MTG Magic The Gathering Ask A Judge -「 W E D N E S D A Y W E E K 」

yes you can

Even when equipped and the creature is tapped?

Yep! The equipment never actually taps just because the creature it's attached to does. Most people move all the cards as a pile, but the artifact stays untapped the entire time.

The control-changing effects expire and they return to their owners (unless someone else has an earlier control-changing effect that the now-dead player overrode)

Yes. It's a mistake that people do that they tap both the creature and the equipment/aura when it attack or use a tap ability because only the creature is tapped.
Usually it didn't matter because the equipment/aura didn't do anything by themselves, but not in this set.

how does multiple damage doublers work?

like if i have creature with 3 power and there is Gratuitous violence and furnace of rath on the battlefield does it deal 9 or 12 damage?

In this case, it'll be 12. MTG can do multiplication and doubling effects are applied multiplicitively.

Mostly we're making sure the list matches the presented deck, and that there's no markings on the sleeves. If we see something fucky we'll look into it more, and if we have reason to suspect counterfeits we'll usually do a targeted deck check to more closely inspect for that.

Depends on how they got the permanents. If it was via a control-changing effect like Threaten, the duration ends and the card goes back to whoever SHOULD control it without that effect in place. If the card was put out under their control in the first place (such as via Bribery, or animating someone else's dead creature), it gets exiled.

Sure!

Yep! Tapping a creature doesn't tap the equipment or Auras attached to it. And unless they say otherwise, they still function at full capacity while tapped.

12. Each one is a replacement effect that wants to replace "N damage" with "N*2 damage". You can't apply both at once, so you choose one to apply; 3 becomes 6. The other one can still apply after the first, so you apply it, and 6 becomes 12.

Does Crew use the stack as normal? I assume it does, but I'm in the middle of an argument with a friend who says Crew resolves before anything else in the stack regardless of position on the stack... Except when it doesn't. I'll give a couple of examples of what we're arguing over:

1) I cast Verdurous Gearhulk. Its ETB ability hits the stack; in response, I crew a vehicle with said Gearhulk. The vehicle gets crewed, becomes a creature, and becomes a valid target for the Gearhulk's ETB ability. (This one we agree on thankfully.)

2) I crew a flying vehicle (probably Skysovereign). In response, my opponent casts Skywhaler's Shot at the vehicle in question. My friend argues this should work; I argue it should fizzle because it's not a valid target until after it's crewed.

I have a 2x muscle sliver and a plated sliver (so they're all 3/4). A 11/4 first strike creature attacks and I block with all three, which creatures die? What about if the attacking creature has trample?

1. No. As soon as the Gearhulk etb, it needs a target. You can't target an uncrewed vehicle.

2. It does not work, but the spell doesn't fizzle because a spell can't be casted with an illegal target. He simply can't cast it.

If your opponent chooses to assign enough damage to each of your slivers, all of them will die. Trample or not, no damage will go through.

Oh that's too bad. Thanks.

Crew is a normal activated ability that goes on the stack as normal. The only things that don't use the stack and happen immediately are mana abilities and special actions. Crew is neither.

On Point 1, you are incorrect; while you can respond to Gearhulk's ETB trigger by using it to crew a vehicle, you need targets for the trigger the second it goes onto the stack. At that time, your vehicle is not a creature, so this is not a legal play.

On your second point, your opponent is incorrect. The Vehicle is not a creature until the Crew activated ability resolves; if they cast their spell in response to the ability, we rewind because they cast an illegal spell.

Your opponent will probably assign 4 damage to the Plated, 4 to one Muscle, and 3 to the remaining one. The Plated and Muscle A will die when SBAs are checked. Since SBAs did something, they get checked again, and see Muscle B is a 2/2 with 3 damage marked on it, and it dies.

Or they could put all 11 damage on one of the creatures and only kill one. But they probably won't do that.

If Trample is involved, nothing different happens; there's 12 toughness between the attacker and your face, so they can't trample over with their 11 power creature.

If I have a duplicant in play as a copy of something and I blink it does it come back in as a duplicant triggering it's ability or does it come back as the copied creature?

it will came back as duplicant and you can exile another creature.

If a Bloodspore Thrinax devours a Hangarback Walker, will the Thopter tokens get the +1/+1 counters?

Any time any thing leaves the battlefield and renters it's coming in fresh unless whatever made it leave says otherwise.

