Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

A place to talk about standard, casual, limited and everything in between.
User avatar
Yaxley
Posts: 2389
Joined: 02 Nov 2008, 14:38
First Video: Lock Out
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Yaxley » 31 Mar 2013, 06:01

The second part of her ability MUST be used if there is a valid target. So in your situation, the Engine has to be killed and you get your wurm tokens.
User avatar
Lemegeton
Posts: 693
Joined: 22 Dec 2011, 05:59
First Video: one of the checpoints on penny arcade
Location: The Planes of insanity .

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Lemegeton » 02 Apr 2013, 06:53

Q. if i play an amulet of vigor and then play a shockland like overgrown tomb can i tap it for mana without the 2 life penalty?
Image
User avatar
Rootbreaker
Posts: 24
Joined: 19 Jan 2013, 16:39
First Video: Checkpoint 1

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Rootbreaker » 02 Apr 2013, 08:51

Yes, the only reason you'd pay two life for a shockland is if you didn't want it to enter the battlefield tapped.

Amulet of vigor only triggers if the land does enter the battlefield tapped, meaning you didn't pay life for it. Then it untaps the land and the land can be used for mana the turn you played it.
User avatar
Lemegeton
Posts: 693
Joined: 22 Dec 2011, 05:59
First Video: one of the checpoints on penny arcade
Location: The Planes of insanity .

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Lemegeton » 04 Apr 2013, 04:20

am i allowed to combo the kicker ability with flicker. e.g.

i have 4B and 1W mana open. i pay 2B and summon gatekeeper of malakir and kick him for another B and kill a dude. then use the 1W and cloudshit to blink him and then pay 1 more B to kick him again and destroy another dude.
Image
User avatar
Drecon
Posts: 1234
Joined: 11 Feb 2013, 09:45
First Video: Ransom
Location: John Malkovich

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Drecon » 04 Apr 2013, 04:34

Lemegeton wrote:am i allowed to combo the kicker ability with flicker. e.g.

i have 4B and 1W mana open. i pay 2B and summon gatekeeper of malakir and kick him for another B and kill a dude. then use the 1W and cloudshit to blink him and then pay 1 more B to kick him again and destroy another dude.


Nope. You can only pay Kicked when you actually cast the spell, if the creature enters the battlefield for any other reason (for example from a flicker) you do not get the option of paying extra costs for the spell, as you're not playing the spell.
"if it ain't shiny, rub it on your hiney"
User avatar
Lemegeton
Posts: 693
Joined: 22 Dec 2011, 05:59
First Video: one of the checpoints on penny arcade
Location: The Planes of insanity .

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Lemegeton » 04 Apr 2013, 04:39

shitballs. there goes that idea. prob still use the gatekeeper in my deck though. a 2/2 plus removal for 3B is very good IMO
Image
User avatar
Drecon
Posts: 1234
Joined: 11 Feb 2013, 09:45
First Video: Ransom
Location: John Malkovich

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Drecon » 04 Apr 2013, 05:26

Although if you really want to do something like that, there is always Fiend Hunter.

A fun trick you could do with it is to play the fiend hunter and put the ability to exile the other creature on the stack.
With the ability still on the stack, use Cloudshift. The leaves-play ability of the Fiend Hunter will now go on the stack.

Now the leaves-play ability will resolve first, but it can't return anything to play as you have not exiled anything yet.
After this the first ability from the Fiend Hunter resolves and you may exile the creature permanently.

There are lots of fun tricks with Cloudshift left. :)
"if it ain't shiny, rub it on your hiney"
User avatar
phlip
Posts: 1790
Joined: 24 Apr 2010, 17:48
First Video: Eternal Sonata (Unskippable)
Location: Australia

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby phlip » 04 Apr 2013, 05:32

I saw someone in ISD draft do that with 2 Fiend Hunters and 2 Saving Grasp - if they managed to draw all of them, they'd get to exile 6 different creatures, and only 2 of them potentially get-back-able. I think it might have been one of the LRRMtG drafts, I can't really remember.

The same trick works with most of the cards with this sort of effect (Oblivion Ring etc) but it's just easier to pull off with Fiend Hunter since there's more ways to interact with Creatures than other things.
While no one overhear you quickly tell me not cow cow.
but how about watch phone?

[he/him/his]
User avatar
Lemegeton
Posts: 693
Joined: 22 Dec 2011, 05:59
First Video: one of the checpoints on penny arcade
Location: The Planes of insanity .

