Are Damaged Cards Legal for Tournament Play?

josie0001

josie0001

The Daddiest Dad Ever
Member
Kind of a newb question, but then again I'm kind of a newb, so I don't mind asking it.

I have a slightly damaged card (the corner is a bit mangled) that I want (read: NEED) to play in my Expanded deck for Philly Regionals this weekend, but I'm not sure if it'll be allowed. From reading the Play! Pokemon rules, it's my understanding that as long as the sleeve is unmarked and the card is unindentifiable from the rest of the cards then it's legal, but I just wanted to be sure. The sleeves are brand new and it's impossible to tell by looking at the deck from every angle which one is the damaged card. Will I be okay or should I start thinking of a contingency plan ASAP?
 
This was actually just asked in the "Ask a professor" section.

My Little Keldeo said:
A card is playable if it cannot be distinguished from the other cards in a deck from the back. It really boils down to the tournament staff, particularly whoever is checking your deck. Most likely it won't be an issue, but somebody else may say otherwise. It's going to boil down to actually examining the card, which can't be done online, and is ultimately the discretion of the deck checker and Head Judge.

If you have any doubts, then I would suggest not using that in your deck and playing a regular Ultra Ball instead.
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http://www.pokebeach.com/forums/thr...-the-card-condition-rule.136864/#post-2838220
 
Shoot, I even spent a bunch of time searching thru the forums to make sure I didn't ask a redundant Q lol. Thanks for the info tho! The verdict seems to be a resounding MAYBE. It will all depend on the deck checker I suppose, so having a back up option wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Thanks again!
 
No worries. Yeah, unfortunately without showing the card to a judge/professor in person you won't know for sure, and just a picture shown on the forums isn't really enough to say either way. I'd recommended taking it with you, and either having a backup option, get a new copy, or bring stuff to trade for it with other players if you need to before the tournament starts.
 
josie0001 said:
Shoot, I even spent a bunch of time searching thru the forums to make sure I didn't ask a redundant Q lol. Thanks for the info tho! The verdict seems to be a resounding MAYBE. It will all depend on the deck checker I suppose, so having a back up option wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
You can also review and discuss the card with the head judge before the tournament starts too to get his/her comments regarding the card's condition and if it can be played.
 
Discussed the card with the judge beforehand at deck checks and he allowed it. He said, essentially, as long as you can't look at the deck when it's been shuffled and pick the card out (i.e. it's "marked"), it's legal. That goes without saying everything has to be legible as well. I double-sleeved it the night before just to insure everything was kosher and completely uniform, and yeah, it was a-okay.
 
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