Yes. Devour is a replacement effect so it happens RIGHT FUCKING NOW IN THE MOMENT LIVE FROM CNN, Hangarback is a trigger so it happens wheneverthefuck later, it's the stack's bitch.

Now that Voidslime's back in standard, when can you hit delayed triggers with it, say, Prized Amalgum? When something is brought back, or when they are brought back at the end step?

It comes back as a Duplicant. Any time cards move between zones, they become new objects with no memory of or relation to their previous selves. There are some exceptions to that, but they are few, and Duplicant is not one.

Yep! Devour is a replacement effect, so it comes in, eats the Walker, and gets the counters. Then we put the Walker trigger on the stack. By the time the tokens are coming out, Thrinax is on board with however many counters, so the Thopters will get hella beefy.

Two chances. The first is to hit whatever event creates the delayed trigger (so for Amalgam, the trigger that fires when a creature enters from your bin/enters from being cast from your bin). The second is to hit the delayed trigger itself.

if creature gains shroud do all auras and equipment on it fall off?

Nope! Shroud means that the thing in question can't be targeted by spells or abilities. Equipment and Auras already on an object don't target it; Auras only target when cast as a spell (and ONLY while they're a spell), while Equipment never target. The Equip ABILITY targets, but once the thing is on the creature, no targeting is involved.

I have 2 questions,
1. Does panharmonicon double the counters that walking ballista enters with?
2. In response to an opponent casting a sorcery, can I tap 3 dynavolt towers to deal damage to 2 creatures and redirect 3 damage to a nissa, killing her? He tried to use nissas -2 to save his creature and argued that planeswalkers have priority so my burn would go off after nissas ability

1) No, because that's not a trigger, it's a replacement effect.

2) Using Nissa's ability is not casting a sorcery, but yes. The only actions a player can take of their own accord (as opposed to turn-based things like Untap and Draw) that don't use the stack/can't be responded to are Special Actions, and mana abilities. A Planeswalker's loyalty ability is neither. If you have the 15 Energy to activate all 3, you can blast his 2 creatures and kill Nissa in response to her -2.

What I meant for 2 was that he played nissa earlier in the turn, then cast a sorcery to give his creature +4/+4 but I responded with the 3 blasts, I'm pretty sure he just tries to cheat and thinks nobody will notice. Thanks for the help.

I'm not understanding the question, then. Is he attempting to -2 Nissa in response to the Dynavolt activations?

Because he can't do that, at all. Loyalty abilities can only be activated during your own main phase, while the stack is empty and you have priority. Without outside help (Teferi's Emblem, basically) it's impossible to activate one 'in response' to anything.

does panharmonicon work with any part of metallic mimic?

It does not. Metallic Mimic has two replacement effects and a static ability.

Panharmonicon only works with triggers, which will always (for ETB triggers) say "When" or "Whenever".

Also, bed.

Rashmi Eternities Crafter and Mind's Dilation works together the way I think it does, right? Where they cast their first spell, that goes on the stack and triggers Mind's Dilation. They exile the top card of their library, and if it's a spell I can cast it without paying its mana cost. If I do, that spell goes on the stack and triggers Rashmi (if I haven't cast a spell yet this turn) where I reveal the top card of my library and if its cmc is less than the spell I cast from Mind's Dilation I can cast it without paying its mana cost. So the stack should look like this

Spell cast with Rashmi
Spell cast with Mind's Dilation
Spell Opponent originally Cast

That's correct?

With your Rashmi and Dilation? Yes. Their spell triggers Dilation, which exiles the top card of their library and perhaps allows you to cast it. Casting that spell is YOUR first spell of the turn (in this scenario, anyway) which triggers Rashmi to baby-cascade the top card of your library. If you do hit an appropriate spell, then Rashmi's spell is on top of the stack, followed by the spell you cast off of Dilation, followed by the spell that started it.

You are correct.

So, let's assume that you have aTeferi Emblem with (checks gatherer) literally any version of a Gideon planeswalker.

Opponent declares an attack, deciding that they will attemp to swing at Gideon. In response, you make him a creature. What happens in this scenario?

I am assuming that since he is still a planeswalker, the attack continues. But, does he deal damage back?

