New block, new headaches! This month, we’re looking at the new cards, rules, and policy changes of KTK. Some of these questions are made up, others were taken from real tournaments or submitted by judges like you.
Q: Nicole blocks Amy’s Anafenza, the Foremost with her Alpine Grizzly, and the creatures trade. Into what zone is the bear placed?
A: Both Alpine Grizzly and Anafenza are dealt lethal damage in the attack. The game therefore wants to put them both into the graveyard at the same time. Before the bear moves, the game checks to see if any replacement effects would affect that event [CR 400.6]. At this point, Anafenza is also still on the battlefield, so its ability will apply and cause the bear to be exiled.
Q: Amy casts Force Away targeting Alpine Grizzly, her only creature. Does she get to draw and discard?
A: No. The instructions on a spell are performed in order written [CR 608.2c]. First, Alpine Bear is returned to Amy’s hand, then the game checks to see if Amy is ferocious. At this point, she isn’t, so she doesn’t get the extra effect.
Q: Amy attacks with an Heir of the Wilds, her only creature, then, with the heir’s trigger on the stack, flashes in a Surrak Dragonclaw. Does the heir get +1/+1?
A: No. In fact, this can’t happen as described. The templating “when [trigger event], if [condition], [effect]” on the heir’s ability signals that it has an intervening if clause [CR 603.4]. Such an ability will only trigger and be put on the stack if the trigger event happens while the condition is true; otherwise nothing will happen. Amy will need to have a ferocious creature when she attacks with Heir of the Wilds to get the bonus.
Q: Amy activates the +1 ability of Sorin, Solemn Visitor. Then she attacks with Brimaz, King of Oreskos and puts the cat token into play. Does the token get +1/+0 and lifelink?
A: No. Sorin’s +1 ability creates a continuous effect that that gives your creatures the buffs. “If a continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability modifies the characteristics or changes the controller of any objects, the set of objects it affects is determined when that continuous effect begins. After that point, the set won’t change” [CR 611.2c]. Because the cat token wasn’t on the battlefield when the effect started, it won’t be included in the set that’s affected.
Note: This rule exists because generally, spells and abilities are meant to apply only once. For instance, if I play a Bile Blight on your Grizzly Bears and you play another one later that turn, it wouldn’t make sense for that bear to die also. Still, sometimes that’s what the card actually wants to do. For example, if I ultimate an Elspeth, Sun’s Champion, I expect my future creatures to get the bonuses, too. Cases like these are one reason why emblems were invented.
Note: Due to Sorin’s rather unusual “until your next turn” phrasing, this is something a lot of players get tripped up on. Be prepared to take this call by coming up with a succinct explanation that players will understand (i.e., one that doesn’t use words like “static ability” or “continuous effect”). Thanks to L2 Nicolette Apraez for giving me the Grizzly Bears/Bile Blight analogy, which is the best I’ve seen so far.
Q: Amy attacks with Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Wingmate Roc. How much life does she gain?
A: That depends. Brimaz and Wingmate Roc both trigger when Amy attacks, so she gets to decide the order they’re put on the stack [CR 603.3b]. If she resolves the Wingmate Roc’s trigger first, it will see only itself and Brimaz attacking. On the other hand, if she resolves Brimaz’s trigger first, the token will be on the battlefield attacking in time for the roc to count it also.
Note: The token is put onto the battlefield attacking. This means it is counted as an attacking creature, even though it is never considered to have attacked [CR 508.4].
Q: Amy has eight cards in her graveyard and controls an Island and a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Can she cast Treasure Cruise?
A: Yes. Cards can be delved to pay for the total cost of the spell [CR 702.65a]. The total cost includes cost increases such as those due to Thalia’s ability [CR 601.2e].
Q: Amy casts Treasure Cruise, but it gets Spell Pierced. Can she exile cards from her graveyard to pay the 2 extra?
A: No. The 2 extra for Spell Pierce is not an additional cost to play the spell. Rather, it is a separate cost that can be paid to prevent the spell from being countered. This is not part of the total cost, so delve cannot be applied to it.
Q: Amy has seven cards in her graveyard and controls an Island and a Trinisphere. Can she cast Treasure Cruise?
