Rules

New Player/Handicap Tournament

This tournament runs in a usual format: Two Deck, General Opponent, Four Rounds, Swiss. The unusual part is this: Players who are new to MECCG may build any deck they wish. MECCG veterans, however, must build a deck with a built-in handicap or goal which limits its playability and puts the veteran player on a level that might be equal to the newer, less experienced players. For instance, you might build a deck that uses only cards which start with the letter E. Or you might build a hobbit deck with no attack cancellers. Or you might build a deck where your goal is to make Ioreth a powerful warrior and have her go slay At Home dragon manifestations. Veteran players who enter this tournament are required to submit a statement of their handicap, along with a deck list. Prizes will be awarded to the top players as well as the player with the most imaginative handicap.

Hero-only Doors of Night Tournament

The game is played using normal rules, with the exception that “Doors of Night” is always considered to be in play and cannot be removed or be made ineffective. The card itself need not be played.

Fallen-wizard decks or Minion decks are not allowed.

Crap Sealed

The Crap Game

The basic idea is to build a deck as bad as possible, while following the guidelines below so that it still has a chance to win. Then, everyone at the tournament puts their decks into a pool and you use a different deck every round. You are not allowed to play your own deck. Each round, you receive the tournament points from the games you play plus the points that your deck's *opponent* received that round (so the worse your deck does, the better). If your deck gets a bye, you receive the points *it* gets.

• All decks must be 35:35, plus 12 characters, 2 starting items, and three different wizards.
• All cards are considered unique for the purposes of deck construction (you can only put one of each card into your deck).
• For the purposes of fulfilling deck requirements (below), ignore "if Doors of Night is in play" and "if Gates of Morning is in play" sections. If you include a card with one of these sections, you must include the corresponding environment card. No cards that require Doors of Night or Gates of Morning may be included.
• All cards that you put in your deck must be playable; If a card requires another card, also that other one must be in the deck.
• Cards included to fulfill deck requirements may only fulfill one requirement each; you may not include Concealment as both a 'scout' card and an attack-canceller.

• At least 12 possible item points, from at least 5 items. The 12 points must be outside of parenthesis. Each of the 5 items must give points. No more than 4 of these points may come from special or hoard items.
• At least 10 possible faction points. No Returned Exiles.
• At least 5 ally points.
• At least one skill card for each of the five skills.
• At least 3 cards capable of cancelling an attack (Dragon-feuds only if you have at leat 2 dragon or drake)

• At least one creature keyable by type to each type of region and non-haven site. Each creature included for this purpose may only fulfill this requirement for one type (Assassin may only be included to fulfill the Free-hold OR Border-hold targetting requirement, not both) None of these creatures may be detainment against heroes.
• At least 4 corruption cards.
• At least 2 cards that can either force a company to do nothing during its site phase or force a company to return to its site of origin.

• You choose the 12 characters to be included in the deck, but the player of the deck chooses his starting company, placing the rest of the characters in the deck.
• There must be at least 10 character points in the deck, coming from no more than 7 characters.
• At least one non-wizard character with each skill.

Crap Sealed Deck

Normal Sealed deck rules apply with the following exceptions. Note that if a certain number of required cards is not available, you have to put as many cards as possible into the deck.

• Use at least 1 starter and 5 booster.
• All decks must be 30:30, plus 10 characters, 2 starting items, and 2 different wizards.
• All cards are considered unique for the purposes of deck construction (you can only put one of each card into your deck).
• For the purposes of fulfilling deck requirements (below), ignore "if Doors of Night is in play" and "if Gates of Morning is in play" sections. If you include a card with one of these sections, you must include the corresponding environment card. No cards that require Doors of Night or Gates of Morning may be included.
• All cards that you put in your deck must be playable; If a card requires another card, also that other one must be in the deck.

• You need to have cards with at least 20 MPs in your playdeck (only MPs outside paranthesis). No more than 5 of these points may come from special or hoard items.
• Cards for all MP-categories have to be in the deck.
• At least one skill card for each of the five skills.
• At least 3 cards capable of cancelling an attack or strike (Dragon-feuds only if you have at leat 2 dragon or drake)

• At least one creature keyable by type to each type of region and non-haven site. Each creature included for this purpose may only fulfill this requirement for one type (Assassin may only be included to fulfill the Free-hold OR Border-hold targetting requirement, not both) None of these creatures may be detainment against heroes.
• At least 2 corruption cards.

• You choose the 10 characters to be included in the deck, but the player of the deck chooses his starting company, placing the rest of the characters in the deck.
  
• At least one non-wizard character with each skill.
  

• Increase the number of regions that companies may move to 5.

Sealed Deck

• Players get one starter (ME:TW) and four boosters.
• A player's deck needs to consist of at least 25 resources and hazards instead of 30.
• The required number of hazard creatures in a deck is lowered from 12 to 10.
• Your sideboard consists of all the cards you didn't use for your deck.
• Players are allowed to bring and use their own sites.
• Sealed games are 1-deck games.

Middle Earth: The Drinking Game

Besides the standard cards and other implements required for MECCG, the Drinking Game requires a considerable supply of alcohol. In the following rules, a 'shot' is defined as a 'non-sipping swallow of an alcoholic beverage.' Unless otherwise indicated, the shot-taker decides what he or she will take a shot of.

• Once per turn, you may take a shot to untap a character.
• When one of your character becomes wounded, you must take a shot.
• In addition, when one of your characters becomes eliminated (by any means) or discarded (due to corruption), you must take a shot.
• You must take an additional shot if your wizard is discarded or eliminated.
• Once per turn, you may modify a die roll up or down by one. The cost for this action is one shot if it is declared before the die roll, two shots in order to change the die roll after it is made.
• Once per turn, when you reveal a new site, you may take one or two shots in order to allow that company to move one or two extra regions, respectively.
• Once per turn, you may take a shot to draw a card.
• A player must take a shot when he plays an item, faction, or ally worth 4 MP or more.
• Same-alignment company vs. company combat is allowed. In order to initiate CvCC, the attacker must take a shot. The defender may then negate the combat by also taking a shot. The attacker may then re-initiate combat with another shot, which the defender may again negate. This process continues until the attacker is no longer willing to initiate or the defender is no longer willing to negate.
• When you lose a game, you must take two shots. The winner decides the contents of the shots, and may concoct mixed beverages as necessary.

Drinking Game rules © 1999, Nathan Bruinooge & Jason Klank