Cut opponent's deck when not allowed to

[Profesor Bain]

So this happened this past weekend at a top 8. Player A played Sycamore, discarted his hand and draw 7 cards. After that, player B cut the opponent's deck. A judge saw the situation and stopped the match and called the head judge to look for the ruling penalty, but they couldn't find any ruling regarding cutting the opponent's deck when shouldn't. So they decided to continue the match without a penalty.

What would be the appropiate ruling for this situation?

 

[FincastlePokemon2]

I would actually treat this the same as "shuffling your deck mid-game without a card effect" - Game-Play Major (on the opponent who cut the deck). Also, prior to resuming play, the deck should be "un-cut" if it is possible to do so. (If the divide is still visible, for example).

 

[PokePop]

As a general advice to Judges at a tournament, don't expect every single infraction to be spelled out exactly in the penalty guidelines. They are only guidelines, not a comprehensive and inclusive book of rules.
Obviously, in this case, something that was done was not correct. Players can't just reach over and shuffle their opponent's deck at any time that they wish.
But the specific case is not spelled out exactly in the rule book.
The procedure to follow is to first determine what class of ruling it is.
In this case, a Game Play Error.
Second, the judge should them look at the definitions given for the different levels (Minor, Major, & Severe) and see which one fits the infraction best. If still unsure, the examples given should be used as a guide to help place it into one of the categories.
If one of the examples given is an exact match, that is a BONUS, not a requirement!
Then, the judge would look at the recommended penalties, taking the level of the tournament into account. An LC would be a lower level event, not held to the same standard as a Regionals or Nationals.
Finally, the judge should determine if there are factors that should adjust the penalty up or down, such as age/inexperience of the player or if there have been repeated infractions already.

A judge should never, ever expect that the exact situation they are experiencing is explicitly called out in the guidelines.

 

[FunnyBear]

I would question whether a major game play error is appropriate here. The deck is still random, the cut produced another random deck, no more likely to favor one player over another. Its an error, but I don't see how the game state is broken at all here.

 

[LOLZ]

I would question whether a major game play error is appropriate here. The deck is still random, the cut produced another random deck, no more likely to favor one player over another. Its an error, but I don't see how the game state is broken at all here.

To be, or not to be...

Under the current rules and practice, a deck once randomized is in a specific, yet unknown, order. This order must be preserved, according to rules and practice.

There is a very long debate on the OP forums regarding Reveal and Replace as a fix when a card is mistakenly drawn. At the crux of this issue is a philosophical debate on the state of the deck in relation to the overall game and gamestate, is random random or does order really matter when the order is unknown.

Here is the link to the thread on the OP forums should you be a professor who has access or should any professor reading this want to chime in on the issue on the OP forums.
https://forums.pokemon.com/showthread.php?t=5297

 

[ShuckleLVX]

I would question whether a major game play error is appropriate here. The deck is still random, the cut produced another random deck, no more likely to favor one player over another. Its an error, but I don't see how the game state is broken at all here.

Using that logic, shuffling your deck without the use of a card effect wouldn't be a Major penalty either, as random would be random. However, the existence of that penalty explicitly under Major shows that the intent is to maintain an order, even if that order was previously randomized and is now unknown, and that disturbing that order is a Major penalty. I agree with those saying that improperly cutting an opponents deck would fall under Gameplay: Major, and have ruled it as such myself, even during Finals at Nationals a couple of years ago.