But the question is.... ARE THEY LEGAL???

There is no doubt about it- altered cards are an awesome way to personalize you deck, but many people are hesitant to use them for fear of them being deemed illegal. I myself was concerned about it- note my "anime lands" post- however after speaking with a DCI certified judge at FNM last night my fears have been relieved. 

I showed him my deck, which included some lands I had altered, and asked whether or not I could legally use the cards in the tournament. He went through every altered card I had in the deck and said they were all legal. His explanation was:

"If the card's artwork has not been covered up and is easily recognizable, and all the text and mana cost are visible then the card is legal." 

Below are my cards he ok'ed for tournament play:



Each of the cards was altered slightly differently- the Tony Tony Chopper one had covered up the "Basic Land" text, the middle one had only the "Mountain" name visible, and the Yoruichi one had both "Mountain" and "Basic Land" visible. The judge determined that the center one was undeniably clear what card it was, and the original art had not been altered in any way. The two anime ones, he said "showed enough of the original art and the card name is visible," making them legal for tournament play. 

The rules in the official DCI Tournament rulebook state:

"Cards used in a tournament may not have writing on their faces other than signatures or artistic modifications. Modifications may not obscure the artwork so as to make the card unrecognizable. If modifications to a card are deemed by the Head Judge to constitute outside notes or unsporting conduct, the player using such cards will be subject to the appropriate provisions of the DCI Penalty Guidelines." *

So although the rule is highly open to interpretation, it alludes that borderless alters and "artistic modifications" that do not obscure the original art are legal. I would encourage anyone using altered cards though to check with the head judge though to make sure they do not interpret the rule differently. However, as long as the alter is not offensive, inappropriate, or too "altered" there should not be an issue with the legality of the card.

This confirmation that my alters were legal was a thrill for me, and it re-ignited my excitement for altering. I am entering full-on painting mode now and who knows, maybe I will even paint my whole deck!

*DCI Universal Tournament Rules_Section 28_http://users.ipfw.edu/buldtb/private/fwgg/mtg/pdfs/DCI_UTR.pdf

*Chopper (c) Toei Animation Co, Original art (c) Karl Kopinski

*Mountain Original art (c) Robh Ruppel

*Yoruichi (c) VIZ Media, Original art (c) Eytan Zana

*Special thanks to Kevin, DCI certified judge for taking the time to explain the rules too