Category: Judge’s Corner

Welcome back to our regular series Judge’s Corner, where we answer your Magic: the Gathering rules questions.

Q: I suspect that my opponent is cheating. What should I do?

A: If you think he’s cheating, here is what you should do: 1) identify your feelings; 2) tell him about your feelings; 3) take note of his reaction; 4) try to obtain physical evidence; 5) ask for the respect of honesty; 6) set boundaries for your self-care.

Q: How does the Undying ability on Geralf’s Messenger work?

A: When Geralf’s Messenger dies, if it didn’t already have a +1/+1 counter on it, it returns to the battlefield under its owner’s control and gains a +1/+1 counter. Since Geralf’s Messenger is a zombie, we can assume that it has already died before the card was printed; therefore, it is already on the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter by the time you start the game. The “target opponent loses 2 life” effect won’t apply at this time, since none of the players in the current game were your opponent at the time that Geralf’s Messenger entered the battlefield. Since Dark Ascension was printed five years ago, it is safe to assume that Geralf’s Messenger is untapped by the time the game starts.

Q: I’ve occasionally seen cards that tell me to put “counters” on my cards. What should I use for counters?

A: This depends on the type of counter called for:

+1/+1 counters represent an increase in physical strength. We recommend pomegranate seeds, acorns, or nibs of dark chocolate.

-1/-1 counters are a symbol of weakness; lemon drops, periwinkle shells, or shards of glass are more appropriate.

Poison counters are best represented by dried flowers, a lock of hair, or a lie whispered into a lover’s ear.

Q: My friend targeted my Yavimaya Barbarian and my Raging Goblin with Dead Ringers. I didn’t think either creature would be destroyed but my friend insisted that they were. Are they right?

A: Yes, your friend is correct. As the controller of the Dead Ringers, your friend makes all choices associated with the spell, including which of the two targeted creatures is the “either one” referred to in the card text; since Raging Goblin is not a color that Yavimaya Barbarian isn’t, they both are destroyed.

Q: Can I challenge a judge’s ruling?

A: Yes! To challenge a judge’s ruling you must play a Magic subgame versus their “Judge Deck.” Beware: the higher the level of the judge, the more powerful the spells in their deck!

Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner.

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.

Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner.

Welcome back to our regular series Judge’s Corner, where we answer your Magic: the Gathering rules questions.

Q: Can players decide the outcome of a tournament match by playing another game, such as Hearthstone?

A: A match cannot be determined by a random method.

Q: I saw a Mox Ruby the other day, and the type line says “Mono Artifact.” What does that mean?

A: It means that Mox Ruby is restricted in Vintage.

Q: What does “Until end of turn” mean?

A: Turning a magic card is called “tapping.” So “until end of turn” lasts as long as it takes to turn a card 90 degrees.

Q: The Eldritch Moon card Providence says that I may reveal it from my “opening hand” to make my life total 26. What is my “opening hand”?

A: Pretend that you are unscrewing a pickle jar. One of your hands naturally holds the jar and the other turns the lid. The one turning the lid is your opening hand.

Q: If there are no cards in either player’s graveyard, and I want to kill my opponent’s Tarmogoyf with a Blaze, what should X be?

A: X should be silver, indicating that your Blaze is an uncommon card from Tenth Edition.

Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner.

Welcome back to our weekly series Judge’s Corner, where we answer your Magic: the Gathering rules questions.

Q: Can I regenerate Masticore after my opponent targets it with Pillage?

A: Yes. The effect “it can’t be regenerated” only applies when Pillage resolves; while Pillage is on the stack you can still pay (2) to activate Masticore’s ability and give it a regeneration shield.

Q: Does Unexpectedly Absent for 0 work?

A: Yes, but only if the library has no cards in it. When you’re counting off from the top of the library, you start at the first card, so there can only be a zeroth card to put the permanent under if the library is empty.

Q: I’ve read that if you have a Doubling Season in play and then play a Vivid Crag, the charge counters don’t get doubled. That seems very confusing to me. Can you explain why this is?

A: Doubling Season says, “if an effect would place one or more counters on a permanent you control, it places twice that many of those counters on that permanent instead.” But when you put your Vivid Crag into play it’s not an effect that places counters on the land; it’s you that places counters on the land.

Q: Relentless Rats is my favorite card. I’ve worked hard to collect a lot of them. Last week I brought my deck of Swamps and Relentless Rats to FNM only to have judge tell me that my deck wasn’t legal because Relentless Rats aren’t in Standard. But it says right there on the card that a deck can have any number of Relentless Rats! What gives?

A: In general the rules text of a permanent card (such as the sentence “a deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats” on Relentless Rats) only functions while that card is in on the battlefield. Thus your deck is legal as long as you have a Relentless Rats on the battlefield, but when you start the game you don’t have any Rats on the battlefield and your deck is not legal. The judge made the right call.

Q: I am at 1 life and my opponent is at 3 life. I tap my City of Brass to cast Lightning Bolt targeting my opponent. Do I die or does my opponent?

A: Dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.” Since you are players and not creatures, neither player dies.

Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner.

Welcome back to the Judge’s Corner. This week we have a special Ixalan edition of Judge’s Corner where we go over some important rules notes and reminders about the new set in preparation for the upcoming prerelease.

Q: When I deal damage to my opponent with Gishath, Sun’s Avatar, what I am supposed to reveal about many cards from the top of my library?

A: You’re supposed to reveal that many of them are Dinosaurs.

Q: Can you explain how explore works?

A: Explore is a sorcery that costs one generic mana and one green mana and allows you to play an additional land (sometimes two) that turn and draw a card. You may cast it during the main phase of your turn.

