MTG Magic The Gathering Ask A Judge - 「 B L U E M O N D A Y 」

You don't seem to have many questions... I'll go with a very general one: do you have an example of an especially tricky situation you had to explain to a player, that could get someone here confused?

>>52516819
None I can think of off-hand, honestly. Unless a specific interaction or call was really interesting, I tend to kinda blank them out of my memory after I leave the table.

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>>52517066
OK then, here is one:
I live in Italy, and went to a tournament recently with a Visions FoW (pic related). The guy is saying "oh my fucking god, I knew I shouldn't have played a combo deck". At the beginning of the tournament, a judge checked the altered cards, laughed but ended up asking me to use another one. He told me that the "porco dio" part, if I were to say it loud, would get me "a penalty" (blasphemy still being a serious thing here).
How are such rules defined? Is there something dictated by WotC or is it up to every event organizer and judge to decide what can or can't be said? Note that I'm not debating the judge's decision, just wondering.

>>52518621
Any artistic alteration of a card is subject to the following guidelines:

1) It cannot in any way obscure the name or mana cost

2) The art must remain recognizable

3) There must not be "notes" or "strategic advice" incorporated into the alter

4) It must remain indistinguishable from the other cards in the library (IE, if I can tell the alter from the rest of your deck without looking at the face, it's not okay)

5) It must not contain offensive imagery

All alters are subject to Head Judge approval; the Head Judge's word is law for an event. Judges can be MORE strict (IE, it's technically legal for a judge to say "absolutely no alters at my event"), but not LESS. The HJ is always the final arbiter.

I wouldn't allow that card, not because of "blasphemy", but because of the implied sodomization of a stand-in for your opponent, which is crass and not okay for my events. The vulgarity (specifically, "fucking") would also not be okay- the "blasphemy" bit doesn't really factor into my decision, personally, but I can understand why it would for someone else.

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>>52518744
Fair enough. I'm pretty sure that I've seen full-blown alters not respecting criterion 2). I'll be sure to call a judge if I ever lose to such a card. sbn

>>52513166
Is there a proper time to cast Abrupt Decay against a Food Chain?

Opponent's board (not including lands):

Food Chain (just resolved), Misthollow Griffin

I have an Abrupt Decay in hand.

So things I know: It's a mana ability, and I can't respond to the sacrifice.

Does he just go infinite, or can I respond to him casting the Misthollow Griffin again based off of how priority works?

Thanks GA!

>>52513166
Why do convoke and delve get around trinisphere, when things like phyrexian mana do not? is there anything else that gets around trinisphere? maybe i would also like a more in-depth explanation about the steps to cast spells, activate mana abilities, pay costs, etc.

>>52513166
Hey judge what's the most common dispute your called to settle?

>>52519152
Well, plenty of people get alters that break the rules because they never intend to play them in a sanctioned event (EDH and Vintage stuff, for example). Also, there's no penalty for having an alter that breaks the rules (other than 'cannot be distinguishable from other cards', or theoretically the notes/advice criteria). They'd just be told to replace it with an unaltered card.

>>52519249
You'd want to respond to the casting of Griffin, since he wouldn't have a Griffin to exile in response.

>>52519354
The way 3ball works is that first you apply any cost increases (Thalia, Sphere of Resistance), then any discounts (Frogtosser Banneret, Etherium Sculptor), then 3sphere. After that, the total costs are "locked in" and paid in any order. Convoke and Delve are ways to pay- if you delve away 5 cards for a Gurmag Angler, it still has a COST of 6B, you just paid for 5 of the generic cost by exiling cards. In the past, Delve and Convoke were cost reductions, so they didn't play well with 3ball, but that got changed in M15.

Phyrexian mana is different because you announce waaaaaay earlier than "paying costs" whether you'll be paying for the Phyrexian component with mana, or life. So say you're paying 4 life for a Dismember. You get to the cost totaling, and Trinisphere sees your intent to cast this spell by paying 1 mana, and says "Yeah, 2 more buddy".

So basically, it's because you decide "life instead of mana" before Trinisphere checks, but you decide "exiling cards instead of paying mana" AFTER Trinisphere checks.

>>52519482
A failure to read a card, mostly.

>>52519354
So, the steps of casting a spell. We previously used a mnemonic, which still MOSTLY works: All Crazy Teens Have Tried Magic Pills.

>All
Announce. This is where you start- you announce that you're casting the spell, and move it onto the stack from whatever not-stack zone it WAS in. This is usually the hand, but can also be other zones (via Flashback, Future Sight, etc).

>Crazy
Choose. This is where you make choices- what modes (for a modal spell), intent to splice, intent to pay alternative (Flashback) or additional (Kicker) costs, value of variable (if it's an X spell), and how Hybrid and/or Phyrexian mana symbols will be paid.

>Teens
Target. This is where you pick an appropriate target for each target the spell requires. Easy.

>Have
How-Divide. If the spell has the player divide or distribute things (like damage via Arc Volley, or counters via Blessings of Nature), this is where it's announced how that'll be divided. Note that everything has to get at least one of whatever's being handed out- you can't cast Blessings of Nature with 50 targets, because there's only 4 counters to distribute.

This is where the mnemonic fails a bit, because an extra step was added recently: This is where the game checks to see if the proposed spell can be cast, and if not, we back up to immediately before the spellcasting started.

>Tried
Total- total up all of the costs of the spell. This is where our Reduction/Increase/Trinisphere thing applies, in that order.

>Magic
Make- Make mana. This is where the game gives you permission to activate mana abilities during the process of casting a spell. This step is ALSO why Lion's Eye Diamond has that timing restriction on it- to specifically prevent you from activating it during the process of casting a spell from your hand.

>Pills
Pay. Pay all costs in any order.

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>>52520108
>A failure to read a card, mostly.

Hows that even possible?

>>52521062
Gloss over a card and mentally insert a word that isn't there, or skip over a word that is. "RTFC" is a common saying for a reason.

>>52521062
I do that all the time when we play EDH with my friends. I stopped playing for several years, so they lend me a deck, I've never heard of those cards and I don't want to slow down the play. So I cast spells without really reading the cards, forget additional costs, get confused between 'target player', 'each player', 'each opponent'... I'm not sure this helps actually.

I've never done this in a tournament though.

>>52521199
It happens. You'd be surprised how many judge calls can be answered by reading a card out out loud.

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>>52521092
I'm new to magic, and want some advice on shuffling.

Cards are expensive so what kind of method do you recommend to prevent bending?

>>52521319
I use mash shuffles. You separate the deck into two roughly equal halves, one in each hand, and push the left half of one pile into the right half of the other. Push them together and repeat several times. If you're able, working in a riffle or two isn't bad.

>>52521319
Oh, also- for practice, I'd recommend you buy a cheap pack of Ultra Pros and sleeve up a bunch of basic lands, and just keep that sleeved pile of lands near your computer. When you're not doing anything with your hands (like while watching something), grab the pile and just idly shuffle to put in 'practice' time.

Can you have Super Secret Tech in your deckbox without getting a deck list error?

>>52521478
A card is considered part of your sideboard if it's kept with your deck and sideboard and could feasibly be played in your deck. Super Secret Tech is not legal in any format, so it could not feasibly be played in your deck.

