Quick Start Guide

Learn the ins and outs of playing in Magic: the Gathering tournaments using Melee

1

Download

MTG Arena or MTG Online

Most tournaments on Melee use Magic: The Gathering Arena or Magic: The Gathering Online to play. Start by downloading MTGA or MTGO and creating an account.

Learn more about MTG Arena Learn more about MTG Online

2

Create

your Melee account

On the menu bar at the top of the screen, click "Sign in" and then click "Register" to create your account. You will need to enter your Arena Direct Challenge Id or your MTGO Account Name to play in tournaments, but you can do this later in your profile settings.

3

Select

a tournament to play in

Use the Tournaments Page to filter and search for tournaments. To follow an organizer, go to the organization page by clicking on their name. Click the heart icon at the end of a Scheduled Tournament. Under the section “Find More Tournaments” on the Tournaments Page select filter “I’m Following” to see events of organizations you're following.

4

Register

into the tournament

Once you've found a tournament, you can register on that tournament's details page. Organizers set the rules and requirements for their tournaments. Make sure to read and understand the requirements before registering and contact the organizer for questions about issues or questions you may have about the tournament.

5

Navigate

to your Player Controller

The Player Controller contains everything you need while playing in a tournament and can be accessed by clicking the “Player Controller” button on the tournament details page. Here you will find decklist submission, result submission, pairings, standings, player chat, tournament announcements, and other features.

6

Enjoy!

Want more information about Melee? Check out our Documentation Page.

The Player Controller

The Player Controller is where you perform all of your tournament operations as a player.

  • See details about the tournament and the current round
  • Edit and submit your decklist
  • Find your current pairing, check-in, and submit the result
  • See tournament announcements, pairings, and standings
  • View opponents' decklists (if set to public)
  • Chat with the opponent
  • Drop from the tournament

Visit your Player Controller within 90 minutes of the start of the tournament to check-in automatically.

All sections can be minimized or expanded by clicking the ^ icon in the right-hand corner of each section.

Learn more about the Player Controller

An image of the Player Controller

Decklist naming and submission

Decklist naming: In order to name your decklist, you must select an archetype prior to submission. Your decklist's name will be the same as this archetype. If your desired archetype doesn't appear, you can create a new one by clicking the "New" archetype button. You can also select "Rogue" and your decklist may be classified at a later time.

There are three ways to submit your decklist:

Paste from Melee or MTGA

Using the "Paste" button, you can paste your decklist directly from Melee or the MTG Arena client.

Upload a text file

If you've made a text file of your decklist, you can upload it using the "Upload" button.

Enter each card individually

Enter a quantity and begin typing a card name. You can select a card name from the search that appears. Press the enter key to add the card.
An image of the decklist submission card
You can upload your decklist at any time prior to the event and continue to edit it until the decklist submission deadline that is set by the tournament organizer. Try to upload your decklist as soon as possible to give yourself time to resolve any issues that may arise.

Pairings

Pairings are automatically pushed to the Player Controller without needing to refresh the When pairings arrive you will receive a sound notification if you've allowed sound notifications in your browser.

Pairing Check-in: When you've received your pairings for each round, use the "Check-in" button to let your opponent know that you are ready to begin. If your opponent has not checked in after a couple minutes, it is a good idea to send them a message. If they still haven’t checked in after ten minutes into the round, contact your tournament organizer.
An image of a pairing

Once you have your opponent, challenge them in MTGA using their Direct Challenge Id or MTGO using their Account Name. You can click on your opponent's account name to copy it to your clipboard. Make sure to select the appropriate options in MTG Arena, such as the deck type and format; i.e.; "Best of One" or "Best of Three".

Learn more about direct challenges

After the match is over, submit your result using the Match Result form. We track wins by each game so we can provide robust play statistics. Click to select the winner of each game and then click the "Submit result" button.

Result submission: It is the winner's responsibility to submit the match result.
An image of a pairing result
The next round will start after the last result is submitted. You can check pairings and standings under the Player Controller.

Tournament Communications

Contacting Tournament Staff and Submitting a Ticket

It is important you contact tournament staff with all questions or issues you may have about a specific tournament by clicking the yellow “Contact Tournament Staff” banner on the upper right-hand side of the screen. Then select the topic that best represents why you are contacting the organizer and enter your message in the message window.

An image of tournament tickets

If it is more than 90 minutes before the tournament start time or if the tournament has ended, an email will be sent to the organizer who can reply to the email you have registered.

If your message is sent while the tournament is active, this will start a chat with the organizer. Once the staff has responded, a red bubble will appear at the bottom of the chat icon at the top of the screen with the number of new chat messages waiting. Click on the chat icon to be brought to the message center.

Contacting Opponents

When a new pairing is received, a chat window will appear in the bottom right-hand side of your Player Controller. This is a direct chat window just for you and your opponent to communicate during the round.

An image of tournament announcements

Please be respectful to your opponent. Chat logs can be provided to the organizer when complaints are made. Inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated.

Tournament Announcements

The tournament organizer will send messages to all players as needed. Some messages may be, "Round one will start in 5 minutes." or "There is only one match outstanding." These announcements will appear in the upper right hand corner of the Player Controller. Dismiss them by clicking on them. All past announcements are found on the Player Controller in the Tournament Announcements section.

An image of tournament announcements