 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Pojo's Magic The Gathering news, tips, strategies and more! | |||||
|
|
|||||
 |
|||||
 |
|||||
Pojo's MTG |
 |
Judge Bill's Magic The Gathering Rulings
Title: Rant Mode ON!
Questions: 31 4.06.05
---
My apologies for
the long delay on this column.
First, an error
to correct. I failed to properly apply 418.5a in the
following question, and our friend Chris Richter
writes in to correct me:
---
In your most
recent column dated 3/21/05 you wrote:
> Q: My opponent
has a 2/2 creature enchanted with Empyrial Armor and
he
> has 2 cards in his hand. I play Blood Lust on that creature, dropping > it's defense down to 1, and then attempt to kill it by putting a -1/-1 > counter (from my Serrated Arrow) on it. Does it die? > > -Ling T. > > A: Yes, it dies. Empyrial Armor's bonus is calculated once, and > effects that change the statistics do not make the Armor recheck.
This situation is
complex for two reasons; 1) you have three different
effects that change the power and toughness of a
creature in play, and one of these effect is due to
a counter. And 2) it involves Blood Lust.
The first issue
is that when calculating the power and toughness of
a creature you apply the effects from counters first
and then apply other continuous effects. This means
that you apply the -1/-1 from the Serrated Arrows
counter first, before you apply the effects from the
Empyrial Armor and Blood Lust. This, in and or
itself, is not a problem.
The second issue
is that while the effect from Blood Lust is
continually recalculated whenever it is applied.
The entire effect is that the targeted creature et
+4/-4, and that it's toughness is not lowered below
zero. This means that because the effect from Blood
Lust is applied last, this effect can not lower the
toughness of this creature to anything below zero.
So basically you
start with a 2/2 creature, subtract -1/-1 due to the
Serrated Arrow counter to make it a 1/1, apply the
effect from the Empyrial Armor and make it a 3/3.
Then finally when you apply Blood Lust it will
become a 7/1, as the effect from Blood Lust can not
lower the toughness of this creature to less than
one.
However keep in
mind that you can cause this creature to go to the
graveyard if you use a non-counter way to lower it's
toughness to zero. Then this last effect will be
applied after the Blood Lust.
-Chris
---
Moving on ...
Q: I just wanted
to know how many Book Burnings are you allowed to
have in you deck?
A: To get the
answer out of the way, Book Burning is not
restricted in any format, so you can play 4 in your
deck.
(Calms himself
down, remembering this is a family site ...)
I don't have an
issue with the writer here. Who I do have an issue
with in this question are the people he plays,
namely the anal retentive people that play in the
casual room in Magic Online. The majority of the
people that inhabit the casual room on Magic Online
think that they are God. They think that you will be
able to tell what they want you to play, without
giving any indication what they want you to not
play.
Then, when you
play a card that THEY consider unacceptable, they
act like YOU'RE the one who has done something
wrong.
They, friends,
are full of it.
I don't mind if
the idiots that play in that room don't want to play
against a card or class of cards. That's not my
gripe.
What my gripe is,
is that they expect you to know what cards they
don't want you to play against without telling you.
This is why they are a bunch of morons, who need to
learn courtesy for other people.
Yes, they can
enjoy their time on the game. But they need to pull
their heads out of their rears and realize there is
someone else on the other side of the screen.
If you don't want
to play against a card or a class of cards, then
TELL US before we join your game. I'd be perfectly
happy if you advertised "Extended, no counters or
Land Destruction" or "Standard, no Eager Cadets."
Fine. Play against someone who wants to play by your
rules. If my deck plays by your rules, I might even
sit down and play you.
But to expect us
to know what and how you want to play in your games
without telling us is the sign of a self centered,
immature brat.
And yes, you can
still be a brat if you're 30+. Just ask Phil
Hellmuth.
---
(Tries to calm
himself back down to continue with the column...)
---
Q: On Detonate,
does artifact mean an artifact creature?
-Scott M.
A: Artifact means
a card with they type artifact. Since artifact
creatures have both type artifact and type creature,
you can use Detonate to destroy them. The artifact
doesn't have to be a creature to be able to be
destroyed by Detonate.
---
Q: I recently
bought a Champions of Kamigawa, Spirit Bane deck. I
rushed to open it. As I looked through it I stumbled
upon a blank card. What is the deal with that?
A: The
preconstructed decks are made on printing sheets.
The size of the sheet necessitates printing a blank
card in some of the spaces. Most of the time, it is
just thrown away at the factory. Sometimes, though,
it makes its way to you.
---
Q: Also can I
make the blank card into a custom one?