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>>52521367
>>52521376

Thanks for the advice. I'm grateful for anything to help me be a better player.

Hey gA, if I'm running Gaddock Teeg and throw something that increases/decreases the CMC of a card, I assume the original text on gaddock would superseded any additional effects because it's a state based effect, right?

Can replacement effects generate mana? (I recognize that there aren't any which currently do, but am asking based purely on how the rules for mana abilities are worded)

>>52522174
CMC of a given card cannot be altered by another card (X spells have variable CMC on the stack and it is a copiable characteristic so clones might have a new CMC but those are, to my knowledge, the only ways to change the CMC of a card).

How bullshit is the following.
>Playing with friend
>4-5 best of threes in
>Friend casts creature
>I counter
>Friend says that he did not pass priority
>Take counter back
>Friend casts Lbolt to stack
>Still counter the creature
>During the previous games priority was not mentioned once

It is a little thing and I am not newbie with priority but after many games of straight shortcutting and only bringing priority up when he can gain little bit of knowledge advantage smells like bullshit and he has a habit of doing this.

And no I was not too eager to counter thing.

>>52522333
It's a bit of bullshit. He does retain priority after he casts his creature, but if you counter and he goes "woah hold up I didn't pass prio" because you snap-countered, he can do that. If he does anything new then you can choose if you still want to counter anything (you can choose to counter the new thing, or nothing at all)

That said if you gave him plenty of time before countering and it seemed like he was just trying to bait and see if you had one that's a lot more bullshit.

>>52522333
I really don't understand questions like this. Did you play in complete silence? You have a mouth, use it.
>done?
>you done?
>is it my turn?

Let's say, for some reason, player A controls a land owned by each of the other players. WhenA loses the game do the other players get their lands back or are they removed from the game with the player?

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A friend of mine last time we were playing EDH claimed that making a Caged Sun into a land and tapping it for mana made an unresolvable loop and drew the game immediately.

Can you spell out exactly why this is the case for me? If a land adding mana to your mana pool is always an activated ability, shouldn't Caged Sun + tapping a land for mana ALWAYS result in an unresolvable loop? I don't get how making the Caged Sun itself a land somehow changes things.

>>52523638
Caged Sun adds one mana to your mana pool when a land adds mana to your mana pool, not the land.
Now if Caged Sun becomes a land ...

>>52522106
Happy to help!

>>52522174
Nothing increases or decreases CMC. The CMC of any object is the sum total of the mana symbols in the top right. Whether you're paying 1BB, WUBRG, 1 mana and 4 life, or 0 to cast a Dismember, it has a CMC of 3. CMC is not "What you pay".

>>52522202
Theoretically, a replacement effect could replace an event with "instead, mana is made" (and in fact, Mana Reflection does that by replacing "make N mana" with "Make 2N mana"), but the source of the mana would be whatever the source of the replaced event is. IE, if there was a replacement effect of "If you would gain life, instead add that much white mana to your mana pool", the source of the mana would be whatever spell or effect is gaining life.

>>52522333
Per the MTR, a player is assumed to pass priority when they add an object to the stack unless they EXPLICITLY retain it.

>>52523373
Depends on why he controls them. If A took control of them via something like Herald of Leshrac, the control-changing effect ends when Player A leaves, so everyone gets their stuff back. If it was stolen with no controller (like a Bribery type effect), there's no control-change effect to end, so the cards are exiled.

>>52523638
Kinda sorta. Making Caged Sun a land means it'll trigger ITSELF, since "a land's ability adds one or more mana of the chosen color to your mana pool", because it's a land.

It will loop forever, but only the first trigger is a mana ability. The rest use the stack and can be responded to.

601.2i says "effects that modify the characteristics of the spell as it’s cast are applied, then the spell becomes cast.". What are some examples of effects that fall under that category? Do any exist? I would expect that it's referring to replacement effects, like Clone, but I can't think of any that affect spells on the stack.

>>52524780
None that immediately come to mind, honestly.

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Would this new guy from amonkhet see himself enter and gain you a life when you embalm him?

Merfolkfag from a thread or two ago. Had another one just to make sure I'm not being a retard. Merrow and aether vial on the field. Tap vial to play rando ass merfolk. I can untap aether vial off that cast correct?

>>52524780
off the top of my head, a Doom Blade with Swirl the Mists on the field?

>>52525100
Nope. It has to be in play for it to see etb triggers. That's why Rally effects specifically state "when (this creature) or another ally etb"

>>52525104
Merrow (Reejerey?) cares about casting a merfolk, and Aether Vial doesn't cast anything, so no dice.

>>52525100
Yes. It doesn't say "Another" like the Soul Sisters do, which is the only thing stopping them from triggering themselves.

>>52525104
You cannot, because you did not cast anything. You placed a card directly onto the battlefield from your hand. The merfolk in question was never announced and moved to the stack as a spell.

>>52525120
Nah, that can't be it. Targets are declared waaaay before 601.2i does anything, so if the chosen colour is blue, you still couldn't target a black creature, but you could target a blue creature, only to have your spell fizzle

>>52525123
No, they just do that for clarity. See the new "cycle or discard" and >>52525167.

What makes the wording on Armadillo Cloak different from Lifelink?

>>52525369
Armadillo Cloak is a triggered ability that gains you life as it resolves. Lifelink USED to be a trigger, but now it's a static ability that just changes the result of damage. The differences are twofold, mostly:

1) Multiple Armadillo Cloaks will stack, as each trigger fires and resolves separately. Slap 4 of them onto a Bear Cub and you'll be gaining 40 life in increments of 10. Lifelink does NOT stack- multiple instances are redundant.

2) Because one is a trigger and one is instant, one can keep you alive. If you block a 10/10 trampler with a 4/4 lifelinker while you're at 6 life, you would live because you'd simultaneously take 6 and gain 4. If that 4/4 had an Armadillo Cloak type effect, you'd take 6, trigger the pseudo-lifelink, and then die before it even hits the stack.

I'm wondering about Ante cards. I know this may sound ridiculous but theoretically if you put a bunch of Ante cards in your Vintage/Legacy deck at a tournament wouldn't you technically be allowed to play with less than 60 cards? "Remove this card if you're not playing for ante"

>>52525467
Considering Ante cards are legal in exactly zero sanctioned formats, you WOULD remove them from your deck.

Because you got a Game Loss for Deck/Decklist Problem.

And then you would replace them with basic lands of your choice.

>>52525510
Alright alright, you don't have to get all sassy about it

>>52525819
He's a judge, he's kinda required to get sassy about ante cards. After all that's the biggest thing keeping magic from being illegal in most states.

>>52527533
How does that keep it from being illegal? If anything you'd think it would make make it more akin to gambling, no?

>>52515911
>>52525619

which one of these is right?

Do you expect having +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters in the same standard is going to cause problems? Also is this the first time we've had both counters in the same standard since the +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters get rid of each other rule has been introduced?

I like the punch out counter cards.

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quick question with something happened today.
i placed pic related on the battlefield to destroy a Creature player B controlled. But player C had Sanguine Bond+ soul attendant in play and used it to kill player B. so did i still kill player B's creature and get life?

