Date: Tue, 2 May 2000 22:28:49 +0100 From: Paul Barclay Subject: [O] NetRep Reply 538 ======================================================================= NetRep Reply number 538 to the Magic: the Gathering List ======================================================================= This reply covers the digests: Well, none, really. Just bits of a big one. 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.wizards.com/dci/judge/judgelistarchive.asp LONG ANSWERS: ======================================================================= [Daniel Dunphy, asking several questions] >1. At a small tournament recently, there was a top 8 match up between Black >Smack and Accelerated Blue. In the first game, the B.S. player dropped turn >1 Lurking Evil, payed ten life on turn two, added a Twisted Experiment and >served for seven flying. His opponent dropped land number two and cast >Powder Keg. Now, when the B.S. player attacked again, the A.B. player tapped >and sacced his Keg. He claimed that the /enchantment/ had a casting cost of >three, but the creature had a zero casting cost so the Lurking Evil would >die. Was he as off base as the rest of us thought? He was wrong. Nothing can change a converted mana cost. >2. Same A.B. player has claimed that because man lands are /played/ but not >/cast/ they have no casting cost rather than zero casting cost and can not >be destroyed by a zero counter Keg (note that this rule would not be >consistent with his claim for Lurking Evil vs. Powder Keg). Is he wrong on >this one as well? Yes. Lands have a Mana Cost of 0 and a Converted Mana Cost of 0. >3. A better player wielding Replenish cast Parallax Tide with an Attunement >already in play. He removes three of my land and lets me play. I don't do >much. (Surprise) During his upkeep he stacks 'Remove one counter from >Parallax Tide' and then activates Attunement, placing its effect on top of >Parallax Tide's upkeep effect. He draws a Replenish as part of the >Attunement's resolution and chucks some good enchantments. Now, before >letting his Tide upkeep resolve, he removes two more land from the game (one >of mine and one of his own) so that Tide has zero counters. He can't remove >a counter when that ability finally resolves so (oh, darn) he has to put in >the graveyard so Relenish brings it back out with five new counters. Is that >perfectly legitimate? Yes. That's legal, and is at about a "5" on the 1-10 scale of rules tricks that you can do with a Replenish deck. >4. Are all permanants reset to their initial state when they return to play >from the Parallax Place? For example, do Albino Trolls come into play >untapped, summononing sick, and requiring an echo payment on the controlling >player's next upkeep? That's correct. And a Faerie Conclave will come back into play tapped. >5. Does the old Replenish trick of Angelic Chorus + Opalescence + >Opalescence + Opposition in the graveyard cause you to gain 17 life when you >Replenish? If so, why does that work? Yes. See above for an explanation. >6. Can Parallax Wave remove itself if it's a creature? Yes, it can, but it won't _ever_ come back. There are times when this can be useful to do. >If I giant growth a hill giant then sorceress queen the hill giant the >hill giant is a 0/2 >If I then humble the hill giant the hill giant is not a 0/1 but a 0/2. No, the Giant will be a 0/1. >"(Humble) Will not remove card text which defines characteristics of the >card which are not normally done in the text, such as "This card is a >Wall" or "This card is red.". These things are descriptive text and not >abilities." > >and sorceress queens ability reads: >{Tap}: Target creature other than ~this~ is 0/2 until end of turn. This isn't "card text that defines characteristics of *the card*". It's an ability of the Sorceress Queen. The ability can be removed by Humble. If the ability has been played on another creature, and the other creature is Humbled, then this will not stop the Queen's effect, but it will mean that the Humble's "is 0/1" is applied on top of the Queen's "is 0/2", so the creature is 0/1. ----- [Bob Terrell with about half a billion questions] >Q: If a creature has protection from a color, what does that mean? >A: All Damage that would be dealt to that creature by sources of that color is >prevented. That creature can not be enchanted by Enchantments of that color. >That creature can't be Blocked by creatures of that color. That creature can't >be the Target of spells or abilities of that color. DEBT Correct. (Note that we're currently discussing a minor alteration to Protection to make it work more like people expect it to, so this question might not be a good one) >Q: In play are a Spiritual Focus under your control and a Scandalmonger under >your opponent's control. (Insert card texts here.) If you activate the >Scandalmonger's ability, will the Spiritual Focus trigger? >A: No. If you activate the ability, you are the controller of that _ability_, >regardless of who controls the permanent that created it. Beacuse the >Spiritual focus only triggers upon a spell or effect an opponent controls, it >will not trigger if you activate the Scandalmonger's ability. Correct. >Q: A Deadly Insect is in play under your control. You opponent plays a Charmed >Griffin. (card texts) If you have an enchantment in your hand, can you put it >on the Deadly Insect? >A: Yes. The enchantment is going from your hand directly into play. It is not >a spell because you didn't cast (play) it. It's not an ability of a card >already in play. Thus, It's legal to put it on a Deadly Insect. Correct. >Q: You animate a Faerie Conclave. Your opponent casts Massacre. If you cast an >Animate Land in response, does the Conclave live or die? >A: Live. The initial characteristics defined on Animate