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

I have an electrostatic pummeler on the board without summoning sickness and an Invigorated Rampage in my hand and 6 energy on the clock.

What is the latest chance I have to cast Invigorated Rampage and activate the power double ability? Does it need to be done at combat damage or declare blockers or earlier?

I control an Ajani Steadfast emblem, and my opponent has a damage doubler and they lightning bolt me. Do I take 1 or 2 (or 6) damage?

Gisela will assign 5 damage to your opponent's face, which will be doubled to 10, then doubled to 20, then doubled to 40, regardless of the order in which you apply the replacement effects of Gisela/Furnace/Feud. Assuming your opponent doesn't die to that hit, they will then take another 40 to the face in the normal damage step.

Nope! It means that creature, if it is able at the time you are declaring attacks, must attack. Even if you have the MEANS to make it able (IE something to give Haste, or remove Defender, or untap stuff, or whatever), you are not compelled to do that. It's just that anything that -can- attack (without being mucked with) has to.

Your last chance for it to matter will be during the Declare Blockers Step, after blocks but before damage.

Up to you. There's 2 effects wanting to apply to that damage- "Prevent all but 1 of that damage" and "Double that damage". As the affected player, you choose the order in which to apply them; no matter which you put first, the other still CAN apply, so it will. You can either have 3 go down to 1 and double it to 2, or you can have 3 get doubled to 6, then have all but 1 of that damage prevented.

Does Seasons Past allow me to choose more than 1 card with the same mana cost? For example, could I choose a land, a Zuran Orb, and a Mana Crypt?

Nope- every card you pick has to have a different mana cost.

If I have Brago equipped with Worldslayer and combat damage goes though, which of the two effects (Brago flicker/destroy all perms) happens first?

Up to you! You control both the triggers (probably), so you put them on the stack as you like. No matter how you do it. Worldslayer's nuking shit though.

Hi. I had a question about the less angry omnath (locus of mana).
According to the rulings off gatherer:

If a green mana you add to your mana pool has certain restrictions or riders associated with it (for example, if it was produced by Ancient Ziggurat), they’ll apply to that mana no matter when you spend it.

So does that mean that any mana in my pool which comes from the ziggurat will still maintain the creature only restriction throughout the rest of the game?

Until you spend it, yes. Say you tap ten Forests and a Ziggurat for green; you'd have 11 green mana floating. 10 of it you could spend on anything, but 1 of it could ONLY be spent on creatures.

Cool. Thanks.

If my oponent plays Felidar Guardian and activates the blink ability on Saheeli Rai, can I then activate Unlicensed Disintegration on the stack and murder both both the blink occurs? Or do I have to kill the Felidar Guardian before a stack can start?

>Before a stack can start
Not a thing. There is only one stack- THE stack, and it's a game zone. It's always there, whether or not things are on it.

If you blast the cat in response to Saheeli's ability, it'll fizzle due to no legal targets and you'll break the combo (and if you have an artifact, you can dome Saheeli for 3 to break her!).

That's what I was thinking. Thanks!

One of the locals has picked up the habit of not announcing his triggers until the very last moment.
For example, he'll have a trigger and say nothing of it until his opponent attempts to cast a creature, say "Whoa man stack's not empty my trigger's gotta resolve".
These are mainly looter style triggers in a blue deck, so he's getting advantage by knowing what he'll need to counter.

If I ask "Is the stack empty" and he answers "Yes", he's missed his trigger, correct?

So, triggers are assumed to be remembered until their controller demonstrates otherwise. For a looter type trigger, that means if he takes any actions (or allows any actions to be taken) that COULDN'T be taken with the trigger on the stack, he's missed it. If your worry is that he's 'hiding' his triggers until you cast a spell, you have two options:

1) Declare that you are explicitly responding to his trigger that's still on the stack

2) Ask "Anything on the stack?" or "Do I have priority?" before you want to take an action. If he passes priority to you, he's missed his trigger.

with Strionic Resonator x Thassa, can I get the normal Thassa scry before deciding whether to activate Strionic on her upkeep ability or do I need to activate the Strionic before the scry occurs?

If I Ovinize a Soulfire Grand Master while a burn spell is on the stack will the burn spell lose lifelink?

No. if thassa scry resolves, then you have nothing to copy.

If you're resolving the Scry, you won't have priority to activate Resonator until you're finished resolving the ability (meaning it's no longer on the stack to be targeted). You've gotta target it before you begin scrying, so there's a risk of whiffing if you decide to keep the thing on top with the first scry.

Yes, because no effect says it has Lifelink anymore.

If my opponent taps his creatures to attack can I use an effect that taps creatures and prevent that attack. He declares an attacker then I use pic related, will that work? Because you know, I've always tapped my opponents creatures during his upkeep but the fellas around here have been doing it in the declare attackers step, I just wanna know if that's a legal move.

Also when I tap my opponents creatures I feel great, but when someone taps my creatures I get T R I G G E R E D. What is wrong with me?

That doesn't work, because Magic is a game of priority, not reflexes. By the time you have priority in your opponent's Declare Attackers step, they have already declared and tapped all their attackers. Using a Stern Constable here would do nothing.

Your last chance to tap down a POTENTIAL attacker is in the Beginning of Combat Step. Do note, however, that the 'not a game of reflexes' applies both ways. Your opponent can't just strongarm through their turn to deny you a chance to tap or kill potential attackers. If they try that (say by untapping, drawing, and then just immediately declaring an attacker), you 100% can say "Hang on, I have a response before you move to attacks" and we'd have to back the game up a bit.

tl;dr no

You're human.

Thanks for the answer

Hey there,
Not so much a rules question, but an actual judge question.
I've passed the Level 1 Practice exam on Wizard's judge database, the next step is to get in contact with a Level 2 in my area to take the certification exam, right?

That would be a good next step, yeah! If you aren't aware of any L2s in your area, get in contact with your RC and they'll help you out.

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

Question I sometimes still think about, but haven't asked.

A long time ago, I played some cards that "blinked". All of my intuition says that if a card targets it, and I blinked it, then it wouldn't be targeted anymore.

But one of the people who got me back into magic said, no, because it returns it immediately, and allows it to be targeted because the other spell hasn't resolved yet, it's only the "at the end of your turn" ones that will evade getting targeted by say, lightning bolt or a kill spell.

Am I right, or is he?

You're right. If an object changes zones it's functionally a completely difference object.

If there's an Evil Twin on the battlefield copying a creature, Goblin Guide for example, and I cast a Clone copying the Evil Twin, does my Clone gain the activated ability "UB, T: Destroy target creature with the same name as this creature"?

Copy abilities that grant abilities are still copy abilities and thus copied abilities by copy abilities.

Not strictly game rules but I wanted to hear your opinion about this:
I'm drafting MM3 when I open Tarmogoyf + foil Tarmogoyf. Because this store doesn't allow trickery of any kind to keep me in the draft I drop. I'm sorry for the pod and the TO but I need those cards.
What's a polite way to do this and what should I do if the store owner tries to "force" me to continue the draft?

If the store owner tries to force you to continue the draft, you cite Wizards policy that you bought the packs, they're yours.

The polite thing to do would be to ask for a replacement pack.

I asked before chosing where to do the draft if they allowed this kind of thing and the store said no.
One store allow all the players to pick the foil together with the first pick, but unlike every other store in town they don't have packs as prizes, only spare FNM promos so I don't want to lose the chance to win something for somethings with astronomically low odds of happening.

Suck it up. There is legal precedent for this, the tournament entry fee does NOT pay for the packs and as such they are the property of the store until the even ends. If they say "you have to leave the pack" and you try taking them anyway, you are guilty of larceny in most states.

As a judge I wouldn't take it upon myself to call the cops but I won't intervene if the TO wants to.

Why don't you read the rulebook before typing? It's online and free.

Rule book doesn't matter when it literally breaks the law. DCI be damned, I'm not going to let myself get arrested over a card game.

