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

Good morning and welcome back! I'm afraid I'm without ready access to my computer after work hours this week, so the threads'll only really last until I clock out, but I'll be happy to help until then!

Just wanted to make sure my gut is right on this one.
So, Prime Speaker Zegana and Panharmonicon. Obviously, the card draw effect is copied. Is the +1/+1 effect copied? My gut says no because
>enters the battlefield with
instead of
>when ~ enters the battlefield

What is the ruling on art-upgraded cards? What are the restrictions set at sanctioned events around them?

Your gut is correct.

Correct. The +1/+1 counters are not placed by a triggered ability, but by a replacement effect that modifies how Ziggy Stardust enters the battlefield.

If you mean 'alters', it's a bit wonky. What's set in stone is that an alter must not:

1) Obscure the name
2) Obscure the mana cost
3) Render the art not recognizable
4) Provide strategic information
5) Render the card 'discernible' from other cards in your library without looking at the face (this usually just means 'it can't be notably heavier', but mucking with the texture on the front can be a problem too. Basically, I can't be able to tell your altered card apart from a normal one while not looking at the front of them)

Those are set absolutely in stone; if you mess up one of those, the alter's just flat not allowed. The tricky thing is number 3; what I consider 'okay', another judge might consider not okay. There's also no REQUIREMENT for a Judge to allow alters; we must use those guidelines as a baseline, but we're allowed to impose additional restrictions as we see fit; some judges won't allow any alters at all.

Generally speaking, you SHOULD be fine if the name and mana cost are unobstructed, and a person could reasonably tell what the card is (based on the art) while it's upside down and across the table from them. Always confirm your alters are OK with the Head Judge before you start the event, and it's advisable to bring 'spare' unaltered cards in case they give a thumbs-down.

If a creature takes nonlethal damage and then transforms, does it keep the damage?
What counts as counter for "Can't be countered by spells or abilities", only specifically "Counters" or any other thing that would make it useless?
When a permanent acquires a subtype, does it count as an ETB trigger for cards that care about said subtype (Champion of the Parish and Gideon Ally of Zendikar)?

When do I have to declare if my attacking creatures or spells target a player or his planeswalker?

>If a creature takes nonlethal damage and then transforms, does it keep the damage?
assuming it was just a straight transform, yes. If it exiles and returns to play transformed then it won't keep the damage.

>
What counts as counter for "Can't be countered by spells or abilities", only specifically "Counters" or any other thing that would make it useless?
Only something that says "counter". Exiling the spell, returning the spell to its owner's hand, or making all of the spell's targets illegal will cause it to not resolve, and achieve the effect without actually "countering" the spell.

>When a permanent acquires a subtype, does it count as an ETB trigger for cards that care about said subtype (Champion of the Parish and Gideon Ally of Zendikar)?
No new cards entered the battlefield, so no.

>When do I have to declare if my attacking creatures or spells target a player or his planeswalker?
As you declare attackers or choose targets for the spell.

How does Tendrils of Agony interact with False Cure?

Attacking creatures attack the planeswalker or the player. Other spells or effects that deal damage to a player are redirected when the damage is actually dealt.

If you've been playing magic duels, that makes you target the planeswalker with spells that target. (but that is incorrect)

>Transform damage
Correct, in most cases. If all it's doing is transforming then it's the same object, all it did was change what it looks like; if the transformation involved a zone change, it's a NEW object with no damage marked on it.

>Counter
It has to specifically say 'counter'. Something that renders the effect pointless is not a 'counter', so you can cast a Shadow of Doubt to STOP a Slaughter Games from searching your library, because that's not countering it. Likewise, you could make the target of an Abrupt Decay gain Indestructible to render the spell pointless, because that's not trying to counter it.

>Permanent
No. It didn't enter the battlefield; it's still ON the battlefield, it just changed what it looks like.

>Attacking creatures/spells
Creatures, you have to announce it as they attack. Your opponent will know where each of your attackers is going well before blocks.

For spells, that depends. Something like a Vindicate needs the target right away. Something like Lightning Bolt never actually targets the planeswalker; you simply choose to redirect the damage on resolution. For THOSE, you don't have to declare whether it's hitting the targeted player or their planeswalker until it's already resolving.

As each copy of Tendrils resolves, the targeted player will lose 2 life and the Tendril's controller will gain 2 life. This will cause the delayed trigger from False Cure to trigger, and on resolving the Tendrils' player will lose 4 life.

So, say you stormed for 9 while you're both at 20. They'd go to 18, you'd go to 22, then down to 18. They'd go to 16, you'd gain up to 20, then down to 16, etc. As long as their life total is no more than 2 points higher than yours (assuming you're storming for lethal), you'll win before the trigger that'll kill you, kills you.

