Official Ruleset and Bannable Offenses

## Relevant Info

 Clearly there are rules that either make no sense whatsoever, or cannot be enforced in an online setting (for the time being, these would be held online). Nevertheless, our two main sources for enforceable rules come from:

DeepLeffen’s “serious” ruleset

DeepLeffen’s list of ban-worthy activities and conditions to bans

This leaves us with the following list of relevant and enforceable rules to an online Deep Leffen style tournament:

## GAME CONDITIONS

3 stocks
7 minutes
no items
no music
stage hazards ON
no combos or anything other than neutral b (中性)  (this means neutral B moves are the only ones universally allowed)
10 jumps and 9 grabs per game (this is sole the exception to the above rule)

## BANNED GAME MECHANICS AND CONDITIONS

RNG
Taunting
Circle Camping\*
Spamming Neutral Special\*

* = Note that since “Any player recommending a ban will be subject to a ban or another form of punishment”, it is necessary to have a spectator judge that will determine if Circle Camping/ Spamming Neutral Special has taken place, as well as enforce the 10 jumps and 9 grabs per game rule and neutral B only rule. See later sections on “TOURNAMENT OVERSIGHT”.

Although Deep Leffen talks about smashes, tilts, and aerials, it does not mean that these moves conform to the ruleset DeepLeffen wishes to impart on the competitive scene. Rather it is interpreted he talks about them under an unspecified context of community oriented rules of which he has no say in. The one tweet regarding game conditions is our closest indicator of how Deep Leffen believes the game should be played seriously, and so have elected to stick to those rules as much as possible.

## Clarifications to Legal and Illegal Actions

**JABS, TILTS, SMASH ATTACKS, AERIALS, AND OTHER SPECIAL ATTACKS, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, ARE ILLEGAL.**
Although Deep Leffen talks about smashes, tilts, and aerials, it does not mean that these moves conform to the ruleset Deep Leffen wishes to impart on the competitive scene. Rather it is interpreted he talks about them under an unspecified context of community oriented rules of which he has no say in. The one tweet regarding game conditions is our closest indicator of how Deep Leffen believes the game should be played seriously, and so have elected to stick to those rules as much as possible while also making the game as balanced as possible. All of the above listed moves may be considered “combos” or part of “combos” and so are illegal.

**ANY MOTIONS FROM GRABBING LEDGE, INCLUDING LEDGE ATTACKS ARE LEGAL.**
Deep Leffen mentions an exhaustive list of ledge tech that can be implemented in the game, including some that may feel repetitive (https://twitter.com/DeepLeffen/status/1258851801392128000?s=20). To give players a fighting chance when on the ledge, it is necessary to therefore make any ledge motions legal. Tournament winners shall not be counted toward a players jump count.

**SHIELDING, SPOT-DODGING, ROLLING, TECHING, AND AIR DODGING (ASSUMING THE TEN JUMPS RULE APPLIES) ARE LEGAL**.
Deep Leffen talks quite a bit about shield tech. The following are just some examples

*“Please do not let go of your shield until you've reached maximum shield buff. The longer you hold your shield the stronger it becomes, like a newborn child or a baby child that is so much stronger than you that you’re afraid to love her unless you have your shield buffs on.”*

*“Just got back from the Chrom & Watch discord. It turns out that you can hard buffer a shield to perform a shield break. This combos into a half-shield break if you soft buffer shield on frames 1 to 2. Sorry if this is super obvious but it’s actually an incredible DI mix-up.”*

To make the gameplay more balanced, shields and movement revolving around shield (assuming the 10 jump rule and 9 grab rule applies) should be made legal.

Obviously, Deep Leffen contradicts himself regarding shields in terms of their legality under his own ruleset (noting that shield tech can combo into other things, suggesting you should learn how to do true combos out of shield). However, shielding and related actions should be allowed to enhance gameplay when tournament rules are put into practice.

**STAR KOS ARE LEGAL.**
Although Star KOs have an element of randomness, they are difficult to prevent even among the most cautious participants. To help things run more smoothly, Star KOs shall be legal.