I'm not in the U.S.A. so I don't think it applies.
Do you have any documented example at hand? I find these things interesting.

Would love to see that cited, it'd be a very interesting case.

How does it break the law? You own the cards. Taking things you own and leaving isn't a crime.

>Rule book doesn't matter when it literally breaks the law
>[citation needed]

Thats gotta be the most ass backwards stupid thing i heard today, and its literally 30 minutes til midnight so i think you took the cake for today. Literally they are your packs, you paid for them, the 15$ entry fee(or even 35$ considering it modern masters) is you paying for the packs and the small extra bit is for the tourney entry for prize support(assuming your LGS isnt just overcharging for a prizeless draft). Playing with them for the sake of the tourney is just how the rules work for limited. People also do that shit all the time at GP and SCG open side events and you havent seen anyone arrested for that shit. Literally post citation where this breaks the law, somehow.

The rule book does matter, as it establishes the rules for the draft. You are legally allowed to drop and take what translates into your property, and any moderately competent judge would side with you. Also, it would be way worse for your store owner to cause a shit storm over this as Magic will tell them they are no longer a sanctioned store which is worse for them then you dropping over some combo of goyf/liliana in foul and non foil.

I'm atrocious at remembering prices, so I was curious if there are any rules or regulations that would prevent me bringing a notebook with prices of some cards in them to my MM17 draft

Can you still, on a main phase, discard a madness card and then play a land before you pay the cost? I remember this used to work since you never passed priority.

No, playing a land is sorcery speed.

I just use my phone

What? In what era was this ever allowed? You can only play a land during your main phase 1 or 2, once per turn, and only when there is nothing on the stack when you have priority. When madness triggers, its goes onto the stack. Which means no landerino till the stack resolves.

It used to not go on the stack, you just could cast it when you next had priority. Playing a land didn't pass priority, so you could pay the madness cost right after. It was good for draw/discard effects when you needed to draw into a land. Also this was back early 2000's when it came out.

My store is doing a MM2 draft on Friday, and while I would like to do it, I already have plans. If I went there, drafted money cards and dropped, would that fuck up the pod much?

Does hexproof/shroud help against the true-name nemesis declaration?

It does not. Hexproof/Shroud stop targeting, among other things, but TTN doesn't use the word target.

Objects that change zones, even for only a moment, become new objects with no memory of (or relation to) their previous selves. To the game, the creature that was targeted with the blink and the creature that came back are two unrelated objects, even if they're represented by the same card. You can 100% use a Cloudshift type blink effect to dodge targeted spells or abilities.

Yes. Copy effects don't copy any effects past the 'base' card EXCEPT other copy effects.

"I pulled a bonkers pack and I'm dropping to keep it." If the store owner tries to 'force' you, stand up with the cards that are legally yours, and leave.

You can't do replacement packs in a sanctioned event, so be careful.

You are not remotely correct. The official policy is any packs in your possession, opened or otherwise, are legally your possessions and the store has no right to take them back from you.

>literally breaks the law
Can you cite a source where taking things you have paid for is illegal? Or where the store taking back tournament materials for which you have already paid -is- legal?

Technically, yes. You aren't allowed to bring any outside notes to a sanctioned match. Even if it's an unsanctioned draft, it's not considered kosher to refer to notes of any sort during the draft.

This hasn't worked in quite some time.

When Madness was originally made, you could cast the spell "until next time you pass" priority. Shit was weird.

Eh, a little. Personally I'd advise you just skip it if all you're really doing is buying 3 packs of MM3.

Nope.

Welcome back, gA. Last night, my EDH group and I got into a little argument. It's a four man group, and two people weren't paying much attention to the game. I cast Worldy Tutor, resolve it, and put Avenger of Zendikar on the top of my library. Now, when I reveal a card, I reveal it for about 30 seconds or so while I shuffle my library. Once I was done, I put Avenger on top and continue with my turn.

