Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Judge's Corner

Humble Kobolds

Well, the booster draft Friday only had 5 people show up, so the tournament was cancelled. So there's no tournament report today, sorry.

---

Short Answers:

-Spells played via flashback can only be played when the spell could be played normally.

-If a Goblin Pyromancer isn't there when your end of turn step rolls around, its ability won't be there to trigger, and your goblins will be safe.

-Accursed Centaur is a creature. Therefore, you can (and must, if you have no other creatures) sacrifice it to satisfy its ability.

-A creature has summoning sickness until it has been under the control of its controller since the start of his or her turn (Unless, of course, the creature has haste).

---

First up, a question I promised I would answer today ...

Q: The wording on the three "free" Kobolds reads as an ability, not as reminder text (which would make a lot more sense), would the Humility make the Kobolds into colorless creatures or would they still be red and colorless? ...Magic's stupidest ability... "This card is a red card".

A: Crimson Kobolds

{0}

Creature -- Kobold

0/1

Crimson Kobolds is red.

The sentence, "Crimson Kobolds is red" is characteristic-setting text, not an ability. So Humility won't remove it, and Crimson Kobolds will still be red with Humility out.

400.1. An ability is text in a card’s text box that generates an effect. Reminder text, flavor text, characteristic-setting text, and spell text are not abilities. Reminder text and flavor text always appear in italics. Characteristic-setting text is any text that states that that card, permanent, or spell “is” a particular characteristic. Spell text is any text that’s followed as a spell is played or is resolving. Abilities generate effects only from the in-play zone unless they state otherwise. Text itself is never an effect. Spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities generate effects when they resolve. Static abilities generate continuous effects.

---

Moving on,

Q: When you play a wish, does the wish go into the Sideboard to replace the removed card, or do you simply remove it from the game in another location?

A: From the Judgment FAQ:

* In DCI-sanctioned play, "a card you own from outside the game" is one of the following things: (a) A card you own that's in the removed-from-the-game zone. It can be in that zone for any reason. (b) A card that's in your sideboard. If you get a card from your sideboard, you must put the Wish into your sideboard instead of just removing it from the game. This makes sure that your sideboard has the correct number of cards in it at all times.

However, when you put the Wish in your sideboard, you must make it visible to all players. (October 2002 Rules Team Rulings)

---

Q: The reason why I ask this, is that even though it doesn't say to put it into the sideboard, the rules say that "You must have exactly fifteen cards in your sideboard, at all times during a round". If it does go into the sideboard, how do you deal with Mirari? Ex: If you have one wish in your sideboard and a Mirari in play, cast the second wish on "whatever" and copy it with Mirari, targeting the first wish with the pseudo-spell, would the pseudo-spell count as a card replacing the fifteenth card in the sideboard?

-Ryan S.

A: From the October 2002 Rules Team Rulings:

It may not be possible to put the Wish card into your sideboard (for example, if you used Mirari to copy a Wish). If this situation occurs, your sideboard will contain only fourteen cards for the rest of the game; this is legal. Just make sure your sideboard has fifteen cards in it at the start of the next game you play.

--

Clarification:

I knew I would get a question about this when I read it after it was posted...

(From my last column)

>>>-All of the Invasion "divvy" cards have errata, due to morph. For example, here is the wording for Do or Die:

Do or Die

{1}{B}

Sorcery

Separate all creatures target player controls into two piles. Destroy all creatures in the pile of that player's choice. They can't be regenerated.

As you can see, the piles are no longer "face up," for obvious reasons.<<<

Q: Just to clarify:

Do you mean to say that the piles are now "face-down"?

OR

Do you mean that the piles are still "face-up" (i.e. revealed) but the morph triggered ability does not trigger?

-Zeratac

A: What this means is that the creatures are left exactly as they are when you make the piles. If a creature was face up, it is face up when you make the divvy. If it was face down, it remains face down when you make the divvy. (Also, the person dividing the piles can't look at the face down creatures, since he or she doesn't control them.)

See you Thursday.

Bill Guerin

Ask Judge Bill A Question 

DCI Level 2 Judge