This thread is essentially a recompilation of the existing thread which has all the FAQs in it. I spoke to Craven about this, and he was agreeable to start a new thread which would have this as an "index" page, with links directly to each one of the mini-FAQs that this thread would contain. That way, any forum user would be able to see which topics have been covered and jump directly to the appropriate mini-FAQ. As always, if there are any questions regarding what you read in this thread, please post them to the forum (preferably not directly to this thread either, as it really is only meant to include the mini-FAQs and nothing more).
With that in mind, the idea of this thread is to cover many of the frequently asked questions that occur in the forum. Many of these topics have been covered before, either in detail or in part. Essentially, these are very direct answers that don't require a lot of explanation; so, they are easy enough to cover without going into too much detail. As more questions occur in the forums, more mini-FAQs will be added to this thread. If you think something should be covered in a mini-FAQ and hasn't been covered, then please make a post to the forum directly (again, not to this thread) and someone should be able to write one up. If you want to add a mini-FAQ yourself, then you will want to contact Craven so that he can add it to this thread (or even me, as I can at least review your suggested addition and give it a thumbs up for you to directly post it to the thread). Plus, if you aren't a Rules Guru, then you should probably have it looked over before it gets added (that way any mistakes are caught before the post is published in this thread).
Without further ado, let's go over some of the basics, shall we? Rules for Newer Players
If this is your first time playing Magic the Gathering, or if you've been playing for a bit and want to just read over the rules to get a better familiarity with them, you can clicking on the following link:
If you're a bit more experienced with the game and are interested in tournament play, then the next section may be closer to what you are looking for. Rules for Tournament Players
A lot of the questions regarding DCI Policies and Procedures, as well as the Comprehensive Rules can be answered by looking at any one of the documents located at this website:
Documents like the Universal Tournament Rules, Magic Floor Rules, DCI Penalty Guidelines and Comprehensive Rules are located here. If you have questions on policies and procedures, this should be your starting point (and yes, all players are responsible for having read these documents). Oracle Text for Cards
Occassionally you will hear the term "Oracle Text" mentioned on this forum. This refers to the most current and official wording of a card under the rules of the game. You can use Gatherer (a Wizards of the Coast web-based search engine) to look up the current Oracle Text by clicking on the following link:
This Oracle Text replaces the actual written text of the card for use in all sanctioned events. Why would they change the wording of a card you ask? Primarily due to changes in the rules that occur every time a new set is released, as well as issues with functionality after the card has been printed. Newer printings of cards have the most updated wordings, but even those can possibly have changed some since printing.
The other thing that Gatherer has in it is the entries from the FAQs or other rulings associated with the card. Mostly these are already covered in the actual Comprehensive Rules, but in the case of certain more complicated cards, they have an explanation of the pertinent rules to go along with the card. Cranial Insertion
Older articles of Cranial Insertion (the weekly article put together by Binary, Dr. Tom, and Woapalanne, our resident Rules Gurus and altogether helpful Q&A people) can be found by clicking here. Reading some of the older articles can help out with many different questions, and can probably increase your understanding of the rules significantly. Plus reading Cranial Insertion cures the common cold! Okay, maybe not that... But, here are some of the articles that have covered questions that are often asked in the forum:
There's many, many, many more topics that have been covered by Cranial Insertion, all of these can be read for the low, low price of absolutely nothing! So, review any of these articles quick, to see if your question has already been asked! Mini-FAQs
The following mini-FAQs have also been added to this thread, each covering a different topic. You can jump directly to the appropriate FAQ just be clicking on the appropriate heading!
Split cards are fun. Split cards offer you two spells on one card.
Split cards are confusing. What color is Wax // Wane? What's the converted mana cost of Assault // Battery? Answers to these questions and more lie ahead, so read on!
First...
Q: How the crap do I card-tag a split card on these forums?
A: Wrap the name of the card in card tags.
...
...
Oh -- you mean the actual name of the card. Right; you need to type the first half of the name, then a space, two slashes, and another space, then the second half. For example, card-tagging "Fire // Ice" results in the proper tag Fire // Ice.
In general, questions about split cards can be broken into two categories: "Yes/no" questions, like "Is this card red?" and "Does this card have a converted mana cost of 3?"; and "Give me a characteristic" questions, like "What color is this card?" and "What is this card's converted mana cost?" Each of these question types are handled separately.
On the stack, a split card is always, always considered to be only the half that was played. Fire // Ice on the stack is either Fire or Ice, not both. If I play Fire, it's only red. If I play Ice, it's only blue. Plain and simple. Everywhere else, the card is both halves.
When the split card isn't on the stack, Yes/No questions are handled as follows: If either half of the card answers yes, then the answer is yes; otherwise, the answer is no. Let's look at some examples:
Q: Is Fire // Ice red while in my hand?
A: Fire says yes, Ice says no. Since one half said yes, the answer is yes.
Q: Is Fire // Ice nonred while in my hand?
A: Being nonred is not a characteristic. The characteristics of an object, as defined by the comprehensive rules are name, mana cost, color, type, subtype, supertype, expansion symbol, rules text, abilities, power, and toughness. Check the glossary entry for Characteristic. Asking whether Fire // Ice is nonred is actually asking whether it's red and negating the answer, so since Fire is red and says "yes", the answer to Fire // Ice being nonred is no.
Q: Is the converted mana cost of Life // Death 1?
A: Life says yes, Death says no. Answer is yes.
Q: Is the converted mana cost of Life // Death 2?
A: Life says no, Death says yes. Answer is yes.
Q: How about 3?
A: Life says no, Death says no. Answer is no.
A: Well, the Drift asks a question, so we need to ask the same question. That question is: "Does Stand // Deliver have a converted mana cost of 3?" Following the rules for yes/no questions, we get: Stand says no, Deliver says yes, so the answer is yes.
Q: Can I imprint Night // Day on an Isochron Scepter?
A: That's a little tricky, but nothing we can't handle here. Isochron Scepter asks questions; we simply need to ask the same questions. Those questions are thus: "Is Night // Day an instant card?" Night: yes, Day: yes, final answer is yes; and "Does Night // Day have converted mana cost 2 or less?" Night: yes, Day: no, Answer: yes. Since (while answering yes/no questions) we see that Night // Day is an instant and has converted mana cost 2 or less, we can imprint it on the Scepter.
More interestingly, after you imprint Night // Day on an Isochron Scepter, you can still play Day off of the Scepter. Scepter says to "play the copy", and part of playing a split card is choosing which half to play.
The other category of questions -- the "What is characteristic X of this card?" category -- is a little simpler to answer. Split cards give two answers to these types of questions. Let's look at some examples to see what I mean.
Q: What is the converted mana cost of Stand // Deliver?
A: Stand says 1, Deliver says 3. Answer: "1 and 3." The answer is not 1, the answer is not 3, the answer is not 4. The answer is literally "1 and 3."
Q: How much life do I lose when I reveal Stand // Deliver with Dark Confidant's trigger?
A: 1 and 3, or 4. Note that I didn't just say 4, because that's not the converted mana cost of the card. The converted mana cost is "1 and 3", so you need to lose "1 and 3" life. Which is 4.
How to determine a creature's power and toughness Submitted by epeeguy
Cranial Insertion has already covered the concept of determining what an object's characteristics are in this article. However, with the printing of cards like Windreaver and Omnibian, it seems that there is always a host of questions on this (as well as confusion on this). Rather than cover rule 418.5a in detail, I'm going to talk about what happens in layer 6; where you determine power and toughness.
Determining power and toughness is broken down into 5 different sublayers, each of which is applied in order before you actually determine what a creature's power and toughness are. So, you have to be able to figure out where a specific effect falls in the sublayers and apply it appropriately. In order to help you out, I'm also going to provide some examples to illustrate how you do this. So, let's talk about the sublayers:
(1) Effects from Characteristic-Setting Abilities: Without going into too much detail, a characteristic-setting ability is basically an ability that says "~This *has* something", "~This thing's color *is* something", or "~This thing's characteristic(s) *are* something" (this is all covered in more detail in 405.2). If you have something which has such an ability, this is the sublayer you apply it in. The classic examples of this are Nightmare and Serra Avatar. Be careful though, some things get bonuses to power and toughness to power and toughness for other things being in play (like Pride of the Clouds); that is not a characteristic-setting ability, it's a static ability that modifies power and toughness and that applies in (4).
(2) Effects that don't fall into (3), (4) and (5): This has its own section below. This is probably the hardest sublayer because it covers a lot of ground, more than you may expect.
(3) Changes from counters: So, if you have multiple +1/+1 counters (the most common), or any other counters that affect power and toughness, you apply them at this point.
(4) Effects from static abilities that modify power and toughness, but don't set it: This layer governs any effect from a static ability that either adds to or subtracts from power and toughness. The most common mistake is to include things like Giant Growth in this layer; that is any spell or activated or triggered ability ability which modifies power and toughness. This is not true, as those are not static abilities; so, they can't apply in this layer. They actually apply in layer (2). What we're talking about here are things like Night of Soul's Betrayal, Crusade, or Coat of Arms. So, it's not just any old power and toughness modifier.
(5) Effects that switch power and toughness: This is another tricky sublayer, as people get confused and think that if you have something that modifies power (or toughness) that gets played after you've already switched power and toughness, that it modifies it still modifies power (or toughness). So, if you switch a Windreaver's power and toughness and then increase its toughness, you may think it's the toughness that gets enhanced again. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case (this changed on Sept. 1, 2005); you actually apply the toughness increase in the appropriate sublayer, likely (2) or (4), and then you switch the power and toughness around. So, this increase will end up modifying power, not toughness. The easiest way to remember this is just to figure out power and toughness from everything, then see whether or not you switch power and toughness. If you did switch the two, then you swap the two values for power and toughness that you just determined. But not before you have applied everything else. See also 418.5i.
So, the basic equation to figuring out power and toughness is something like:
Power and toughness before switch = (1) + (2) + (3) + (4)
Did you switch power and toughness (5)? If so, then switch the two values (power becomes toughness, toughness becomes power).
So, no matter what you do, you put the appropriation power and toughness effect in the appropriate layer and then switch the two values. You don't constantly "reapply" effects, they only apply once each.
Sublayer 2
Now, remember sublayer (2)? Well, the reason this is covered last is because sublayer (2) has anything in it that didn't apply in (3), (4), and (5). And when I say anything, I mean anything. Everything from Humility, Giant Growth, and Darkblast applies in this layer. Likewise, abilities from cards like Genju of the Cedars and Treetop Village also apply in this layer, same with Windreaver's toughness boosting effect. A whole melting pot as it were. So, you need to be really careful here.
The basic rule of thumb is to apply things in this sublayer in time stamp order. This rule can potentially apply to all the sublayers, but it is probably most pertinent to (2) and (5). In (5), you just want to account for if power and toughness were switch multiple times. Basically, whatever spell or ability resolved last will have a chance to apply. And sometimes, it can overwrite earlier effects as a result. Frequently, you see this with stuff like Humility, or an interaction between a Genju of the Cedars and Darkblast.
In Humility's case, making creatures into 1/1s can matter if something like Mutilate was played before or after the Humility. Humility played first means that Mutilate will kill a lot of stuff (since everything was a 1/1 and then got -X/-X). However, in the opposite order, Mutilate would kill off stuff, then Humility would make everything 1/1 regardless. Why? Because Humility sets everything to a 1/1, and doesn't consider the -X/-X of Mutilate. I know, it's confusing, so if you have questions on "Why", post them to the forum. But, it's time stamp order for these effects that determines what the final power and toughness is.
In the Genju of the Cedars/Darkblast situation, it's very similar. Activating the Genju makes the enchanted land a 4/4. Darkblast would give it -1/-1, making the land a 3/3. If you activate the Genju again, then this effect will "overwrite" the Darkblast's effect. The enchanted land will now be a 4/4. Again, I realize it's confusing, but if you need clarification please post it to the forum. But, if you remember time stamp order here, then it should be a bit more straight forward to figure out.
Anyhow, hopefully armed with this knowledge, it will make all of your games easier and help you come to the right answer in sanctioned events so that you don't get confused and it costs you a game.
In DCI Sanctioned events, players are required to present a "sufficiently randomized" deck to their opponent before they begin playing a game (see Section 21 of the Universal Tournament Rules). This deck then can be cut and/or shuffled by the opponent after presenting (at Competitive and Professional events, it is required to be shuffled), and you can then cut the deck if it has been shuffled by your opponent (you cannot shuffle it again, nor can you cut it if your opponent only cut your deck). Also note that you are allowed 3 minutes before each game to take care of this (including sideboarding), and 1 minute for any shuffles that occur in game. Please try not to take up all the time though, as it does impair both you and your opponent's ability to finish the match timely.
While there are no rules that govern what methods of shuffling are allowed or disallowed (or any specifics beyond the requirement of "sufficient randomization"), I want to give you at least one view of what you should do when shuffling. Please note that while I've pointed out the requirement in the rules as written, this is primarily my own opinion on shuffling methods and what you should be aware of as a player. If you have other specific questions then please ask the Head Judge of the event you are in about what they think is okay or not. If you have additional questions, please post them to the forum.
With that, let's cover some of the basic shuffling techniques:
The Riffle Shuffle: This method of shuffling is the "default" method (you see card dealers in movies do this, and it makes that neat "zipper" sound as well). Specifically, you divide the deck into two halves and then "weave" them together by dropping cards from each half into a single pile. Ideally, this "weaving" is random and the cards end up in a random order. However, it can take multiple Riffle Shuffles to truly accomplish this. There have been some mathematical studies that I have read which suggest that it takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 or more to accomplish "sufficient randomization"; the DCI has no policy on how many are required, only that the deck that is presented be "sufficiently randomized".
The Pile Shuffle: This method basically results in cards being taken from the deck and placed into individual piles, with the individual piles being brought back together to reform the deck. For example, taking each card from the deck and putting into one of 7 individual piles then bringing the 7 piles back together. Ideally, this is a good way to count the cards in the deck and also can break up "chunks" of cards. However this is not an actual shuffle; the cards are actually being sorted before the deck is recreated. In most cases, if you don't know the order of the cards, this isn't a problem; sorting essentially does nothing to something that is already random.
However, if the order is known, then sorting the cards into piles can be bad. Which is why you should A) always sort the deck into a number of piles that does not evenly divide into the total number of cards in the deck (for example, 7 piles does not divide evenly into a 60 card deck; so not every pile with have the same number of cards) and B) always use another method of shuffling when using the Pile Shuffle, usually after you've performed the Pile Shuffle. For example, combining the Riffle Shuffle with the Pile Shuffle. This allows you to count out the cards, and then randomly bring them back together.
Overhand Shuffle: This technique involves taking a section of the deck, and then moving it to the top or the bottom of the deck alternatively. So, a stack of about 10 to 20 cards gets taken from the middle and then put on the top or bottom. This isn't really a shuffle either, as those 10 to 20 cards stayed together in one chunk and got moved together. So, in order to randomize the deck, it takes a really high number of these to accomplish this (mathematically speaking). This may be good if you just want to shift cards around a bit in your opponent's deck after they've presented, but it is not good for ensuring your own deck is "sufficiently randomized".
Fan/Push Shuffle: I usually like to include this as a type of Riffle Shuffle, however it bears mentioning that it is slightly different. When "Fanning" the deck, you take each half of the deck and then separate the cards slightly in your hands and push them together, allowing them to "weave" together naturally without bending the cards (as happens in a true Riffle Shuffle). When "Pushing", you simply place each half of the deck on the table, and then push them together; again, allowing them to "weave" together naturally. Either way, the two methods are very similar to each other. The biggest difference between this and Riffle Shuffling is that this usually cause less wear on the cards (especially when sleeved) and doesn't bend them; so it's a favorite of the Vintage and Legacy community.
There are other techniques I've heard of, but am not that familiar with, but this list covers the "general" types of shuffling I've seen or used myself. Each method has its pros and cons, and you should be aware of these when shuffling your deck. Again, the requirement is that you present a "sufficiently randomized" deck; so be aware of which methods can accomplish this (Riffle and Fan/Push) versus those that really can't accomplish this on their own (Pile and Overhand). The onus is on the individual player to meet the requirement, so I would strongly suggest using two different methods to accomplish this (for example, Pile and then Riffle). A single Pile Shuffle followed by multiple Riffle Shuffles takes about 2 minutes if done cautiously... So be aware of that. But, if you combine methods and perform multiple shuffles, you should be able to meet the requirement of "sufficiently randomized".
What's a cut?
There's actually sometimes a bit of confusion over what exactly constitutes a cut. The standard definition is "Taking a single portion of the deck from the deck, and then putting it on the top or bottom of the remaining portion of the deck." It isn't simply dividing the deck in half and putting the one half on top of the other, as you can actually remove a portion of the deck from the center and put it on top of the remaining portion of the deck (this is sometimes called a Skarne cut). So, if your opponent takes the top 10 or so cards and puts it on the bottom, that's just a cut and is not a shuffle. If your opponent takes the bottom 20 cards and puts it on the top of the deck, again, this is a cut. If your opponent takes the middle 20 cards and puts it on the top of the deck; it's a cut, not a shuffle. Only one portion of the deck was taken and moved to the top or bottom.
On the other hand, if your opponent does multiple cuts, then it is considered to have been a shuffle (effectively, your opponent has executed several Overhand Shuffles, as noted above). In which case you could make a final cut. Otherwise, if the opponent simply takes the one portion from anywhere in the deck and puts it on the top of the remaining portion, it's just a cut.
Manaweaving and you
This bears special mention as many players (especially more casual ones) believe it is okay to sort your decks into a pile of mana producers (typically just land) and a pile of other cards and then space out mana producers evenly before presenting the deck. This can potentially be "Very, Very Bad", as it is actually stacking your deck. Since the mana producers and other cards are now evenly distributed throughout the deck, you will not meet the requirement of "sufficiently randomized". This is actually a violation of the Universal Tournament Rules, and can result in being penalized accordingly.
If you have sorted your deck initially, which is perfectly legal, then you must thoroughly randomize your deck afterwards to ensure that the deck you present is "sufficiently randomized" as required by the DCI (since the emphasis is on the deck presented, after all shuffling has been performed). This can be problematic as the appearance of the deck depends on how well you shuffle, as well as the number of iterations of shuffling that take place. So even if you have performed a number of shuffles after the initial manipulation, the deck could still appear to a judge to not have been "sufficiently randomized". While judges should investigate the shuffling methods used, it may still be difficult to distinquish the deck from one that has been, in fact, manipulated and stack.
In short, "mana weaving" is legal, provided you shuffle thoroughly afterwards. But even if you do shuffle thoroughly afterwards, it can still appear very questionable to your opponent or a judge. Personally, I would advise against it, if only to prevent an unfortunately conclusion being drawn regarding the appearance of your deck.
Sufficient randomization and your opponent
So, you are shuffling up for game 1 in your match, and you observe your opponent mana weave the deck, pile shuffle once, riffle shuffle once, and then present the deck. What do you do? Do you take it upon yourself to "enforce" the rules and deliberately shuffle his deck so that you clump all the land at the bottom of his deck? Or do you call a judge?
You call a judge of course. It is not the player's responsibility to enforce the rules, and trying to take advantage of your opponent's shuffling to benefit yourself is, at best, likely to be Unsporting Conduct. Or, it could even be construed as being Cheating. If you notice your opponent's deck could have been presented and not have been "sufficiently randomized", then you call a judge and tell us your concerns. At that point, it's up to the judge, but that is the proper procedure to handle these kind of things and in reality, the judge should be able to review the deck and interview the players to determine what happened.
Now, as far as things go for you if you have no concerns about your opponent's deck... You can do whatever you like for shuffling. The requirement for "sufficient randomization" was upon your opponent, not you. So, simply Pile Shuffling the deck (in order to count the cards, not to impair the other player) is okay. As is performing 1 or 2 Riffle Shuffles. Really, this step is for you to take an opportunity to ensure your opponent's deck is sufficiently randomized; which is why if you have concerns, you should call a judge. Otherwise, you're just keeping your opponent honest here. And you should always take the opportunity to count your opponent's deck at this point. Don't just riffle it (or cut it) and give it back.
Shuffling Face Down
It bears special mentioning that whenever you shuffle a deck, you must shuffle it so that the cards cannot be seen (this is also in Section 21 of the Universal Tournament Rules). This doesn't mean shuffling them with the faces towards you, but looking away; at this point, the cards can be seen, it's just that you're not looking. Quite literally, this means you must shuffle the cards so that you cannot seen them at all, whether you are looking at them or not. Shuffling face up gives the possibility that they can be seen, so you have to shuffle the deck face down. That way you cannot see the cards at all. Note: as many people know by now, a very famous player was just DQ'ed for this infraction. So, please, take this very seriously.
I hope that this helps players understand what is required of you in Sanctioned Events, as well as helps identify methods you can use to accomplish this and what the pros and cons of the methods might be. Again, this is an important part of the tournament and each player should be familiar with what is required of you (and how you can help yourself out here). If you have any more questions, please post them to the forum.
At End of Turn and Until End of Turn; Seemingly similar, but very different Submitted by epeeguy
The two phrases seem very similar at first glance, but mean fundamentally different things. And there is often signficant confusion amongst players regarding the two and what happens in relation to each. So, hopefully this should clear up the fundamental differences between the two and help you understand what each means and the impact this has on your games.
At End of Turn: Something that says "At end of turn..." is really a triggered ability that triggers when the game reaches the End of Turn Step in the End Phase (Rule 313). These triggered abilities are put on the stack at the very beginning of the End of Turn Step, and only trigger at that time. So, if you reach the End of Turn Step and you have an ability that triggers at end of turn, then it will trigger at this point. However, if you are already in the End of Turn Step and you play an ability (like Goryo's Vengeance) at this point, it waits until the next turn to trigger (as you've past the point it could trigger).
Until End of Turn: Something that says "Until end of turn..." is a duration of an effect, and signifies that the effect ends during the Cleanup Step in the End Phase (Rule 314). If you played an ability that only lasts until the end of the turn, this means it will expire during this step and it won't carry over to the next turn. The removal of damage and discarding down to your maximum hand size also occurs during this Step as well. So, if you use an ability during the End of Turn Step that lasts until the end of the turn, it goes away in the next step. If you use a "pinger" to deal damage to something, that damage goes away as well in the next step.
For example: Playing Goryo's Vengeance during the End of Turn Step allows Yosei to stay around until the next turn. Because Goryo's Vengeance sets up a triggered ability that triggers when you reach the End of Turn Step (and if you are currently in the Step, the game waits for the next opportunity to trigger, which is in the next Turn). But, you can't do the same by animating a Plains with Genju of the Fields and have it stay animated in the next turn (because the effect lasts until the end of the turn, which expires in the Cleanup Step).
Again, "At End of Turn" and "Until End of Turn" are fundamentally different and mean completely different things. If you remember that anything that says "At End of Turn" is a triggered ability that triggers at a specific point in time and "Until End of Turn" is a duration that expires at a specific point in time, that should help a lot. But the difference can be critical and why some things that look similar, aren't at all the same.
During sanctioned events, one of the things you will frequently see is a player joting down notes about their opponent's hand. Or perhaps the player is noting the cards that were played in a given turn. Maybe they are simply making a note about what happened during combat. In any event, note taking is a integral part of playing Magic. However, there are a few things to be aware of when taking notes. First, let's cover what the [O]fficial rules from the Universal Tournament Rules say:
28. Taking Notes Players are allowed to take brief written notes regarding the current match and may refer to those notes while this match is in progress. Players are expected to take their notes in a time fashion. Players who take too much time will be subject to the appropriate provisions of the DCI Penalty Guidelines
During the draft portion of a tournament, players and spectators may not take any notes. Players may not refer to outside notes during the match. This includes notes from previous matches of that day.
Additionally, while the Universal Tournament Rules are currently silent on this, it has also been confirmed on Judge-L that any notes taking during a match by a player are considered to be hidden information (Note: this is a reversal/clarification as of June 15th, 2007. Correspondingly the part of this mini-FAQ regarding Hidden Notes and Shorthand/Foreign Language have been removed.). That is, anything that you write down is not public to the opponent and he or she isn't allowed to view what you've written down. That you've taken the notes is public information to the opponent, and he or she can have it verified that there are no outside notes. But the contents of those notes are hidden to your opponent.
So, let's go over the three basics of note taking:
You can take notes at any point during a tournament, except during a draft.
You must take any notes in a timely fashion, and cannot slow down the match.
You cannot refer to notes that were not taken during the current match.
This is the "quick" list of what is allowable or is strictly prohibited. So, let's go through a few examples of what would and would not be okay.
Cabal Therapy: You play and resolve Cabal Therapy against your opponent, who has 5 cards in hand. Would you be allowed to write down the cards in his hand? Yes. You should be able to take down the card names quickly and since the hand was revealed, you can take notes of what your opponent has.
Cranial Extraction: You play and resolve Cranial Extraction against your opponent, searching out the copies of the named card in his hand and library. Would you be allowed to write down the complete contents of his library? No. Simply put, it would be very time intensive to write down the name of every card in the library and would dramatically slow down the match. Taking a few notes about some the cards in the library is one thing; but not the complete contents.
Combat damage: During the game, each time you or your opponent take damage in combat, you write down what actually damaged you. Is this okay? Certainly, and it can actually be very helpful in case there is a discrepansy in life totals.
During a Top 8 draft: You make the Top 8 in a Limited Tournament, and would like to take notes about the draft to help write a tournament report. Is this allowed? No, and it is pretty explicitly disallowed by DCI policies. While MTGO allows you to do this, and many people think that means you can do it in sanctioned events, this is simply not the case.
Notes on sideboarding: You are attending a Constructed event and decide that you want to include notes on how to sideboard during certain games. That way you can better play your deck. Would this be allowed? No, as this would constitute outside notes. You didn't take those notes during a match, so you cannot refer to them at all. Now if you take notes during the match on what you sideboarded in and out, that's one thing. But you cannot have a pregenerated page on how to sideboard during your matches.
Note: in case you try to be tricky, the use of different colored sleeves for certain cards in the sideboard would also be disallowed if it looks like it is some kind of "note" on what cards to use. While these may not be written, this would certainly be problematic as they can indicate that you're using the sleeves to indicate what cards to use in certain matchups. The same is also true for writing on cards that isn't artistic in nature. "For Goblins!" on a card brought in against a Goblin deck is definitely outside notes.
Notes on another match: You are between rounds of an event and are watching some of your possible opponents for the next round. You write down a few brief notes of what they are playing, so that you can use them in your next match against them. Can you do this? No, as again, this is definitely outside notes. If you didn't take the notes during the match you are currently playing, then you cannot refer to them during that match.
This covers most of the basic questions that people have regarding notes, as well as the policy of the DCI when it comes to taking notes. Again, if you can remember the three guidelines from above, that should cover most of the situations you are likely to encounter. If you have specific questions, then please post them to the forum!
Within Magic, there are several cards that allow you to search your library or your opponent's library. This gambit runs from Demonic Tutor and Gifts Ungiven to Extract and Cranial Extraction. In each case, similar rules govern the search, but sometimes these rules are misunderstood. And what may seem to be the same thing, is actually slightly different. So, let's go over what the CompRules have to say:
Quote from Comprehensive Rules, Glossary - Search »
If you’re required to search a zone not revealed to all players for cards of a given quality, such as type or color, you aren’t required to find some or all of those cards even if they’re present; however, if you do choose to find cards, you must reveal those cards to all players. Even if you don’t find any cards, you are still considered to have searched the zone.
If you’re simply searching for a quantity of cards, such as “a card” or “three cards,” you must find that many cards (or as many as possible). These cards often aren’t revealed.
So, we can see that the rules have two different situations. Let's go over each of them separately.
Search for cards with a given quality
This covers cards like Gifts Ungiven, Merchant Scroll or Polluted Delta; as each of these asks you to find a card (or cards) with a certain quality. Whether it be name, color or type, each of these effects allows you to find something specific from the Library. If you find the card, you have to reveal it to all players in the game (this is a verification tool, to ensure you found the right card) before doing whatever it is you need to do next with the card (put it into play, into your hand, etc.).
What is unique about this kind of search is that you can voluntarily fail to find that card (or cards) when looking in a hidden zone. Specifically, because the Library and Hand are hidden zones and generally considered unknown to the players (the Hand is known to that one player), you don't have to find a card with that quality. This is mostly because it's too difficult to "verify" that you don't actually have that kind of card. So, you can voluntarily fail this search.
Of course, if you are looking in a public zone (such as the graveyard), then you would have to find it. So, if you Cranial Extract someone for Counterspell and they two in their 'yard, then you have to find those two. The other two in their Library and Hand you can fail to find, but not the two in the 'yard.
Search for cards without a specified quality
Cards like Demonic Tutor, Extract and Intuition allow you to find some number of cards. In these cases, you have to find that many cards if possible. So, if you have at least one card in your Library when you play Demonic Tutor, you have to find that card. If you have two cards in your Library when you play Intuition, you have to find those two cards even if you can't find the card. And yes, you have to choose a card to Extract for your opponent (even if it's a basic land). Since none of these specify some kind of quality, you have to find the card if possible.
The easiest way to remember the difference is just to look to see if the effect specifies something about the card you are looking for. If it does, then you can fail to find that card even if there is one that you could find. But, if the effect just says to find a card, then you have to find a card; you cannot fail that search.
The converted mana cost of an object in Magic (whether it be a spell, permanent, or a card) is a rather confusing thing for players. Especially as it seems there is a lot of conflicting information on certain things. For example: "My spell has {X} in the cost, does that mean that X is 0 when I play it?", "I played my spell without paying the mana cost, does that mean it has no converted mana cost?" or "I made X equal to 6, but only paid {4}{B} for the spell, does that mean its converted mana cost is 5?". Hopefully this brief walkthrough will be able to explain how things work for determining an objects mana cost.
Mana cost and Converted mana cost
In order to determine the converted mana cost of an object, you start with the mana cost. The mana cost of something is the printed symbols in the upper right hand corner of the card (or what would be the card, if it's a copy). In order to convert that into the converted mana cost, you simply take the total amount of mana in the mana cost and turn that into a number. That number is then the converted mana cost. For example, Spell Snare has a mana cost of {U}. That's 1 mana total, and therefore the converted mana cost of Spell Snare is 1. For Platinum Angel, the mana cost is {7}. That's 7 mana total, so the converted mana cost is 7. For Force of Nature, the mana cost is {2}{G}{G}{G}{G}. That's 6 mana total, so the converted mana cost is 6. This is all from rule 203.3 in the CompRules.
If the object in question has no mana cost, then its converted mana cost is 0. This is because the mana cost is not defined, and for any undefined value, the game treats this amount as being zero. So, a Mountain has no mana cost and would be treated as having a converted mana cost of 0. If the object is a token, then it's generally going to have a converted mana cost of 0 as it has no mana cost. Unless, of course, the token is actually copy of something (for example, a token creature created by Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker). In which case, the mana cost of that token is the same as what it copied. Which then gives you the converted mana cost of the token copy.
Converted mana cost versus what you pay
Another thing that people get hung up on is if the cost of the spell has been reduced. Specifically, if you have something like Sunscape Familiar or Ruby Medallion in play and the cost of the spell is reduced by {1}. Or, perhaps if you played Force of Will by pitching a card and paying 1 life. Since what you paid is not the mana cost, this means the converted mana cost is what you actually paid? Unfortunately, that's not so. The converted mana cost is only dependent on the mana cost of the card; what you paid does not determine what the converted mana cost is. So, even if you have an interaction of Force of Will, Trinisphere and a Chalice of the Void in play with 3 counters on it, the converted mana cost of the Force is still 5 and doesn't cause the Chalice to trigger. That's because the mana cost of the Force is still {3}{U}{U}, even though what was paid is obviously not the same.
Values of X and converted mana cost
The follow-up to this is with values of X. Sometimes people get confused and think that X is what you paid. That's not so, as X is a value you choose when you play the spell. In this case, you choose the value for X and then that makes {X} into something. For example, playing Blaze and choose X to be 3, means that {X} is {3}. So, the converted mana cost of Blaze would be 4 (as the mana cost of Blaze is {3}{R} now). Even if the cost is reduced by 1 (from the aforementioned Ruby Medallion), the mana cost is still {3}{R} and the converted mana cost is 4.
But, this is only while the card is a spell on the stack; X can only be defined at that point in time. In any other zone of the game (your hand or in play for example), this is actually treated as being 0 (the value is undefined and is therefore treated as being 0). So, that Blaze when in your hand is treated as having a mana cost of {0}{R}, which is a converted mana cost of 1. If you had revealed the Blaze from Dark Confidant, because X is treated as 0, you will only lose 1 life. That is covered in rule 104.2 of the CompRules.
So, the basic rule of thumb to determining converted mana cost is to look at the upper right hand corner of the card and see what that value is. If there's an {X} up there, then {X} is either 0 or the value that was chosen for it when it was played. From there, simply add up the total mana in the mana cost and convert it into a number. That gives you the converted mana cost of the object!
And it really is a single Frequently Asked Question. The common answer to the question "What targets?" is "things that say 'target'"; however, that isn't really the full answer. Neither is "things that say 'target' and Aura spells on the stack" -- there are a whopping six other keyword abilities that target various things, and without reminder text -- which some cards do lack -- you wouldn't know. I'll get into the two categories I already mentioned first (things that say 'target' and Aura spells on the stack), and then get into the other six. Without further ado, let's dive in!
If a spell or ability says 'target,' guess what? It targets the thing after the word target. Anything that can't be the target of spells or abilities can't have these spells or abilities played on them in the first place. No Charring that Kodama for you!
While playing an Aura spell, you must designate something for it to enchant. This process targets the object or player you designate. Also, like other spells and abilities, if the target becomes illegal before the Aura resolves, the Aura will be countered. No Pacifying that Kodama for you!
However, if the Aura is coming into play by a means other than being played, then enchanting something with it that's untargetable is just fine -- the Aura only targets while it's on the stack, and it's never on the stack. Only the spell or ability putting it into play is! This does not, however, get around things like "can't be enchanted" or protection.
Provoke targets the creature you want to untap and block. There are a few other nuances with Provoke (mainly to do with timing), but we'll save those for another time. No Grappling that Kodama for you!
Soulshift targets the creature card you want to bring back to your hand. No Promising that-WAIT A SECOND!
Might as well say it now: Abilities of cards in graveyards don't apply unless the card says it does. Bringing back a Kodama of the North Tree with Soulshift is actually just fine and dandy unless another ability says otherwise. Alright, moving on: (Assuming Ground Seal is in play...) No Promising that Kodama for you!
The leaves-play ability of Modular targets the creature you want to put the counters on. (The comes-into-play ability doesn't target anything.) No Modularizing that... Artifacty ...Kodama for you! (The astute will notice you couldn't modularize a Kodama anyway since it isn't an artifact... hence the added stipulation.)
The first half of Haunt (the half that does the haunting, not the half that does the effect when the haunted creature dies) targets the creature you want to Haunt. No Haunting that Kodama for you!
A lot like equip. Fortify targets the land you want to attach the fortification to. No fortifying that... um... untargetable land... for you! (psst... anybody got one of these for me?)
Reinforce targets the creature you want to receive the counters. No reinforcing that Kodama for you!
OTHER FACTS ABOUT TARGETING
Targeting restrictions -- these are fun little things that appear after the word "target" in the rules text of a card. For example, Dark Banishing's targeting restriction is "nonblack creature". That means that you have to choose and target a nonblack creature when you play the spell, and that creature has to still be nonblack when the spell resolves in order for the Banishing to destroy it. As another example, Hydroblast's first mode says "counter target spell if it's red". Note that the targeting restriction here is simply "spell" -- it is NOT "red spell". A nonred spell is a perfectly legal choice for a target here (and similarly, a nonred permanent is a perfectly legal choice for the second mode of Hydroblast). However, if it's not red by the time the blast resolves then it won't be countered -- hence the "if it's red" stipulation in the text.
While Protection itself doesn't target (that'd be a bit weird, no?), one of the things it protects against is being targeted by things of the stated quality. For example, an Azorius First-Wing can't be targeted by any of the Nemesis/DissensionSeals since it has protection from enchantments. This is not stated in the rules text of cards with protection, so I thought it warranted mentioning.
Therearealotofthingsthatdon't target, and I certainly can't get into all of them here, but I will mention a few, as well as whether protection gets around these things anyway. Note that all of these -- as well as any I don't list -- should be very easy to figure out if you simply look at the list and see if the spell or ability matches the criteria above.
Mass removal effects do not target the creatures they are removing. They do not say target, they are not Aura spells on the stack, and they are not any of the above five keyword abilities. Protection doesn't get around mass removal.
Mass damage effects do not target the creatures they damage. Protection gets around mass damage by preventing it unless for some reason damage can't be prevented.
Anything else that says "each" or "all" doesn't target what is referred to by each or all. If the effect damages (see mass damage) then protection will prevent the damage; otherwise protection probably won't dodge it (I can't see how an effect that uses "each" or "all" is going to be enchanting or blocking, and if it's targeting then it'll say so!).
Draw effects do not target the player drawing the cards or the library they're drawn from unless they say otherwise.
In general, effects that use the word "you" do not target you.
Nine things (as of Shards of Alara) will target:
"Target" (specified explicitly) Aura spells on the stack Modular (second half) Provoke Fortify Reinforce Equip Soulshift Haunt
So, just remember "TAMP FRESH" and you'll remember what targets!
I hope this answers a few questions! Have fun targeting things -- or not!
... is actually cleverly disguised as a CI article written by yours truly. You can find it by clicking here.
You can also read the meat of it below...
Let’s get down to the fisticuffs.
Quote from CompRules »
306.1. The combat phase has five steps, which proceed in order: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, combat damage, and end of combat. The declare blockers and combat damage steps are skipped if no creatures are declared as attackers (see rule 308.4). There are two combat damage steps if any attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 502.2) or double strike (see rule 502.28).
Q: I hear players at tournaments saying things like, “declare my attack phase.” Do I need to do that?
A: Yes and no. You don’t need to say that exactly, but you do need to make it clear to your opponent that you want to move the game to the combat phase. The easiest way to do this is simply to tell him so. I suppose you could also pull out a dueling pistol and say, “my good man, I propose that we settle this thru the gentlemanly art of combat,” but that might get you in trouble.
307.1. As the beginning of combat step begins, any abilities that trigger at the beginning of combat go on the stack. (See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”) Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.
Q: So what do I actually do during the beginning of combat step?
A: Usually, very little happens during this step. This is especially true of the attacking player. However, the defending player can have some saucy options. If you have an Icy Manipulator, Minister of Impediments, or some other tapping ability, this is your last chance to use it. Once the game goes to the declare attackers step, you’d only be able to tap creatures after they’ve started attacking. By then, that’s too late to accomplish anything (as 306.2b tells us, “Tapping or untapping a creature that’s already been declared as an attacker or blocker doesn’t remove it from combat and doesn’t prevent its combat damage.”).
Bonus: Strategically, the beginning of combat step is the best time to tap down an attacker. That way, the attacking player can’t do things like move equipment around, which he could do if the game were still in the first main phase. When you use an Icy-style effect, be sure to say it’s being used during the beginning of combat step. That removes any ambiguity over its use.
308.1. As the declare attackers step begins, the active player declares attackers (this game action doesn’t use the stack). If the game allows the active player to attack multiple other players, he or she declares which player each creature is attacking. Effects from a creature that refer to a defending player refer only to the defending player it is attacking. Then any abilities that triggered on attackers being declared go on the stack. (See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”) Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.
Q: Does this mean I can attack multiple different opponents in a multiplayer game?
A: In some official multiplayer formats, this is a legal option. Other formats limit your attack options. If you’re just playing in a casual group, your group should determine how they want to handle attacking multiple opponents. Some groups like the grand melee feel of it, while others don’t. Q: Is this when Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran’s ability triggers?
A: Yes. If you’ve declared Agrus Kos as an attacker, then his ability will trigger in the declare attackers step, once all attackers have been declared. When that ability resolves, the appropriate creatures will get their bonus(es).
When does 1 not equal 1?
Q: My opponent has an Ensnaring Bridge and two cards in his hand. I want to attack with Goblin Piledriver and a few other one-power Goblins. Is this legal?
A: Yes, it is. Goblin Piledriver has a triggered ability that triggers once attackers have been declared. When the game checks the legality of your attacks, the Piledriver still has a 1 power. At that point, Ensnaring Bridge is satisfied. After that, the Piledriver’s ability goes onto the stack. When that ability resolves, it will count the number of other attacking Goblins and boost the Piledriver’s power by the appropriate amount. Q: So that means Goblin Piledriver can’t attack if my opponent has Reverence in play?
A: Not normally, no. Its power will be 1 when you declare attackers, and that will be an illegal attack because of Reverence’s static ability. If you had a way to boost the Piledriver’s power to at least 3, then you could legally declare it as an attacker. You’d also need some pretty brawny Goblins to go along with him if you wanted to get a decent boost. Q: Speaking of brawny Goblins, if I control two Mogg Flunkies, can they both attack?
A: Yes. Mogg Flunkies has a restriction, that it “can’t attack or block alone.” Remember, though, that a card referencing itself really means, “this particular object.” So, if you have two Mogg Flunkies, each cannot attack or block alone. However, if you declare both as attackers, each will “see” the other attacking, and thus, neither is attacking alone. Q: When does Ghostly Prison’s ability force my opponent to pay for each of his attacking creatures?
A: After he has declared his attackers, but still inside the declare attackers step. The progression goes like this: your opponent chooses which creatures he wants to attack with and declares them as his attackers. The attacking creatures then become tapped, unless they have vigilance. Then, the attacking player determines any costs that need to be paid for the creatures to attack. This is when Ghostly Prison will hold out a skeletal hand and demand its tax.
309.1. As the declare blockers step begins, the defending player declares blockers (this game action doesn’t use the stack). Then any abilities that triggered on blockers being declared go on the stack. (See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”) Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.
Q: So blocking doesn’t tap my creatures?
A: Nope. I’ve seen several new players make that mistake. Blocking does not cause a creature to become tapped. Q: How does the “spider” ability work?
A: It works well, if a bit confusingly for some players. The spider ability is “can block as though it had flying.” It was first seen on Giant Spider, and has appeared on many spiders over the years, so that’s the reason for its colloquial name. The ability means the creature is treated as having flying for the purposes of declaring blockers. This means a Giant Spider can block any flying creature, presuming no other abilities prevent the Spider from blocking (it can’t block something that has both flying and fear, for example). Q: Does this mean a Giant Spider can block a creature that can only be blocked by flying creatures, like Silhana Ledgewalker?
A: Yes. When you declare the Spider as a blocker, it’s considered to have flying. That makes it a legal choice to block creatures which can only be blocked by fliers. The game will see the Spider as a flying creature while this is happening, and the block will be legal.
Check this out, from the Comp Rules glossary:
“As though”
Text that states a player may do something “as though” some condition were true or a creature can do something “as though” some condition were true applies only to the stated action. For purposes of that action, treat the game exactly as if the stated condition were true. For all other purposes, treat the game normally. Example: Giant Spider reads, “Giant Spider can block as though it had flying.” Treat the Spider as a creature with flying, but only for the purpose of declaring blockers. This allows Giant Spider to block a creature with flying (and creatures that “can’t be blocked except by creatures with flying”), assuming no other blocking restrictions apply. For example, Giant Spider can’t normally block a creature with both flying and shadow.
Q: What’s the difference between “becomes blocked” and “becomes blocked by a creature?”
A: An ability that triggers when a creature becomes blocked will trigger just once, after blockers have been declared, regardless of how many creatures blocked. Take any Samurai as an example. If you throw three creatures in the way of your opponent’s Hand of Honor, its bushido ability will still trigger only once. Compare that to Tangle Asp. The Asp’s ability will trigger once for each creature that blocks it. So, if you shove the same three creatures in front of Tangle Asp, its ability will trigger three times, and those three creatures will be destroyed at the end of combat.
Also, some cards which only say “becomes blocked” will later say “for each creature blocking it.” Rabid Elephant is a good example of this. If two creatures blocked it, it will get +2/+2 for each of them when the ability resolves. The difference between this and “becomes blocked by a creature” is that the Elephant’s ability still triggers only once (it counts the number of blocking creatures upon resolution), while Tangle Asp’s ability triggers once for each creature that gets in its way. Q: Once my opponent has declared no blockers for an attacker of mine, it’s legal for me to use ninjutsu abilities, right?
A: Correct you are. (Hmmm, sounded a bit like Yoda there, I did.) If a creature has had no blockers declared for it, it is considered an unblocked creature. As such, you can use it to sneak a ninja into play.
310.1. As the combat damage step begins, the active player announces how each attacking creature will assign its combat damage. Then the defending player announces how each blocking creature will assign its combat damage. All assignments of combat damage go on the stack as a single object. Then any abilities that triggered on damage being assigned go on the stack. (See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”) Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.
Q: How does trample factor into all this?
A: Trample modifies the rules for assigning combat damage. If you attack with a trampling creature, you first assign damage to the creature(s) blocking it. Then, if all those blocking creatures have been assigned lethal damage, you may divide any remaining damage between those creatures and the defending player however you choose. Let’s go thru some examples:
Hulk SMASH . . . with an ability that
modifies the rules for assigning
combat damage!
#1:Darksteel Colossus smashing into two Hill Giants. When you assign the Colossus’ combat damage, you assign 3 to each Hill Giant. This is lethal damage for them, since their toughness is 3. You still have 5 points of the Colossus’ 11 power left over. You many now divide those 5 points between the two Hill Giants and the defending player however you want. All 5 to your opponent’s face? Fine. One more to each creature and 3 to the face? Fine. Another 2 to one creature and 3 more on the other, in case you fear pump effects? Also fine.
#2:War Mammoth smashing into a Hill Giant. Nothing exciting happens here, since they’re both 3/3 creatures. The Mammoth will assign all 3 of its damage to the Hill Giant, and there’s nothing left to “trample over” with.
#3: War Mammoth smashing into a Hill Giant that already has 2 damage on it. This plays out differently. When you go to figure out what lethal damage is, you take into account any damage already on the creature. In this case, assigning 1 damage to the Hill Giant is lethal, since it will have taken a total of 3 damage in the turn. Thus, you could assign 1 damage to the Hill Giant and the remaining 2 to your opponent. You could also split it 2 to the Giant and 1 to the opponent, or all 3 to the Giant.
Bonus: If you don’t declare how you assign your trample damage, many judges presume that you choose to “trample over” any excess damage to the defending player. This will not always be to your benefit (like if your opponent busts out a Giant Growth to save his blocker), so be sure you indicate how you’re splitting up the trampler’s combat damage.
310.5. At the start of the combat damage step, if at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 502.2) or double strike (see rule 502.28), creatures without first strike or double strike don’t assign combat damage. Instead of proceeding to end of combat, the phase gets a second combat damage step to handle the remaining creatures. In the second combat damage step, surviving attackers and blockers that didn’t assign combat damage in the first step, plus any creatures with double strike, assign their combat damage.
Q: If a 4/4 creature blocks my Paladin en-Vec, can I Shock the 4/4 and let the Paladin’s first strike damage kill it?
A: Yep. After Shock resolves, the 4/4 will have 2 damage on it. When you assign the Paladin’s first strike damage, that’ll be a total of 4 damage on the 4/4, and it won’t be long for the mortal coil. Q: I’m attacking with a creature that has double strike. Its first strike damage is enough to kill the blocking creature. Can I now assign the normal damage to my opponent?
A: Only if the double striker also has trample. Once a creature has been blocked, it’s considered blocked for the duration of combat. Creatures without trample can’t divide their damage between their blockers and the defending player. Your double striker will still take a mighty swing when normal damage comes around, but he’ll only end up wounding the breeze.
310.4. Combat damage resolves as an object on the stack. When it resolves, it’s all dealt at once, as originally assigned. After combat damage finishes resolving, the active player gets priority.
Denying Jitte counters since 2004.
Q: I’m confused about Umezawa’s Jitte. My Jitte-wielding creature was blocked by a Sakura-Tribe Elder, my opponent sacrificed the Elder in response to combat damage going onto the stack, and he said my Jitte would not get any counters. Was he right?
A: He was indeed. Toshi’s Broken Pointy Stick will only get counters when the equipped creature deals combat damage. If the blocking creature is no longer there, however, the attacker will not deal any combat damage.
310.4c If a creature that was supposed to receive combat damage is no longer in play or is no longer a creature, the damage assigned to it isn’t dealt.
Since the Jitte bearer will not assign any damage to the nonexistent blocker, the Jitte will gain no counters. Q: Once combat damage has gone onto the stack, is it too late to play Giant Growth?
A: It’s not too late to play it, but it’s probably too late to get the effect you want to get. When Giant Growth resolves, your creature will get +3/+3, but that won’t change the amount of damage that was put onto the stack. It might change whether the creature lives thru the damage it’s receiving, however. A 3/3 that was slated to receive 4 damage will live thru it as a 6/6, after all.
311.1. As the end of combat step begins, all “at end of combat” abilities trigger and go on the stack. (See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”) Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.
Q: Does anything happen at the end of combat step?
A: Not often. There will sometimes be triggered abilities which need to go onto the stack (like the delayed triggers from the aforementioned Tangle Asp, which will destroy the creatures it . . . er, tangled with), but otherwise, this is a rather uneventful step.
311.2. As soon as the end of combat step ends, all creatures are removed from combat. After the end of combat step ends, the combat phase is over and the postcombat main phase begins.
Looks like the combat phase is over. That means this article is over, too. Take your newfound knowledge of the combat phase and use it to smite your opponents’ creatures. (Smiting your opponent is, after all, illegal in most places.)
Trample is an ability that modifies how an attacking creatures deal damage in combat. Specifically, when that creature becomes blocked it has the ability to deal damage to the defending player. There are a few things that typically cause confusion, especially as the ability has changed since it was originally written and some people still remember the way it used to work. With that in mind, this FAQ should address some of the more common questions involving Trample, as well as augment Dr. Tom's FAQ and CI Article on the Combat Phase. Note: unless otherwise specified, all examples assume there is no damage already on the blocking creature. The full rules for Trample can be found in 502.9 of the CompRules.
Assigning Damage
An attacking creature with Trample has to assign damage to all the creatures blocking it before any damage can be assigned to the defending player. The amount of damage that must first be assigned to the blocking creatures is called "lethal damage", which is an amount of damage equal to the creature's current toughness (be sure to account for any damage already on the creature though, and you can always assign more damage to that creature). Protection will affect whether or not the damage is actually dealt or not, but you still need to assign damage equal to current toughness (less damage already on the creature) to that creature before the defending player. If there is another attacking creature that were blocked by the same creatures, you can assign damage from the other creature "before" assigning damage from the creature with Trample. In this way, you can actually maximize the amount of damage that could be assigned to the player. Here are a couple of examples:
You attack with a Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks Conclave Phalanx. Before damage is assigned, you play Shock targeting the Phalanx. When combat damage is assigned, since the Phalanx now has 2 damage on it, you only have to assign 2 damage to the Phalanx from the Hunter for lethal damage. The remaining 2 damage can be assigned to the defending player.
You attack with a Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with Grizzly Bears and Birchlore Rangers. When damage is assigned, you must assign 2 damage to the Bears and 1 damage to the Rangers first (since this is lethal damage before each of these creatures). This leaves 1 damage that can be assigned to the defending player.
You attack with Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with Treetop Sentinel. When combat damage is assigned, lethal damage has to be assigned to the Sentinel before any is assigned to the defending player. This means 3 damage needs to be assigned to the Sentinel (even though that damage will be prevented) and only 1 can be assigned to the player.
You attack with a Fangren Hunter that is banded with a Benalish Infantry. Your opponent blocks with Canopy Spider. When assigning damage from the Hunter and Infantry, you can assign the 1 damage from the Infantry to the Spider, then assign 2 damage from the Hunter to the Spider (thus equalling lethal damage). The remaining 2 damage from the Hunter can then be assigned to the defending player.
Blocking creatures leaving play
A blocking creature that leaves combat will affect how damage is going to be assigned, but it doesn't change how damage has already been assigned. Specifically, if the blocking creature leaves combat before the damage is assigned, then all the damage from the attacking creature can be assigned to the defending player (as damage cannot be assigned to a creature that is no longer in combat). Example:
You attack with Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with Bottle Gnomes. Before damage is assigned, your opponent sacrifices the Gnomes. While the Hunter remains blocked, all the damage can be assigned to the defending player as there is no blocking creature that damage has to be assigned to first.
However once combat damage has been assigned, a blocking creature leaving combat will not affect the damage assignment. Damage will still be dealt as it was assigned, and will not increase because the creature is no longer in play. Example:
You again attack with Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with another Bottle Gnomes. After damage has been assigned, your opponent sacrifices the Gnomes. As 3 damage was assigned to the Gnomes and 1 to the defending player, only 1 damage will be dealt to the defending player (as that was what was assigned).
Hopefully this will help to explain how the Trample ability works. As always, if you have additional questions, feel free to post them to the forum!
Protection is an ability that causes frequent confusion as to what it actually does. In effect, Protection does five separate things, and this FAQ will explain what each of these actually does. The full rules for Protection can be found in 502.7 of the CompRules. Protection basically "protects" the permanent that has Protection from other objects that have a given "quality" (this "quality" can be any characteristic of a card, from color to type). The five things that protection does is:
1.) Prevents the permanent from being targeted by spells that have the given quality, or prevents the permanent from being targeted by abilities whose source has the given quality. (502.7b)
2.) Prevents the permanent from being enchanted by Auras with the given quality. (502.7c)
3.) Prevents the permanent from being equipped by Equipment with the given quality or fortified by Fortifications with the given quality. (502.7d)
4.) Prevents damage from being dealt to a creature if the source of the damage has the given quality. (502.7e)
5.) Prevents an attacking creature with protection from the given quality from being blocked by any creature that has the given quality. (502.7f)
So, let's cover each of these in a little more depth!
No targeting
If a spell or ability requires a target, the permanent with protection cannot be the target of that spell or ability. For example, a Paladin en-Vec cannot be the target of Shock. As Shock is a red spell, and the Paladin has protection from red, the Shock cannot target the Paladin. Spells that don't target the permanent would still affect the Paladin however. For example, Diabolic Edict will target the player, and if the Paladin is the only creature that player controls then the Paladin must be sacrificed.
No enchanting
Enchantments with the given quality cannot enchant the permanent. For example, if the aforementioned Paladin is enchanted with a Moldervine Cloak and the Cloak becomes black or red (via Deathlace or Chaoslace), then the Cloak can no longer be enchanting the Paladin. Protection will cause the Aura to stop enchanting the Paladin and the Aura will go to the graveyard. Note: Protection already stops the Paladin from being targeted, so you can not play Fear targeting the Paladin (as Aura spells target).
No equipping
Equipments with the given quality cannot be equipping the permanent. For example, if the aforemention Paladin has an Umezawa's Jitte in grip and the Jitte becomes black or red, then the Jitte can no longer be equipping the Paladin. Protection will cause the Equipment to become unattached (the Equipment remains in play though). Note: the Equip ability also targets, so you can never attach a Jitte to Tel-Jilad Chosen.
No damaging
Damage that would be dealt to a creature with protection will have that damage prevented if it comes from a source with that quality. Even if the source doesn't target the creature, the damage will still be prevented. So, that same Paladin will not be dealt any damage from a Hill Giant, nor from a Pyroclasm. If the effect doesn't deal damage, then it will affect the creature normally. For example, Wrath of God doesn't target or deal damage. A Stromgald Crusader will be destroyed by the Wrath.
No blocking
Creatures with protection from a quality cannot be blocked by creatures that have that quality. So, if both the Paladin and the Crusader are in play, they can never meet on the field of battle. An attacking Paladin cannot be blocked by the Crusader, and the Paladin cannot block an attacking Crusader.
Hopefully this sheds some light on the Protection ability, which is a rather complicated ability that does several things. If you have any additional questions, please direct them to the Rulings forum.
With that in mind, the idea of this thread is to cover many of the frequently asked questions that occur in the forum. Many of these topics have been covered before, either in detail or in part. Essentially, these are very direct answers that don't require a lot of explanation; so, they are easy enough to cover without going into too much detail. As more questions occur in the forums, more mini-FAQs will be added to this thread. If you think something should be covered in a mini-FAQ and hasn't been covered, then please make a post to the forum directly (again, not to this thread) and someone should be able to write one up. If you want to add a mini-FAQ yourself, then you will want to contact Craven so that he can add it to this thread (or even me, as I can at least review your suggested addition and give it a thumbs up for you to directly post it to the thread). Plus, if you aren't a Rules Guru, then you should probably have it looked over before it gets added (that way any mistakes are caught before the post is published in this thread).
Without further ado, let's go over some of the basics, shall we?
Rules for Newer Players
If this is your first time playing Magic the Gathering, or if you've been playing for a bit and want to just read over the rules to get a better familiarity with them, you can clicking on the following link:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules/newplayer
If you're a bit more experienced with the game and are interested in tournament play, then the next section may be closer to what you are looking for.
Rules for Tournament Players
A lot of the questions regarding DCI Policies and Procedures, as well as the Comprehensive Rules can be answered by looking at any one of the documents located at this website:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules/tourneyplayer
Documents like the Universal Tournament Rules, Magic Floor Rules, DCI Penalty Guidelines and Comprehensive Rules are located here. If you have questions on policies and procedures, this should be your starting point (and yes, all players are responsible for having read these documents).
Oracle Text for Cards
Occassionally you will hear the term "Oracle Text" mentioned on this forum. This refers to the most current and official wording of a card under the rules of the game. You can use Gatherer (a Wizards of the Coast web-based search engine) to look up the current Oracle Text by clicking on the following link:
http://gatherer.wizards.com/
This Oracle Text replaces the actual written text of the card for use in all sanctioned events. Why would they change the wording of a card you ask? Primarily due to changes in the rules that occur every time a new set is released, as well as issues with functionality after the card has been printed. Newer printings of cards have the most updated wordings, but even those can possibly have changed some since printing.
The other thing that Gatherer has in it is the entries from the FAQs or other rulings associated with the card. Mostly these are already covered in the actual Comprehensive Rules, but in the case of certain more complicated cards, they have an explanation of the pertinent rules to go along with the card.
Cranial Insertion
Older articles of Cranial Insertion (the weekly article put together by Binary, Dr. Tom, and Woapalanne, our resident Rules Gurus and altogether helpful Q&A people) can be found by clicking here. Reading some of the older articles can help out with many different questions, and can probably increase your understanding of the rules significantly. Plus reading Cranial Insertion cures the common cold! Okay, maybe not that... But, here are some of the articles that have covered questions that are often asked in the forum:
Mini-FAQs
The following mini-FAQs have also been added to this thread, each covering a different topic. You can jump directly to the appropriate FAQ just be clicking on the appropriate heading!
Submitted by rrwoods
Split cards are fun. Split cards offer you two spells on one card.
Split cards are confusing. What color is Wax // Wane? What's the converted mana cost of Assault // Battery? Answers to these questions and more lie ahead, so read on!
First...
Q: How the crap do I card-tag a split card on these forums?
A: Wrap the name of the card in card tags.
...
...
Oh -- you mean the actual name of the card. Right; you need to type the first half of the name, then a space, two slashes, and another space, then the second half. For example, card-tagging "Fire // Ice" results in the proper tag Fire // Ice.
In general, questions about split cards can be broken into two categories: "Yes/no" questions, like "Is this card red?" and "Does this card have a converted mana cost of 3?"; and "Give me a characteristic" questions, like "What color is this card?" and "What is this card's converted mana cost?" Each of these question types are handled separately.
On the stack, a split card is always, always considered to be only the half that was played. Fire // Ice on the stack is either Fire or Ice, not both. If I play Fire, it's only red. If I play Ice, it's only blue. Plain and simple. Everywhere else, the card is both halves.
When the split card isn't on the stack, Yes/No questions are handled as follows: If either half of the card answers yes, then the answer is yes; otherwise, the answer is no. Let's look at some examples:
Q: Is Fire // Ice red while in my hand?
A: Fire says yes, Ice says no. Since one half said yes, the answer is yes.
Q: Is Fire // Ice nonred while in my hand?
A: Being nonred is not a characteristic. The characteristics of an object, as defined by the comprehensive rules are name, mana cost, color, type, subtype, supertype, expansion symbol, rules text, abilities, power, and toughness. Check the glossary entry for Characteristic. Asking whether Fire // Ice is nonred is actually asking whether it's red and negating the answer, so since Fire is red and says "yes", the answer to Fire // Ice being nonred is no.
Q: Is the converted mana cost of Life // Death 1?
A: Life says yes, Death says no. Answer is yes.
Q: Is the converted mana cost of Life // Death 2?
A: Life says no, Death says yes. Answer is yes.
Q: How about 3?
A: Life says no, Death says no. Answer is no.
Q: Can I transmute a Drift of Phantasms into a Stand // Deliver?
A: Well, the Drift asks a question, so we need to ask the same question. That question is: "Does Stand // Deliver have a converted mana cost of 3?" Following the rules for yes/no questions, we get: Stand says no, Deliver says yes, so the answer is yes.
Q: Can I imprint Night // Day on an Isochron Scepter?
A: That's a little tricky, but nothing we can't handle here. Isochron Scepter asks questions; we simply need to ask the same questions. Those questions are thus: "Is Night // Day an instant card?" Night: yes, Day: yes, final answer is yes; and "Does Night // Day have converted mana cost 2 or less?" Night: yes, Day: no, Answer: yes. Since (while answering yes/no questions) we see that Night // Day is an instant and has converted mana cost 2 or less, we can imprint it on the Scepter.
More interestingly, after you imprint Night // Day on an Isochron Scepter, you can still play Day off of the Scepter. Scepter says to "play the copy", and part of playing a split card is choosing which half to play.
The other category of questions -- the "What is characteristic X of this card?" category -- is a little simpler to answer. Split cards give two answers to these types of questions. Let's look at some examples to see what I mean.
Q: What is the converted mana cost of Stand // Deliver?
A: Stand says 1, Deliver says 3. Answer: "1 and 3." The answer is not 1, the answer is not 3, the answer is not 4. The answer is literally "1 and 3."
Q: What color is Stand // Deliver?
A: White and blue.
Q: How much life do I lose when I reveal Stand // Deliver with Dark Confidant's trigger?
A: 1 and 3, or 4. Note that I didn't just say 4, because that's not the converted mana cost of the card. The converted mana cost is "1 and 3", so you need to lose "1 and 3" life. Which is 4.
Submitted by epeeguy
Cranial Insertion has already covered the concept of determining what an object's characteristics are in this article. However, with the printing of cards like Windreaver and Omnibian, it seems that there is always a host of questions on this (as well as confusion on this). Rather than cover rule 418.5a in detail, I'm going to talk about what happens in layer 6; where you determine power and toughness.
Determining power and toughness is broken down into 5 different sublayers, each of which is applied in order before you actually determine what a creature's power and toughness are. So, you have to be able to figure out where a specific effect falls in the sublayers and apply it appropriately. In order to help you out, I'm also going to provide some examples to illustrate how you do this. So, let's talk about the sublayers:
(1) Effects from Characteristic-Setting Abilities: Without going into too much detail, a characteristic-setting ability is basically an ability that says "~This *has* something", "~This thing's color *is* something", or "~This thing's characteristic(s) *are* something" (this is all covered in more detail in 405.2). If you have something which has such an ability, this is the sublayer you apply it in. The classic examples of this are Nightmare and Serra Avatar. Be careful though, some things get bonuses to power and toughness to power and toughness for other things being in play (like Pride of the Clouds); that is not a characteristic-setting ability, it's a static ability that modifies power and toughness and that applies in (4).
(2) Effects that don't fall into (3), (4) and (5): This has its own section below. This is probably the hardest sublayer because it covers a lot of ground, more than you may expect.
(3) Changes from counters: So, if you have multiple +1/+1 counters (the most common), or any other counters that affect power and toughness, you apply them at this point.
(4) Effects from static abilities that modify power and toughness, but don't set it: This layer governs any effect from a static ability that either adds to or subtracts from power and toughness. The most common mistake is to include things like Giant Growth in this layer; that is any spell or activated or triggered ability ability which modifies power and toughness. This is not true, as those are not static abilities; so, they can't apply in this layer. They actually apply in layer (2). What we're talking about here are things like Night of Soul's Betrayal, Crusade, or Coat of Arms. So, it's not just any old power and toughness modifier.
(5) Effects that switch power and toughness: This is another tricky sublayer, as people get confused and think that if you have something that modifies power (or toughness) that gets played after you've already switched power and toughness, that it modifies it still modifies power (or toughness). So, if you switch a Windreaver's power and toughness and then increase its toughness, you may think it's the toughness that gets enhanced again. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case (this changed on Sept. 1, 2005); you actually apply the toughness increase in the appropriate sublayer, likely (2) or (4), and then you switch the power and toughness around. So, this increase will end up modifying power, not toughness. The easiest way to remember this is just to figure out power and toughness from everything, then see whether or not you switch power and toughness. If you did switch the two, then you swap the two values for power and toughness that you just determined. But not before you have applied everything else. See also 418.5i.
So, the basic equation to figuring out power and toughness is something like:
Sublayer 2
Now, remember sublayer (2)? Well, the reason this is covered last is because sublayer (2) has anything in it that didn't apply in (3), (4), and (5). And when I say anything, I mean anything. Everything from Humility, Giant Growth, and Darkblast applies in this layer. Likewise, abilities from cards like Genju of the Cedars and Treetop Village also apply in this layer, same with Windreaver's toughness boosting effect. A whole melting pot as it were. So, you need to be really careful here.
The basic rule of thumb is to apply things in this sublayer in time stamp order. This rule can potentially apply to all the sublayers, but it is probably most pertinent to (2) and (5). In (5), you just want to account for if power and toughness were switch multiple times. Basically, whatever spell or ability resolved last will have a chance to apply. And sometimes, it can overwrite earlier effects as a result. Frequently, you see this with stuff like Humility, or an interaction between a Genju of the Cedars and Darkblast.
In Humility's case, making creatures into 1/1s can matter if something like Mutilate was played before or after the Humility. Humility played first means that Mutilate will kill a lot of stuff (since everything was a 1/1 and then got -X/-X). However, in the opposite order, Mutilate would kill off stuff, then Humility would make everything 1/1 regardless. Why? Because Humility sets everything to a 1/1, and doesn't consider the -X/-X of Mutilate. I know, it's confusing, so if you have questions on "Why", post them to the forum. But, it's time stamp order for these effects that determines what the final power and toughness is.
In the Genju of the Cedars/Darkblast situation, it's very similar. Activating the Genju makes the enchanted land a 4/4. Darkblast would give it -1/-1, making the land a 3/3. If you activate the Genju again, then this effect will "overwrite" the Darkblast's effect. The enchanted land will now be a 4/4. Again, I realize it's confusing, but if you need clarification please post it to the forum. But, if you remember time stamp order here, then it should be a bit more straight forward to figure out.
Anyhow, hopefully armed with this knowledge, it will make all of your games easier and help you come to the right answer in sanctioned events so that you don't get confused and it costs you a game.
Submitted by epeeguy
In DCI Sanctioned events, players are required to present a "sufficiently randomized" deck to their opponent before they begin playing a game (see Section 21 of the Universal Tournament Rules). This deck then can be cut and/or shuffled by the opponent after presenting (at Competitive and Professional events, it is required to be shuffled), and you can then cut the deck if it has been shuffled by your opponent (you cannot shuffle it again, nor can you cut it if your opponent only cut your deck). Also note that you are allowed 3 minutes before each game to take care of this (including sideboarding), and 1 minute for any shuffles that occur in game. Please try not to take up all the time though, as it does impair both you and your opponent's ability to finish the match timely.
While there are no rules that govern what methods of shuffling are allowed or disallowed (or any specifics beyond the requirement of "sufficient randomization"), I want to give you at least one view of what you should do when shuffling. Please note that while I've pointed out the requirement in the rules as written, this is primarily my own opinion on shuffling methods and what you should be aware of as a player. If you have other specific questions then please ask the Head Judge of the event you are in about what they think is okay or not. If you have additional questions, please post them to the forum.
With that, let's cover some of the basic shuffling techniques:
The Riffle Shuffle: This method of shuffling is the "default" method (you see card dealers in movies do this, and it makes that neat "zipper" sound as well). Specifically, you divide the deck into two halves and then "weave" them together by dropping cards from each half into a single pile. Ideally, this "weaving" is random and the cards end up in a random order. However, it can take multiple Riffle Shuffles to truly accomplish this. There have been some mathematical studies that I have read which suggest that it takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 or more to accomplish "sufficient randomization"; the DCI has no policy on how many are required, only that the deck that is presented be "sufficiently randomized".
The Pile Shuffle: This method basically results in cards being taken from the deck and placed into individual piles, with the individual piles being brought back together to reform the deck. For example, taking each card from the deck and putting into one of 7 individual piles then bringing the 7 piles back together. Ideally, this is a good way to count the cards in the deck and also can break up "chunks" of cards. However this is not an actual shuffle; the cards are actually being sorted before the deck is recreated. In most cases, if you don't know the order of the cards, this isn't a problem; sorting essentially does nothing to something that is already random.
However, if the order is known, then sorting the cards into piles can be bad. Which is why you should A) always sort the deck into a number of piles that does not evenly divide into the total number of cards in the deck (for example, 7 piles does not divide evenly into a 60 card deck; so not every pile with have the same number of cards) and B) always use another method of shuffling when using the Pile Shuffle, usually after you've performed the Pile Shuffle. For example, combining the Riffle Shuffle with the Pile Shuffle. This allows you to count out the cards, and then randomly bring them back together.
Overhand Shuffle: This technique involves taking a section of the deck, and then moving it to the top or the bottom of the deck alternatively. So, a stack of about 10 to 20 cards gets taken from the middle and then put on the top or bottom. This isn't really a shuffle either, as those 10 to 20 cards stayed together in one chunk and got moved together. So, in order to randomize the deck, it takes a really high number of these to accomplish this (mathematically speaking). This may be good if you just want to shift cards around a bit in your opponent's deck after they've presented, but it is not good for ensuring your own deck is "sufficiently randomized".
Fan/Push Shuffle: I usually like to include this as a type of Riffle Shuffle, however it bears mentioning that it is slightly different. When "Fanning" the deck, you take each half of the deck and then separate the cards slightly in your hands and push them together, allowing them to "weave" together naturally without bending the cards (as happens in a true Riffle Shuffle). When "Pushing", you simply place each half of the deck on the table, and then push them together; again, allowing them to "weave" together naturally. Either way, the two methods are very similar to each other. The biggest difference between this and Riffle Shuffling is that this usually cause less wear on the cards (especially when sleeved) and doesn't bend them; so it's a favorite of the Vintage and Legacy community.
There are other techniques I've heard of, but am not that familiar with, but this list covers the "general" types of shuffling I've seen or used myself. Each method has its pros and cons, and you should be aware of these when shuffling your deck. Again, the requirement is that you present a "sufficiently randomized" deck; so be aware of which methods can accomplish this (Riffle and Fan/Push) versus those that really can't accomplish this on their own (Pile and Overhand). The onus is on the individual player to meet the requirement, so I would strongly suggest using two different methods to accomplish this (for example, Pile and then Riffle). A single Pile Shuffle followed by multiple Riffle Shuffles takes about 2 minutes if done cautiously... So be aware of that. But, if you combine methods and perform multiple shuffles, you should be able to meet the requirement of "sufficiently randomized".
What's a cut?
There's actually sometimes a bit of confusion over what exactly constitutes a cut. The standard definition is "Taking a single portion of the deck from the deck, and then putting it on the top or bottom of the remaining portion of the deck." It isn't simply dividing the deck in half and putting the one half on top of the other, as you can actually remove a portion of the deck from the center and put it on top of the remaining portion of the deck (this is sometimes called a Skarne cut). So, if your opponent takes the top 10 or so cards and puts it on the bottom, that's just a cut and is not a shuffle. If your opponent takes the bottom 20 cards and puts it on the top of the deck, again, this is a cut. If your opponent takes the middle 20 cards and puts it on the top of the deck; it's a cut, not a shuffle. Only one portion of the deck was taken and moved to the top or bottom.
On the other hand, if your opponent does multiple cuts, then it is considered to have been a shuffle (effectively, your opponent has executed several Overhand Shuffles, as noted above). In which case you could make a final cut. Otherwise, if the opponent simply takes the one portion from anywhere in the deck and puts it on the top of the remaining portion, it's just a cut.
Manaweaving and you
This bears special mention as many players (especially more casual ones) believe it is okay to sort your decks into a pile of mana producers (typically just land) and a pile of other cards and then space out mana producers evenly before presenting the deck. This can potentially be "Very, Very Bad", as it is actually stacking your deck. Since the mana producers and other cards are now evenly distributed throughout the deck, you will not meet the requirement of "sufficiently randomized". This is actually a violation of the Universal Tournament Rules, and can result in being penalized accordingly.
If you have sorted your deck initially, which is perfectly legal, then you must thoroughly randomize your deck afterwards to ensure that the deck you present is "sufficiently randomized" as required by the DCI (since the emphasis is on the deck presented, after all shuffling has been performed). This can be problematic as the appearance of the deck depends on how well you shuffle, as well as the number of iterations of shuffling that take place. So even if you have performed a number of shuffles after the initial manipulation, the deck could still appear to a judge to not have been "sufficiently randomized". While judges should investigate the shuffling methods used, it may still be difficult to distinquish the deck from one that has been, in fact, manipulated and stack.
In short, "mana weaving" is legal, provided you shuffle thoroughly afterwards. But even if you do shuffle thoroughly afterwards, it can still appear very questionable to your opponent or a judge. Personally, I would advise against it, if only to prevent an unfortunately conclusion being drawn regarding the appearance of your deck.
Sufficient randomization and your opponent
So, you are shuffling up for game 1 in your match, and you observe your opponent mana weave the deck, pile shuffle once, riffle shuffle once, and then present the deck. What do you do? Do you take it upon yourself to "enforce" the rules and deliberately shuffle his deck so that you clump all the land at the bottom of his deck? Or do you call a judge?
You call a judge of course. It is not the player's responsibility to enforce the rules, and trying to take advantage of your opponent's shuffling to benefit yourself is, at best, likely to be Unsporting Conduct. Or, it could even be construed as being Cheating. If you notice your opponent's deck could have been presented and not have been "sufficiently randomized", then you call a judge and tell us your concerns. At that point, it's up to the judge, but that is the proper procedure to handle these kind of things and in reality, the judge should be able to review the deck and interview the players to determine what happened.
Now, as far as things go for you if you have no concerns about your opponent's deck... You can do whatever you like for shuffling. The requirement for "sufficient randomization" was upon your opponent, not you. So, simply Pile Shuffling the deck (in order to count the cards, not to impair the other player) is okay. As is performing 1 or 2 Riffle Shuffles. Really, this step is for you to take an opportunity to ensure your opponent's deck is sufficiently randomized; which is why if you have concerns, you should call a judge. Otherwise, you're just keeping your opponent honest here. And you should always take the opportunity to count your opponent's deck at this point. Don't just riffle it (or cut it) and give it back.
Shuffling Face Down
It bears special mentioning that whenever you shuffle a deck, you must shuffle it so that the cards cannot be seen (this is also in Section 21 of the Universal Tournament Rules). This doesn't mean shuffling them with the faces towards you, but looking away; at this point, the cards can be seen, it's just that you're not looking. Quite literally, this means you must shuffle the cards so that you cannot seen them at all, whether you are looking at them or not. Shuffling face up gives the possibility that they can be seen, so you have to shuffle the deck face down. That way you cannot see the cards at all. Note: as many people know by now, a very famous player was just DQ'ed for this infraction. So, please, take this very seriously.
I hope that this helps players understand what is required of you in Sanctioned Events, as well as helps identify methods you can use to accomplish this and what the pros and cons of the methods might be. Again, this is an important part of the tournament and each player should be familiar with what is required of you (and how you can help yourself out here). If you have any more questions, please post them to the forum.
Submitted by epeeguy
The two phrases seem very similar at first glance, but mean fundamentally different things. And there is often signficant confusion amongst players regarding the two and what happens in relation to each. So, hopefully this should clear up the fundamental differences between the two and help you understand what each means and the impact this has on your games.
At End of Turn: Something that says "At end of turn..." is really a triggered ability that triggers when the game reaches the End of Turn Step in the End Phase (Rule 313). These triggered abilities are put on the stack at the very beginning of the End of Turn Step, and only trigger at that time. So, if you reach the End of Turn Step and you have an ability that triggers at end of turn, then it will trigger at this point. However, if you are already in the End of Turn Step and you play an ability (like Goryo's Vengeance) at this point, it waits until the next turn to trigger (as you've past the point it could trigger).
Until End of Turn: Something that says "Until end of turn..." is a duration of an effect, and signifies that the effect ends during the Cleanup Step in the End Phase (Rule 314). If you played an ability that only lasts until the end of the turn, this means it will expire during this step and it won't carry over to the next turn. The removal of damage and discarding down to your maximum hand size also occurs during this Step as well. So, if you use an ability during the End of Turn Step that lasts until the end of the turn, it goes away in the next step. If you use a "pinger" to deal damage to something, that damage goes away as well in the next step.
For example: Playing Goryo's Vengeance during the End of Turn Step allows Yosei to stay around until the next turn. Because Goryo's Vengeance sets up a triggered ability that triggers when you reach the End of Turn Step (and if you are currently in the Step, the game waits for the next opportunity to trigger, which is in the next Turn). But, you can't do the same by animating a Plains with Genju of the Fields and have it stay animated in the next turn (because the effect lasts until the end of the turn, which expires in the Cleanup Step).
Again, "At End of Turn" and "Until End of Turn" are fundamentally different and mean completely different things. If you remember that anything that says "At End of Turn" is a triggered ability that triggers at a specific point in time and "Until End of Turn" is a duration that expires at a specific point in time, that should help a lot. But the difference can be critical and why some things that look similar, aren't at all the same.
Submitted by epeeguy
During sanctioned events, one of the things you will frequently see is a player joting down notes about their opponent's hand. Or perhaps the player is noting the cards that were played in a given turn. Maybe they are simply making a note about what happened during combat. In any event, note taking is a integral part of playing Magic. However, there are a few things to be aware of when taking notes. First, let's cover what the [O]fficial rules from the Universal Tournament Rules say:
28. Taking Notes
Players are allowed to take brief written notes regarding the current match and may refer to those notes while this match is in progress. Players are expected to take their notes in a time fashion. Players who take too much time will be subject to the appropriate provisions of the DCI Penalty Guidelines
During the draft portion of a tournament, players and spectators may not take any notes. Players may not refer to outside notes during the match. This includes notes from previous matches of that day.
Additionally, while the Universal Tournament Rules are currently silent on this, it has also been confirmed on Judge-L that any notes taking during a match by a player are considered to be hidden information (Note: this is a reversal/clarification as of June 15th, 2007. Correspondingly the part of this mini-FAQ regarding Hidden Notes and Shorthand/Foreign Language have been removed.). That is, anything that you write down is not public to the opponent and he or she isn't allowed to view what you've written down. That you've taken the notes is public information to the opponent, and he or she can have it verified that there are no outside notes. But the contents of those notes are hidden to your opponent.
So, let's go over the three basics of note taking:
Cabal Therapy: You play and resolve Cabal Therapy against your opponent, who has 5 cards in hand. Would you be allowed to write down the cards in his hand? Yes. You should be able to take down the card names quickly and since the hand was revealed, you can take notes of what your opponent has.
Cranial Extraction: You play and resolve Cranial Extraction against your opponent, searching out the copies of the named card in his hand and library. Would you be allowed to write down the complete contents of his library? No. Simply put, it would be very time intensive to write down the name of every card in the library and would dramatically slow down the match. Taking a few notes about some the cards in the library is one thing; but not the complete contents.
Combat damage: During the game, each time you or your opponent take damage in combat, you write down what actually damaged you. Is this okay? Certainly, and it can actually be very helpful in case there is a discrepansy in life totals.
During a Top 8 draft: You make the Top 8 in a Limited Tournament, and would like to take notes about the draft to help write a tournament report. Is this allowed? No, and it is pretty explicitly disallowed by DCI policies. While MTGO allows you to do this, and many people think that means you can do it in sanctioned events, this is simply not the case.
Notes on sideboarding: You are attending a Constructed event and decide that you want to include notes on how to sideboard during certain games. That way you can better play your deck. Would this be allowed? No, as this would constitute outside notes. You didn't take those notes during a match, so you cannot refer to them at all. Now if you take notes during the match on what you sideboarded in and out, that's one thing. But you cannot have a pregenerated page on how to sideboard during your matches.
Note: in case you try to be tricky, the use of different colored sleeves for certain cards in the sideboard would also be disallowed if it looks like it is some kind of "note" on what cards to use. While these may not be written, this would certainly be problematic as they can indicate that you're using the sleeves to indicate what cards to use in certain matchups. The same is also true for writing on cards that isn't artistic in nature. "For Goblins!" on a card brought in against a Goblin deck is definitely outside notes.
Notes on another match: You are between rounds of an event and are watching some of your possible opponents for the next round. You write down a few brief notes of what they are playing, so that you can use them in your next match against them. Can you do this? No, as again, this is definitely outside notes. If you didn't take the notes during the match you are currently playing, then you cannot refer to them during that match.
This covers most of the basic questions that people have regarding notes, as well as the policy of the DCI when it comes to taking notes. Again, if you can remember the three guidelines from above, that should cover most of the situations you are likely to encounter. If you have specific questions, then please post them to the forum!
Submitted by epeeguy
Within Magic, there are several cards that allow you to search your library or your opponent's library. This gambit runs from Demonic Tutor and Gifts Ungiven to Extract and Cranial Extraction. In each case, similar rules govern the search, but sometimes these rules are misunderstood. And what may seem to be the same thing, is actually slightly different. So, let's go over what the CompRules have to say:
So, we can see that the rules have two different situations. Let's go over each of them separately.
Search for cards with a given quality
This covers cards like Gifts Ungiven, Merchant Scroll or Polluted Delta; as each of these asks you to find a card (or cards) with a certain quality. Whether it be name, color or type, each of these effects allows you to find something specific from the Library. If you find the card, you have to reveal it to all players in the game (this is a verification tool, to ensure you found the right card) before doing whatever it is you need to do next with the card (put it into play, into your hand, etc.).
What is unique about this kind of search is that you can voluntarily fail to find that card (or cards) when looking in a hidden zone. Specifically, because the Library and Hand are hidden zones and generally considered unknown to the players (the Hand is known to that one player), you don't have to find a card with that quality. This is mostly because it's too difficult to "verify" that you don't actually have that kind of card. So, you can voluntarily fail this search.
Of course, if you are looking in a public zone (such as the graveyard), then you would have to find it. So, if you Cranial Extract someone for Counterspell and they two in their 'yard, then you have to find those two. The other two in their Library and Hand you can fail to find, but not the two in the 'yard.
Search for cards without a specified quality
Cards like Demonic Tutor, Extract and Intuition allow you to find some number of cards. In these cases, you have to find that many cards if possible. So, if you have at least one card in your Library when you play Demonic Tutor, you have to find that card. If you have two cards in your Library when you play Intuition, you have to find those two cards even if you can't find the card. And yes, you have to choose a card to Extract for your opponent (even if it's a basic land). Since none of these specify some kind of quality, you have to find the card if possible.
The easiest way to remember the difference is just to look to see if the effect specifies something about the card you are looking for. If it does, then you can fail to find that card even if there is one that you could find. But, if the effect just says to find a card, then you have to find a card; you cannot fail that search.
Submitted by epeeguy
The converted mana cost of an object in Magic (whether it be a spell, permanent, or a card) is a rather confusing thing for players. Especially as it seems there is a lot of conflicting information on certain things. For example: "My spell has {X} in the cost, does that mean that X is 0 when I play it?", "I played my spell without paying the mana cost, does that mean it has no converted mana cost?" or "I made X equal to 6, but only paid {4}{B} for the spell, does that mean its converted mana cost is 5?". Hopefully this brief walkthrough will be able to explain how things work for determining an objects mana cost.
Mana cost and Converted mana cost
In order to determine the converted mana cost of an object, you start with the mana cost. The mana cost of something is the printed symbols in the upper right hand corner of the card (or what would be the card, if it's a copy). In order to convert that into the converted mana cost, you simply take the total amount of mana in the mana cost and turn that into a number. That number is then the converted mana cost. For example, Spell Snare has a mana cost of {U}. That's 1 mana total, and therefore the converted mana cost of Spell Snare is 1. For Platinum Angel, the mana cost is {7}. That's 7 mana total, so the converted mana cost is 7. For Force of Nature, the mana cost is {2}{G}{G}{G}{G}. That's 6 mana total, so the converted mana cost is 6. This is all from rule 203.3 in the CompRules.
If the object in question has no mana cost, then its converted mana cost is 0. This is because the mana cost is not defined, and for any undefined value, the game treats this amount as being zero. So, a Mountain has no mana cost and would be treated as having a converted mana cost of 0. If the object is a token, then it's generally going to have a converted mana cost of 0 as it has no mana cost. Unless, of course, the token is actually copy of something (for example, a token creature created by Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker). In which case, the mana cost of that token is the same as what it copied. Which then gives you the converted mana cost of the token copy.
Converted mana cost versus what you pay
Another thing that people get hung up on is if the cost of the spell has been reduced. Specifically, if you have something like Sunscape Familiar or Ruby Medallion in play and the cost of the spell is reduced by {1}. Or, perhaps if you played Force of Will by pitching a card and paying 1 life. Since what you paid is not the mana cost, this means the converted mana cost is what you actually paid? Unfortunately, that's not so. The converted mana cost is only dependent on the mana cost of the card; what you paid does not determine what the converted mana cost is. So, even if you have an interaction of Force of Will, Trinisphere and a Chalice of the Void in play with 3 counters on it, the converted mana cost of the Force is still 5 and doesn't cause the Chalice to trigger. That's because the mana cost of the Force is still {3}{U}{U}, even though what was paid is obviously not the same.
Values of X and converted mana cost
The follow-up to this is with values of X. Sometimes people get confused and think that X is what you paid. That's not so, as X is a value you choose when you play the spell. In this case, you choose the value for X and then that makes {X} into something. For example, playing Blaze and choose X to be 3, means that {X} is {3}. So, the converted mana cost of Blaze would be 4 (as the mana cost of Blaze is {3}{R} now). Even if the cost is reduced by 1 (from the aforementioned Ruby Medallion), the mana cost is still {3}{R} and the converted mana cost is 4.
But, this is only while the card is a spell on the stack; X can only be defined at that point in time. In any other zone of the game (your hand or in play for example), this is actually treated as being 0 (the value is undefined and is therefore treated as being 0). So, that Blaze when in your hand is treated as having a mana cost of {0}{R}, which is a converted mana cost of 1. If you had revealed the Blaze from Dark Confidant, because X is treated as 0, you will only lose 1 life. That is covered in rule 104.2 of the CompRules.
So, the basic rule of thumb to determining converted mana cost is to look at the upper right hand corner of the card and see what that value is. If there's an {X} up there, then {X} is either 0 or the value that was chosen for it when it was played. From there, simply add up the total mana in the mana cost and convert it into a number. That gives you the converted mana cost of the object!
Submitted by rrwoods
And it really is a single Frequently Asked Question. The common answer to the question "What targets?" is "things that say 'target'"; however, that isn't really the full answer. Neither is "things that say 'target' and Aura spells on the stack" -- there are a whopping six other keyword abilities that target various things, and without reminder text -- which some cards do lack -- you wouldn't know. I'll get into the two categories I already mentioned first (things that say 'target' and Aura spells on the stack), and then get into the other six. Without further ado, let's dive in!
SPELLS AND ABILITIES THAT USE THE WORD "TARGET" IN THEIR RULES TEXT
If a spell or ability says 'target,' guess what? It targets the thing after the word target. Anything that can't be the target of spells or abilities can't have these spells or abilities played on them in the first place. No Charring that Kodama for you!
AURA SPELLS ON THE STACK
While playing an Aura spell, you must designate something for it to enchant. This process targets the object or player you designate. Also, like other spells and abilities, if the target becomes illegal before the Aura resolves, the Aura will be countered. No Pacifying that Kodama for you!
However, if the Aura is coming into play by a means other than being played, then enchanting something with it that's untargetable is just fine -- the Aura only targets while it's on the stack, and it's never on the stack. Only the spell or ability putting it into play is! This does not, however, get around things like "can't be enchanted" or protection.
EQUIP
Equip targets the creature you're trying to attach the equipment to. No Cloaking that Kodama for you! (How very redundant anyway, amirite?)
PROVOKE
Provoke targets the creature you want to untap and block. There are a few other nuances with Provoke (mainly to do with timing), but we'll save those for another time. No Grappling that Kodama for you!
SOULSHIFT
Soulshift targets the creature card you want to bring back to your hand. No Promising that-WAIT A SECOND!
Might as well say it now: Abilities of cards in graveyards don't apply unless the card says it does. Bringing back a Kodama of the North Tree with Soulshift is actually just fine and dandy unless another ability says otherwise. Alright, moving on: (Assuming Ground Seal is in play...) No Promising that Kodama for you!
MODULAR
The leaves-play ability of Modular targets the creature you want to put the counters on. (The comes-into-play ability doesn't target anything.) No Modularizing that... Artifacty ...Kodama for you! (The astute will notice you couldn't modularize a Kodama anyway since it isn't an artifact... hence the added stipulation.)
HAUNT
The first half of Haunt (the half that does the haunting, not the half that does the effect when the haunted creature dies) targets the creature you want to Haunt. No Haunting that Kodama for you!
FORTIFY
A lot like equip. Fortify targets the land you want to attach the fortification to. No fortifying that... um... untargetable land... for you! (psst... anybody got one of these for me?)
REINFORCE
Reinforce targets the creature you want to receive the counters. No reinforcing that Kodama for you!
OTHER FACTS ABOUT TARGETING
Targeting restrictions -- these are fun little things that appear after the word "target" in the rules text of a card. For example, Dark Banishing's targeting restriction is "nonblack creature". That means that you have to choose and target a nonblack creature when you play the spell, and that creature has to still be nonblack when the spell resolves in order for the Banishing to destroy it. As another example, Hydroblast's first mode says "counter target spell if it's red". Note that the targeting restriction here is simply "spell" -- it is NOT "red spell". A nonred spell is a perfectly legal choice for a target here (and similarly, a nonred permanent is a perfectly legal choice for the second mode of Hydroblast). However, if it's not red by the time the blast resolves then it won't be countered -- hence the "if it's red" stipulation in the text.
While Protection itself doesn't target (that'd be a bit weird, no?), one of the things it protects against is being targeted by things of the stated quality. For example, an Azorius First-Wing can't be targeted by any of the Nemesis/Dissension Seals since it has protection from enchantments. This is not stated in the rules text of cards with protection, so I thought it warranted mentioning.
There are a lot of things that don't target, and I certainly can't get into all of them here, but I will mention a few, as well as whether protection gets around these things anyway. Note that all of these -- as well as any I don't list -- should be very easy to figure out if you simply look at the list and see if the spell or ability matches the criteria above.
Mass removal effects do not target the creatures they are removing. They do not say target, they are not Aura spells on the stack, and they are not any of the above five keyword abilities. Protection doesn't get around mass removal.
Mass damage effects do not target the creatures they damage. Protection gets around mass damage by preventing it unless for some reason damage can't be prevented.
Anything else that says "each" or "all" doesn't target what is referred to by each or all. If the effect damages (see mass damage) then protection will prevent the damage; otherwise protection probably won't dodge it (I can't see how an effect that uses "each" or "all" is going to be enchanting or blocking, and if it's targeting then it'll say so!).
Draw effects do not target the player drawing the cards or the library they're drawn from unless they say otherwise.
In general, effects that use the word "you" do not target you.
Continuous effects from static abilities don't target the objects they affect. Protection does not get around these effects.
IN CLOSING...
Nine things (as of Shards of Alara) will target:
"Target" (specified explicitly)
Aura spells on the stack
Modular (second half)
Provoke
Fortify
Reinforce
Equip
Soulshift
Haunt
So, just remember "TAMP FRESH" and you'll remember what targets!
I hope this answers a few questions! Have fun targeting things -- or not!
Remember, kids: Never fight with Flashback, 'cause Flashback always wins.
... is actually cleverly disguised as a CI article written by yours truly. You can find it by clicking here.
You can also read the meat of it below...
Let’s get down to the fisticuffs.
Q: I hear players at tournaments saying things like, “declare my attack phase.” Do I need to do that?
A: Yes and no. You don’t need to say that exactly, but you do need to make it clear to your opponent that you want to move the game to the combat phase. The easiest way to do this is simply to tell him so. I suppose you could also pull out a dueling pistol and say, “my good man, I propose that we settle this thru the gentlemanly art of combat,” but that might get you in trouble.
Q: So what do I actually do during the beginning of combat step?
A: Usually, very little happens during this step. This is especially true of the attacking player. However, the defending player can have some saucy options. If you have an Icy Manipulator, Minister of Impediments, or some other tapping ability, this is your last chance to use it. Once the game goes to the declare attackers step, you’d only be able to tap creatures after they’ve started attacking. By then, that’s too late to accomplish anything (as 306.2b tells us, “Tapping or untapping a creature that’s already been declared as an attacker or blocker doesn’t remove it from combat and doesn’t prevent its combat damage.”).
Bonus: Strategically, the beginning of combat step is the best time to tap down an attacker. That way, the attacking player can’t do things like move equipment around, which he could do if the game were still in the first main phase. When you use an Icy-style effect, be sure to say it’s being used during the beginning of combat step. That removes any ambiguity over its use.
Q: Does this mean I can attack multiple different opponents in a multiplayer game?
A: In some official multiplayer formats, this is a legal option. Other formats limit your attack options. If you’re just playing in a casual group, your group should determine how they want to handle attacking multiple opponents. Some groups like the grand melee feel of it, while others don’t.
Q: Is this when Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran’s ability triggers?
A: Yes. If you’ve declared Agrus Kos as an attacker, then his ability will trigger in the declare attackers step, once all attackers have been declared. When that ability resolves, the appropriate creatures will get their bonus(es).
When does 1 not equal 1?