The two people who were not paying attention then ask, "Wait, what just happened?" I reply, "I cast and resolve Worldy Tutor". "What did you grab?", "I don't have to say"

This is where the argument started. I maintained that because they were not paying attention, and I revealed the card for an adequate amount of time, that I don't -have- to say anything. They said that was bullshit and wanted me to reveal the card again. (With the fourth person, who was paying attention, staying out of the discussion)

My question to you is: who is correct in this situation? Is the card on top public knowledge and I have to give an honest answer? Or is it derived information once the card goes back to the top of the library?

The rules define 'reveal a card' as "to show a card to all players for a brief time". I can see an argument that you should have made some effort to let them know you were revealing a card, and if they were still zoned out that's on them, but it's a pretty weak argument, especially in a non-formal Multiplayer game. The card is NOT public knowledge- for example, in a 2 person game, if you revealed a card to your opponent, and a short time later they genuinely forgot what it was, they don't have the option of saying "Show me again". you already showed it to them, and now it's in a hidden zone. You are under no obligation to answer the question of "What's the card you tutored for, again?".

Thanks for the answer. I've been trying to get my group to be tighter with the rule and play, and before the game we had agreed on this. Next week, I'll bring them some beers and show them this screencap. Thanks.

What is your opinion on playsets? I have a friend who hates them because he feels like they make he game boring/playing the same deck every game. Also he thinks magic takes minimal skill to compete and it's just a bunch of richfags. How do I convince him he's wrong?

Yeah, my group tends to be pretty lackadaisy, but every now and then I announce "Kid gloves off" and hold them to tight technical play.

You don't. He's half wrong (Playsets do make the game "more boring" than otherwise, because by definition they make the deck more consistent and reliable- that's literally the entire point of it), but he's not gonna respond to logic because he's too entrenched in his position. The best you can do is hope that repeated exposure to Reality chips away at his biases until he's actually in a position to rethink them.

Money does replace skill in Magic; the thing is, it only replaces a finite amount. Two players of equal skill, with one having a 10 dollar budget and the other 100? The one with the higher budget has a leg-up. An FNM Hero with unlimited budget vs Jon Finkel on a 100 dollar budget? FNM Hero gonna get dunked on.

gA what's the correct way to play scroll rack in Yidris? Should I play divvy top or scroll rack?

In short it is on them to pay attention. I would say in that case that it's not worth the argument. However I would say "it's avenger of z pay attention next time" and slowly increase strictness.

In what format? He doesn't believe you haha

Does a card that say "you" target a player? Why or why not? My buddy tried to redirect my temporal manipulation and I told him that's not how it works

It does not. A spell only targets if it's an Aura spell, or explicitly says "Target" on it.

Oracle text my man

In any format.

Yes there is a strong correlation between "money spent" and "win percentage". But as gA pointed out, there does become a point where that line plateaus, and spending more won't make your deck any better.

How high that line gets before it plateaus depends on the format. For Standard it plateaus around $250. For modern it's about $1250. For legacy about $2500. But it always does.

Modern is a good example, most expensive deck is Jund for about 2grand to build but other decks are still winning out that cost half or even less than a 1/3 of that.

But what galv said, budget version of a deck vs nonbudget, nonbudget usually wins granted similar skill levels.

And even then, it's not because money replaces skill up to that line, it's that if you're using bad cards, you're handicapping yourself. Even the greatest players in the game can only get so far with a deck full of Craw Wurms and Shocks.

Is there a monetary barrier to competitive play? Honestly, yeah. The best cards are expensive because they're desired more than shit cards. There's exactly as many copies of Novablast Wurm in the wild as there are Jace, the Mind Sculptor, but Novablast Wurm is 2 dollars because it's not very good, or heavily played, or desirable.

But "monetary barrier to competitive play" does not mean "Pay to win", because even if you buy the most expensive deck in Legacy, you still need actual skill to rack up wins. And if you lack that, you're gonna get bodied by players who don't.

Friend of mine uses this in our casual commander matches. He says that he can choose a player, deal damage to that player, and then Saskiya essentially makes it so they take double damage. Is that legit?

>Combat damage
Combat Damage: Damage dealt during the combat damage step by attacking creatures and blocking creatures as a consequence of combat. See rule 510, "Combat Damage Step."