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In a commander league I was playing pic related and played its second ability, an idiot disallowed it. I asked the local judge if it was legal and he said yes, because the ability has a cost.

Since I'm pretty that I got fucked over by these assholes, because the judge is friend of my then opponent, I just want to be sure, is the second ability considered a mana ability? I want to be sure.

>>52529868
You did not. As soon as a player leaves the game, all their stuff goes with them. So your trigger no longer had a target, and fizzled.

>>52529900
Both of Nykthos's abilities are absolutely mana abilities. A mana ability is an ability that fits this criteria:
1. Must not target
2. Is not a loyalty ability of a planeswalker
3. Could put mana into a players mana pool
Which Nykthos ticks all three boxes.

Also, judges make mistakes. Maybe he's not an asshole.

>>52530084
Thank you boss, I was pretty sure on this one but I wanted to ask another judge. I'll remember these points on my next game.

>>52530084
well what would trigger first gearhulks effect or
Sanguine Bond?

>>52530134
since you are the AP, yours trigger first.

>>52528774
Depends. You can stack your triggers anyway you want.

>>52530371
cool what does AP stand for?

>>52530468
active player. your trigger will enter the stack first and resolves last.

>>52530642
>>52530371

cool thank you

>>52523290
you like getting bitchslapped, eh?

Hey.

Which color do you think looks the best/ most promising in Amonkhet. So far I think white is pretty sweet, while red like its god is fucking dog shit.

>>52522333
I'm sorry, did he Interrupt his own spell?

that's not how that fucking works

>>52527674
>reading comprehension

Having the cards in-deck _is_ akin to gambling, so it's not format legal. Having ante cards not be format-legal (and thus not gambling) means M:tG is not subject to restrictions like gambling is in said areas.

>>52530789
fucking leaf

>>52530134
Note that while your gearhulk TRIGGERS first that also means the opponent's soul sisters + sanguine bond combo RESOLVES first. Since the stack is first in, last out.

In short, no life for you.

>>52530877
>its god is fucking dog shit
>fucking dog
>hazoret is a dog god
i see what you did there

>>52530908
>what is retaining priority
opponent fucked up by not saying so but it is possible

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>>52513166
Question: if I use a tutor effect, for instance Yisan the Wanderer Bard to find a creature, can I decide not to find any, even if I have some creatures with the right CCM in my library?

Same question for Demonic Tutor: do I *have to* take a card from my library upon resolution? My library not being empty obviously.

And if my library was empty, would I lose the game if I try to tutor something?
(I have the feeling the answers would be yes, yes and no, respectively, but I'm not sure, I'd like more details)

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Would Glowrider effect the summoning of a god, assuming the required devotion hasn't been reached?

>>52532013
no, theros gods are always creatures when they are not on the battlefield.

>>52531997
1. yes you can, because it's a hidden zone
2. yes you have to. despite library being a hidden zone, there are cards there and the spell only specify that you find a card.
3. no, you won't. you only lose from trying to draw from an empty library. the spell must specify 'draw' (ex. your opponent cast Opportunity targeting you when your library is empty)

I use Fog Patch to "block" creatures. One of the blocked creatures tramples: what happens?

>>52513166
if you cast think twice, snapcaster it, cast it again and then flash it back, how many times did you think?

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>>52513166
what is a cartouche????????

>>52528774
So the attempt is to put a -1/-1 counter on a creature, killing it, and get an Insect, which you then kill with Blowfly Infestation to get another one, blah blah repeat?

From what I can brain, it does work, but only if you have a couple of 1/1s already. Blowfly needs a target as soon as it goes on the stack, so you can't target the 1/1 made by Scarab (because you put the counter on a 1/1, trigger Scarab, SBAs kill it, trigger Blowfly, you need a target, but Scarab hasn't made a bug yet). If you already have some 1/1s, you can target one of them, then have Scarab make a bug, then Blowfly kills your target, which starts the cycle again (targeting the bug you just made), repeat.

>>52528781
It might cause some issues- they've been avoiding having them as major themes alongside each other since Shadowmoor for a reason.

I'm very much not a fan of the punch-out counter cards.

>>52529868
If they killed Player B in response to your trigger, then your trigger has no target as it goes to resolve. The trigger is countered by the rules of the game and none of its effects happen.

>>52529900
A mana ability is any activated ability which does not target, is not a loyalty ability, and could add mana to a mana pool as it resolves. "Does not cost mana to activate" is not one of those criteria; Nykthos has two mana abilities.

>>52530877
White looks pretty strong, which is odd for Bolas' Space Egypt (presented by Hetap)

>>52531997
If you're searching a hidden zone for a card of a stated quality, you can "fail to find" even if every single card in that zone qualifies. If you're just searching for "a card" like with Demonic Tutor, you CANNOT fail to find; you have to find a card.

If you tutor with an empty library, nothing happens. You only lose when you attempt to DRAW (draw, specifically, it has to be that verb) from an empty library.

>>52532013
The Theros gods are always creatures in not-battlefield zones. The battlefield is the only place they sometimes are not.

>>52533633
An oval around a specific set of hieroglyphics, usually the name of a noble or royal.

In Magic, though, it is apparently a new subtype of Enchantment.

>>52533653
once i saw that card, my hype meter shot up 1000% im so excited to see what a cartouche is....i hope it's something cool and not only like one other card.

>>52533722
Well we've seen one so far (an Aura that costs W, gives +1/+1 and First Strike, and creates a 1/1 white token when it enters the battlefield) at Common, so I'd assume at the very least we'll have a cycle of common ones, and then probably several more.

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>>52533745
i've just seen it, i hope they have a win con from them, like the gates and maze's end....

>>52533787
>implying there won't just be 5 cartouches and 5 enchantments that care about them.

P A R A S I T I C

>>52533906
I think I would kill myself.

>>52533272
you take full hit to the face from tramplers.

>>52533644
>blowfly scarab
My thinking is that Scarab triggers before Blowfly, because a counter is put on a card, Scarab triggers, then SBAs are checked, it dies, then Blowfly triggers. So Blowfly always resolves before Scarab. Or am I fucking up SBAs and both go on the stack at the same time?

>>52534208
Scarab triggers when the counter is put on something, but the trigger can't go onto the stack until after SBAs are checked. SBAs are checked and enacted, the 1/1 with a -1/-1 counter on it dies, and Blowfly triggers. SBAs are checked again to make sure nothing has changed, and now you have two triggers that want to go onto the stack at the same time, both of which are yours, so you decide the order in which they do so.

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I Embalm pic related, and then play another copy of pic related from my hand. Does Legend Rule trigger?

>>52534367
No, because the Legend Rule is a state-based action, not a trigger. But yes, it does HAPPEN. The Embalmed token is an exact copy of the original Temmet, with the exception that it's a token, is white instead of white/blue, has Zombie tacked onto the types, and has no mana cost. It's still Legendary, and still named Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun, so the Legend Rule sees you have two legendary permanents with the exact same name and makes you bin one.

>>52520108
>You'd want to respond to the casting of Griffin, since he wouldn't have a Griffin to exile in response.

Ok sounds good, so I got that right then. Just wanted to confirm since I was told that I couldn't respond at all lel

Appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions!

>>52524545
Caged Sun's triggered ability is still a mana ability, though.

>>52535874
The FIRST one is, yes. The rest aren't, because a triggered ability is only a mana ability if it triggers off of an ACTIVATED mana ability (and doesn't target and could add mana to a mana pool as it resolves). The first one triggered from an activated mana ability, so it's a mana ability. The rest are triggering from triggers, so they aren't mana abilities.

>>52534414
FWIW the Entombed tokens DO have a CMC and mana cost, as well as the rules text of Entomb (relevant for cards like Abrupt Decay). They're just not printed on the tokens.

>>52535937
Well, they have a CMC, but it's 0.

The tokens have a mana cost of "NULL". An embalm-token of Temmet does not have a mana cost of UW and a CMC of 2, it has a mana cost of "does not exist" and a CMC of 0. Embalm explicitly does not copy mana cost.

>>52535897
605.1b: A triggered ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn't have a target, it triggers from the resolution of an <<<<activated>>>> mana ability (see rule 106.11a), and it could put mana into a player's mana pool when it resolves.

So triggered mana abilities can't trigger more mana abilities.

So the Caged Sun/Life and Limb/etc combo WON'T draw a game by endlessly looping mana abilities.

Is that new?

>>52535963
>With no mana cost
ASS.
Dammit Wizards, this is how Pack Rat should work. Now the difference is gonna mess me up for sure.

>>52536010
I could have sworn at one point that Caged Sun, Conspiracy, Karn Silver Golem (or March of the Machines), and Life and Limb was a game-drawing loop of mana abilities.

>>52536010
No, it still loops, because Caged Sun only cares that "a land's ability adds one or more mana", not that a MANA ability did so. It'll keep looping by triggering itself over and over, and if nobody can interrupt that loop somehow the game will end in a draw like any other infinite unbounded loop, but it's possible to respond to because after the first trigger, all the rest use the stack.

And it's not new, but it's a point of contention. Some L2s and L3s say that either an ability is ALWAYS a mana ability, or NEVER, so all of the Caged Sun triggers are mana abilities, don't use the stack, game instantly over because nobody can respond to the infinite loop. Some, like me, say that if it doesn't meet the criteria then it isn't a mana ability and CAN be responded to. We've never had an [O] answer on it (that I know of).

>>52536031
I think it's largely because they didn't want to print tokens with mana costs, worrying that it would confuse someone.

>>52536086
It does draw the game (assuming nobody can break it) either way. There was debate on whether or not it can be responded to, that may be what you're remembering.

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>>52533644
>I'm very much not a fan of the punch-out counter cards.
why though
seems a fine stopgap to me when the emblam arent on hand

>>52536345
Because I've spent over a decade teaching the players around me to not use cards from other game zones to represent tokens (usually "the spell that made the token, or some other card from the graveyard, face-down with dice on it"), and now WOTC is providing the means for players to use a card that's TECHNICALLY in exile to represent a token on the battlefield.

I also worry that it's going to get people into the habit of using the Embalm creature to represent the token even without the punch-card handy, leading to confusion, especially with non-white Embalm creatures.

Finally, I can already see the thousands of these fucking things I'm going to be cleaning up over the next few months.

>>52536726
>Finally, I can already see the thousands of these fucking things I'm going to be cleaning up over the next few months.

DUSTBUSTER. Just vacuum them all away

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There's a lot of confusion over the "cycling or discard" clause on new cards. Some folks think Cycling causes it to trigger twice which isn't the case.
It's a simple Or statement, that much is understood. I just don't want to be explaining this every match at the prerelease, and/or calling a judge to confirm it.

Is there a good simplified summary, or specific to-the-point ruling I can cite that would ease this process?

>>52538424
Just the word "or", coupled with the explanation that it's literally only worded like that to clarify that cycling will trigger it.

>>52525413
Also, you can give Armadillo Cloak to a creature you don't control and you get the life from it.

I control a Sacred Ground. My opponent controls a Rest in Piece. My opponent Ghost Quarters my land. What happens?

>>52540486
Your land is placed into exile, and it stays there. Then you get to search your library for a basic land and put it onto the battlefield.

>>52540688
Does this change at all if i control both Rest in Peace and Sacred Ground?

>>52543052
Nope. Rest in Peace will make it so the land is put into exile instead of the graveyard, no matter who controls the RIP. Sacred Ground will never trigger, because the lands will go from the battlefield straight to exile, never to the graveyard.

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>>52521367
>>52521376

Took your advice, and after 2 hours of practice my buddy who got me into the game complemented me and said I'm now ready to play with other gamers.

As I used to take forever shuffling and would sometimes end up with a mess.

Thanks a million!

>>52536726
Oh common. It's not like there is a mechanic, I dunno, informally called "process", that removes exiled cards from exile in the same standard.

>>52543368
There's also the issue of people forgetting (or "forgetting") that the embalmed creature is exiled and will put it in the graveyard when it's destroyed, allowing them to embalm it again.

>>52534240
Gotcha, i thought that sbas checked when a player gained priority, my bad

>>52543556
They are!

Immediately before a player would get priority, SBAs are checked and enacted. If they changed anything, they'll check AGAIN to make sure nothing changed because of that (for example, Infest killing a 2/2 Lord, which shrinks a bunch of 3/3s back down to 2/2, and they die too). Repeat until you have a round of SBAs that don't DO anything. Then all triggers go onto the stack, then priority.

>>52538515
but it seems to me that the wording "cycle or discard" is less clear than just "discard" given that the cycling ability literally says "discard this card to draw a card". surely the simpler wording should have won out... it would merely cause more questions of "is cycling discarding?" to which the response is "yes now rtfc"

So if I mind slaver an opponent who has child of alara as the commander in play can I kill it while controlling him can my opponent choose to put it it his graveyard if I want to put it in his command zone? (His board state is worse so he wants to nuke the field)

>>52546207
The owner of a Commander makes the decision whether or not to shunt it to the Command Zone if it would go to a zone other than the battlefield.

You make all decisions that your opponent would make.

Ergo, you decide whether Boombaby blows up the board, or goes to the Command Zone.

So oracle's vault says i can play the cards exiled with its abilities until eot. If i hit a land on my opponents turn when can i play it, if at all?

>>52547900
You can't. Since it uses the word "play", it means you cast it if it's a nonland, and play it (same way you play a land normally, just from somewhere else) as a special action. Thing is, it doesn't change the timing of any of it; if you pop it during your opponent's turn and hit a Sorcery, you can't cast it without help. If you hit a land, you can't play it, because it's not your main phase with an empty stack and priority in your hands.

Bedtime!

>>52543590
Gotcha, i was thinking that since players wouldnt get priority between a -1/-1 counter being placed on a dude and scarabs triggering, so sbas wouldnt check till scarabs is on the stack

>>52513166

Let me see if I have this correct.

If an aura is put onto a creature outside of the stack like say the graveyard(e.g Silent Sentinel, Starfield of Nyx) on a creature with protection from X colour of said aura. For this example we'll say Dead Weight onto a White Knight.

Now if my understanding is correct, this should result in the White Knight dying from toughness being 0 and the aura "falling off" at the same time for state-based actions. Is this correct?

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just opened a bunch of kaladesh boosters and got like 10 faded commons, garbage?