With a Gideon, the attack still goes through; the only ways to remove a permanent from combat are:

1) Regenerating it
2) Making it leave the battlefield
3) Changing controllers
4) Phasing it out
5) An effect specifically says to remove it from combat
6) It's a Planeswalker that's being attacked and stops being a Planeswalker

Since Gideon's animation doesn't make him stop being a Planeswalker, he's still in combat. Because of the damage prevention clause, he won't TAKE any damage and won't lose loyalty, but he won't hit back unless you block with him.

If my opponent activates nissa vital force roll up and attacks with the land, and I have Meekstone out does the land untap on their turn?

Does Heartless Summoning (and other effects similar to it, such as Sapphire Meddalion) reduce the alternate cost of cards? Can I cast Mulldrifter evoked for U if I have a Heartless Summoning in play?

yes

It will, because the duration is "Until your next turn". As soon as that 'next turn' begins, the continuous effect making their land a creature ends, so by the time we're actually untapping, it's no longer a 5/5 creature.

Yep!

Player A casts null rod. Player B several turns later casts Sensei's Divining top and immediately uses it to check the top 3 cards. At the end of the turn, player A realizes "wait, there's this null rod here" and points it out.

Assuming regular REL and foul play is ruled out, what's the fix? Does this change at comp REL?

At Regular, assuming no foul play, we just shuffle Player B's library to undo the advantage they gained.

At Comp REL, I'm not 100% sure; it feels like a bastard mish-mash of three different possible infractions. I'll get back to you on it after I discuss with some other judges.

So, there's a lot of differing opinions on it. Some are adamant that it's Looking at Extra Cards and gets a shuffle, some are adamant that it's Hidden Card Error and your opponent will get to see all three of those cards, then shuffle them away, and some are saying it's a Game Rule Violation and no fix is applied.

If I discard two prized amalgams for haunted deads ability they will trigger when haunted dead enters and come back on the next end step right?

Which card is this from?

The fix the judges applied was that since no cards had been known prior to top, you only shuffle the top 3 card to randomize their order after telling the opponent what they were without giving the Top player a chance to further manipulate his deck if he didn't like the 3 he saw.

Yes. This works because you discard them to pay for the ability long before it resolves; by the time Haunted Dead actually comes back, they're in your bin and they'll "see" it come back, triggering both of them to set up delayed triggers to come back at the end of the turn.

Trick question. That's the art for Turnabout- specifically, the Vintage Masters version by Steve Prescott. Technically no 'card' exists with that art!

Yeah, I don't like that fix because the Top player still has access to information they shouldn't have. If they suspected Top player did that purposefully to try and get a shuffle, the correct fix there is 'an unpleasant talk that rhymes with Gee Blue'.

Turnabout from Vintage Masters, an online only set. In about four seconds that bloke is gonna be on top of the cliff and the three are gonna be falling off it.

why does searing blood say when instead of if? just for magic specific rules text or something?
why does pia's revolution specify nontoken artifacts? I don't think tokens ever hit the graveyard. just to remind people?

>Searing Blood
I think it's because it's setting up a delayed trigger with the usage of the word "When". "If" usually sets up replacement effects or to clarify triggers, but "When" or "Whenever" are actually needed to set up triggers

>Pia's Revolution
Technically, tokens do hit the graveyard. Then they cease to exist before anyone gains priority. For example, sacrficing a Clue Token would still trigger Gremlin Infestation, but you wouldn't be able to target the Clue Token with anything after sacrificing it since it's now ceased to exist.

That being said, I think Pia's Revolution specifies nontoken to basically make things easy. It avoids the confusion of whether or not you can get back tokens (because you can't) by just ruling them out entirely.

Searing Blood is intended to set up a "That creature dying = you get hurt" effect, even if the Blood isn't what kills it. For that to happen, it needs to set up a delayed trigger for the turn. "if" usually sets up replacement effects or functions as an intervening clause identifier for triggers. It wouldn't work here.

Tokens absolutely do hit the graveyard, and trigger things that care; they just stop existing as soon as they get there. Technically Pia's Revolution would 'work' if it said 'artifact' instead of 'nontoken', but it would never bring back tokens. So they probably put 'nontoken' to keep people from getting gotcha'd into taking the 3 damage to prevent an action that can't occur.

It's MTG-grammar.
"When X dies this turn" does indeed sound like it should be "if". You're right according to English, but MTG wording is a different beast.

so does this mean that a player can declare a creature attacking your Gideon, and thanks to your Teferi Emblem you animate Gideon, then choose to have him block for himself?