A: Yes, it is. Goblin Piledriver has a triggered ability that triggers once attackers have been declared. When the game checks the legality of your attacks, the Piledriver still has a 1 power. At that point, Ensnaring Bridge is satisfied. After that, the Piledriver’s ability goes onto the stack. When that ability resolves, it will count the number of other attacking Goblins and boost the Piledriver’s power by the appropriate amount.
Q: So that means Goblin Piledriver can’t attack if my opponent has Reverence in play?
A: Not normally, no. Its power will be 1 when you declare attackers, and that will be an illegal attack because of Reverence’s static ability. If you had a way to boost the Piledriver’s power to at least 3, then you could legally declare it as an attacker. You’d also need some pretty brawny Goblins to go along with him if you wanted to get a decent boost.
Q: Speaking of brawny Goblins, if I control two Mogg Flunkies, can they both attack?
A: Yes. Mogg Flunkies has a restriction, that it “can’t attack or block alone.” Remember, though, that a card referencing itself really means, “this particular object.” So, if you have two Mogg Flunkies, each cannot attack or block alone. However, if you declare both as attackers, each will “see” the other attacking, and thus, neither is attacking alone.
Q: When does Ghostly Prison’s ability force my opponent to pay for each of his attacking creatures?
A: After he has declared his attackers, but still inside the declare attackers step. The progression goes like this: your opponent chooses which creatures he wants to attack with and declares them as his attackers. The attacking creatures then become tapped, unless they have vigilance. Then, the attacking player determines any costs that need to be paid for the creatures to attack. This is when Ghostly Prison will hold out a skeletal hand and demand its tax.
Q: So blocking doesn’t tap my creatures?
A: Nope. I’ve seen several new players make that mistake. Blocking does not cause a creature to become tapped.
Q: How does the “spider” ability work?
A: It works well, if a bit confusingly for some players. The spider ability is “can block as though it had flying.” It was first seen on Giant Spider, and has appeared on many spiders over the years, so that’s the reason for its colloquial name. The ability means the creature is treated as having flying for the purposes of declaring blockers. This means a Giant Spider can block any flying creature, presuming no other abilities prevent the Spider from blocking (it can’t block something that has both flying and fear, for example).
Q: Does this mean a Giant Spider can block a creature that can only be blocked by flying creatures, like Silhana Ledgewalker?
A: Yes. When you declare the Spider as a blocker, it’s considered to have flying. That makes it a legal choice to block creatures which can only be blocked by fliers. The game will see the Spider as a flying creature while this is happening, and the block will be legal.
Check this out, from the Comp Rules glossary:
Q: What’s the difference between “becomes blocked” and “becomes blocked by a creature?”
A: An ability that triggers when a creature becomes blocked will trigger just once, after blockers have been declared, regardless of how many creatures blocked. Take any Samurai as an example. If you throw three creatures in the way of your opponent’s Hand of Honor, its bushido ability will still trigger only once. Compare that to Tangle Asp. The Asp’s ability will trigger once for each creature that blocks it. So, if you shove the same three creatures in front of Tangle Asp, its ability will trigger three times, and those three creatures will be destroyed at the end of combat.
Also, some cards which only say “becomes blocked” will later say “for each creature blocking it.” Rabid Elephant is a good example of this. If two creatures blocked it, it will get +2/+2 for each of them when the ability resolves. The difference between this and “becomes blocked by a creature” is that the Elephant’s ability still triggers only once (it counts the number of blocking creatures upon resolution), while Tangle Asp’s ability triggers once for each creature that gets in its way.
Q: Once my opponent has declared no blockers for an attacker of mine, it’s legal for me to use ninjutsu abilities, right?
A: Correct you are. (Hmmm, sounded a bit like Yoda there, I did.) If a creature has had no blockers declared for it, it is considered an unblocked creature. As such, you can use it to sneak a ninja into play.
Q: How does trample factor into all this?
A: Trample modifies the rules for assigning combat damage. If you attack with a trampling creature, you first assign damage to the creature(s) blocking it. Then, if all those blocking creatures have been assigned lethal damage, you may divide any remaining damage between those creatures and the defending player however you choose. Let’s go thru some examples:
Hulk SMASH . . . with an ability that
modifies the rules for assigning
combat damage!
#2: War Mammoth smashing into a Hill Giant. Nothing exciting happens here, since they’re both 3/3 creatures. The Mammoth will assign all 3 of its damage to the Hill Giant, and there’s nothing left to “trample over” with.
#3: War Mammoth smashing into a Hill Giant that already has 2 damage on it. This plays out differently. When you go to figure out what lethal damage is, you take into account any damage already on the creature. In this case, assigning 1 damage to the Hill Giant is lethal, since it will have taken a total of 3 damage in the turn. Thus, you could assign 1 damage to the Hill Giant and the remaining 2 to your opponent. You could also split it 2 to the Giant and 1 to the opponent, or all 3 to the Giant.
Bonus: If you don’t declare how you assign your trample damage, many judges presume that you choose to “trample over” any excess damage to the defending player. This will not always be to your benefit (like if your opponent busts out a Giant Growth to save his blocker), so be sure you indicate how you’re splitting up the trampler’s combat damage.
Q: If a 4/4 creature blocks my Paladin en-Vec, can I Shock the 4/4 and let the Paladin’s first strike damage kill it?
A: Yep. After Shock resolves, the 4/4 will have 2 damage on it. When you assign the Paladin’s first strike damage, that’ll be a total of 4 damage on the 4/4, and it won’t be long for the mortal coil.
Q: I’m attacking with a creature that has double strike. Its first strike damage is enough to kill the blocking creature. Can I now assign the normal damage to my opponent?
A: Only if the double striker also has trample. Once a creature has been blocked, it’s considered blocked for the duration of combat. Creatures without trample can’t divide their damage between their blockers and the defending player. Your double striker will still take a mighty swing when normal damage comes around, but he’ll only end up wounding the breeze.
Denying Jitte counters since 2004.
A: He was indeed. Toshi’s Broken Pointy Stick will only get counters when the equipped creature deals combat damage. If the blocking creature is no longer there, however, the attacker will not deal any combat damage.
Since the Jitte bearer will not assign any damage to the nonexistent blocker, the Jitte will gain no counters.
Q: Once combat damage has gone onto the stack, is it too late to play Giant Growth?
A: It’s not too late to play it, but it’s probably too late to get the effect you want to get. When Giant Growth resolves, your creature will get +3/+3, but that won’t change the amount of damage that was put onto the stack. It might change whether the creature lives thru the damage it’s receiving, however. A 3/3 that was slated to receive 4 damage will live thru it as a 6/6, after all.
Q: Does anything happen at the end of combat step?
A: Not often. There will sometimes be triggered abilities which need to go onto the stack (like the delayed triggers from the aforementioned Tangle Asp, which will destroy the creatures it . . . er, tangled with), but otherwise, this is a rather uneventful step.
Looks like the combat phase is over. That means this article is over, too. Take your newfound knowledge of the combat phase and use it to smite your opponents’ creatures. (Smiting your opponent is, after all, illegal in most places.)
My Eternal Cube on CubeTutor| |My Reject Rare Cube on CubeTutor| |My Peasant Cube on CubeTutor
I used to write for MTGS, including Cranial Insertion and cube articles. Good on you if you can find those after the upgrade.
by epeeguy
Trample is an ability that modifies how an attacking creatures deal damage in combat. Specifically, when that creature becomes blocked it has the ability to deal damage to the defending player. There are a few things that typically cause confusion, especially as the ability has changed since it was originally written and some people still remember the way it used to work. With that in mind, this FAQ should address some of the more common questions involving Trample, as well as augment Dr. Tom's FAQ and CI Article on the Combat Phase. Note: unless otherwise specified, all examples assume there is no damage already on the blocking creature. The full rules for Trample can be found in 502.9 of the CompRules.
Assigning Damage
An attacking creature with Trample has to assign damage to all the creatures blocking it before any damage can be assigned to the defending player. The amount of damage that must first be assigned to the blocking creatures is called "lethal damage", which is an amount of damage equal to the creature's current toughness (be sure to account for any damage already on the creature though, and you can always assign more damage to that creature). Protection will affect whether or not the damage is actually dealt or not, but you still need to assign damage equal to current toughness (less damage already on the creature) to that creature before the defending player. If there is another attacking creature that were blocked by the same creatures, you can assign damage from the other creature "before" assigning damage from the creature with Trample. In this way, you can actually maximize the amount of damage that could be assigned to the player. Here are a couple of examples:
You attack with a Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks Conclave Phalanx. Before damage is assigned, you play Shock targeting the Phalanx. When combat damage is assigned, since the Phalanx now has 2 damage on it, you only have to assign 2 damage to the Phalanx from the Hunter for lethal damage. The remaining 2 damage can be assigned to the defending player.
You attack with a Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with Grizzly Bears and Birchlore Rangers. When damage is assigned, you must assign 2 damage to the Bears and 1 damage to the Rangers first (since this is lethal damage before each of these creatures). This leaves 1 damage that can be assigned to the defending player.
You attack with Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with Treetop Sentinel. When combat damage is assigned, lethal damage has to be assigned to the Sentinel before any is assigned to the defending player. This means 3 damage needs to be assigned to the Sentinel (even though that damage will be prevented) and only 1 can be assigned to the player.
You attack with a Fangren Hunter that is banded with a Benalish Infantry. Your opponent blocks with Canopy Spider. When assigning damage from the Hunter and Infantry, you can assign the 1 damage from the Infantry to the Spider, then assign 2 damage from the Hunter to the Spider (thus equalling lethal damage). The remaining 2 damage from the Hunter can then be assigned to the defending player.
Blocking creatures leaving play
A blocking creature that leaves combat will affect how damage is going to be assigned, but it doesn't change how damage has already been assigned. Specifically, if the blocking creature leaves combat before the damage is assigned, then all the damage from the attacking creature can be assigned to the defending player (as damage cannot be assigned to a creature that is no longer in combat). Example:
You attack with Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with Bottle Gnomes. Before damage is assigned, your opponent sacrifices the Gnomes. While the Hunter remains blocked, all the damage can be assigned to the defending player as there is no blocking creature that damage has to be assigned to first.
However once combat damage has been assigned, a blocking creature leaving combat will not affect the damage assignment. Damage will still be dealt as it was assigned, and will not increase because the creature is no longer in play. Example:
You again attack with Fangren Hunter and your opponent blocks with another Bottle Gnomes. After damage has been assigned, your opponent sacrifices the Gnomes. As 3 damage was assigned to the Gnomes and 1 to the defending player, only 1 damage will be dealt to the defending player (as that was what was assigned).
Hopefully this will help to explain how the Trample ability works. As always, if you have additional questions, feel free to post them to the forum!
by epeeguy
Protection is an ability that causes frequent confusion as to what it actually does. In effect, Protection does five separate things, and this FAQ will explain what each of these actually does. The full rules for Protection can be found in 502.7 of the CompRules. Protection basically "protects" the permanent that has Protection from other objects that have a given "quality" (this "quality" can be any characteristic of a card, from color to type). The five things that protection does is:
1.) Prevents the permanent from being targeted by spells that have the given quality, or prevents the permanent from being targeted by abilities whose source has the given quality. (502.7b)
2.) Prevents the permanent from being enchanted by Auras with the given quality. (502.7c)
3.) Prevents the permanent from being equipped by Equipment with the given quality or fortified by Fortifications with the given quality. (502.7d)
4.) Prevents damage from being dealt to a creature if the source of the damage has the given quality. (502.7e)
5.) Prevents an attacking creature with protection from the given quality from being blocked by any creature that has the given quality. (502.7f)
So, let's cover each of these in a little more depth!
No targeting
If a spell or ability requires a target, the permanent with protection cannot be the target of that spell or ability. For example, a Paladin en-Vec cannot be the target of Shock. As Shock is a red spell, and the Paladin has protection from red, the Shock cannot target the Paladin. Spells that don't target the permanent would still affect the Paladin however. For example, Diabolic Edict will target the player, and if the Paladin is the only creature that player controls then the Paladin must be sacrificed.
No enchanting
Enchantments with the given quality cannot enchant the permanent. For example, if the aforementioned Paladin is enchanted with a Moldervine Cloak and the Cloak becomes black or red (via Deathlace or Chaoslace), then the Cloak can no longer be enchanting the Paladin. Protection will cause the Aura to stop enchanting the Paladin and the Aura will go to the graveyard. Note: Protection already stops the Paladin from being targeted, so you can not play Fear targeting the Paladin (as Aura spells target).
No equipping
Equipments with the given quality cannot be equipping the permanent. For example, if the aforemention Paladin has an Umezawa's Jitte in grip and the Jitte becomes black or red, then the Jitte can no longer be equipping the Paladin. Protection will cause the Equipment to become unattached (the Equipment remains in play though). Note: the Equip ability also targets, so you can never attach a Jitte to Tel-Jilad Chosen.
No damaging
Damage that would be dealt to a creature with protection will have that damage prevented if it comes from a source with that quality. Even if the source doesn't target the creature, the damage will still be prevented. So, that same Paladin will not be dealt any damage from a Hill Giant, nor from a Pyroclasm. If the effect doesn't deal damage, then it will affect the creature normally. For example, Wrath of God doesn't target or deal damage. A Stromgald Crusader will be destroyed by the Wrath.
No blocking
Creatures with protection from a quality cannot be blocked by creatures that have that quality. So, if both the Paladin and the Crusader are in play, they can never meet on the field of battle. An attacking Paladin cannot be blocked by the Crusader, and the Paladin cannot block an attacking Crusader.
Hopefully this sheds some light on the Protection ability, which is a rather complicated ability that does several things. If you have any additional questions, please direct them to the Rulings forum.