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>>52550271
wizards really needs to change out that ink cartridge already.

>>52550079
No you're wrong. Protection means the White Knight can't be enchanted by Dead Weight.

>>52550079
Protection from Black doesn't just stop the White Knight from being targeted by black spells (which is where your thinking of cheating the Aura out comes from). It also means that it cannot legally be Enchanted or Equipped by black permanents. While you CAN use something like Silent Sentinel to sneak a Dead Weight onto something with Shroud or Hexproof (because you're dodging the targeting part, since the Aura isn't cast), you can't use it to get around Protection. If an Aura is being put directly onto the battlefield like that, it enters enchanting something of your choice that it can -legally enchant-, and Dead Weight can't legally enchant White Knight. Savvy?

Warrior's Oath- is the lose the game clause considered a triggered ability I can counter with Summary Dismissal?

>>52555444
It is. It's a trigger that fires at the beginning of the end step of the extra turn, and it can be stopped with a Stifle effect, or something like Summary Dismissal.

>>52538515
the problem is that cycle is an ability with the cost of discarding the card

so first you discard the card (trigger?) and pay its other costs, then you activate its ability (trigger?)

is it because one ability can't trigger another ability more than once in that way?

>>52550575
I'm more triggered by the shit dual guru alters

>>52555877
You don't "activate" a trigger.

Cycling INVOLVES discarding. "Cycing" means "discard this card and also pay COST to draw a card". It'll only trigger once. I don't know what else to tell you.

>>52555911
I know you don't activate a trigger, I meant activate the cycling ability.

>>52556000
Sorry, my bad.

>>52555911
They already know the answer to the question.
These people came here asking these because you're a judge and for them it's as close as they can to a Wizards official and they just want you to say 'yeah the wording is stupid'.

>>52556050
You forgot a third option!

Clarification: I am accusing nobody of this, I'm just saying it's something I see sometimes, and it's always funny:

When they think that if they can convince a Judge to agree to something, it changes the rules of the game to make them right.

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>>52556078
What counts as an ability? Lifelink? What about Tarmgoyf's text?

>>52558199
Both of those are abilities. Anything in the rules text box is an ability; rather it be activated, triggered, or static.

>>52558315
Except flavor text and rules text.

I have a couple of questions.
1) What happens if you have several Possibility Storms out and you cast a spell?

2) Since Deflecting Palm says a source of your choice i assume that means it can target creatures with hexproof since it doesn't actually target anything? Also what happens if that creature has lifelink does it still gain life?

3) What happens to an enchantment aura that gets exiled by oblivion ring or similar effects and that oblivion ring is somehow removed later in the game?

>>52513166
any tips for a noob?

>>52558504
Oh right a question that just came to mind what happens if you have an Metallurgic Summonings and Possibility storm out and you cast a sourcery or instant?

>>52558199
If it has any non-italic text in the text box, that's an ability.

>>52558504
1) The first one will eat the spell and give you a new one. The rest will TRY to eat the spell, fail (because it's not there), and give you free spells anyway.

2) It doesn't target anything, correct. You pick the source, so it gets around Hexproof and Protection and Shroud. Since it fully prevents the damage, lifelink is rendered moot.

3) It re-enters the battlefield, attached to any object of your choice that it can legally enchant. This will get around Hexproof and Shroud (because it's not targeting anything), but not Protection.

>>52558563
You put the triggers on the stack in the order of your choosing. No matter how you order them, you still get your spell Possibility'd into something else, and you get an X/X Construct. If THAT trigger resolves after the spell has left the stack, it'll just find out what the CMC was based on Last Known Information.

>>52558652
So if i read this and possibility storm correctly i can get 2 X/X constructs if i have the mana to cast the spell that got possibilitied out since the card says i may cast it without paying it's mana cost, or am i wrong?

>>52558652
>If it has any non-italic text in the text box, that's an ability.
Do lands have abilities or is it an inherent part of being a basic land type?

>>52558822
The Basic Land subtypes carry the intrinsic abilities to add the corresponding colors to your mana pool, so all basic lands have abilities by default.

>>52558854
One last question, is making something unblockable giving it an ability?

>>52558933
Depends on the wording of the effect. If it's something like Artful Dodge, no; it's just making something true of the creature. "That can't be blocked this turn". If it's something like "~ can't be blocked" on Blighted Agent, the unblockable-ness isn't an ability, but it -has- an ability that's generating that effect.

>>52559005
Thanks gA, you're the best

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can you cast Ancestral Vision with this?

>>52559311
BOY CAN YOU.

>>52559349
so you're telling me they actually didn't fuck up for once and made a modern playable blue control card?

>>52559484
Apparently!

>>52559490
well fuck did not expect this at all after seeing the blue god

>>52559349
Can you double check that please. You only pay 0 when you cast it, but you ain't casting Ancestral Visions.

>>52559582
Yes you are. It's exactly the same reason suspending it works, and why you can cast it with Dank-Dwellers. You can't NORMALLY cast Vision because it has a null mana cost, and you can't pay a cost that literally doesn't exist. But if you're using an ALTERNATE cost ('without paying', 'without paying', and '0 instead', respectively), you're golden.

>>52559611
It's the "for a spell you cast" part that's bugging me. You never cast Ancestral Visions and you never could. Remove the words "you cast" from the ability and you'll see what I mean. Why didn't they word it like that?

>>52559663
>You never cast Ancestral Visions
Yes, you do. That's how it draws you cards when it comes off of Suspend.

>And you never could
Yes, you can.

Here's how it goes: you start by announcing that you want to cast a spell, and putting it onto the stack from whatever not-stack zone it was in. That's step one. Next step is many things, but one of them is announcing your intent to pay additional or alternate costs. This is where you'd say "And I'm casting this for the alternate cost of 'without paying the mana cost' via Suspend", or "And I'm casting this for the alternate cost of 0 from As Foretold". The legality check of "can you cast this spell?" is a couple steps later, and by then, everything is fine.

>>52538424
>>52538515
My error was thinking cycling and discarding happened one after the other instead of simultaneously so that's another thing to explain to people.

>>52559740
It still feels like the words "you cast" shouldn't be there and just make the ability confusing.

since wild pair doesn't isn't base p/t does that mean buff effects apply?

>>52559349
another question, does it work with flashback

>>52560304
Yep, if you cast a llanowar elves and in response you Giant Growthed it, you'll be looking for a creature with a total p/t of 8 instead of 2.

>>52560425
If you mean can it cast a card from the yard using the flashback cost. No it can't because both are alternate costs, and you can only choose between one.

>>52560304
It looks at the P/T of the creature that triggered it, as the trigger resolves. If you play a Runeclaw Bear while you have a Gaea's Strength, you'll search for something with a sum P+T of 6, not 4.

>>52560425
Nope- two alternate costs, and you can only pay one.

>>52559611
Without paying twice?

>>52562365
For the examples of "Suspend" and "Dank-Dwellers". Both let you cast it for the alternate cost of "free".

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>>52558652
So with a Yixlid Jailer in play, what would the power and toughness of a Tarmogoyf in a graveyard be?

>>52562988
0/1, because it would get shut off entirely.

I had always assumed they were attributes as it applies everywhere, like how before colour indicators they would have [spell] is [colour].

