Good Gamery

Tag: fmm

  • Judge’s Corner #9

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

    Q: How does Asylum Visitor interact with Balance?

    A: If Asylum Visitor is in play, it counts as a creature. If it’s in your hand, it counts as a card. It generally does not count as a land.

    Q: Last week at FNM, my opponent got mad at me over a rough beat and called me a “buttlord” before scooping. After laughing with my friends about it, one of them said I should have called a judge even though the game was over. What would have happened in this case?

    A: In this particular case, since your opponent conceded, we would simply issue a warning for Unsportsmanlike Conduct. However, if the match were still active, we would have issued a Game Loss to your opponent and given you an emblem with “All Butts you control get +1/+1 and have Swampwalk” to begin the next game with.

    Q: What happens when I have an Illicit Auction for a Platinum Angel?

    A: Wizards of the Coast, including the DCI, has a policy of not interfering in secondary markets. However, we condemn in the strongest terms any Magic trading behavior that violates laws of the relevant countries and territories.

    Q: How many energy counters is that on Gonti’s Aether Heart?

    A: Since it can be hard to quickly count a bunch of energy counter symbols in a row, we have added reminder text to let you know how many there are. Gonti’s Aether Heart produces two energy counters.

    Q: I tap Rosheen Meanderer and four Mountains for mana. Then I activate Doubling Cube. Then I use all my floating mana to activate Ice Cauldron, exiling Fanning the Flames. I pass turn and my opponent casts Conversion and then Flashfires, destroying all my Mountains. On my turn, I tap Rosheen and my Ice Cauldron for mana and I cast Fanning the Flames with buyback for the maximum amount. My question is, solve for X.

    A: Sorry, Mr. Bergstrom. You tricked us into doing our math homework once this way. You won’t fool us again.

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

  • In which order should you read the lines of Guild Feud’s rules text?

    In which order should you read the lines of Guild Feud’s rules text?

    gf-full

    Even hardcore fans of Guild Feud know that jumping into the Feud can be intimidating for newcomers. With its richly rendered world and deep mythos, Guild Feud continues to attract new readers years after its initial release; but its style, which has been called “overwrought,” “needlessly convoluted,” and “like a bad Great Designer Search card,” means that many of these readers give up halfway through.

    Here’s how to power through the Feud like a pro—it’s the order I wish I read the lines of Guild Feud‘s rules text in.

    sec-1

    1. “At the beginning of your upkeep, target”

    There’s no getting around it: Guild Feud is an enchantment with an upkeep trigger. While it flouts a lot of the clichés of an upkeep trigger enchantment, it’s still important that you start at the beginning so that you’re introduced to this context and can fully appreciate the Feud’s sly innovations.

    sec-2

    8. “this way, those creature fight each other.”

    Woah, skipping to the end right away? The truth is, Guild Feud saves some of its absolute best action for the very end, and that means that many who attempt to read it in the traditional order never end up experiencing this awesome line. Spoil yourself! Plus, after reading this line you’ll no doubt be wondering, “How the hell did we end up here?”

    sec-3

    4. “among them onto the battlefield, then puts”

    5. “the rest into his or her graveyard. You do the”

    6. “same with the top three cards of your library.”

    Lines four through six form the narrative core of Guild Feud: they are what most people think of when they think of “Guild Feud.” It makes sense to read these three lines (which many consider as constituting a “mini trilogy” in their own right) in consecutive order.

    sec-4

    2. “opponent reveals the top three cards of his”

    3. “or her library, may put a creature card from”

    Lines two and three provide interesting backstory for the main narrative which unfolds in lines four through six, but they can be slow going unless you’re already committed to the Feud.

    sec-5

    7. “If two creatures are put onto the battlefield”

    As mentioned, the final act of Guild Feud features some of its most heart-pounding action. Unfortunately, the buildup to this final action is by any account uninspired. Save the seventh line for last: it’s only requisite reading for completionists.

  • Exclusive Spoiler: Dominaria Masterpiece Series

    We at Good Gamery have received an exclusive sneak peek at what Magic fans can cross their fingers and hope to open once Dominaria releases in 2018. We’re excited to see how this new set will go back to Magic’s roots. Click below to reveal all fifteen Masterpieces from the set. Enjoy!


  • Odric, Flippy Flappy Tactician

    Boy, Odric, Lunarch Marshal sure can grant a lot of abilities! Here’s a look at the original design. We shaved a number of keywords after development raised concerns about “rules confusion”, “tournament time limits”, “shuffling nightmares”, and “how on earth would you even print this”. Take a look for yourself if you want to really flip out!