Judge’s Corner #7
Welcome back to our regular series Judge’s Corner, where we answer your Magic: the Gathering rules questions.
Q: I cast Mind Rot on my opponent, but they have no cards in hand. What happens?
A: This is covered by Rule 609.3: “If an effect attempts to do something impossible, it does as much as possible.” For your opponent to be able to discard two cards, they must have two cards in hand, so they must first draw two cards, then discard them. If your opponent has fewer than two cards left in their library, they lose the game (see Rule 104.3c).
Q: I was about to attack my opponent for 300 damage, but then rather than allow me to attack he just conceded. This is no fun! What can I do about it?
A: This is an issue that Wizards is aware of and is working to resolve. In the meantime, we have issued an emergency ruling that allows you transfer over the 300 damage you would’ve done to the next game.
Q: I was mana weaving my deck before a match (I always also riffle shuffle it three times, the mana weaving just makes me feel luckier) and my opponent called me a cheater. What should I do when this happens?
A: Call a judge immediately. Players are not allowed to insult their opponents by calling them names: this is an example of Unsporting Conduct – Major.
Q: My opponent has a Dark Confidant on the battlefield. During his upkeep, he reveals an extra card, but forgets to mark his life total down. After I point it out to him during the following turn, he claims it’s too late because it’s a “missed trigger.” My question is: what the heck is that?
A: Missed triggers happen when one or more players forget to precede their game actions with what we call “trigger warnings.” It is the responsibility of each player to maintain the game state, so if you realize a game action will cause a trigger, warn your opponents so that they can choose to stop reading their card before the trigger occurs.
Q: In a multiplayer game, an opponent and I both activate Mindslaver targeting a third player. Who controls that player’s next turn?
A: You both do. Please refer to the Two-Headed Giant rules.
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