>>52563072
The thing is, there's no such thing as "attributes" in Magic. "Evermind is blue" and "Tarmogoyf's power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1." are both abilities. They define a characteristic (which is why they're called Characteristic Defining Abilities, which function in every zone, unlike 'normal' ones), but it's still an ABILITY doing that. Literally any non-italic text within the text-box of a card is an ability.

>>52563124
But with the addition of color indicators "X is blue" is no longer an ability right? They're all errata'd away?

>>52563302
Right. Evermind no longer has the rules text "Evermind is Blue", it has a color indicator that makes it blue. The color indicator is not an ability.

In a casual setting with no judges but I can point to exact rules, what's the best way to explain to someone that removing the source of a trigger doesn't get rid of the trigger? This comes up way too often for me and I fumble the explanation in a way that looks like I'm just trying to bullshit to win.

>>52563341
112.7a. Once activated or triggered, an ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won't affect the ability. Note that some abilities cause a source to do something (for example, "Prodigal Pyromancer deals 1 damage to target creature or player") rather than the ability doing anything directly. In these cases, any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source because the effect needs to be divided checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. In both instances, if the source is no longer in the zone it's expected to be in at that time, its last known information is used. The source can still perform the action even though it no longer exists.
That'd be the best way.

>>52563317
Can we shut off Deviod to colour the Eldrazi?

>>52563616
Unfortunately, no. While an effect like Sudden Spoiling WOULD remove the Devoid ability, it wouldn't change anything. Color-changing effects, like Devoid, happen in Layer 5, while ability adding and removing is Layer 6. The ability would be removed in Layer 6, but it already took effect in Layer 5.

>>52563616
Looks like no, checked

> If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid.

Question about To the Slaughter. Let's say I have delirium online, and my opponent animates Gideon and swings in, and I cast To the Slaughter, is he allowed to sacrifice just Gideon for the card as it meets both requirements? Lets say he has just one other creature? How about one other planeswalker? Has both another creature and planeswalker? I thought he might be able to and a judge said he could but out of curiosity I looked it up and found this.

4/8/2016 If the delirium ability applies, that player must sacrifice a creature object and a planeswalker object if able. In the unusual case that the player controls a single permanent that’s both a creature and a planeswalker, that player must sacrifice another creature or planeswalker (unless he or she controls no other creatures and no other planeswalkers).

And granted I would have just checked this up but this was at a pptq so I couldn't use my phone, so who's right here? And next time this situation occurs how would I explain why it does so to the opponent?

>>52564519
4/8/2016: If the delirium ability applies, that player must sacrifice a creature object and a planeswalker object if able. In the unusual case that the player controls a single permanent that’s both a creature and a planeswalker, that player must sacrifice another creature or planeswalker (unless he or she controls no other creatures and no other planeswalkers).

A common question!

>>52564519
I'm not sure how an actual judge ruled that way. Nothing ever works that way. At BEST they could've thought it would go 'this is the creature I'm sacrificing, woops no other planeswalkers, done' but to think THAT is just...I don't get what they were thinking at all.

>>52564519
I'm sorry, I didn't even see the latter half where you'd already found the ruling. My brain is not firing on all cylinders.

The judge was just mistaken. If it comes up again, call a Judge and say "The Gatherer ruling says they can't". If the judge rules against you, appeal. If the HJ upholds it, show them after the game.

>>52564850
So the scenario was animated Gideon and lilianna at 7 counters, so a turn away from ulting, so you're saying my opponent cant say 'I'm saccing my animated Gideon as the planeswalker and I have no other cards that are creatures so i don't have to sac liliana.' Right? And if you can explain why that'd be great, otherwise I'll just look up this ruling everytime.

>>52564980
Right, because it's not "Sacrifice a creature. Then, sacrifice a planeswalker." It's "Sacrifice a creature -and a planeswalker-". One instruction. You select one of each if applicable, and sacrifice them both, You can't pick the same thing to count as both.

>>52565014
also bed now.

>>52565014
Thanks! Lost the PPTQ cause of that, feels bad but next time I'll know.

If I cast remit battle rage on a bedlam reveler with no other spells cast does it get ferocious?

>>52565038
yes it will

>>52565038
Cast Temur Battle Rage
Prowess triggers, goes on the stack on top of Battle Rage.
Prowess resolves, Reveler is now 4 power
Battle Rage resolves, you control a creature with 4 power, fancy that! TROMPLE.

>>52513166
Ok this is a weird one. My opponent had a creature in play, and I casted Day's Undoing. Amidst all the shuffling and re-drawing, my opponent accidentally shuffled the creature he had in play into his deck. My turn ends as the card says, and on his draw step (after he's drawn a card), we notice his creature is gone and realize what happened. What happens?

>>52565949
You have to suck his cock

>>52565949
Since he's shuffled and drawn, its almost certainly too late to rewind that situation. If you had spotted it before cards were drawn, I'd let him go find it.

>>52560425
works with at least some versions of fake flashback like jace telepath unbound -3

Can I cast Past in Flames and then flashback Ancestral Visions for 0 mana?

I realize that you won't have an exact answer for interactions with new, spoiled cards, but best guess: how does As Foretold interact with taxing effects like Thalia or Sphere of Resistance?

Thank you in advance and for all your hard work always.

>>52568626
no, you can't. and you can't with Snapcaster too

>>52568697
tax effects stack with As Foretold main ability

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>>52513166

I have a few questions that have come up in my Liliana EDH games, and they're fairly similar.

If I +2 Liliana, Heretical Healer with Waste Not on the table and someone discards a land, can I use that to pay for the Madness cost of a card I discard?

Second, if I discard a card with Madness to Overeager Apprentice, can I use the mana to pay for the madness cost? Pic related.

>>52569165
first: yes
second: no

>>52565949
At a tournament? GRV/Failure to maintain warnings given to each side (cautions at regular). Since the board state is not illegal, don't fix it. He's stuck without a dude.

In a casual game, i would let him dig the creature out of his deck and re-shuffle.

>>52565038
Yes. For Battle-Rage, Ferocious isn't checked until resolution. By then, the Prowess trigger has boosted the Reveler to a 4/5.

>>52565949
Too much to rewind through. GRV given to him, FTMGS for you, Warnings for both, play on. Any attempted fix would be more damaging.

>>52568626
No, because it would have a flashback of {NULL}, not 0.

>>52568697
You can pay 0 instead of the mana cost. Then you have to pay additional costs if they're mandatory, like Thalia and Sphere. So you'd be casting the spell for 1.

>>52569165
Sure. You'll discard simultaneously, and you'll trigger your own Madness and they'll trigger your Waste Note. Both are your triggers, so you can put them on the stack as you like, such that Waste Not resolves first and gives you mana.

Yes. By the time the Madness trigger is on the stack, you already have your BBB.

>>52569457
>Since the board state is not illegal
That's not the metric we use. The board state isn't "illegal", but something -is- wrong. With any GRV, we have the option to rewind to before the error, but we wouldn't here because a rewind would be too damaging.

>>52569988
excuse me but, about the Waste Not trigger: is that a mana ability that doesn't go on the stack or I'm wrong?

