Rules - Spuzzem Gaming Pauper League

1. Overview

Welcome to the Spuzzem Gaming Pauper League! This league is hosted and organized through our Discord community, but all matches are played in-person at scheduled events. The goal of this league is to celebrate Pauper and build a strong community around friendly competition.

2. Participation Requirements

All players must be members of the Spuzzem Gaming Discord server.
Players may join the league at any point during a season.
Players may participate in any number of scheduled events; there is no minimum participation requirement.
There are no deck submission requirements.

3. Formats & Deck Construction

Pauper Constructed

Deck Size: Minimum 60 cards in the main deck, with an optional 15-card maximum sideboard.
Card Legality: The official Wizards of the Coast Pauper ban list applies.

View the official Wizards of the Coast Banned & Restricted List

Pauper Cube

Deck Size: Minimum 40 cards in the main deck.
Sideboard: Optional sideboard consisting of cards obtained through the drafting phase of the event.
Card Legality: All cards in the cube are legal for play.

4. League Structure

Season Length: 10 weeks.
Events: League points are earned by participating in approved in-person tournaments hosted by The Booster Box in Virginia Beach.
Event Frequency: Every Friday night at 7:20 PM unless indicated otherwise beforehand.
Tournament Format: All events use the Swiss-style tournament format.

5. Scoring System

Points are earned based on performance and participation at approved events based on reported results in the MTG Companion app. Individual game results are not scored. Points determine player standings and the season champion.

In the event two players are tied in points, the player with the higher rating will be placed higher in the standings.

Match Win: 3 points
Match Draw: 1 point
Match Loss: 0 points
Bonus Points: 1 point for participating in an event

Every Friday night will count toward the league except in the event that an in-universe (non-Universes Beyond) prerelease occurs on the same weekend.

6. Rating / ELO System

The rating (ELO) system is used to track player performance within the league.

Only matches between league members affect ratings. Matches against non-league players do not.
At the start of a new season, all players' ratings are reset to 1000.
After each match, ratings are adjusted based on the result of the match and the rating difference between players.

Formula

New Rating = Old Rating + K × (Actual Score − Expected Score)

Where:

K is a constant.
Actual Score is 1 for a win, 0 for a loss, and 0.5 for a draw.
Expected Score = 1 / (1 + 10^{(opponent rating − player rating) / 400})

How the Rating System Works

If both players are equal (1000 vs. 1000), they have a 50% expected win chance.
If you're the underdog and win, you gain more rating.
If you're the favorite and win, you gain less rating.

Why Reset Each Season?

Encourages ongoing participation.
Prevents rating inflation or deflation over many seasons.
Levels the field for newcomers.
Makes each season a fresh competitive sprint.

7. Reporting Results

Match results will be recorded in the league-results channel of the Discord server after each round of an event by a League Admin.

Players are encouraged to record their own results as well in the event there is a dispute over recorded results.

8. Fees & Prizes

League Entry Fee

There is no fee to participate in the league.

Event Entry Fee

The Booster Box store Pauper event entry fee is $5. This is at the discretion of the store.

League Prizes

For seasons 1–4, the season champion will win a trophy and will have their likeness depicted in custom art on any Pauper-legal card of their choice which will be included in the cube. A playset of the card will be made for the winner.

Every player in the league will receive themed generic tokens such as clue, food, blood, treasure, and other token types.

Event Prizes

The Booster Box awards store credit based on the number of participants. The entry fee paid by players is distributed among the top players.

League Rules