-monkeyman
A: No. Your best
bet is to just sell it off on ebay.
---
Q: Do creatures
tap when they block?
-Jo Mon
A: No.
---
Q: Do Revised
edition Mons's Goblin Raiders count as a goblin?
Someone argued it is "summon goblins" and not
"summon goblin" so it doesn't count as a goblin.
A: Yes, it is a
goblin. Making a creature type plural does not make
it a different creature type. So "goblin" and
"goblins" are the same creature type.
---
Q: Would zombie master count as a zombie although it says summon lord? It has zombie in it's name! Couldn't it be a zombie?
-Nerd333
A: Sorry, Zombie
Lord is a Lord, and not a Zombie. It would be a
zombie if it had the creature type zombie, but it
doesn't.
---
Q: If I use
Confiscate on a creature that has a sacrifice
ability, can that player use sacrifice as part of
stack and make me waste my enchant or is the
creature mine as soon as I cast?
-Mark F.
A: Yes, he can
respond and make you waste your enchantment. You can
always respond to an enchantment spell.
---
Q: With Words of
War in play if I return Attunement and pay 3 mana
for the Words of War's ability, do I still have to
discard the four or does this no longer apply since
I replaced the first part of the spell?
-brandon
A: You only
replaced the card draw - you did not replace the
entire spell. So you will still have to discard 4
cards (or your whole hand, if it is less than 4
cards.)
(Attunement is in
your hand when you have to discard.)
---
Q: If Pristine
Angel is tapped and you enchant it while it is
tapped does the enchantment stay on it once it
becomes untapped?
-nitsud
A: No. Protection
makes it fall off.
---
Q: I have Lethal
Vapors and a Carrion Feeder in play. If I cast a
creature spell, can I sacrifice it to my Carrion
Feeder before Lethal Vapors resolves?
-Mark
A: Yes. Lethal
Vapors's triggered ability uses the stack, and can
be responded to in this way before it resolves.
---
Q: If you have
banding and have assigned two banded creatures to
attack another player, can the other player use a
destruction spell to choose one of the creatures in
the band and destroy it on its own?
A: Yes. Only
damage is shared in a band.
---
Q: Also, does
this mean the damage from the destroyed creature in
the band is not dealt to the other player?
-Jennifer S.
A: Correct.
---
Q: My opponent
played a Taunting Elf and a creature enchanted with
Lure. What would happen if both creatures attacked
at the same time? Would they both cancel blocking
attempts because of illegal blocking and break the
game or would nothing happen?
-Josh F.
A: For each
creature that he had available to block, he could
choose which creature that creature blocks.
---
Q: My friend
attacked me with Grotesque Hybrid. She discarded to
make it protection from white and green. I use
Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo ability to redirect the
damage to itself. My question is does my Opal-Eye
die because of Grotesque ability even through the
damage is redirect from me?
-EC
A: Yes. It is
still damage from the Hybrid, and will kill the
Opal-Eye (if you don't prevent the damage using her
other ability).
---
Q: Can I enchant
a wall with flying?
A: Yes.
---
Q: Can I use
Phantom Wings to enchant Steel Wall?
-Jason R.
A: Yes.
---
Q: If I have an
Endless Whispers out during a multiplayer game, I
also have a Phage the Untouchable out. I sacrifice
Phage and, at the end of the turn, it goes into play
under target opponent's control, he/she didn't play
it from their hand so they lose the game, but in a
multiplayer game what happens, does Phage go to my
graveyard after someone loses, in which I choose
another player to lose, or does the person that lost
get to choose?
-Justin St.John
A: This is a
question about a multiplayer game, so there is no
official answer to this.
My answer: When
the other player leaves the game, Phage is placed
into the graveyard, and triggers. However, the
triggered ability has no controller (since the
person who controlled Phage left the game). So the
triggered ability is unable to be played, and is
simply removed from the game rather than going on
the stack.
End result: Phage
stays in your graveyard.
Once again, this
is a multiplayer question, so you are free to make
your own ruling with your playgroup. That's just how
I would handle it.
---
Q: I make a
token. What if you want to tap the creature for just
its tap right then? I know it has summoning sickness
for attacking but can I play Kyren Negotiations'
effect ?
-mike
A: Sure. The
ability isn't on the creature, so you can tap it
just fine to pay the cost of another card.
---
Q: If my opponent
removes my Viashino Sandstalker from the game until
end of turn with Otherworldly Journey, what happens
when he comes back into play, does he come back into
my hand or is it too late for his trigger to resolve
and he stays in play with a +1/+1 counter until the
end of my next turn. I am leaning towards the
latter but I'm not sure.