A: Yes. Trinisphere’s ability works by checking to see if the total cost includes 3 or more mana, then increasing it if it doesn’t. Treasure Cruise’s mana cost is 7U, and this is more than 3 mana, so Trinisphere does not affect it. When the time comes to pay this cost. Amy can pay the U with blue mana from her Island, and she can exile cards from her graveyard to pay the 7.
Note: This is a reversal from previous rulings made possible by the M15 changes to how convoke and delve work. Before, these mechanics reduced the cost of spells, applying in the step where the total cost was determined. Now, they give alternate means to pay the cost of the spell once it is locked in, which is after Trinisphere applies.
Q: Amy controls two Ugin’s Nexuses. She chooses to keep one for the legend rule, and bins the other, exiling it to its ability. If Amy Shatters her remaining nexus before the end of the turn, how many total extra turns will she take?
A: Two. Ugin’s Nexus doesn’t say players can’t get extra turns, just that they have to skip any that they would get to take. Effects that make players skip turns, phases, or steps are replacement effects [CR 614.10]. As such, they apply concurrent with the event they replace [Cr 614.1]. Since Ugin’s Nexus is not on the battlefield at the time Amy would start the extra turn the first nexus gave her, Amy will take that turn just fine, along with the one from exiling the second nexus.
Q: Amy and Nicole each control Ugin’s Nexus. Amy casts a Shatterstorm. Who takes the next turn?
A: Both Ugin’s Nexuses will be destroyed at the same time, which means that their replacement effects will both try to apply at the same time. Because they do not both affect the same permanent or player, there is no problem with this. When multiple players are given extra turns simultaneously, the extra turns are created one at a time, in APNAP order, and are taken in the order created [CR 500.7]. This means that Amy, the active player, will take the next turn.
Q: Amy attacks with Meandering Towershell and exiles it. During her next turn, she attacks with some creatures, but forgets to return the towershell. After Nicole starts blocking, Amy realizes the mistake and calls a judge. What do you do?
A: Amy has missed the triggered ability that should have returned Meandering Towershell to the battlefield. Because this trigger is not normally considered detrimental to Amy, there is no penalty. For the fix, this is a delayed trigger that changes the zone of an object, so Nicole has the option of whether to resolve it immediately or at the beginning of the next phase.
Q: Suppose she chooses the latter. Could Nicole target the towershell with a Kill Shot after it comes back?
A: No. “If an effect would put a creature onto the battlefield attacking under the control of any player except an attacking player, that creature does enter the battlefield, but it’s never considered to be an attacking creature” [CR 506.3b]. Amy is only considered an attacking player during her combat phase [CR 506.2].
Q: You’re floor judging at a PTQ and overhear the following exchange:
Amy: I’ll cast Rush of Battle, then attack with my Bloodfire Expert.
Nicole: Ok. No blocks.
A: So you take six.
N: Six? How?
A: It starts as a 3/1, then it gets +2 from Rush of Battle, then +1 from prowess.
N: No it doesn’t. You didn’t announce prowess when it triggered. You missed it.
At this point, the players call for a judge. How do you rule?
A: Prowess is a triggered ability that affects the game state in a non-visible way. As such, it is not considered missed if its controller points it out before the first time it affects the visible game state [IPG 2.1 D]. In this case, that’s when the Bloodfire Expert’s power is used to determine combat damage.
Note: Jeskai Ascendancy has a similar trigger, but note that it also untaps the creatures. If a player controls a tapped creature, Jeskai Ascendancy’s trigger would fall into the category of triggered abilities that cause a change in the visible game state, and the player must untap or otherwise acknowledge the trigger before taking an action that they couldn’t take if the trigger was still on the stack, such as casting a sorcery or moving to combat [IPG 2.1 D].
Note: If the prowess trigger is missed, for example, if Amy had said “take 5” rather than “take 6”, there is no penalty because the trigger is not usually considered detrimental for Amy [IPG 2.1 P]. In this case, the judge should not intervene unless he or she believes that Amy intentionally missed this trigger, which seems quite unlikely [IPG 2.1 P].
