Rules

Disclaimer

If unspecified, the defaults defined in the [official LPI rulebook] are applied.

League Organisation

League is governed by the League Committee (here and further - LC), which currently consists of:

League Manager - Mike Grozak
1st Deputy - Julian Utz
2nd Deputy - Felix Stenizer

Validity

This ruleset applies to the second season of the Pauper League of Linz (here and further - PLL), which roughly takes place from September 2026 to July 2027. It applies to all stages of PLL unless explicitly announced.

Rules are binding for each player of the PLL. Rules are reviewed and changed between the League Seasons by the LC in the interest of the community play. The LC reserves a right to change the ruleset during a season in case of a great necessity or if obliged to do so under the general LPI rules.

Season Duration

The first full season of PLL took place from September 2025 to July 2026. The second season of PLL will take place from September 2026 to July 2027.

LPI Affiliation

Pauper League of Linz is officially affiliated with the LPI - [Lega Pauper Italia]. Therefore PLL is eligible for collecting LPI Points and other benefits available for affiliated leagues. Always refer to the official [LPI Rulebook] for an up-to-date information.

When and Where

League stages take place every agreed Saturday at 15:00 in one of the available venues: Gamestore (Friedrichstraße 2, 4040 Linz) and Genduron (Lastenstraße 42, 4020 Linz). Each event is confirmed upfront by the venue and will be communicated via [communication channels].

What is Counted as a League Stage

Each PLL tournament with 8+ participants is counted as a League Stage. Therefore:

Minimum amount of participants - 8.
Minimum amount of Swiss rounds per event is 4. Depending on the number of participants, the number of rounds can be further increased.

The dates of tournaments are agreed and announced upfront via agreed communication channels.

Registration

No registration in advance is necessary - just come and play.

Communication Channels

[WhatsApp Group] first and foremost.
All tournaments are announced upfront via Reddit in [r/Linz] and [r/Pauper].
To get in touch please send us a mail at pauper.liga.linz [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com.
Results of the tournaments are available here and in the [Instagram]
If you are located in Linz or nearby, you can always ask for our contacts directly in the Gamestore or Genduron.

League Ranking

Match Scoring

Points for each match are awarded in a traditional way:

3 points are awarded for a win
1 for a draw
0 for a loss.

Standings

The latest and greatest standings can be found [here].

To calculate the league ranking we employ the 80% rule. In simple terms it means, that out of all played rounds only best 80% are taken into account. If a league participant played less then 80% of all events, all are counted in.

Let check an example:

16 rounds occurred in the Season X.
According to the 80% rule the amount of rounds taken for scoring is 12.8
We employ the mathematical rounding rule, which yields 13 eligible rounds.
If a player A attended all 16 rounds, his 13 best results will be used for scoring.
If a player B attended only 10 rounds, all of them will be used for scoring.

In case of the tie for the 1st Place, the following algorithm is used:

players can split the place and the prizes, but a Bye for Paupergeddon will be assigned only to the one player (decided by the players the players themselves, communicated by the league manager).
in case the players can not decide on their own, the player with higher total score after all attended events will get the precedence
league management reserves a right to hold an additional Top 8 tournament to define a league winner in case any of the above metrics does not yield an acceptable solution.

Paupergeddon Byes

As our season lasts one year, PLL is eligible for 1 Paupergeddon Bye per year; this Bye will be awarded for the League winner at the end of the League Season.

For the year 2025/2026 the bye will be awarded for the Paupergeddon Winter Edition 2026.

For the season 2026/2027 the bye will be awarded for the Paupergeddon Winter Edition 2027.

Rule Enforcement Level

Rule Enforcement Level - Regular

For bigger events (IPT) it might be changed to Competitive, which will always be explicitly announced upfront.

Judging

Magic is complicated, end errors happen every now and then. For every event, there is a judge selected by the tournament organizers, who often him- or herself participates in the tournament. The rulings of the selected judge are binding.

If the judge has to judge the game he is participating himself, the second opinion is required. Please inform your tournament organizer should such an event occur.

If the selected judge has to leave their table for a judge call, his or her match is put on hold and the lost time will be added to their individual round time.

Proxies

League Stages

Proxies are explicitly allowed but must adhere to the following guidelines:

All cards must be clearly readable: name, mana cost, and effect should be easy to read.
Proxies should be indistinguishable in any way from the other cards in a shuffled deck.

If you’re unsure whether your deck meets the requirements, just check in with tournament organizers before the tournament starts.Your opponent has the right to call a judge to check your deck or give oracle text as they see necessary.

LPI Sanctioned Events

Proxies are explicitly not allowed at any LPI-sanctioned event - IPTs of any level, Trios, etc. Stages of the PLL are therefore exempt.

Entry Fee

The entry fee is 5 Euros. Prizes are provided either in the form of store credits from one of our possible venue or by the tournament organizers and may vary (Tokens, Boosters, etc).

Fair Play

We adhere to the rules of fair play.To enjoy the fruits of success, it is not enough to win. Triumph must be measured by absolute fair means, honesty and just play.

For every Magic Player, playing by the written rules is mandatory, and respecting the unwritten ones is a must. Fair play requires unconditional respect for opponents, fellow players, judges and fans.

Fair play means no cheating. Anyone who does this ruins the game for everyone else.

Unacceptable behavior includes, but is not limited to:

Harassment of any kind
Intimidation, threats, or aggressive conduct
Repeatedly violating personal boundaries
Cheating, stealing, or otherwise manipulating games or participants in bad faith
Any behavior that makes others feel unsafe or unwelcome

If you witness or experience misconduct, please speak to the organizers as soon as you feel safe to do so. We reserve the right to deny entry or remove any person whose presence is disruptive or harmful, with or without prior warning, including permanent ban from all of PLL events.