>>52570297
A triggered ability can only be a mana ability if it doesn't target, could add mana to a mana pool as it resolves, and is triggered by an activated mana ability. A trigger that fires off of something ELSE, but makes mana, is not a mana ability. It uses the stack and can be responded to.

>>52570313
okay, thanks.

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>>52513166
Hello, I just realized that if I shock heir of falkenrath in response to the discard I'll kill her before she transforms is that correct ? If so, the next time I play kitchen table magic with my cousin I'll shut down his heir + neglected heirloom deck then and he won't accept it please tell me that's correct KEK

>>52570557
Correct. The activated ability goes on the stack, and can be responded to. She won't transform until the ability resolves, so you can kill her in response to the ability. The ability will resolve and do nothing. Of course, you could just Shock her after she transforms, since she's a 3/2 on the back side.

>>52570588
Thanks for the answer.

If I have a glistener elf and a wild defiance out on the battlefield, and my opp casts sudden shock. While its in the stack, doesn't my enchantment trigger, causing +3+3 to be added to my elf? In other words, it's a triggered ability that can go over the sudden shock saving my son, right? Split second or not, it doesn't prevent the triggered ability correct? And my son becomes a 4/4 before the shock resolves?

>>52513166
If an opponent attacks with 2 non-flying creatures, I can block both of them with the same Two-Headed Giant of Foriys. If, in addition, I have a number of creatures with banding, can I band them to the two headed giant to have all of them block the same two creatures, or would it be two separate groups, with the two headed giant in both?

>>52574050
Correct. Wild Defiance is a triggered ability, and those are not stopped by Split Second. The Sudden Shock would trigger it, so the Elf would be a 4/4 by the time Sudden Shock is resolving, meaning it lives to swing for 4. Assuming it's your turn.

>>52574141
You don't actually create a 'band' when you're blocking. It's just that if any creatures with Banding are blocking something, you get to decide how that blocked creature assigns damage to the things blocking it. So what you'd ideally want to do is declare Format Giant as a blocker for those two creatures, and declare at least one creature with Banding as a blocker for each of the two attackers.

>>52574181
Thx for the heads up.

i've heard of playing both halves of fuse cards with the expertise cards several times. how does that work?

This one requires a bit of explanation first, so apologies if it seems a bit long winded.

I am on 2 life, with Exquisite Archangel on the field. My opponent has Pia's Revolution and Universal Solvent. He pays 7 mana, taps and sacrifices universal solvent and targets my Archangel. At what point in that chain would Pia's revolution trigger? Because if it happens before a target is declared, I can take the three damage, "lose" the game and let Exquisite Archangel restore my life.

I'm not proud of it, but I managed to convince my opponent that was the case and I won the round because of it, neither of us came close to getting a prize in the draft anyway so I can rest easy knowing that.

>>52574230
Well in about three weeks, it won't.

But for right now, the Expertise cards let you cast a card of CMC N or less from your hand for free. In your hand, Breaking//Entering has a CMC of "Two and Six". For the purposes of an Expertise spell, it gets those two answers back, and 2 is low enough to qualify for the Expertise. So it lets you cast the card for free, but it's not limited to just the cheap half. Meaning you could cast Breaking OR Entering. But since it has Fuse, and you're casting it from your hand, you can fuse it, and it's still free.

They're changing that for Space Egypt, so that in every zone but the stack, a Split card has the characteristics of both halves mashed together. So once Space Egypt drops, Breaking//Entering has a CMC of "Eight" in your hand, not "two and six", so it won't be eligible.

>>52574278
Pia's Revolution triggers upon the sacrifice of the artifact. That's one of the last steps (because it's a cost being paid), so by then the ability from Solvent is on the stack. Revolution's trigger would go off ABOVE that, so you'd be able to take the 3 damage and have your Archangel exile itself and reset you to 20 life. The Solvent's activated ability would fizzle due to no target.

So yeah, you're partially right- the trigger doesn't happen 'before a target is declared', because that's several steps earlier than the sacrifice. BUT, the trigger resolves before the Solvent's activation does, which gives you the result you wanted.

>>52574323
How exactly do you become a judge? Because there are two guys at the local store and one of them doesn't play TCGs, he's more involved with wargames, so when he's working during FNM I'd quite like to be able to help out. Do you just need to learn the rules and have someone officially appoint you or is there like a test?

>>52574416
Well, that depends. To be a judge in the sense that you judge at your store you don't need anything. Anyone can judge store-level events without any certification process. If you want to be a Judge, in the sense that you've been certified by the program, you need to get in touch with a Level 2 or Level 3 (probably L2, the L3s are fewer and busier) in your general area. They'll guide you through the process. The requirements are:

1) Passing a written exam covering (mostly Standard-legal) rules, as well as the Magic Tournament Rules document and the Judging At Regular document

2) "Passing" a brief interview (this is basically to make sure you're not a human dumpster fire) with an L2 or higher judge

3) Judging at least two sanctioned events within the 6 months preceding your exam. This is to make sure you're somewhat familiar with what actually happens when you're judging an event.

That's basically it. Learn (and be tested on) some policy, don't be a huge shitlord, and run a couple events so you know what to expect. If that sounds like something you'd like to do, you can use this link to get in contact with your Regional Coordinator, an L3 in your area whose job is to coordinate things. They can help put you in touch with a nearby L2 to begin the process.

>>52574506
Nurr let's forget the link.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/contact/contact-a-regional-coordinator/

>>52574506
What constitutes a sanctioned event? Is that like prereleases and game days or does it need to be something larger?

>>52574597
Anything with a sanctioning number, basically. If your store is running it, it's probably sanctioned. FNMs, prereleases, Game Days, weekly scheduled events (like if your store does Modern Mondays, or the Standard Showdowns). Basically, just talk to your store's owner and explain that you're looking into becoming a judge, and you need to work a couple sanctioned events, so would they let you work a couple of FNMs?

Also, please don't work for free. It's a common trend with new L1s and Candidates, and it's a bad habit to get into. Your time is worth something. Asking for free entry into an FNM and maybe a soda or two is a fair price if you're comfortable playing while you judge. If you want to stay focused on the event, just asking for them to pay for a meal from a fast-food place nearby or pay you 10 bucks or so in store credit is also fine. Just don't work for free.

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If I had two of these out, and shocked something, how many counters is it getting?

>>52574684
2. You'd have two replacement effects wanting to apply to the same event, but no matter which you apply first, the result is the same: The one you pick replaces "2 damage to target creature" with "Put two -1/-1 counters on target creature". Now, the source is no longer trying to deal noncombat damage, so the other's replacement effect cannot apply.

>>52574714
Had a feeling that's what it was, but wanted to make sure. Thank you.

>>52574757
It's always good to double check, and I'm happy to oblige!

Do you control your aura if it was cast on an opponent's board? So, say, any activations would be done by you?

>>52575473
You still control an Aura permanent even if it's attached to something you DON'T control. Unless control of the aura explicitly changed (like you giving it away via Zedru), it's still under your control.

If you slap Cage of Hands onto an opponent's creature, YOU are the one with the ability to activate the bounce-to-hand, not your opponent.

it's your draw step and you have tomorrow and laboratory maniac in play with a depleted library. do you win, lose, or neither?