So that’s all the rules questions we had for this time; now on to policy. What? You say I’ve forgotten something?
Q: Amy has two face down Glacial Stalkers. Nicole casts Bile Blight targeting one of them. What happens to the other one?
A: While face down, a morph has no name [CR 702.36b]. Therefore, the second Glacial Stalker does not have the same name as the one that was targeted by Bile Blight, and will be safe.
Q: Amy unmorphs her Glacial Stalker. Can Nicole Lightning Strike it in response to kill it?
A: No. Turning a creature with morph face up is a special action, which does not use the stack and cannot be responded to [CR 702.36d]. There is no opportunity for either player to cast spells or activate abilities between the time the identity of the morph creature is revealed and when it becomes face up.
Q: Amy casts a Glacial Stalker face down. How much will Nicole have to pay for her Ice Cave to counter it?
A: While face down, a morph has no mana cost [CR 702.36b]. It’s not possible for Nicole to pay “the spell’s mana cost” because that cost doesn’t exist. Therefore, Amy’s face down spells are safe from Ice Cave.
Q: Amy casts a Glacial Stalker face down. What will Nicole need to hit with her Counterbalance to counter it?
A: An object with no mana cost is defined in the CR to have a converted mana cost of 0 [CR 202.3a]. Nicole’s Counterbalance will counter Glacial Stalker on any 0-CMC card, including an Ornithopter, an Evermind, or any land.
Q: Amy casts Clever Impersonator and has it become a copy of her face down Hooded Hydra. What will it look like on the battlefield?
A: A face down permanent is assigned values for its characteristics by its face down status [CR 702.36b]. Specifically, it is a 2/2 creature with no abilities, subtypes, name, or mana cost. Clever Impersonator acquires these values as it copies the face down permanent [CR 706.2]. It will still enter the battlefield face up, just as it enters the battlefield untapped even if it’s copying a tapped permanent.
Note: If this Clever Impersonator is somehow turned face down, Amy won’t be able to turn it back up. The face down creature it copied had no abilities, so the Clever Impersonator doesn’t have morph. On the other hand, its characteristics wouldn’t change if it was turned face up, so there probably wouldn’t be a reason to do so.
Q: Amy has a face down Master of Pearls. Nicole casts Turn to Frog on it. What are that permanent’s new characteristics, and what will happen if Amy unmorphs it later that turn?
A: Just like any other permanent, the characteristics of Amy’s creature are determined by starting with the printed values on the card, as modified by its face down status. Then continuous effects, such as those from Turn to Frog are applied [CR 613.1]. The master ends up as a 1/1 blue frog creature with no mana cost and no abilities.
Amy can’t unmorph the creature this turn because it lost all its abilities. This means that it no longer has a morph ability with a cost she can pay to turn it face up. If the card is somehow turned face up another way (perhaps with Break Open), Turn to Frog will still be affecting it, so it will still be a 1/1 blue frog with no abilities, but it will regain its original mana cost [CR 707.8].
Q: Amy uses Polymorphous Rush to turn her face down Glacial Stalker into a Stormbreath Dragon. What does it look like now?
A: Amy’s stalker acquires the copiable values for Stormbreath Dragon’s characteristics, but these will be modified by the stalker’s face down status [CR 706.3]. Glacial Stalker remains a 2/2 creature with no abilities, subtypes, name, or mana cost. If Amy tries to turn her permanent face up this turn, it will still be a copy of Stormbreath Dragon, which does not have morph. Therefore, it won’t have a morph cost, so Amy won’t be able to unmorph it.
Note: If Amy somehow manages to turn it face up some other way, the stalker will still be a copy of Stormbreath Dragon. Being monstrous is a condition of a permanent, and is not counted as part of its copiable information, so Amy would be able to “monstrify” her copied dragon, even if the Stormbreath Dragon she copied was monstrous already.
Q: Amy casts a Glacial Stalker face down. Nicole unmorphs her Kheru Spellsnatcher in response. Is Glacial Stalker exiled face up or face down? Can Nicole cast it either way?