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Lemegeton » 04 Apr 2013, 06:38

its a nice trick but for this deck not ideal. i need creatures to be destroyed to trigger blood artist and blade of the bloodchief.
ill remember that trick for another deck though
Image
User avatar
Dubious_wolf
Posts: 2761
Joined: 30 Nov 2009, 09:52
First Video: Mercenary Solutions 2
Location: My room eating YOUR cheese-its

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Dubious_wolf » 04 Apr 2013, 10:02

Borborygmos Enraged is on the board
During my turn I play a faithless looting, draw two cards, I have 2 lands in hand so I finish resolving faithless looting by discarding those two lands. Can those lands activate borborygmos enraged's ability?
^( " )^
winner!
Kapol
Posts: 6120
Joined: 25 Nov 2010, 03:31
First Video: Whisky Tango Foxtrot
Location: The ever-shifting landscape of the mind

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Kapol » 04 Apr 2013, 10:48

No. Borborygmos ability has discarding as a cost for the effect. If you're already discarding due to another effect, then you can't use that discard to fuel Borborygmos. Just like how you can't sacrifice one creature to activate multiple 'sacrifice a creature' abilities. As for trying to draw and then using the ability before discard, that doesn't work either. The full ability of looting has to resolve at once. Meaning that it all happens at the same time.
User avatar
Dubious_wolf
Posts: 2761
Joined: 30 Nov 2009, 09:52
First Video: Mercenary Solutions 2
Location: My room eating YOUR cheese-its

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Dubious_wolf » 04 Apr 2013, 10:56

Yeah I wasn't sure on Borbywrigleymosses wording
thank you!
^( " )^
winner!
Kapol
Posts: 6120
Joined: 25 Nov 2010, 03:31
First Video: Whisky Tango Foxtrot
Location: The ever-shifting landscape of the mind

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Kapol » 04 Apr 2013, 11:21

The easy way to tell when something is part of an activation cost is if it's placed before the : part of the wording. For Big Bo Bo, this is the Discard a Land Card. For Falkenrath Aristocrat, it's the Sacrifice a Creature. And for the guildmages, it's their abilities mana costs. Everything before the : is part of the cost for activation if I'm not mistaken.
User avatar
Rootbreaker
Posts: 24
Joined: 19 Jan 2013, 16:39
First Video: Checkpoint 1

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Rootbreaker » 04 Apr 2013, 13:18

Kapol wrote:Everything before the : is part of the cost for activation if I'm not mistaken.
Yes, that's right. All activated abilities are templated [cost]:[effect].
User avatar
RytelCSF
Posts: 644
Joined: 26 Jan 2009, 18:22
First Video: Son of a Bitch
Location: The Outskirts of Nowhere (Ohio)

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby RytelCSF » 04 Apr 2013, 13:35

I have an Experiment One with one +1/+1 counter on it, and a Strangleroot Geist with no +1/+1 counters on it. The Geist dies (and presumbly comes back with a +1/+1 counter on it via Undying).

As the Geist reenters the battlefield, is it a 2/1 (and thus Experiment One wouldn't evolve) or a 3/2 from the counter (and thus Experiment One would)?

I assume the latter, but I'm not 100% sure on the interaction.
Kapol
Posts: 6120
Joined: 25 Nov 2010, 03:31
First Video: Whisky Tango Foxtrot
Location: The ever-shifting landscape of the mind

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Kapol » 04 Apr 2013, 13:43

I'm confident it'd be considered a 3/2 when it comes back, triggering evolve on anything with less Power or Toughness.
User avatar
Lord Hosk
Posts: 6587
Joined: 07 Dec 2011, 08:30
First Video: Checkpoint: Into the breach
Location: Half and inch below the knuckle of the ring finger. MI

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Lord Hosk » 04 Apr 2013, 13:51

The strangleroot Geist is a 2/1 with a +1/+1 counter making it a 3/2, does evolve.

If a creature enters the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it, consider those counters when determining if evolve will trigger. For example, a 1/1 creature that enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it will cause the evolve ability of a 2/2 creature to trigger.
Beware Bering Crystal Bears, Bearing Crystals. (Especially if the crystals they are bearing are, themselves, Bering Crystal Bears.) -Old, Stupid Proverb

[–]Graham_LRR
You hear that Khoo? We're almost better than the comic!
SilPho
Posts: 1640
Joined: 26 Apr 2010, 09:46
First Video: Desert Bus 3
Location: Usually the UK

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby SilPho » 04 Apr 2013, 14:34

What has been said above is correct. Creatures that enter the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on them have the counters considered when determining their power and toughness at all times.

If the counters weren't considered then a whole bunch of creatures simply wouldn't work, all of the Modular arcbound creatures, for example, would die if the rules didn't work like this. The same is true for a whole host of other 0/0 creatures, not to mention this little fella.
User avatar
Lemegeton
Posts: 693
Joined: 22 Dec 2011, 05:59
First Video: one of the checpoints on penny arcade
Location: The Planes of insanity .