>>52575697
You chose whether you win or continue playing without adding a card to your hand.
Both are replacements effects that replace your draw with something else, you choose which to apply first, and then the other has no draw to replace anymore.

So if you apply Maniac first, you will replace your draw from empty library with WINNING instead, and thus for Tomorrow there is no draw to replace anymore. You now win.

If you choose to apply asami first, you replace draw with putting one out of nothing in your hand instead, and thus maniac has no "draw from empty library" to replace. You now succesfully did nothing, and continue playing as normal.

(See CR616.e)

I got Pyromancer Ascension on the table with 2 counters and a thing in the ice with 2 counters.

I cast Serum Visions, does my Thing in the Ice flip?

>>52575697
Up to you, mostly! You go to draw a card from an empty library, and two replacement effects are ready to apply: Tomorrow's wants to replace that draw with "look at the top three, put one in your hand, put the rest on the bottom", and Labman wants to replace it with "Win". You're the affected player here, so you choose which one to apply first. Applying one makes the other irrelevant, so it's up to you whether you win via Labman or keep playing via Tomorrow. Neither option available to you ends with you losing, because if you put Tomorrow out first, you didn't try to DRAW from an empty library, so nothing kills you.

>>52576219
Transform, not flip. And no, it doesn't. You didn't cast the copy, you just created it directly on the stack, so it won't trigger Ascension. If the copies were cast, they'd just trigger Ascension over and over again until you chose to stop.

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>>52576266
>You didn't cast the copy,

Aight so it won't either count to storm, prefered to be sure about this but anyways once again thanks man.

Have a cat,

>>52576325
Right. The VAST majority of copy effects like that just create a copy directly on the stack; nothing is cast, so it won't trigger things that care about that. The very few that are exceptions will create a copy of a card in another zone (usually exile), then allow you to cast the copy. It will explicitly use the word 'cast'.

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>>52569988

Lili player here

So what is the reason for the apprentice mana? Is it because it's a mana ability that doesn't use the stack?

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At the beginning of the game, I have a medium hand and decide, hesitantly, to hold. My opponents chooses to mulligan, then I say "I'll mulligan too". My opponents refuses, saying that he would have decided otherwise if I had taken the mulligan.
In which order should players decide to hold or change their hands, and can this decision be changed? are there penalties with respect to this?mu

>>52577866
The player who plays first decides to mulligan first.

>>52574684
>>52574714

How would damaging nukes interact with Gideon, Ally of Zendikar when he's transformed?

From one ruling it sounds like the damage would be prevented before it had the chance to turn into -1/-1 counters but based on how Soul-Scar is worded they would be just an equivalent number of -1/-1 counters that the damage prevention rule wouldn't touch.

>>52577486
Yep. Since it doesn't use the stack, you don't worry about the trigger going 'above' it. You get the mana immediately, then the trigger goes on the stack.

>>52577866
The player who is going first will decide whether to mulligan or keep. Then each other player makes the same decision in turn order. All players who chose to mulligan do so. Repeat until everyone keeps.

The caveat is that once you say you're keeping, you're keeping. You can't change your mind and mull after you've said "Keep".

>>52578124
There's two things wanting to apply: Gideon's "prevent the damage" and Witherman's "turn that damage into something else". Since we have multiple replacement/prevention effects wanting to hit the same event, the controller of the affected object (Gideon) chooses which to apply first. If they apply Gideon's, then there's no longer any damage for Witherman to turn into counters. If they apply Witherman's first, it'll turn the damage into counters, and Gideon will no longer have actual 'damage' to prevent.

tl;dr only works if Gideon's controller is dumb.

>>52578291

>tl;dr only works if Gideon's controller is dumb.

Damn, thought I found a new way for my Grixis Control to deal with that meathead. Oh well, thanks!

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Does a creature that enters the battlefield with -1/-1 counters (Deity of Scars) trigger pic related's ability? Also would it trigger twice sine Deity enters with 2 -1/-1 counters

>>52579092
I'm not 100% sure, honestly. Normally things that care about putting counters on stuff uses the verb 'place', which the CR shows to explicitly include stuff that enters with counters on it. Nothing has the 'whenever you put' wording Lady Jafar does right now. It could go either way- they might have used 'put' instead of 'place' specifically to make it so things that enter with counters won't trigger it, but this also may just be new wording and it WILL trigger off of that.

So my official answer is "that's an excellent question", followed by "We'll find out for sure when the FAQ drops".

>>52520108
>They'd just be told to replace it with an unaltered card.
If they don't have an unaltered version, does the Judge issue a proxy?

>>52579187
Nope. We only issue proxies for cards that you showed up with, but became damaged to the point of unplayability during the event. We won't issue you a proxy for what is effectively "a card you forgot to bring".

>>52579319
To split some hairs here: if a card was altered during the event (between rounds, or whatever) and a judge deemed the alter offensive, would a proxy be issued?

>>52579399
Nope. That's not "oh man what an accident that was not your fault". I should have clarified that it's only if the card is damaged accidentally. If you tear up your cards because you're mad, no proxies for that. Ditto for if you get it altered to something the HJ isn't okay with.

>>52579435
To stretch this hypothetical a bit farther: if someone graffiti's you card while you're in the bathroom, you'd be eligible a proxy?

>>52579471
If said graffiti were to somehow render the card damaged beyond playbility, maybe. It'd be up to the HJ to decide.

Do atarkas command and skullcrack prevent life gain from lifelink?

>>52580131
Yep! It's just flat "no life gain at all".

>>52574668
>Also, please don't work for free. It's a common trend with new L1s and Candidates, and it's a bad habit to get into. Your time is worth something. Asking for free entry into an FNM and maybe a soda or two is a fair price if you're comfortable playing while you judge. If you want to stay focused on the event, just asking for them to pay for a meal from a fast-food place nearby or pay you 10 bucks or so in store credit is also fine. Just don't work for free.

Counterpoint, what incentive does the store have to pay you when they can have one of their lings do the job for no additional cost? Regular REL events don't need an actual judge.

>>52580402
And that'd be where you sell them on using you. They don't NEED a certified Judge for FNM, that's true. But their customers will appreciate having someone who knows the rules and is able to handle situations better than the Warhammer player behind the counter. They'll appreciate actual answers to their questions, rather than having a game yanked out from under them by a bad ruling. The owner will also appreciate being able to have their staff focused on manning the shop, and not running the tournament alongside it- more focus on selling 3 dollar cans of Monster to the players. A reputation for well-run events is great for business.

>>52580175
Sweet, thanks

>>52580448
I live in bumfuck nowhere, Australia, and I'm planning to drive 5 hours to my closest judge to do my first practicum over easter. I'm certainly going to ask him about payment in Aus, considering theres a very small amount of judges. My plan is to ask for anyone who wants me for an events to just pay my travel costs, beceause there really aren't any regional judges here.

>>52581923
You do what's right for you, but "just pay for my travel costs" isn't great. That means they're paying you to get there, and go home, and you're making a profit of zero dollars and zero cents for hours of skilled labor. You don't need to bend them over a barrel, but remember: you are SKILLED labor. You possess access to training and certifications that they do not have. Your time and effort should be fairly compensated. It's up to you to decide what "fair" is, but I'd advise you to ask for more than "just break even".

>>52581952
Also, bed now.