Last week we looked at ways you can avoid giving rule sharks the opportunity to come after you. Knowing the penalties and policies and being precise in your gameplay will shut most sharks down. Still, you may encounter the kind of opponent who might try and take a bite or two anyway. This week, I’m going to show you how to deal with the situation if it ever arises.

I’ve played a variety of TCGs over the years, and I remember one tournament where I got rule sharked twice. One opponent expressed a fervid hope that I didn’t have English-language cards to show for the foreign language cards I was using in my deck (common, well-known cards that any player would recognize). “I’m more than happy to get you disqualified before we even start,” he informed me with a smirk. “I got no problem winning easy.” I did have the cards, so he was out of luck. I made a minor misplay in another round that didn’t impact the game at all, and my opponent set up a scream for a judge that had to be heard to be believed, demanding I be disqualified for “cheating.” (Yes, he was losing badly, and the judge knew perfectly well what was going on.) So I’ve been there and I know how it feels.

When faced with this kind of situation or opponent, you need to be sure to play as correctly as possible without allowing the pressure to get to you. This is why I’m such a stickler for correct gameplay at all times—if you play by the book, it becomes a habit. (I suspect some players in my events think I’m doing it just be irritating, but honestly I’m not.) When it’s second nature to move through your turn clearly and precisely, you don’t get rattled by someone obviously watching for something to call you on.

Remember that in actuality, very few things result in a game loss. (Hey, where can you find out what they are? Everyone, all together: the policy and penalty documents!) If you’ve read these, you know that putting your Graceful Charity and discards in the graveyard in the wrong order does not merit a game loss, no matter how loud your opponent may howl for one, so minor things like that won’t give you a brain seizure. Drawing extra cards (combining them with the cards in your hand), forgetting to activate a mandatory effect, ending your turn and having your opponent begin his or her turn before you realize, or mixing the cards in your hand with your deck or graveyard all make the game state irreparable, and you’ll get a loss for those. However, these are all things you can avoid by paying attention to what you are doing. Relax. You know how to play this game, right? Play it correctly, and you’ll be fine.

If you feel that your opponent is trying to trick you into making an error or says something like, “I want to look at your sleeves to see if your cards are marked,” call over a judge. If your opponent is just sincerely trying to keep the game honest, then he or she will love having a judge come over to help, don’t you think? Don’t listen to your opponent, your opponent’s buddy, or a well-meaning “bystander” when they give you advice on how to correct a mistake. (I’ve known players to pick up an extra card and be told by an opponent, “Hey no problem, just shuffle it back in.” The player shuffles it back in, and the next thing he or she hears is “JUUUUUUUDGE! My opponent shuffled his deck for no reason!” Please, please, please, get a judge involved before things go horribly wrong.)

Jumping over to the opposite side for a moment, you shouldn’t let an opponent pressure you into excusing a serious misplay. If your opponent has done something wrong (such as drawing extra cards), it might have been an accident, but honor dictates that when an error has been made, the penalty should be assessed. We’ve already been over the fact that people can avoid making these kinds of errors by paying attention. An opponent who has messed up the game state isn’t entitled to an automatic pardon on your behalf just because he or she might raise the cry of “RULE SHARK!” If you know the penalty guidelines, you know what can and can’t be done during a game. It is not your responsibility to assess the penalty, but it is your responsibility to alert a judge. He or she will take it from there.

Whichever side you are on, when the judge is called, state your case clearly and give only facts. “My opponent is cheating,” won’t carry as much weight as “Well, after he drew for his first turn, I noticed he had seven cards in his hand.” Never try to tell the judge what penalty to give, especially because people in that situation often get it completely wrong. (See above—read penalty guidelines.) If you are sitting at a table, you are a player, and it isn’t your job to hand out punishments. If you’re on the receiving end of a rule shark, explain clearly to the judge what happened: “I activated Graceful and he didn’t say anything, so I picked up the cards. Then he said, ‘You didn’t give me time to Solemn! Drawing extra cards: that’s a game loss!’ and then he called you over. The three cards here in my right hand are the cards that I just drew and the cards sitting face down on the table are my hand.” 

Big events can carry a lot of pressure, and while plenty of players deal with that in a sporting and honorable manner, others don’t and can resort to misusing tournament policy in order to get ahead. I am not talking about every player who alerts a judge when his or her opponent has irreparably damaged the state of the game—you’re supposed to do that. The penalties are there for a reason, certainly, but that reason has never been to get your opponent knocked out of the game on play technicalities. With some care and attention on your part, the likelihood of it happening to you is very slim. Do yourself a favor—study policies and penalties, focus on clarifying your play style, and communicate clearly with the judges. You’ll find that it becomes much harder for an opponent to eliminate you with a penalty.