Every time a Tendrils resolves it will cause your opponent to lose 2 life and you to lose 4 life from the False Cure replacement effect. It's still possible to win since each storm copy resolves one at a time, but if a copy causes both of your life totals to become 0 or less the game will result in a draw.

My bad, didn't read False Cure correctly. Sorry gA

It happens! Half the reason I have Autocard Anywhere installed is so I can more easily double-check shit during these threads. Until I checked I was sure that False Cure set up a replacement effect instead of a trigger, too!

I'm fairly up on the rules and used to pass rules advisor tests like nothing. I sort of want to become an L1. What tortuous ordeals do I need to go through?

L1 has a fairly low hurdle these days, actually. The basic requirements are:

1) You have judged at least 2 sanctioned events within the last 12 months (usually an FNM)

2) You have 'passed' the interview with an L2

3) You have passed the L1 Exam

Wait so I don't even need to go to a PPTQ and do my test with a judge there, I can do it all at FNMs? You see, I'm a lazy faggot who'd mostly be judging at my LGS which is a 10 minute walk away, and maybe other places that are a short train ride.

An L1 is not expected to know jack shit about Competitive REL, so an L1 Candidate shouldn't be either. You're only required to judge 2 events (ideally with your L2 mentor observing) so you know what Judging ENTAILS before signing up; there's no requirement on what those events are, so they're most commonly just FNMs because that's easy.

Also, "just judging at my LGS" is 100% fine, because an L1 judge is only really 'expected' to work with one store at a time. Working in a wider area with multiple TOs is what's expected of an L2, not an L1.

Yeah false cure is weird, but the way it's worded makes it interact in fun ways with Kavu Predator and "free" spells like Invigorate. ten damage for zero mana, anyone?

Messaged my L2. Wish me luck in being the laziest piece of shit judge in the game!

Posted this in EDH general but didn't get any replies telling me if it works or if I am missing something.
>Mizzix on board
>Reality Spasm for X
>Reiterate with buyback
>Reiterate resolves, puts new Reality Spasm on stack
>New Reality Spasm for X+1 to gain experience counter
>Reiterate with buyback
>Reiterate resolves and puts a copy of one of the Spasms on the stack
>New reality spasm for X+1 to gain experience and ad nauseum
>eventually blast Fall of the Titans for surge cost for stupid amounts of damage.

Also how would I have to organize the stack if I were to try and do this with Lightning Bolt instead of Fall of the Titans for infinite damage? Just alternate reiterates between bolt and spasm?

Is "Losing the game" only checked as the effect that makes it happen resolves in the case of the pacts?

The idea in my head is that I slaughter pact with Platinum Angel, my upkeep rolls around and I don't pay. The angel says I can't lose, but am only kept alive for the remainder of the game because of platinum angel? If it leaves, do I lose?

The logical side of me says no, because the effect that makes it happen is prevented, and I don't think the game would keep a tally on "Is currently losing the game"

The pact effects are once-off. Pact says "Pay?", you say "No", pact says "Lose.", Tin Bitch says "DISREGARD THAT HE SUCKS COCKS" and pact shuts up forever and ever. If Tin Bitch gets doombladed like the smug cunt she is, you don't lose from pact because pact already blew its wad.

Incendiary Flow for example has an if the creature would die this turn exile it instead clause. Regeneration should still survive this (at the controllers choice) right?

Pretty much confirmed it, disintegrate wouldn't need to say they can't regenerate if this wasn't the case.

It doesn't work at all. Reiterate puts a copy of the spell on the stack, it does not cast the spell. Mizzix only triggers on a spell being cast.

Plus, when you copy Reality Spasm, you copy it exactly, including all values of X.

If you have a static orb and an unwinding clock on the field, what applies first? Is it order of play?

If i have a few creatures on the board, one of them is an Opal Acrolith. And i cast polymorphus rush / mirrorweave just any "creatures become a copy of that creature until end of turn" effect, then on each i activate opal acroliths ability to become an enchantment, what happens at end of turn?
My goal is to turn my creatures into non creature enchantments.

Alright, so I bought some deck packs back in like 2012, and I'm kinda getting interested in starting up again.
I want to make a zombie/undead deck and I've got the Relentless Dead pack from Dark Ascension. What can I do from there?
Also what do the various formats mean?

If Geist of St. Traft were to be blocked by a Permeating Mass, would Geist lose his "make a 4/4 angel" ability when he becomes the copy?

yes he will.

The exile trigger post combat still applies for the token made during that turn, right?

