MTG Magic The Gathering Ask A Judge - 「 T H U R S D A Y ' S C H I L D 」

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I have a Sensei's Divining top out, I use it's second ability. Opponent casts "Crash" in response. What happens?

>crash resolves, destroying sensei's top
>top's ability resolves, drawing a card and then attempting to put top on top (but it can't as the top is in the GY by now)

Crash will resolve, destroying the Top. The Top's ability will resolve, drawing you a card. It will attempt to put Top on top of your library, and fail, because the Top is no longer in the zone the ability expects it to be (the battlefield), so it shrugs and moves on.

So basically you lose your Top and draw a card.

day names are lame, come up with something better
>upkeep with opponent at 13
question is, do they lose the game before the ability finishes resolving or are they killed when sbas are checked? do they die on 13 or 14 (if gain is chosen)?
>they lose the game, game ends
>they lose the game, then gain/lose 1 life and then game ends

I have a Brimaz, King of Oreskos and a Defensive Formation. Opponent swing with his BlightSteel Collosus. Blocking with Brimaz, can I choose to have all of Blightsteels damage target the token, or would Trample go over.

They lose in the middle of the trigger. You pick your mode, trigger resolves, and kills anyone at 13 life. In a 2 player game, they lose right there, and the game is now over- the trigger doesn't finish resolving because we're done with that game.

In a multiplayer game where there's still other players left, that player will lose and immediately leave the game, then the trigger will finish resolving, and all players still in the game will gain or lose 1 life, depending on the chosen mode.

Damage doesn't target. And yes, Defensive Formation can completely shut down Trample. You make the damage assignment choices (including getting to ignore 'you have to assign lethal before moving on- it's basically Banding for blocking only on all your creatures), so you can just assign all 11 damage to the token and none to Brimaz or to you.

>the trigger doesn't finish resolving because we're done with that game
neat
with stitcher's graft, if i wake up a creature land such as needle spires and equip it, does the graft become unattached at end of turn and force me to sacrifice the land? i notice that it is worded as permanent and not creature which makes me think it is the case.

It does, but it would do that even if it said "sacrifice that creature", because the trigger still knows which object we're talking about even if it's not a creature at that time. The "that permanent" wording is there just to make it clearer and more grokkable.

so equipment have an innate law that says they can only be attached to creatures?
why is it then that stuff like +1/+1 counters remains on a permanent even when it's not a creature? for example a gideon or lumbering falls

Because the rules say that Equipment can only be attached to creatures, but they DON'T say that about +1/+1 counters.

Can i use As Foretold to cast something targeted with jace's -3?

If I cast a mill spell on myself, like Glimpse The Unthinkable, and I'm in a format where grave yard order matters, it ends up on the top of my Graveyard, rigjt? Since it does what it says then goes into the yard

You can. Unlike Flashback, Jace doesn't set up an alternate cost, it just gives you permission to cast the spell from a zone you normally can't. Since there's not already an alternate cost involved, you can pay As Foretold's alternate cost of 0.

Right. You'll mill all the cards at once (which means you get to choose their relative order and then put them on top of what you already have), and then the mill spell itself will go on top of all that, because it doesn't actually touch the graveyard until it's done resolving.

When my opponent casts counterspell, can I in response cast redirect and change the target of the counterspell to redirect or will the redirect have no effect?

That's fine! As Redirect is resolving, it's still on the stack, so it's a legal target for you to change Counterspell to. Then, when it's done resolving, having changed the target, it goes to the graveyard.

THEN Counterspell tries to resolve, but has no legal target, and is countered by the rules of the game.

From a rules enforcement standpoint is the word 'Fizzle' a correct substitute term for when a spell or effect is countered by the game rules?

Technically 'fizzle' doesn't mean anything, but the general use of it is "countered on resolution by the game's rules".

