bangiras said:
Thanks, BDS, for responding in the other thread. I should explain, I'm mainly concerned about the effect that this ruling has on Japanese cards.
Up until now, we've been able to use cards from unreleased Japanese sets in sanctioned tournaments, provided we have a Local Language Reference. A relevant example is the Dragon Frontiers theme deck print of Holon Mentor. Many players use it, and have been using it since July, because it's so much more accessable than the English version. According to the quoted ruling, all of those DF Mentors are now illegal, at least until November--and that's assuming the card makes it into the English set.
An important thing to note is that the DF print of Mentor is identical to the DS print. I can completely understand banning REDESIGNED cards up until their English release, because otherwise both players are taking it on faith that this equals this. I can even see banning the English versions until their official release, since a player might try to throw their opponent off with the unfamiliar card. However, it seems somewhat extreme to distinguish between these guys.
What really worries me about this ruling is that many Japanese cards have different set symbols than their English counterparts. Take these cards for example. The Japanese Mary is from Unseen Forces, but the average deck checker wouldn't know that. They'd see the strange set symbol and assume the card was from an unreleased set. How can the player prove that the card is legal? Or is it the deck checkers' responsibility to familiarize themselves with all of the Japanese sets, so they can tell what's legal and what's not?
I just want to know what's banned, what isn't, and what steps PUI wants tournament staff to take in order to enforce the new rule. Thanks, guys.