-Robert H.
A: You are
correct - it stays in play until the next end step
(in the next turn).
---
Q: I have a Genju
of the Fens and I was wondering - does the ability
count only once or can I tap as many black mana as I
wish to get it more power.
-Clinton A.
A: See
Mantra 11, last sentence.
---
Q: I read the
official card ruling on Riptide Mangler, but was
still unclear on whether my question was answered so
I figured I'd bother you so that you could explain
it to me like I was four years old. Maybe that way
I would understand. If I had a Riptide Mangler in
play (0/3), and use its ability to take on the power
of a creature with a power of 3, it becomes a 3/2.
So far, so good. If I play Serra's Embrace on it
(+2/+2 etc.), it is now a 5/4 flier. I'm still
following. My question is: Can I now use its
ability again, targeting itself to make its base
power 5? If so, wouldn't the Serra's Embrace then
make it a 7/4? And couldn’t I keep doing that to
pump it up as long as I had mana to do it?
-Aaron
A: No. It would
still be a 5/4 - The Power change is applied after
the Embrace, so it keeps its current power,
---
Q: If I have an
Fallen Angel in play and dozens of Zuberas as well,
can I sacrifice all of them at one time to let each
zubera trigger effects for like, 10 zuberas gone
into graveyard (if I sacrifice 10), or I must play
an ability 1 at 1 time so each the 1st zubera I
sacrifice will only trigger for 1, while the 2nd
will trigger for 2, and the third will trigger for
3?
-Lim W.
A: You can do it
either way you choose.
(Technically, in
the first case, you are sacrificing them one at a
time, in response to each other. However, the
ability doesn't ask how many zuberas went to the
graveyard until the ability resolves, which would
get a count of "lots.")
---
Q: I have a
couple Neurok Transmuters and Myr Landshapers in
play along with an Energy Flux. I Q: would like to
turn my opponents stuff into artifacts before the
Energy Flux resolves. Is this possible?
-Jason
A: No. By the
time you can play the ability, the beginning of
upkeep has passed, and since the cards are not an
artifact, it won't have the "pay 2 or sacrifice" on
them.
---
Q: My opponent
has a 1/1 creature in play. I play a Lose Hope to
give the creature -1/-1. My opponent plays a Giant
Growth in response. Does the creature live at the
end of turn?
A: Yes. All
effects wear off at the same time, so he'll live.
---
Q: If he plays
Giant Growth first and then I play Lose Hope, does
the order of the spell resolution make a difference
at the end of turn?
-Rusty K.
A: If you play
Lose Hope in response, why are you asking about end
of turn. He dies right then, and the Giant Growth is
countered.
---
Q: I have an
Unstable Shapeshifter in play, my opponent casts
Darigaaz the igniter. Who dies? Does anything?
A: Both of them
do. In the copy process, Unstable Shapeshifter gets
Darigaaz's name, and kills them both.
---
Q: Similarly, can
I change my Vesuvan Doppleganger to Darigaaz, and in
doing, do I kill the original?
-tanstaafl9
A: Yes.
---
Q: The other day
we were playing and Storm Cauldron and Price of
Glory were onto the table at the same time. Some one
tapped on someone else's turn. What should happen?
Should the land go back to the hand, or should it be
destroyed?
-Ryan L.
A: In a two
player game, the Price of Glory will go on the stack
first, then the Storm Cauldron. So the land will
return to its owner's hand, since the Storm Cauldron
ability resolves first.
In a multiplayer
game (remembering there are no official rules, and
this is just how I would rule), we'd place the
abilities on the stack in clockwise turn order,
starting with the active player. So whoever would
take his turn next has his effect lose.
Example: Player A
is the active player, with players B, C, D, and E
around the table in that turn order.
a) If Player B
had the Price of Glory and Player D had the Storm
Cauldron, the land would return to its owner's hand,
since Storm Cauldron's ability goes on the stack
last, and thus, resolves first.
b) If Player C
had the Storm Cauldron and Player D had the Price of
Glory, the land would be destroyed, since Price of
Glory's ability goes on the stack last, and thus,
resolves first.
---
Q: Question on
Equip abilities. If the card does not state 'Equip
only as a sorcery', does that mean it can be played
at instant speed?
-Brian
A: No. Equip, by
its definition, can only be played as a sorcery. So
even if it doesn't say it on the card, you can only
play the ability during one of your main phases.
See you next
time.
Bill Guerin
DCI Level 2 Judge |
|||
|
Copyright© 1998-2005 pojo.com
This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site. |
|||||