There's some Judges that have a full on aneurysm when anyone uses 'fizzle' because it's not defined in the CR, or because they've heard people use it to mean something else once, so therefore it's "confusing", but most people will know exactly what you mean if you just say 'fizzle'.

that sort of leads to my next question, if a spell resolves but doesn't actually do anything (say you cast wrath of god with no creatures in play) and then say that the spell fizzles (even though it didn't because it resolved) could that hypothetically be considered a rules violation of some kind?

wow either you're autistic, or someone in your meta is, if that question was actually raised during a game...

if I use deflecting palm against a creature that has lifelink does the opponent still gain life? is it just a net 0 since he'd be getting back as much life as he lost? or would he lose life?
I'm playing naya burn and I'm looking for something to help against boggles after they get lifelink

Eh, it depends. The vast majority of the time, it's not gonna matter- say, you cast a Wrath onto an empty board just to up your Storm count or something, and say "Cast Wrath, it fizzles". That's not a violation- you're technically not 'right', but it also doesn't remotely matter.

If you use that terminology to imply that the spell was countered (in case something cares about that)... we might have a problem.

The damage from the source is entirely prevented, and then Deflecting Palm does that much damage back. They'll take net damage.

It's not like other things where the damage is dealt to them INSTEAD of you, which would be a net change of 0 life.

If I have lightning greaves in play and my opponent has wars toll, and I play commander then attach greaves to him, and swing with my other creature, does my commander have to swing?

Morning gA, a friend of mine linked me to this:

magicjudge.tumblr.com/post/160487215239/weird-card-interaction-alert-kalitas-anointed

Is this interpretation correct and why? The post doesn't have specific rules citations and i'm uncertain it's true even after reading 609/614

Yes. War's Toll doesn't target anything, so Shroud won't stop it.

It is correct, because technically an "effect" is you being told to do something by a resolving spell or ability. If Kalitas is replacing the SBA of "this thing dies" with "This thing is exiled and you get a zombie", it's not an -effect- creating the token, it's a modified SBA.

But if it was a Doom Blade, then that is now an EFFECT (from a resolving spell) making the token.

What about an effect that says creatures attack every turn if able and you play a creature and then it gets haste from let's say messengers speed?

Say you stick two platinum angels in your deck and no other artifacts.

If you madcap experiment out a platinum angel and blast yourself for thirty damage, you don't lose but your life total goes down into negative, right? Then you can swing with death's shadow for 30 damage.

As you declare attackers in your Declare Attackers step, you'd have to attack with it if it was able to do so. If you played a creature and enchanted it with Messenger's Speed in your precombat Main Phase while there was a Grand Melee on board, it would have to attack because it CAN (barring other cards interfering).

If "rhonas's monument is in play, reducing the cost of creature spells of green by 1, if I have a "devoted crop-mate" exert which allows to bring back a creature with converted mana 2 or lower, does the effect of the monument allow for a " hooded brawler" 2/1G become a 1/1G in the grave or does it not apply?

The monument only lets you pay 1 mana less when you cast a green creature, the cards themselves ar not affected. The hooded brawler always has the same mana cost in all zones, so nope.

Correct. if you cast your 9th spell as grapeshot and twincast as your 10th, it'll only be 10 damage to spread around, not 18. It won't double the storm count.

I feel like this is a stupid question, but is it possible to cast a spell without any available target?
More specifically, I'm thinking of a legacy False Cure deck, can I cast invigorate if there is no creature in game, to have my opponent gain life?

Thanks! Still on the subject of copying: Let's say I have Riku out and a lot of mana, would I be able to cast an kary zev's expertise, copy it and copy the free spells each expertise gives me? Does it work the same way with free spells from an opponent's anything, like from a talent of the telepath?

My opponent has a something Wil-Leaf Leige, and two white Knight Tokens that are boosted to 3/3s because of it. I have something like a Narnam Renegade, and two Vanilla 3/3s. My opponent attacks with all three creatures. I block the Liege-like creature with my deathtoucher, and the the two knights with my vanilla 3/3s. Before damage, I cast an instant that gives my deathtoucher First Strike.