Does this also mean that if the attacking creature has trample excess damage dealt to the "blocking" Gideon is then dealt to the "attacked" Gideon?

Near as I can tell, yes.

this needs to be drawn to accompany the one of planeswalker Bolas equipped onto creature bolas

>Bolas wielding Bolas attacks Gideon but is suddenly intercepted by Gideon as Gideon selflessly throws his indestructible self in front of his indestructible self to save himself at the cost of his own life.

what would provoke a deck check like that where you suspect fakes? what would make you suspect fakes? if you do do an inspection which reveals counterfeits during a tournement, what would happen then?

>The second is to hit the delayed trigger itself.
if i want to target the delayed trigger on amalgam, what's the right time to cast disallow? is it during the end step when amalgam says 'hey it's my time to come back' or is it when the thing returns and amalgam says 'hey i see you i'm gonna come back later'?

>if you do do an inspection which reveals counterfeits during a tournement, what would happen then?
If they're believed to have known about the fakes, they're in DEEP shit.
If they're believed to have not know about the fakes, they have to replace the cards with either real copies or basic lands. The HJ may (read, won't outside exceptional circumstances) issue a proxy for the event.

During the end step, just say "In response to your Amalgam trigger, Disallow."

If something looks fishy about the cards when we're doing a check, or if we see something odd when we're just covering the floor, or if a player approaches us and says "Hey, I think this guy might have fake cards".

If we find them to be counterfeits, we'll investigate further to see if the player knew they were fake or not. If we believe they got duped too, we'll give them a few minutes to replace them; if they can't, they'll have to replace the fakes with basic lands of their choice. Most of the time, they're not even gonna try, so they just drop from the event.

If we believe that they KNEW the cards were fake, DQ.

>The HJ may (read, won't outside exceptional circumstances) issue a proxy for the event.

This is not quite correct. The HJ will -only- issue proxies to replace cards that were damaged to the point of unplayability during the event, or which came out of Sealed product unplayably damaged. We absolutely will not (and CANNOT) issue a proxy to replace a card you lost, or in this case, do not own.

jesus christ

doesn't gideon's ability specify he can't lose loyalty?

His ability that turns him into a creature does make him indestructible and prevents all damage that would be dealt to him the turn it is activated.

chances of THE TIME BASTARD in amonkhet?
what is sarkhan's relationship with nicky b since the opening of the eye of ugin?
if sarkhan is an assumed name and vol is his real name, would he have an actual second name or just be known as vol before his first planeswalk?
for a member of the mardu why is it he has had a card of every color except white?
pre-spark, what color/s would he be considered?
if kaladesh is dovin baan's home plane, why does he fuck off after the hope of ghirapur sabotage?

>chances of THE TIME BASTARD in amonkhet?
I'd say decent. He has past ties to Bolas and we just got an Ajani, so it wouldn't surprise me to see a new Sarkhan alongside the new Bolas.

>what is Sarkhan's relationship with nicky b since the opening of the Eye of Ugin?
I don't think he's officially said "Fuck you, asshole", but he got his mind-fucking undone with his time travel, and is 100% disillusioned with what a dick Bolas is. If Chandra doesn't try to incinerate him on sight, he'd probably be up for joining the Gatewatch, if only to fuck up Bolas' plans.

>if Sarkhan is an assumed name and vol is his real name, would he have an actual second name or just be known as vol before his first planeswalk?
Dunno.

>for a member of the mardu why is it he has had a card of every color except white?
Not all the Mardu are all three colors. Technically speaking any three dimensional character would be all five colors to some degree, it's just that they're represented as 1/2/3 colors for gameplay reasons and to emphasize they're MOSTLY that color. Sarkhan hadn't shown any real affinity for white-aligned magic, and it seems like he was Mardu by birth rather than by ability.

>pre-spark, what color/s would he be considered?
Probably mono-red, since he loved the shit out of Dragons and wasn't fond of big groups.

>if kaladesh is Dovin Baan's home plane, why does he fuck off after the Hope of Ghirapur sabotage?
Easiest way to get away from Chandra in a hurry. He sabotaged the device, immediate threat dealt with; there was no reason to stay there and fight Chandra.

How does things like casting from graveyard cards with a converted mana cost of, for example, 2 or less jive with things like Walking Ballista? Could I pick the X to be 1, thus being a converted mana cost of 2? Or does it default to 0, and so dies right away?