I understand that, but what I mean is like this:

Say he has Saskiya out and then attacks me for a total of 10 damage, with no blockers. The damage is dealt, and I'm the person he chose to target with Saskiya's ability. Does that mean I take another 10 damage because he dealt combat damage to a player (me), and I am the one he chose for Saskiya's ability of dealing that damage to a chosen player (me)?

So, I apparently read your question entirely wrong, and parsed it as him thinking it'd just keep smacking the player over and over to death (IE, the trigger triggering itself)- mea culpa.

The answer to what you ACTUALLY asked is "yes". If you are the player chosen, combat damage to you will still trigger Saskia, effectively giving the creatures Doublest Strike (not to be confused with First-er Strike)

Alright, cool. Just wanted to check, thanks! And no worries about the misunderstanding.

I clone a player's Wurmcoil Engine, then kick Rite of Replication on that clone. A player casts Wrath.

Do I get 12 tokens?

Say I have two opponents with say 3 perplexing chimeras each. I cast a spell. What happens on the stack?

Yes

do people cheat at drafts

The chimeras trigger and are put on the stack in an ap nap order.

My opponent play Azusa. Can I kill it with a bolt before the lands are placed. He played his land for the turn before casting her if that matters

no you can't

But say it is my turn. So my opponents chimera are put on the stack. Do we go in turn order since they happen at the same time?

Unless the first land triggers an etb effect you can't respond with a bolt

Meant for

The opponent after you puts his on the stack, then the opponent before you.
The first item on the stack resolves meaning the opponent before you have first dib on whether he wants to nab your spell or not.

Cool then my ruling was right, cause we played it out like that but the last guy was calling bullshit

>
Hey GA and what's the stance on lying about concealed information (what's in my Hand whats a morph card is). In the case where he revealed it gave due chance to see the card And was then asked and he lied about it. Is that OK? Scummy?

Actually thanks to FTV20 there are more jaces than novablast wurms ;^)

Facedown cards and cards in your hand are private information. You are 100% allowed to lie like a rug to your opponent.
Even if they can see you're lying (with a "look at your hand" effect or a "peek at morphs" effect) you're still allowed to lie like a rug. It just won't be as effective.

Yep! 6 Wurmcoils died.

The triggers will go on the stack in turn order; if one of those opponents is Active Player, their triggers go on the stack first, then the other opponent. If it's YOUR turn, then whichever opponent's turn is next in the order goes on the stack first, then the other.

Each of that player's Chimera triggers will say "You can swap control of that spell for control of me", though once they elect to do it once not much changes. Then the OTHER player gets the same option. So, effectively, the player whose turn it is (or whose turn is coming up next) will 'win' that war.

Some people somewhere do, but it's not really common.

Only if her entering the battlefield triggers something, or they choose to take other actions. If they want to go "Azusa, land land land" (or "land land" in your case), you have no means of stopping them.

There's three kinds of info: Free, Derived, and Hidden. The things in your hand, as well as face-down cards you control, are Hidden. You are permitted to lie through your teeth about Hidden Information. You aren't required to answer (as you are with Free), and if you DO answer you can give partial answers (as you can with Derived), or you can just flat out lie. You can tell your opponent "I wouldn't cast anything, I have 4 Mana Leaks in hand" while holding a grip full of Islands.

Fair shake- I should have said "Worldwake Jaces"

I have Pyrostatic Pillar in play and my opponent flashes back conflagrate, saying "flashback conflagrate at you" discarding 6 cards. Do I take damage since they didn't announce an X, making it 0? Does pillar trigger since it's CMC1?

If I roll a 6, a 2, and a 1 will the card have no effect or will it destroy all artifacts?

Forgot image.

"Ssure, why not" incoming

Well you can't discard without a reason. So an effect happened to make them discard in this case fulfilling the x cost. Making conflagration CMC 13 (x+x+r) where x is 6

Conflagrate doesn't deal 2X damage, it deals X damage. If you're pitching cards it deals damage equal to the number of cards discarded.