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Lemegeton » 04 Apr 2013, 16:06

me again , more vampire shenanigans are afoot. the latest conundrum is this.

i have a blood artist and a knighthawk out and the knighthawk is equipped with blade of the bloodchief. i play a skeletal vampire and create tokens. his last ability states i can sac a token to regen him.
my understanding is that regen just activates a regen shield on the creature and it does not matter if hes in combat , i can still give him regen.

so essentially when skeletal comes in can i create and then sac the tokens for regen which will then pump the knighthawk. and then even possibly cloudshift skeletal and create and sac another 2 tokens. so i can give the knighthawk +8+8 so i now have a 10/11 flying lifelink monster
Image
User avatar
phlip
Posts: 1790
Joined: 24 Apr 2010, 17:48
First Video: Eternal Sonata (Unskippable)
Location: Australia

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby phlip » 04 Apr 2013, 16:11

Everything you've said is correct. You can activate a "Regenerate" ability whenever you want - not just when the creature is about to die. If you want to activate it just as an outlet to pay the cost (of sacrificing a Bat, in this case), then you can. If the creature still has a regeneration shield at the end of the turn, it just goes away.
While no one overhear you quickly tell me not cow cow.
but how about watch phone?

[he/him/his]
Kapol
Posts: 6120
Joined: 25 Nov 2010, 03:31
First Video: Whisky Tango Foxtrot
Location: The ever-shifting landscape of the mind

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Kapol » 04 Apr 2013, 16:14

Yes, you can sac them for two regen shields. The shields don't have to be used, so they'll just stay on him until the end of turn, and Blood Artist and Blade will both trigger.
User avatar
Lemegeton
Posts: 693
Joined: 22 Dec 2011, 05:59
First Video: one of the checpoints on penny arcade
Location: The Planes of insanity .

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Lemegeton » 04 Apr 2013, 16:29

ok thats awesome. i just need to worry about protecting the knighthawk from removal then. i am assuming the knighthawk will still get the +2+2 triggers from the blade if i have say a lightning greaves on him to give him shroud . obviously the blade will be already equipped when i play lightning greaves
Image
Ninety-Three
Posts: 39
Joined: 26 Mar 2012, 07:30
First Video: Unskippable: Lost Planet

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby Ninety-Three » 08 Apr 2013, 20:14

If the newly spoiled card Master of Cruelties (http://tinyurl.com/cwoc6s5) is put into play tapped and attacking (say, by Kaalia), will its "Put you to 1" ability trigger? I understand that it's allowed to attack, but I was thinking that the ability wouldn't trigger for the same reasons that putting a Hero of Bladehold in tapped and attacking will not generate tokens.
User Control Panel -> Board preferences -> Edit display options -> Display Signatures: No
SilPho
Posts: 1640
Joined: 26 Apr 2010, 09:46
First Video: Desert Bus 3
Location: Usually the UK

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby SilPho » 08 Apr 2013, 21:56

Short Answer: The ability will not trigger.
Long Answer: Abilities that are phrased such as "When this attacks..." only trigger when the creature is declared as an attacker at the beginning of the declare attackers step, nothing else will trigger it.

The Comprehensive Rules wrote:508.2a Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker. They will not trigger if a creature attacks and then that creature’s characteristics change to match the ability’s trigger condition.
Example: A permanent has the ability “Whenever a green creature attacks, destroy that creature at end of combat.” If a blue creature attacks and is later turned green, the ability will not trigger.
User avatar
phlip
Posts: 1790
Joined: 24 Apr 2010, 17:48
First Video: Eternal Sonata (Unskippable)
Location: Australia

Re: Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

Postby phlip » 08 Apr 2013, 22:23

It's "Whenever ~ attacks a player and isn't blocked", though... which means it's triggering during the Declare Blockers step, not Declare Attackers. I could conceivably see reading it in two ways... either it triggers when it attacks, setting up a delayed trigger for if it goes unblocked, which then does the life-loss things (in which case, if it's put onto the battlefield attacking, it won't trigger)... or if it just triggers off being unblocked, and "attacking a player" is just a condition, as opposed to attacking a planeswalker (in which case, if it's put onto the battlefield attacking, it still will trigger if it isn't blocked).

Either of those could be worded more clearly, though... "Whenever ~ attacks a player, when it isn't blocked, do stuff" or "Whenever ~ isn't blocked, if it's attacking a player, do stuff". Or they could have avoided the whole thing (and changed some of the interactions to be a bit more intuitive) with "If ~ would deal combat damage to a player, instead do stuff". But the card doesn't say any of those... it has this relatively ambiguous text instead.

I think I want to wait until the official DGM FAQ comes out for this one...

[edit] Rules Manager Matt Tabak says it just triggers off the creature being unblocked... it's not an "attacks" trigger, and it works fine with Kaalia.
While no one overhear you quickly tell me not cow cow.
but how about watch phone?

[he/him/his]

Return to “Magic: The Gathering”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests