Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 17:32:10 +0000 From: Paul Barclay Subject: [O] NetRep Reply 507 ======================================================================= NetRep Reply number 507 to the Magic: the Gathering List ======================================================================= This reply covers the digests: MTG-L Digest - 27 Dec 1999 to 28 Dec 1999 (#1999-11) MTG-L Digest - 28 Dec 1999 to 29 Dec 1999 (#1999-12) MTG-L Digest - 29 Dec 1999 to 30 Dec 1999 (#1999-13) MTG-L Digest - 30 Dec 1999 to 31 Dec 1999 (#2000-1) MTG-L Digest - 31 Dec 1999 to 1 Jan 2000 (#2000-2) MTG-L Digest - 1 Jan 2000 to 2 Jan 2000 (#2000-3) Older replies may be found at: http://www.second-hand.demon.co.uk ftp://ftp.magic.asuka.net http://yavapai.ccgnews.com http://www.en.magic.asuka.net http://www.thedojo.com/backpage-rulesregulations.shtml SHORT ANSWERS: ======================================================================= ** The wordings "search for a Forest" and "search for a Forest card" are functionally identical. ** It's quite possible to have a Band of one creature, as long as that creature has Banding. ** State-based effects are checked whenever a player would receive Priority (which happens at the start of a phase or step, and after putting something on the Stack or resolving something on the Stack). ** Skittering Skirge is sacrificed as a triggered ability which triggers on another creature spell being played by you. It leaves play well before the other creature comes into play (Skittering Skirge and Spined Fluke is not a good combination). ** First Strike applies in the same way to both attacking and blocking. LONG ANSWERS: ======================================================================= [Michael Kastberg, asking about Show and Tell] >Note Paul, that this contradicts what DeLaney says. To him it means, >that first the active player reveals the card he has choosen, and the >NAP picks-and-then-reveal his card. But he can make his choice based >on the information received by the AP. I don't believe that this is correct. But, I'll check to make sure. ----- [Peter Jahn, asking about Mana Short] >If I play Mana Short with a Storm Cauldron in play, do all my opponent's >lands return to his/her hand? I'm guessing not, given the ruling on Power >Sink (lands are tapped, but not "tapped for mana"), but I'm not sure. No, they don't return to your opponent's hand (if you had cast Drain Power, things would be different, and the lands would return to that player's hand). ----- [Brian Benedict, asking about Lethal Damage] >I had one question about the lethal damage thing. When assigning >trample damage, does damage already taken by a creature that turn affect >what would be considered lethal damage? Yes. You have to assign enough damage to give the creature lethal damage (taking into account any damage already there, of course), not assign damage equal to the creature's Toughness (although, in most cases, the two will be identical). ----- [Chris Whitcomb, asking about "is a Forest"] >I'm assuming that a Wood Elves can not retrieve a >Savannah because it states "...search your library for >a forest card...". No, the Elves can get a Savannah just fine. A "Forest card" is any card that is a Forest (which includes, of course, cards that say "~ is a Forest"). ----- [Julius Rodil, asking about Ivory Mask] >can ivory mask prevent duress , stupor or a sleeper agent being given to >you when it only says " target opponent". Yes. It makes you unable to be the target of spells and abilities, which covers all three of these cases. >if it can prevent sleeper agents ability what will happen to it It will stay in play on your side, as a 3/3 creature, which will cause you to lose 2 life at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. ----- [Mat Garrett, asking about Crumbling Sanctuary] >In an article Zvi Mowshowitz wrote on Suicide Brow, he stated that >Crunbling Sanctuary was the decks' "way around" Worship and Energy >Field. It works against Worship, but not Energy Field. Worship and Crumbing Sanctuary don't interact at all - the Sanctuary will replace the damage with loss of cards, and the Worship won't have anything to do. In the case of Energy Field, then both the Field and the Sanctuary will affect the damage, but since it's your opponent that's being affected, they will choose whether to use the Field or the Sanctuary to prevent the damage (and will choose the Field if they have any sense). >Would 2 Sanctuarys in play make the