I have investigated a lot but I'm still not sure if I can use an altered art card in a tournament. I know that the golden rule is: The head judge will determine if the altered card is legal or not. But I don't want to paint my card if it will obviously be rejected.
To be more specific I want to make a border extension of my commander. The tournaments in which I am interested are mainly FNM and local shop little tournaments.
If someone doesn't know what border extension is, here is an example:
Here, Iona, Skithiryx and Thundermaw Hellkite have a pure border extension with no further modifications.
I have read a related post in this site but it doesn't clarify if this can be done or not because for one side it says:
If the card is legal then the card has black or white borders
and then it says:
Artistic modifications are acceptable in sanctioned tournaments, provided that the modifications do not make the card art unrecognizable, contain substantial strategic advice, or contain offensive images. Artistic modifications also may not obstruct or change the mana cost or name of the card.
Moreover I've read that if I use sleeves the card is most likely to be accepted by the judge. Considering that Commander is a more casual format and the commander(or general) almost never go into the deck I would like some help to decide if I do this art extension or not. Maybe one judge can point me in the right direction.