A: By default, all cards are exiled face up unless the effect states otherwise (like Summoner’s Egg or Windbrisk Heights) [CR 406.3]. Nicole may cast Glacial Stalker face up, but not face down because Kheru Spellsnatcher allows the spell to be cast “without paying its mana cost”. This is an alternate cost, which cannot be combined with other alternate costs such as casting a spell using morph [CR 117.9a, 702.36a].
The cards aren’t the only new thing we have to grapple with. There are a few policy changes in the latest revision of the IPG that was released with the set.
Q: Amy is playing a PTQ and has a morph creature out when she concedes the game. She doesn’t show the identity of that card to her opponent before shuffling it in with the rest of her deck. What is the proper action from a judge?
A: Players must reveal the identity of any face down spells or permanents they control as those cards change zones or if the game ends (with the exception of a face down spell entering the battlefield as it resolves) [CR 707.9]. Failure to do so is a game rule violation. Ordinarily, the penalty for this would be a Warning, however, because this error involves misplaying hidden information, the potential for abuse is markedly higher. This means that the penalty is upgraded to a game loss [IPG 2.5 D]. This penalty is applied in the game that the failure to reveal happened. In this case, that means Amy doesn’t really feel this penalty, since she lost that game anyway, but it’s still marked down on the results sheet and still recorded for tracking purposes.
Note: Under the old IPG, the game loss would be pushed to the next round, since it’s not really a penalty here. This was changed because the potential for abuse in this case was identified as being lower. Playing a non-morph face down is easy to get found out on, and if the player lost the game where they tried to do it, the player didn’t gain anything from the mistake.
Note: Suppose that Amy had won this game instead of losing it. In this case, the game loss would override her win.
Note: Suppose that both players failed to reveal morphs. Both players would be assessed a game loss. These game losses would offset one another, and not be counted toward the match score [IPG 1.2 G]. This is a change from previous rules. Any time two game losses are assessed together to all players in a match, even for infractions other than D/DP, they offset.
Note: When you’re judging, but not playing in an event, feel free to perform a few “morph checks”, privately checking the identity of face down permanents during games to confirm that they really do have morph. Such checks can serve as a way to reinforce players’ confidence in the tournament’s integrity as well as being a powerful deterrent for any would-be cheaters. Just be very careful not to allow the opponent even a glimpse of the cards you’re checking.
Ex post facto note: The above answer was correct when this post was originally written, however the rules have changed since then. Not revealing a face down permanent is no longer grounds for an upgrade, so this would result only in a warning for these players.
Ex post facto note: Performing morph checks to confirm face down permanents have morph has become less valuable due to the advent of manifest, which allows any sort of card to be on the battlefield face down.
Q: Amy draws for her turn, then casts Slaughter Games saying, “I’ll Slaughter Games you, naming Blood Moon.” Nicole thinks for a moment, but before revealing her hand, she calls a judge, realizing that she has 8 cards in hand and should have discarded during her last turn. What do you do?
A: Nicole has committed a Game Rule Violation by not discarding down to her maximum hand size during her cleanup step. The penalty for this is a Warning. For the fix, this situation is one of the three where a partial fix is applicable: “If a player forgot to draw cards, discard cards, or return cards from their hand to another zone, that player does so.” [IPG 2.5 A]. Because a partial fix is performed, a backup should not be considered [IPG 2.5 A]. Nicole discards a card, then the players resume the game from the point they left off.
Note: This is the biggest change in the new IPG. Formerly, partial fixes were performed only in cases where backups could not be used to return to a valid game state. Now, we attempt to apply a partial fix first, and backups are not to be considered if a partial fix is used. This reversal from previous policy underscores the rules team’s feeling that a backup should be considered only as a “solution of last resort” [IPG 1.4].
Note: If Nicole has any Blood Moons in her hand, she probably wants to discard one of them, since she’s going to lose it anyway. Because there is no backup, the players return to the game at the point the error was discovered – after Amy has cast Slaughter Games. Because she has announced a choice of card to name, which is normally made on resolution, she may change her mind only if Nicole responds to Slaughter Games [MTR 4.2].
Q: Nicole casts Erase on Amy’s Splinter Twin. Amy puts the twin in her graveyard rather than exiling it, and Nicole doesn’t notice. A few turns later, Amy casts a Tarmogoyf. While counting up its p/t, the players discover the error and call a judge. What do you do?