Q: I tried to play Torment of Venom on my opponent’s Carnage Tyrant, but he said that Carnage Tyrant’s ability stops that. Is he right?

A: Yes, your opponent is correct. Carnage Tyrant can’t be countered.

Q: Jace, Cunning Castaway has the type Legendary Planeswalker – Jace. What does this mean?

A: No, Jace has the type Planeswalker. Legendary is a supertype and Jace is a subtype.

Q: What is the difference between the new Treasure tokens and Gold tokens?

A: Treasure tokens are colorless artifact tokens with the ability, “T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.” Gold tokens are only produced by the card Sword of Dungeons and Dragons from the upcoming Unstable set.

Q: I control Admiral Beckett Brass and attack with Angrath’s Marauders. If my opponent doesn’t block, will I be able to gain control of one of his nonland permanents?

A: Yes. Note that the name “Angrath’s Marauders” is plural, as you can clearly see three different Pirates in the art. Plus, they deal double damage so that’s already like, six Pirates in all. So you can totally gain control of one of your opponent’s nonland permanents this way!

Q: My opponent claims he can Demolish my Hostage Taker, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. What gives?

A: Your opponent is right, he can Demolish your Hostage Taker. This is because Hostage Taker was unfortunately printed with a word omitted in its rules text: it has been errata’d to say “When Hostage Taker enters the battlefield, exile another target artifact or creature until Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield.” This means that Hostage Taker is an artifact.

Q: What does Tocatli Honor Guard’s ability do?

A: Tocatli Honor Guard is the newest of a category of cards we affectionately like to call “rules reminder cards.” Frequently newer or less enfranchised players think that their creatures do whatever they do immediately when they play them. Tocatli Honor Guard is there to remind them that just entering the battlefield isn’t necessarily going to cause their creatures’ abilities to trigger. The ability doesn’t actually do anything. Some examples of older rules reminder cards include Heartbeat of Spring, Kami of the Crescent Moon, Vernal Bloom, Cavalry Master, and Dauthi Slayer.

Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner.

Welcome back to the Judge’s Corner, where our extremely high-level Good Gamery judges answer your questions about the MTG rules.

Q: Can I use Cephalid Snitch to make Iridescent Angel lose protection from black?

A: “Protection from all colors” is just shorthand for having protection from each color individually. So you can make the Angel lose protection from black without affecting its protection from white, and so forth.

Q: How does Reflector Mage interact with morph creatures?

A: As a 2/3, it can block them and kill them in combat without dying itself.

Q: Can you explain exactly what happens next when a Goblin Test Pilot is activated?

A: When a Goblin Test Pilot is activated, the player who activated it then chooses whether they want to pass or retain priority.

Q: My opponent claims that she can cast Cabal Ritual with less than seven cards in her graveyard and still get the five mana, because “it’s a mana source, and nothing can stop mana sources.” Is that really how it works?

A: “Mana source” is no longer used as a card type, so that argument doesn’t hold. However, remember that ‘threshold’ is an ability word with no actual rules meaning, so the Ritual effectively reads “Add BBB to your mana pool. Instead, add BBBBB to your mana pool.”

Q: Can you explain what it means for a player to “have Book Burning”?

A: The meaning of private property, while indeed a very interesting question addressed by such prominent thinkers as Locke, Rousseau, and Marx, is beyond the scope of this Magic: the Gathering rules column.

Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner.

Welcome to our new semi-regular series Judge’s Corner, where we will answer your rules questions.

Q: I attacked my opponent with a dragon and he cast a Summary Dismissal and said my dragon was exiled because creatures are actually creature spells. Is that true?

A: Actually, everything that isn’t a land is a spell, so all creatures, enchantments, artifacts, planeswalkers, and even cards in your hand and graveyard are exiled. Lands stay around but since their mana abilities are countered they can no longer tap.

Q: I cast Savage Punch targeting my Hooting Mandrills and my opponent’s Dripping Dead. Does the Mandrills survive the fight?

A: This is something that confuses a lot of players: if you read Savage Punch closely, you’ll see that it gives the Mandrills +2/+2 “until end of turn before it fights”, i.e. until end of last turn. Thus the Mandrill is dealt four damage and dies.

Q: What does the ◊ symbol mean?

A: ◊ is the new colorless mana symbol. 1 is the old colorless mana symbol. For example, World Breaker’s ability reads “2 ◊, Sacrifice a land: Return World Breaker from your graveyard to your hand.” This indicates that you must pay 2 old colorless mana and 1 new colorless mana to use its ability. This is similar to how there is both old and new white mana.

Q: At the pre-release yesterday, my buddy opened a mythic rare card. It was something I had never seen before, in the text line under the art, instead of creature or sorcery or enchantment it said planeswalker. Can you explain what that is and how it works?

A: Mythic rare cards show up in boosters at a rate of 1 per 8 boosters. Your buddy only got 6 boosters in his pre-release box so if he claims he got a mythic rare card there, he’s cheating. You should contact the nearest judge as quickly as possible.

Q: I cast Infinite Obliteration against an opponent, who then calls a judge claiming I must choose a number for “any.” What gives?

A: This is correct; instances of “any,” “infinite,” et al. are considered to be arbitrarily large rational integers to avoid gameplay issues like gaining infinite life, etc. To avoid confusion, we are issuing errata to change the name of the card to Arbitrarily Large Obliteration, along with cards such as Pull from Eternity (now renamed as Pull from an Arbitrarily Long Stretch of Time) and Endless Horizons (which will now be named Arbitrarily Quantifiable Horizons).

Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner.