Sponsored by Ultimate Guard
Normal LSV's Lotus Lounge Team Draft Server Rules apply unless stated otherwise.
How to Play Your Match
Every pairing has its own match thread in Discord. Both teams' roles are tagged in it, so it should appear in your sidebar — that thread is where you do everything.
- Find your thread. The round's pairings post lists every match and links straight to its thread. Or just look for the thread you were tagged in.
- Agree on a time in the thread. Scheduling closes Thursday, 1 PM ET; if you haven't agreed by then, the Friday, 1 PM ET default applies.
- Decide the cube. Randomly choose one of the two teams — that team picks either PowerLSV or LSVCube. Those are the only two options.
- Hit “Start draft.” The bot’s message at the top of the thread carries the button. It asks you to pick the cube you agreed on, then posts the draft lobby in the thread for everyone to join.
- Play. Matches use a 35-minute round timer. Your result records itself when the draft finishes — no reporting command, no forms. The pairings post and the standings update on their own.
Ping a @Mod in your match thread. Don't start a second draft for the same match — if a draft is already linked, the button will tell you so rather than making another one.
🏆 Prize Payouts
100% of entry fees go to the prize pool. 40 teams × 150 tix = 6,000 tix, paid out to the top 8.
| Place | Payout | Ultimate Guard |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1st | 1,800 tix | Sidewinder + sleeves |
| 🥈 2nd | 1,200 tix | Sidewinder + sleeves |
| 🥉 3rd–4th | 750 tix each | Sidewinder + sleeves |
| 5th–8th | 375 tix each | — |
If the tournament is cancelled, entry fees are refunded to the captains who paid them.
On top of the tix, the top 4 teams each receive a Mox Sidewinder deck case and sleeves from Ultimate Guard’s new lineup.
Announced by LSV on 16 September 2026.
Rules Changes
Announced after signups closed, by popular demand.
The tournament is now 6 Swiss rounds, then the top-8 playoff.
MTGO Rules Apply
We are going by MTGO rules, and will not try to fix misclicks or the like.
- If someone joins the match with the wrong deck, remake the match.
- Otherwise, we aren't remaking or fixing situations.
- Misclicks are final — play each match accordingly.
- Call a @Mod if something happens during the draft, or MTGO crashes the match (or similar). In-game situations are resolved by MTGO.
Infinite Combos
For infinite combos such as Auriok Salvagers + LED, or Gadgeteer + Monolith:
- If you can demonstrate a loop and have a win condition (Ballista, for example), you win. Drawing your deck also counts — such as Salvagers and Chromatic Star — as long as you have a win condition, which your open pool will show.
- If it's not deterministic, you have to play it out until you can get to a win.
- Please play with precision — we don't have the moderation resources or desire to adjudicate every situation.
- Ultimately the responsibility is on the combo player. If you're going to include combos in your deck, make sure you know how they work and can execute them.
Please treat your opponents as you would wish to be treated — the goal here isn't to win via misclicks or timing out, and we've found these combos to be fun. Thanks for everyone's help in making sure this goes well. The stakes are high, but we'd like to keep the vibes good, and we need everyone in order to do that 🤝
Format
6 Swiss rounds followed by a top-8 single-elimination playoff. Tiebreaker: Opponents' Match-Win %.
One draft a week — with one exception: rounds 5 and 6 are both played in week 5. Six rounds, five weeks.
Drafts are normally 3v3. Teams may agree to a larger, equal team size — but note that an even team size can finish level (2–2 in a 4v4), and a team match must still produce a winner. In that case each team chooses a representative and those two play a best-of-three tiebreaker.
Cube: randomly choose one of the two teams; that team picks either PowerLSV or LSVCube. Those are the only two options.
Rosters are open. Players may freely substitute and play for multiple teams. Subs are automatically approved but should be reported before the draft. A player on both opposing teams must choose one side.
Scheduling
Rounds are weekly — your team plays one draft each week, any time inside the round's window. The exception is the last week: rounds 5 and 6 are both in week 5, so plan for two drafts that week.
Default: Friday, 1 PM ET · Recommended alternate: Saturday, 10 PM ET
Teams may agree to any time, but must do so by Thursday, 1 PM ET or the Friday default applies. Drafts may not start after Sunday, 5 PM ET.
Every match of the round must be finished by midnight PT on Sunday (3 AM ET Monday). This is a completion deadline, not a start time — if you are splitting the draft from the matches, schedule them with enough room to finish inside it.
The draft and the matches don't have to happen back to back — you may draft at one time and play the matches later. If you're going to do that, you must tell your opponents up front and schedule the matches well ahead of time.
Otherwise the expectation is the default: you are available to play once the draft ends. Don't draft and then go missing.
Lateness
Call a judge if someone isn't ready at start time. Which scale applies depends on what they're late for — the draft, or a match scheduled for its own time.
Late for the draft
| Delay | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 10 min | Missing player starts Round 1 down a game |
| 20 min | Entire team starts Round 1 down a game |
| 30 min | Team concedes |
Late for a scheduled match — when the draft and the matches happen at different times
| Delay | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 10 min | Game loss |
| 30 min | Match loss |
Teams may mutually waive these penalties.
Matches
- Matches are played with a 35-minute round timer
- Every team match has to produce a winner. An even team size can end level — 2–2 in a 4v4 — and when it does, each team chooses a representative, and those two play an additional best-of-three to decide the match
- Drafters may not communicate with each other during the draft, directly or indirectly. No talking, chat or signalling between the people drafting — teammates included — until every pack is done, and nobody may carry information between them: a coach or spectator watching more than one drafter must not relay anything from one to another. Coaches and spectators are otherwise unaffected
- Your deck locks the moment you first play it. Build and rebuild as much as you like before that; once you have played a match with a deck, that is your deck for the rest of the round. Each player's deck locks at their own first match
- Intentional draws are not allowed
- Pools are open; decklists are not. Reading the open pools while you build is allowed — including your opponents'
- Coaching and spectators are allowed, during the draft as well as during matches
- Matches must be open to spectators