Land change the >Conclave from a 2/1 to a 3/3. The Massacre resolves, and the Conclave then >becomes a 1/1. Correct. >Q: Your opponent has a Ruby Medallion and a Memory Crystal in play. Your >opponent then casts a Searing Touch and pays the buyback. >a) How much does your opponent pay for the Searing Touch? >b) If you counter it with a Spell Blast, how much do you have to pay for the >Spell Blast? >A: >a) Your opponent will pay 1R. The Searing Touch costs R to play. Add 4 for the >buyback. Subtract 2 for the Memory Crystal. Subtract another 1 for the Ruby >Medallion. The Medallion reduces the total play cost of the spell, not just >the spell's converted mana cost. The total comes to 1R. >b) The Spell blast will cost 1U. Spell Blast looks only at the converted mana >cost of the spell, which is printed at the top of the card. The spell costs R. >Convert that to 1, and you pay 1 for the Spell Blast's X. Correct. >Q: You have an Academy Rector in play. Your opponent Dominates it. The Rector >then goes to the graveyard while under your opponent's control. >a) How chooses whether or not to play the Rector's ability: you or your >opponent? >b) When is the choice to remove the Rector from the game made? When the >ability triggers or when it resolves? >c) Can someone respond to the rector's ability by removing it from the game >with a Rapid Decay and by doing so prevent the player from searching for an >enchantment? >A: >a) The card text for Academy Rector says "you". Therefore the Rector's >controller has the option of removing it from the game. If your opponent >controls the Rector, even if you own it, he has the option of removing it from >the game. >b) The choice is made when the ability resolves. >c) Yes. Because the choice of whether or not to remove the Rector from the >game is made when the ability resolves, there is a chance for any player to >respond to the ability by removing it from the game. Note that a player must >respond to the ability _before_ the know whether or not the Rector is going to >be removed from the game anyway. If the Rector leaves the graveyard due to >some other effect before the ability resolves, it will not be there to remove, >and that player will not be able to remove it to search for a card. Correct. >(This used to be a different answer, but rule 410.5 has been eliminated by the >rules team.) Incorrect. This has always been true - Academy Rector never fell under rule 410.5, as it is a "may X, If you do..." type ability. You couldn't get the enchantment without actually removing the Rector from the game. >Q: You have no cards in your hand. >a) If an ability require you to "discard a card" as part of its activation >cost, can you play that ability? >b) If an ability require you to "discard your hand" as part of its activation >cost, can you play that ability? >A: >a) No. To discard a card you must have a card in your hand to discard. >b) Yes. If you have 0 cards in your hand, you may discard your hand of 0 cards. Correct. >Q: You attack with a black 7/7 Trample creature. Your opponent blocks with >four creatures: one is 2/2 and has protection from black, one is 3/3 and is >enchanted with Gaseous Form, and the other two are "normal" 2/2 creatures. How >much damage, if any, may you assign to the defending player? >A: You may assign up to 1 damage to the defending player. You must assign >lethal damage to each creature before assigning damage to the player, except >for creatures that neither deal nor receive combat damage. Therefore, you may >assign 2 damage to each 2/2 creature and 1 to the player. The creature with >Protection from Black will prevent that damage and live, but you must first >assign combat damage to it. The 3/3 creature cannot receive combat damage >because of the Gaseous Form, so you do not have to assign damage to it before >assigning damage to the defending player. Of course, you _could_ do it >differently. You could assign all 7 damage to any one creature or divide it >between the creatures any way you want. You could even assign damage to the >creature enchanted by Gaseous Form, but it would be prevented. If you do >assign damage any other way, you can't assign damage to the player. Wrong. Gaseous Form reads "Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by enchanted creature". >Q: Under your control are a Thermal Glider and a Kyren Negotiations. Can you >tap the Thermal Glider to activate the Kyren Negotiations? >A: Yes. The Protection from red on the thermal Glider is not relevant. It's >being tapped to pay a cost. It's not being targeted, it's not being blocked, >it's not being dealt damage, and it's not being enchanted. Correct. >Q: I have in play a Contamination, a creature, and an Umbilicus. It is the >beginning of my upkeep. I want to not pay the cost of Contamintion and instead >return it to my hand using Umbilicus. Is this play legal? Why or why not? >A: Yes, it's legal. I put the trigger of the Contamination on the stack first. >I then add the ability of the Umbilicus. When that resolves, I may use it to >return the Contamination to my hand. To illustrate: >Beginning of upkeep >Put Contamination on the stack. Choose not to sacrifice a creature. >Put Umbilicus on the stack. >Umbilicus Resolves. Return the Contamination to your hand. >The Contamination ability resolves. If were still in play, it would be >sacrificed now. But it's not, so it isn't. Correct, although you don't choose to sacrifice a creature or not until Contamination's ability resolves. Paul. - -------------------------------------------------NEW-PHONE-NUMBER-- - - Paul Barclay -- paul@second-hand.demon.co.uk -- Phone: 07939 081819 - - DCI Level 3 judge ---- http://www.second-hand.demon.co.uk/index.htm - - Official MTG-L Network Representative for Wizards of the Coast, Inc -