{"id":11038,"date":"2024-11-08T19:52:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T16:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/?p=11038"},"modified":"2024-11-08T19:52:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T16:52:05","slug":"foundations-missed-triggers-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/2024\/11\/08\/foundations-missed-triggers-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Foundations Missed Triggers Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Foundations! This set serves as a starting point for Standard players over the next few years, to introduce the format with a reliable pool of cards to choose from. And it is a DEEP pool – there are over seven hundred and twenty-nine <\/em>collector numbers in this set! We’ve waded through the full list to bring you this guide so you’ll know which triggered abilities to watch out for, with explanations for any special remedies that might apply!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Seven cards have one or more triggers that upgrade to a Warning when missed:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Chandra, Flameshaper<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[create a token …] \u2018At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this token.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Magic<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Self-destructing tokens are a classic in red – Chandra by herself has had three printings that create them! Since the same effect that\u2019s creating the tokens also sets up a trigger to sacrifice them later, we classify these triggers as \u201cundoing a zone change\u201d. That means there\u2019s no expiration on the fix! Once it\u2019s discovered that a player forgot to sacrifice this token, the opponent will choose whether it disappears now or at the start of the next phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Electroduplicate<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[create a token …] \u2018At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this token.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More self-destructing tokens! They even use the same exact text! Be mindful that these triggers are considered \u201cprinted\u201d on the tokens themselves, so any extra copies of that token – regardless of how they\u2019re created – will also copy that triggered ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

3. Crow of Dark Tidings<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen this creature enters or dies, mill two cards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a while since our last generally detrimental self-mill card. Remember that judges CANNOT account for the context of the game that\u2019s being played or the deck a card is in when evaluating its triggered abilities; we can only consider the text of the card itself. Even though we\u2019re most likely to see the Crow in decks where its controller wants<\/em> to mill themselves, by itself the card doesn\u2019t benefit in any way from putting cards into the graveyard, so it must be considered a detrimental trigger.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. Dropkick Bomber<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[another target Goblin gains …] \u2018When this creature deals combat damage, sacrifice it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goblins keep finding creative new ways to sacrifice themselves! If a player forgets this triggered ability after their Goblin lands a hit in combat, they receive a Warning and the opponent chooses whether to add it to the stack or not. Keep in mind that this trigger is NOT undoing a zone change the way Chandra, Flameshaper and Electroduplicate did earlier! That means this remedy is only good for one turn cycle; once we reach combat damage on the next player\u2019s turn it\u2019s too late to apply any remedy, so after the Warning the game simply moves on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Dictate of Kruphix<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the beginning of each player\u2019s draw step, that player draws an additional card.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Howling Mine<\/a> is a classic! While the Dictate improves on Howling Mine by letting its controller benefit first, there\u2019s still the downside of letting the opponent draw cards, too. So this symmetrical trigger will upgrade to a Warning if it\u2019s missed during an opponent\u2019s turn, but there\u2019s no penalty if it\u2019s missed during its controller\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Ball Lightning<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this creature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a while since Ball Lightning had a Standard-legal printing! Although this trigger doesn\u2019t technically fall under the \u201cundoing a zone change\u201d special remedy, judges will always be able to offer the regular remedy since it triggers every<\/em> end step – meaning it\u2019s never more than one turn since the most recent time this trigger was missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Mazemind Tome<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen there are four or more page counters on Mazemind Tome, exile it. If you do, you gain 4 life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We last saw Mazemind Tome among the retro artifacts of The Brother\u2019s War<\/a>, and nothing\u2019s changed since then: it will almost always be more valuable to keep scrying and draw cards than to get a one-time boost of 4 life. And since this is a state trigger, it keeps triggering as long as the condition is true, so it\u2019s never more than a turn since the last time this trigger was missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four notable cards have a trigger that does NOT<\/em> upgrade when missed:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Billowing Shriekmass<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen this creature enters, mill three cards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the Crow of Dark Tidings above, this creature has a threshold ability along with its self-mill trigger, so it directly benefits from filling the graveyard! That\u2019s enough for it to be considered \u201cnot generally detrimental\u201d, so this won\u2019t get a Warning if players forget to mill.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Magic<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

