an appropriate number of basic Energy cards of the player’s choice. Then, the physical deck should be updated accordingly.
The player whose deck contains the illegal cards chooses the basic Energy cards that will replace the illegal cards and these basic Energy cards will remain as replacements for the remainder of the tournament. Continuing to play with the reported cards after being issued a penalty for them will result in disqualification.
We SubmiT DECK LISTS, Why Aren’t These Errors Caught?
It is the player’s responsibility to ensure that the decks they bring to these alternate format events are legal. It is not feasible for each deck list to be manually reviewed before the start of an alternate format tournament. The deck list submission requirement is in place to ensure that a player cannot simply change decks over the course of the tournament and to help verify deck issues when they are reported.