Can I check my opponents Deck before the game begins?
Asked by sobrat1 9 years ago
As to find out what his deck is about and to prepare and know what to expect during play; make modifications such as using the sideboard, etc. A friend of mine said that you have to play against whoever in order to learn how his deck is like, so I'm unsure. Can someone, please, tell me?
Generally, you're not entitled to knowing what's in your opponent's deck, but in certain tournaments, you might receive an opponent's decklist:
2.7. (...) Generally, decklists are not public information and are not shared with other players during a tournament. At constructed-format, Professional REL tournaments (Pro Tour, World Magic Cup, Magic: The Gathering Players Championship, and Grand Prix), copies of opponents decklists will be provided to players in the single-elimination payoffs.
You could always ask them to show you their deck, but I doubt many players would do that. If you plan to analyze an opponent's deck before the match, that seems hardly feasible in terms of the time limits, as you'd have to do that after pairings, but before the match (where you usually would be finding your table and getting set up).
What you can do is ask "So, what type of deck are you playing?", or ask about the archetype. They might tell you or not, but it's a much better alternative than everything above.
As a side note, you can't sideboard before the first game in a match anyway, except in tournaments with Continuous Construction (and then it's technically not sideboarding), so you would only gain information one way or another.
Telling on your opponent's deck is part of the game, which is also why some players keep playing in a match they long lost, just to see a few extra cards and will be able to make better educated sideboarding decisions (this is especially efficient in Limited, where the archetypes aren't as obvious).
FancyTuesday says... #1
No. You may ask a judge to inspect your opponent's deck (though if it's a tournament, they already have) to verify that it is legal, but you aren't entitled to that information prior to playing the game. Even afterwards you don't get to learn the exact composition of your opponent's deck, you only know what you've seen.
If it's just a casual game, you can do whatever you and your opponent agrees to, so go nuts.
October 8, 2015 7:18 p.m.