effect cumulative? No. They're replacement abilities, so once the event is replaced, it can't be replaced again. ----- [Andrezj Cwalina, asking about copy cards] >> In case people are wondering, we did think about having a Clone copy the >> current state of a card, but decided that this would become too >> confusing and difficult to keep track of. > >I don't see why? You have to track current state of every card to know >what happens to it in case of Crusade (is it white?), Terror (black or >artifact?) each Enchant Creature/Land (still creature/land?) ....... Sure, but you can do this by just looking at the cards in play (barring stuff like Giant Growth that doesn't last long). Very few Instants or Sorceries make permanent changes to cards, because it's really, really hard to keep track of what's going on. Having Clone work like this would be a bookkeeping nightmare. ----- [Bob Terrell, with some questions] >> ** We have an official DCI ruling on Home Improvement: While it is utter >> Pants, it's not the worst sitcom on TV. > >Okay, I dropped that one. Why can't you? Because I _did_ get an official answer from the DCI, which I am obliged to pass on. >Does that mean that it's merely finished the design stage, or that it's >sitting around the Wizards campsite in cases with shipping labels? It's finished the design and layout stages. All it needs is to be printed and shipped. But, this isn't going to happen anytime soon. >> >Also, Any word on furture sets after Nemisis? > >Is it going to have a story? Is there going to be a storybook in it? Is the >story going to be something other than "Rescue Weatherlight Crew"? Yes, and yes. ----- [Jeremy, asking about activated abilities again] >Last someone on Apprentice and played a card: "Skip your draw >phase. Pay 1 life and draw a card." What he did with this ability was what >didn't sit right with me: he paid about 18 life (down to 1!) and drew about 18 >cards all in one shot. Somehow it didn't seem legal, because I figured that if >you could pay multiple life and draw multiple cards, the card text would say >something like, "Pay X life and draw X cards." Was what he did legal? Um, you asked this exact question about a week ago (about Primeval Shambler, that time). Even though the Millennium Bug might cause all sorts of untold problems, it is not thought to be able to affect the rules of Magic. I suggest you look at NetRep Reply #505 to remind yourself of that question. For the benefit of everyone else, this is legal (well, you do announce each activation separately). ----- [Jonathan Scott, asking about Eradicate] >I cast Eradicate on an animated Island. In response, the other player >unsummons the island. Are all the islands in hand, library, or graveyard >removed from the game or not? No, they're not. The Eradicate is countered because its target is illegal when it tries to resolve. ----- [Jonathan Scott, asking about Banding] >I block a rancored serra avatar with a lone benalish hero. My opponent is >at 20 life. How much damage will I take? Anything from 0 to 21, depending on how much damage you _want_ to take. Banding lets you make the decisions for Trample damage. ----- [Chad Page, asking about Morphling] >I'm playing Sui-black and I'm at 8 life from a countered Hatred and I >have a tapped Dauthi Horror in play. My opponent is playing Draw-Go, is >at 2 life, and has a Morphling in play with about 10-12 untapped >islands. Can he attack with the Morphling, give it +5/-5 making it an >8/0, and kill me? No. It dies as soon as the third activation of its ability resolves, making it a 6/0 creature. ----- [Charles Bienvenue, asking about Worship] >My friend have a Worship in play with few white creature and he does a >Time bomb of 20 damage. The worship will do or no do his effect ? It will save him, as the creatures are still in play when the damage tries to reduce your life to less than 1. So, he'll survive at 1 life, and you'll die. ----- [Waverlyt, asking about Serra Avatars] >Could an eradicate permanently get rid of a serra avatar? Yes. >If I have four angelic chorus' in play and i play an avatar,and i'm at 20 >life, do i gain 20 life for the first chorus, 40 for the next one, 80 for >the next one, and 160 for the last one? Yes. Paul. - ------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Paul Barclay -- paul@second-hand.demon.co.uk -- Mobile: 0958-980180 - - DCI Level III judge -- http://www.second-hand.demon.co.uk/index.htm - - Official MTG-L Network Representative for Wizards of the Coast, Inc -