Losing and drawing

[illakunsaa]

In a 4 player multiplayer game two players die and then few turns later the game is a draw.

What is the "status" of the players who died first? Are they considered to have lost or drawn the game?

[WizardMN]

This is more of a tournament rules question and tournament rules are based on 1v1 play. So there isn't really a great answer to this from a policy/rules standpoint. The organizer of your tournament/event needs to determine how they want to handle it.

Personally, I would say they lost. They aren't in the game that is drawn because they already left the game. But, depending on what you are actually trying to solve for, this may or may not be the appropriate solution.

[Mookie]

104. Ending the Game

104.1. A game ends immediately when a player wins, when the game is a draw, or when the game is restarted.

104.2a A player still in the game wins the game if that player's opponents have all left the game. This happens immediately and overrides all effects that would preclude that player from winning the game.

104.3a A player can concede the game at any time. A player who concedes leaves the game immediately. That player loses the game.

104.4a If all the players remaining in a game lose simultaneously, the game is a draw.

800.4. Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the game.

Strictly speaking, you don't win a game because your opponent loses - you win because all of your opponents have left the game. On the flip side, losing means you leave the game and are no longer a participant. I can't find the rule for this though - 104.3a specifies that conceding causes you to leave the game, but I don't see anything for losing in general. Either way, there isn't any way to convert a loss into something else - the loss doesn't change if the game ends in a draw, or even if the game is restarted by a Karn Liberated.

...so yes, the players that died early will still be considered to have lost.