If you didn't pay, then the mana cost is 0.

Well, that depends. If it's just saying "hey, you can cast this from your graveyard but you're paying for it", X is whatever you say it is.

If it's saying "Cast a spell with CMC 2 or less for free", then you're paying the alternate cost of 'free', which means X is automatically 0.

>Sarkhan
I feel like Sarkhan might just chill in Tarkir for a bit, enjoy the dragon dickery he gave to the timeline. It seems possible, given his ties to Nicol Bolas that he could show up, but I dunno. He seems to care more about focusing on Tarkhir than anything relevant to Nicol Bolas, either working for or against him. NB has just kinda fallen off his radar.

>Dovin Baan
If you piss someone off, you don't just wander back home if they know that's where they'll find you. You go on the run, backtracking and slipping here and there until the heat is off.

>He sabotaged the device, immediate threat dealt with; there was no reason to stay there and fight Chandra
fucking chandler

i figured that dovin was loyal to the plane, what with all the 'safety first' gig he's got

He is, but he's also extremely practical.

He was in a fight with Chandra that wasn't necessary. There are two ways out of this: jump off the plane, or jump off the plane. One involves walking around for a few planes before heading back home to make sure she didn't give chase (not that she would've what with the sabotage he instigated).

The other option involves falling, and nobody likes falling.

I mean hell, he could have planeswalked to Ravnica and right back to somewhere else on Kaladesh. He might not have even been worried about being pursued, his logic could have been "You were going to disrupt Tezzeret's device; I have rendered your only opportunity to do so impossible. There is no further quarrel between us."

Also, bedtime. More thread tomorrow!

At competitive rel, what is the best way to tell your opponent you suspect them of slow play without coming off as a total dick?

please play faster

hurry UP my man get iT ON

JUDGE!

Hey gA, if I have Seer's sundial in play and I play a land, can i tap the land to pay for the landfall cost?
I thought not, but it came up yesterday and we couldn't find a satisfactory way to sort it out

yes you can

Care to elaborate though?
I'm curious to understand how the interaction works

You can. This is because the landfall trigger occurs as a result of the land ETBing, so the land is in play and ready for use (unless it ETBs tapped).

When the landfall trigger enters the stack, the land is already on the battlefield, and you decide whether you want to pay or not on the resolution of the ability.

Do cards with Threshold/Spellmastery count themselves if you cast them from the graveyard?

They do not, because when the game checks to see whether or not to apply threshold/spell mastery, the card isn't in the graveyard to be counted - it's still on the stack!

Nope

Two ways. The first would just be to politely ask them to play a little faster. The better option, honestly, is to call a Judge and say you have a question about a card in your hand, so you'd like to ask it away from the table. Once you're away, let them know you feel like your opponent is playing too slowly, and ask them to hang nearby and watch the match for slow play.

Yep! You don't need to pay the 2 until the trigger begins to resolve, so you can respond to the trigger by floating the mana (or just generate mana during the resolution of the trigger, since it involves paying a mana cost).

It's a trigger; it goes on the stack and can be responded to by both players. It's not just "HEYOKAYDOYOUWANNAPAY2RIGHTNOW?". By the time you need to pay, the land has been on the battlefield more than long enough to be tapped for mana (assuming it CAN be)

They don't, because the first step of casting a spell is to announce that you're doing so and move it from whatever zone it's in, to the stack.

I have Flameshadow Conjuring in play and a legendary creature enters the battlefield under my control. If I use Flameshadow Conjuring to copy it, does the legend rule trigger?

No, because rules don't "trigger". If you do pay for Flameshadow Conjuring's trigger and make a copy, State-Based Actions will be checked immediately after (Technically they're checked after the trigger even if you don't pay). One of those SBAs is what we call "The Legend Rule"; it'll see that you control two Legendary permanents with the same name, and tell you to choose one to keep, and put the other into the graveyard immediately.

I NEED TO KNOW NOW! IF SNAPCASTER WILL BE REPRINTED IN MM2017

Do +1/+1 counters get rid of -1/-1 counters?

yes unless the creature dies because of the -1/-1 counters

What do you mean by that?
And so a creature with both a +1/+1 and a -1/-1 counter is considered to have no counters?

Do I have the ability to counter my own spell?