**TEABAGGING IS BANNED.** Deep Leffen also believes that if you teabag someone, especially a top 10 player, you should be banned for 45 days no matter the condition. As well as this, him teabagging you should lead to you being banned.

*"I’m not one to be salty, but if you teabag online you should get banned for 45 days. It’s disrespectful. It doesn't matter if I teabagged first, or if I was the only one who teabagged. It's just a disrespectful thing to do to a top 10 player, and you need to be banned."* - Deep Leffen

## Implications on legal and illegal characters and stages

Without a proper mod for this game, tournaments of this nature would need to be run on the current version of Super Smash Brothers Ultimate available).

**ILLEGAL CHARACTERS**

The following characters would be banned under this ruleset due to their neutral B moves being based in RNG:

-Kirby
-G&W
-Pacman
-Peach/ Daisy
-Dr. Mario
-Sheik
-Banjo and Kazooie
-Inkling
-Rosalina and Luma

**STAGE LEGALITY**

Any stage involving RNG Cite error: The opening `<ref>` tag is malformed or has a bad name is banned. Any stage undeniable large enough to allow for circle camping is also banned. This leaves us with the following proposed stage list:

*Neutral/ Starter*

* Battlefield
* Big Battlefield
* Final Destination
* Dream Land
* Smashville
* Kalos
* Town and City

*Counterpick*

* Spring Stadium (NEW)
* Peach's Castle
* Kongo Jungle
* Super Happy Tree
* Rainbow Cruise
* Kongo Falls
* Jungle Japes
* Great Bay
* Yoshi's Island (Melee)
* Mushroom Kingdom II
* Fourside
* Distant Planet
* Skyworld
* Luigi's Mansion
* Hanenbow
* Golden Plains
* Paper Mario
* Gerudo Valley
* Dreamland GB
* Prism Tower
* Mute City SNES
* Reset Bomb Forest
* Mario Galaxy
* Boxing Ring
* Wrecking Crew
* Pilotwings
* Windy Hill Zone
* Suzaku Castle
* Great Plateau Tower
* Moray Towers
* King of Fighters Stadium
* Garreg Mach Monastery

## Tournament Oversight/ Format

Deep Leffen confirms the existence of loser’s bracket  and the possibility for games to go to at least Game 7 . Without further clarification on tournament format and oversight, the following is proposed:

* Double elimination
* Bo3 up until Top 3, which is Bo5 with the exception of Grand Finals, which is Bo7 (both sets, if necessary). This is to ensure the tournament does not run too long.
* Brackets are held over Challonge, since smash.gg does not allow for a custom ruleset.
* Spectator Judges are required for each match. Matches that are played out without a spectator judge will result in both players being eliminated from the tournament.
* Spectator Judges may impose penalties on their own discretion depending on the severity of a rule break. This can range from a stock loss, a game loss, a DQ, or Elimination from the tournament
* Stage Striking is Conducted as follows:
	+ Players can either agree to a neutral/ starting stage or proceed to the following:
		- The Spectator Judge asks one of the players to Heads or Tails on a coin toss (through google or otherwise).
		- If they guess correctly, they get to begin on striking. If not, the other player begins
		- Stage striking is done 1,2,2,1 through the list of neutral/ starter stages until the last remaining one is selected
	+ Players that win ban 3 counter-pick stages before the losing player picks a counter-pick
	+ Players are not allowed to counter-pick to any stage that they previously won on
* Spectator judges may apply game loses, DQs, or eliminations to missing players/ those who take too much time in between games in order to make sure the game may be run smoothly
* All actions may be appealed to the head TO.

## References

1. ↑  https://twitter.com/DeepLeffen/status/1248388335690604550?s=20
2. ↑  https://twitter.com/DeepLeffen/status/1260293005615009792?s=20
3. ↑  https://twitter.com/DeepLeffen/status/1272562361401032706?s=20
4. ↑  https://twitter.com/DeepLeffen/status/1249023091445043205?s=20
5. ↑  https://www.ssbwiki.com/Randomness
6. ↑  https://twitter.com/DeepLeffen/status/1267475243381280768?s=20
7. ↑  https://twitter.com/DeepLeffen/status/1247200080987402240?s=20