Unwinding clock doesn't untapped your artifacts as part of the untaps that occur during the untap step, it's a triggered ability that untaps all your artifacts. So static orb has no effect on it

Fairly certain that due to layers your creatures will actually become non creature enchantments right when your spell resolves (assuming you are targeting an Acrolith that is already a creature) because you copy the card itself (in this case a non creature enchantment) not it's current status. I believe at EoT your creatures will turn back into their regular selves even if they where still just enchantments at the moment

Yup, the exile effect is tied to the token creation effect. It would only prevent the exile if Giest had two abilities, one that was 'create and angel on attack' and another that wad 'exile all angels created with Giest at EoT'

AND I'M BACK

I mean, if they get the feeling you're gonna be a "lazy piece of shit" during events they're not gonna test you, but if you mean you're not gonna be hustling to judge every event that's ever existed, that's fine. Just do good work when you ARE working.

So, I'm not getting where you're getting "New Reality Spasm for X+1". Reiterate puts a copy of Spasm onto the stack with the same value of X; the copy isn't cast so it won't trigger Mizzix, and you're not getting your Reality Spasm 'back' because it doesn't have buyback. What you CAN do is if you have enough leftover mana for the Reiterate, and a big enough Spasm to start with, you can cast your Reiterate to get a copy of Spasm, untap more lands than the Reiterate costs, and repeat until you have as much mana as you need for the Surge.

Ditto for Bolt; just cast Spasm, cast-and-buyback Reiterate to get more mana than it costs to CAST it, repeat until you have enough mana to Reiterate a Lightning Bolt a few thousand times, THEN cast your Bolt and Reiterate it a bunch.

The delayed triggers from the Pacts will try to kill you as they resolve (if you haven't paid). They don't just stick around constantly trying to kill you until it sticks, so if you can survive through that trigger, you're fine until something ELSE tries to kill you.

There are effects that'll just keep firing nonstop and end the game in a draw with a Platinum Angel, but those are clearly worded as triggers (like Transcendence)

Correct. Regeneration replaces the actual DESTRUCTION event, while the exile-instead replaces "go to graveyard".

It could work if he has a few experience counters and can Reiterate+buyback for positive mana.

So, you have an active Acrolith, target it with Mirrorweave, and then respond with the 0? Your Mirrorweave is countered because Acrolith is no longer a legal target, because it's not a creature.

In a nutshell, the formats are "What cards you can use". Standard is the most commonly played format, and is constantly rotating; it's currently comprised of the Battle for Zendikar block, the Shadows over Innistrad block, and the Kaladesh block. Very few of your older cards are gonna be legal there.

Modern is wider in scope, with every core set from 8th edition up until Origins, as well as every expansion after Mirrodin. Most (if not all) of your cards from 2012 should be legal there, but the power level is higher, so your decks will probably fare poorly.

Legacy is 'damn near every card ever made', and has an even higher power level.

If you just wanna make a fun casual fuck-around Zombie deck, don't worry much about formats.

He'll lose the trigger, but the trigger already fired for this combat when he attacked. Geist won't have the trigger for FUTURE attacks, but you still got the Angel this turn.

Correct. The delayed zone-change trigger was created at the same time as the token. Removing the ability from Geist does jack shit to stop it.

This is correct. Copy effects work in layer 1, which is 3 layers before types get changed (like Opal Acrolith turning itself into a creature via the trigger). So assuming Acrolith is a legal target as the Mirrorweave resolves, the game will look at Acrolith as it exists in layer 1 (so, a noncreature enchantment that costs 2W, etc, etc), and then paste all of that information on top of your creatures, giving you a swarm of non-animated Opal Acroliths. As you move to the cleanup step and that effect's duration ends, they turn back to normal.

I worded my question badly, the question is if Unwinding clock untaps static orb before or after the normal untap step of a turn.

There is no 'before' the untap step. The untap step is the first thing in the turn, and the first thing that happens there is things with Phasing phase in or out, as appropriate. Then, everything untaps. If you control a tapped Static Orb and an Unwinding Clock as your opponent's untap step begins, your opponent will untap all their permanents and you will untap all your artifacts, simultaneously.

Alright cool
Guess I better go ask the modern guys

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful- I know rules, but I'm a fuck-awful deckbuilder.

If I have a a creature like Akroan Crusader or Akroan Conscriptor under the effect of Borrowed Grace or any other card with escalate, will it only do the effect once or twice?

Just once. The trigger condition for Heroic is "Whenever you cast a spell that targets ~". You've only cast one spell that targets the Crusader/Conscriptor; the fact that it targets it multiple times is irrelevant, you've still only cast one spell.