My question is in that situation, when first strike damage goes through and hits the Liege, does the Liege die before regular damage, meaning the two Knight tokens lose the boost and go back down to 2/2, meaning my 3/3s will survive?

Yes, but you need to give first strike at the end of the declare blockers phase.

Thats right. Platinum Angel is put into play as Madcap's resolving, then it deals damage to you. Afterwards, SBA's are checked and sees that a player is on zero or less life, but the Angel is already on the field, so you don't die.

If you have phyrexian unlife, can you pay a value of life that would put you into the negative?

For example if I'm at 10 life and I have phyrexian unlife, can I activate aetherflux resevior, paying 50 life and putting me to -40?

You can't. Spells can't be cast without a legal target. The nice thing about the "free" spell used in false cure, though is that the lifegain is a cost, so even if your spell gets countered or fizzles, they still gain the life.

Yes, you can copy the Expertise, the free spell you get off it and the free spell you get off your second Expertise. You can't copy anything else (including the second Expertise), because Riku's ability triggers when you CAST a spell, which you're not doing when you copy one. Also, since it is a trigger, you can only pay once, having infinite mana doesn't mean infinite copies. As for Talent of the Telepath, yeah, that works too. Anytime a spell tells you to cast (and it has to use the word cast) an instant or sorcery, then Riku works.

You can't pay costs you can't... well, pay. Paying life past zero is like paying mana past zero. You don't have it, so you can't pay it. 117.3 in the comp rules.

Can a mimic copy lands or other cards that are turned into creatures temporarily? For example could a Cascading Cataracts that was given Nissa Vital Force's +1 effect be copied by Vizier of Many Faces? I ask because the guys at my LGS (including the employee that acts as judge during FNMs) believe that it does become and stay a 5/5 haste indestructible etc.

it can, but it will enter as an unanimated Cascading Cataracts.

well that's kind of lame.

what about using a mimic on a token creature, does the mimic also become a token and become susceptible to nonexistence when it dies/gets blinked or is it protected by the base card of the mimic not being a token itself? i.e. if viz (non-embalmed) copies an embalmed creature and gets blinked does it A. cease to exist for being a token outside the battlefield, B. come back as the copy, no issue, or C. come back as the base card and die for being a 0/0?

Have you ever seen a competitive Shadowborn Apostle deck?

No, a token is a permanent that is not represented by a card. A non embalmed Vizier is a card, thus it's not a token even when you copy an embalmed creature. (you can't target it with Temmet, it's not affected by Aven Wind Guide).

If you blink the non embalmed Vizier, it will return as a copy of whatever creature in the battlefield of your choosing. Yes, you have to choose again.
If there's no creature on the field, then it will return as a 0/0 and dies.

can i use 'Tap: Target creature with power 2 or less can't be blocked this turn.' on a creature, then pump it's power, and still prevent it from being blocked?

yes you can.

Can the storages counters from Crucible of the Spirit Dragon be used to pay for Nicol Bolas's upkeep cost?

No, it's a triggered ability.

Correct on both counts. Twincast will count towards Storm, but the copy it makes is not cast, and will not. Ditto for Pyro.

It is not. If a spell is targeted, you need legal targets in order to cast it.

You can copy both, because both are CAST, and both will trigger Riku (assuming instant/sorcery). So long as you are the one casting the spell, Riku will trigger and let you copy it.

It does! Your Renegade pokes it for 1, SBAs kill it, then we move to the normal combat step where his 2/2s are up against your 3/3s. Blowout.

Right. You take the damage, you go below 0, but Angels keep you alive. Your Shadow will get -X/-X, where X is your life total, and this is one of the few times in Magic that the negatives will cancel out and be BUFFING it.

You can't pay life you don't have.

It can, but it won't copy "what it currently looks like". If you use Vizier to copy a Nissa-animated land, your Vizier will be a noncreature, unanimated land without Haste or Indestructible, because those effects exist in layers 4, 6, and 7b, whereas the copy effect is looking at Layer 1.

"Token-ness" is not a copiable characteristic. If you're using a card to copy a token, the card is... well, a card. By definition it can't be a token.

I have not. I've seen a few EDH decks though.

As long as you pump it after the ability resolves, yes!

Nope- that's a triggered ability, not an activated one.

Hey galvanic, can I use avenger en-dal's ability just to pitch something if it doesn't have a legal target? Say, at an end phase or something

Nope- you need a legal target to activate a target-requiring ability. You can't use it to just discard a card, you need to have an attacking creature to legally target.

Dang, but thanks GA. I'd probably fuck you desu

...

I don't know how this would be done to collect 11 mana worth, but if "approach of the second sun" is played on my turn, and I instant cast "commit // memory" which places the target spell as the second card from the top. Does this combo apply the first second sun condition and place it further up the deck at wecond and not 7th, or does it not do anything?

As Approach resolves, it asks the game "Hey, has this player cast a spell named Approach of the Second Sun already this game, and also was I cast from this player's hand?". It doesn't care whether or not you've RESOLVED an Approach, just cast one.

So yeah, you can cast Approach, use Commit to put it closer than 7 deep. You could also use something like Remand to bounce it to your hand, so you can potentially win on the very next turn.

>remand
Unsubstantiate does the same and it's standard legal, in the case someone wants to build some super janky combo deck.

Also just looked, failure // comply does it to for 1/1U

So I have an artifact that says "Tap - Draw a card" untapped this turn. I play a card with Improvise and I tap that artifact mentioned before to pay for the manacost of this new card.
Since the artifact was tapped, do I draw a card?

Also, kind of related:

Creature A on my board has "Sacrifice this creature - Draw a card.", if I play Creature B from my hand that says "You may sacrifice a creature as an additional cost to cast this creature, if you do so, this creature gets +1/+1.". Do I also draw a card if I sacrifice Creature A to get a +1/+1 on Creature B?

I think I figured it out on my own while writing this, but I just wanna be sure now.

I'm extra new.

>First bit
If you see a sign that says "$5 for Chicken Nuggets", and then spend 5 dollars on a milkshake, would you also get chicken nuggets?

Non-Socratic answer: No. You have to place that activated ability on the stack and pay the cost of "tap this specific object" to get a card. It doesn't just fire every time the card becomes tapped; only Triggered abilities do that, and that would be something like "Whenever ~ becomes tapped, draw a card". You can't tap it for its own ability AND Improvise any more than you can put a single dollar bill into two different vending machines.

>Second bit
Same deal. You can't pay two costs with one payment, or Frankie Peanuts will break ya legs.

Yeah, I thought so too.

Thank you.

How long time do I have after casting Kari Zev's expertise to spend the "free spell"?

Could I Kari Zev's expertise to take control of a creature, swing at the opponent with it and then spend the free spell with Fling to deal additional damage?

No time at all. Since it doesn't specify a duration in which you can cast the spell, that means you cast it as part of the resolution of Expertise. You cast it then, or not at all; you can't "hold onto" it to cast the spell later.

You -can- use Expertise to steal something, and then freecast Fling to huck it at your opponent, but you won't be able to swing with it inbetween those actions.

Thank you so much!

If you don't mind I have another one.

If I've got Gideon of the Trials on the board with his emblem and I go into negative HP.

Will I lose the game Immediatly the second a spell resolves that removes Gideon from the battlefield?

As soon as you don't have a Gideon, SBAs are going to see you at negative life and kill you. You won't have a 'grace period' to play a second one.

Thank you judge!

What card from Amonkhet has caused the most rules confusion for player so far?

are negros allowed to play MTG?

So, for a hot minute I would have said "Hapatra" because there was a lot of brouhaha about her ability not working with Infect and Wither, but that got updated.

As of the other day, hilariously I'd say Anointed Procession, specifically because of the fucky interaction it has with Kalitas.