2. Scrawling Crawler<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the beginning of your upkeep, each player draws a card.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This looks a bit like Howling Mine<\/a> territory, but there are some key differences. First, this ability gives each player<\/em> a card each time it triggers, rather than triggering individually per player. That means it isn\u2019t symmetrical. And second, the card has another ability that hurts the opponent when they draw cards, including from this trigger. That means this isn\u2019t benefiting them as much as it benefits its controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Demonic Pact<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the beginning of your upkeep, choose one that hasn\u2019t been chosen \u2014 [deal damage]; [opponent discards]; [you draw]; You lose the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these modes is not like the others! Dealing damage, drawing cards, and forcing an opponent to discard all sound great. But losing the game obviously makes it pretty<\/em> difficult to win the game, which is most players\u2019 objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When judges evaluate a triggered ability, though, the entire trigger has to be considered. That\u2019s part of what \u201cgenerally\u201d means in \u201cgenerally detrimental\u201d – a triggered ability has to harm its controller in most<\/em> cases to qualify. 3 times out of 4 this trigger is upside, so there\u2019s no upgrade if a player forgets this trigger the fourth time (unless they\u2019re Cheating by intentionally missing it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Dragon Mage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever Dragon Mage deals combat damage to a player, each player discards their hand, then draws seven cards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will sometimes be game states where connecting for damage with the Dragon Mage is a downside for its controller, discarding critical cards from their hand or refreshing an opponent\u2019s empty hand. Despite that, this trigger usually benefits its controller. They get first access to a fresh 7 cards, and similar to Fleshbag Marauder<\/a> and its kind we assume that a player who puts this style of effect in their deck is planning for it and expects to benefit more than their opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other notable cards and mechanics:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Magic<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

1. Sire of Seven Deaths<\/a> and Zul Ashur, Lich Lord<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWard \u2014 Pay 7 life.\u201d and \u201cWard \u2014 Pay 2 life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opponents will often call out in regular play that they\u2019re paying for a Ward proactively, but it\u2019s never actually their responsibility<\/em> to do that. It\u2019s always on the trigger\u2019s controller to point it out. That can be especially tricky with \u201cinvisible\u201d Ward triggers like these, where paying the cost doesn\u2019t line up with either tapping lands or moving cards from one zone to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep an eye out for \u201cpen trick\u201d bluffs that opponents may attempt against these cards; things like targeting them with a spell, then picking up their pen to make an unrelated note on their notepad. To the controller this can look<\/em> like a life total change from the Ward trigger being noted! But they should always, always, ALWAYS confirm life totals, any time that information changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a judge notices that two players have different life totals recorded, they should intervene to clarify the game state before it gets too complicated to fix. But if the life total change or the payment of these Ward triggers wasn\u2019t clearly announced, then it\u2019s missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Faebloom Trick<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[create tokens.] When you do, tap target creature an opponent controls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t usually see reflexive triggers on instants and sorceries! Keep in mind, players don\u2019t have to announce a target for this trigger until it goes on the stack, which is after<\/em> the Faebloom Trick resolves. If they announce a target early, though, they have to stick to that target unless the opponent intervenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And most important: reflexive triggers like this are considered automatically acknowledged<\/em> by taking the action that triggers them! Usually this applies to things like announcing that a creature is Exerted as it attacks, which counts as calling out its \u201cwhen you do\u201d trigger. But in this case it means creating the Faerie tokens counts as acknowledging the tap triggered ability. Opponents shouldn\u2019t be penalized if they don\u2019t remind the player, but judges should intervene immediately if they notice this is missed, and it\u2019s handled as a Game Rules Violation for resolving the trigger incorrectly rather than as a Missed Trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Painful Quandary<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever an opponent casts a spell, that player loses 5 life unless they discard a card.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, the Quandary\u2019s controller is the only one responsible for acknowledging its triggers! An opponent who resolves their spell without either paying life or discarding a card has done nothing wrong, even if they know the trigger is being missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Starlight Snare<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen Starlight Snare enters, tap enchanted creature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, this is the only card in the set taking advantage of one of our special remedies! When an Aura has a triggered ability that only affects the enchanted object, that trigger can\u2019t be missed. The opponent still isn\u2019t required to point it out\u2026 But as soon as the error is noticed, the trigger immediately resolves before any other actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Thank you for taking the time to join us! Hopefully this guide serves as a strong base to build from as you explore more of the set. A stable, reliable root for further knowledge to bloom. A foundation, one might even say!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next set that we cover, Aetherdrift, will catch up to us before you know it – make sure you’re back February of 2025 for our review!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Foundations! This set serves as a starting point for Standard players over the next few years, to introduce the format with a reliable pool of cards to choose from. And it is a DEEP pool – there are over seven hundred and twenty-nine collector numbers in this set! We’ve waded through the full […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":483,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"language":[6],"class_list":["post-11038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","language-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/483"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11038"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11052,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11038\/revisions\/11052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11038"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=11038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}