A: Amy put Splinter Twin into the wrong zone, which fits the definition for a Game Rule Violation. Because Nicole controls the effect that was handled improperly, she receives a GRV also (not a Failure to Maintain Game State) [IPG 2.5 A]. There are three specific cases where a partial fix is applied to a GRV. This situation fits the third: “If an object changing zones is put into the wrong zone, the identity of the object was known to all players, and it can be moved without disrupting the state of the game, put the object in the correct zone” [IPG 2.5 A].
Note: Nothing is new about this answer except the fix. Under the old IPG, this partial fix was not applicable if the error was not caught within a turn. It has now been changed to look at disruption to the game state rather than the time elapsed.
Q: Amy casts Dragon Mantle on her creature. Nicole declares “It resolves.” Then, Amy casts Arc Lightning on one of Nicole’s creatures. After Nicole puts her creature into the graveyard, Amy says, “Oh yeah, I get to draw a card”, and draws a card from her library before Nicole can react. Nicole calls a judge and explains what happened. What do you do?
A: Amy has committed two infractions here. First, she missed her Dragon Mantle trigger; then, she drew a card improperly. While there is no penalty for missing the trigger, since it is not normally considered detrimental, drawing an extra card carries a penalty of a game loss.
Note: Suppose that Amy had not cast Arc Lightning, but rather Lightning Strike, an instant. In this case, there would be no penalty. She remembered her trigger before it visibly affected the game state because it is legal to cast Lightning Strike in response to the Dragon Mantle’s ability. Players are given the maximum benefit of the doubt when it comes to remembering triggers, so this line of play is assumed [IPG 2.1 P].
Note: Loyal readers may remember this question came from an earlier presentation on missed triggers. At that time, Drawing Extra Cards was not the appropriate penalty even after Amy cast a sorcery because of a line in the definition of DEC that exempted cases where a Game Play Error had been committed prior to the act of drawing the extra card. This line has been changed to refer to Game Rule Violations and Communication Policy Violations only, meaning that other Game Play Errors, such as Missed Trigger, do not fall under this exception anymore. With these new rules, Drawing Extra Cards is indeed applicable.
Q: Amy is playing at an FNM, and loses a close match in round 2. Realizing she made a critical misplay in the last game, she says, “I can’t believe how much I {*(&ing punted that last one.” The judge points out that this language might be upsetting to other players and asks her to refrain from using it in the future. Amy promises she will watch what she says from now on. In round 4, Amy loses another close match and is heard grumbling that she “can’t catch a {*(&ing break.” The judge confronts Amy, who immediately apologizes, explaining that such language is commonplace where she works and that it’s difficult for her to just “turn it off.” What do you do?
A: Realize that it’s often tough to change habitual behavior, and occasional lapses from someone making this effort are not uncommon. As such, they should not be punished harshly. As long as you feel that Amy really is making an honest effort to clean up her language, a simple reminder should be all that is required.
Note: The JAR went through one change this time, and this is it. In the past, if a player continued behavior that might be “upsetting” to others after being asked to stop, this could have been considered a Serious Problem, grounds for a DQ!
Note: You’re far more likely to see Amy make progress on this front if you can avoid being heavy-handed when you bring her slip-ups to her attention and give her occasional positive reinforcement letting her know that you have noticed her efforts to improve and appreciate it.
Note: Notice that in this case, Amy’s profanity is directed toward herself or toward no one in particular. If she had directed the same language toward another player, she would get much less sympathy. Threatening, aggressive, or abusive behavior or language is a Serious Problem and merits removal from an event.
Note: Store owners are free to write codes of conduct describing what types of behavior are unwelcome in their stores. They are also free to enforce them by whatever penalties they deem appropriate, including asking offenders to leave the store. Of course, judges cannot overrule such penalties, regardless of what the Magic policy documents say. Store owners are tasked with balancing the desire for a family-friendly atmosphere against the reality that many people in Magic’s core demographics routinely use profanity. This is a difficult problem and a heavy responsibility, and judges should work with store owners to ensure their policies create an environment where everyone feels welcome.