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The “Vancouver Mulligan” is Here to Stay

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At Pro Tour Origins they tested a new mulligan rule which stated that any player who had mulliganed got to scry one at the beginning of the game. In my experience in testing for and playing at the tournament the rule was great, and it made mulliganing much less punishing. As such, I was very happy to see that they have announced that the rule will be adopted for all tournament Magic going forward.

The Battle for Zendikar prerelease will be the first tournament where the rule will take effect, which I'm sure your local judge staff will remind you of at these events. In case you're unsure of the exact wording and didn't click on the link to the official announcement, here's the official wording on the new rule:

103.4. Each player draws a number of cards equal to his or her starting hand size, which is normally seven. (Some effects can modify a player's starting hand size.) A player who is dissatisfied with his or her initial hand may take a mulligan. First, the starting player declares whether or not he or she will take a mulligan. Then each other player in turn order does the same. Once each player has made a declaration, all players who decided to take mulligans do so at the same time. To take a mulligan, a player shuffles his or her hand back into his or her library, then draws a new hand of one fewer cards than he or she had before. If a player kept his or her hand of cards, those cards become the player's opening hand, and that player may not take any further mulligans. This process is then repeated until no player takes a mulligan. (Note that if a player's hand size reaches zero cards, that player must keep that hand.) Then, beginning with the starting player and proceeding in turn order, any player whose opening hand has fewer cards than his or her starting hand size may scry 1.

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Ryan Overturf

Ryan has been playing Magic since Legions and playing competitively since Lorwyn. While he fancies himself a Legacy specialist, you'll always find him with strong opinions on every constructed format.

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