As many of you know, this weekend marked the pre-release of the new set, Return to Ravnica. Many of us judged such events, and we managed to collect a few common questions that popped up a lot, so we can answer them for you guys here! One I saw happen quite a bit involved . […]
Author: bimmerbot
Engineered Explosives and additional costs (e.g., Thalia or Trinisphere)
Sunburst is a fairly unique ability. As a permanent with Sunburst enters the battlefield, Sunburst checks to see what mana was paid when casting the spell, regardless of what the cost was for. So if you want to cast when your opponent controls , you can choose any value for X, pay 1 additional for […]
Mutilate’s -X/-X won’t apply to creatures that enter later in the same turn.
When a resolving effect modifies the characteristics of objects on the battlefield (such as power/toughness), the permanents that will be affected are “locked in” as the spell/ability resolves. So when you cast , it applies -X/-X to all creatures currently on the battlefield as the spell resolves, and that effect will last until the end […]
Multiplayer tips: How attacking/blocking works.
So normally, when you attack, there’s no question which player you’re attacking. However, when there are multiple legal choices for who to attack, it gets a little more involved. You still only get one combat phase and one of each of the steps in that phase. So when you move to combat, each other player […]
You have the right to appeal (but the Head Judge’s ruling is final).
So you may have heard about an “appeal” but aren’t quite sure what that means. It’s pretty simple, and it’s your right as a player in a sanctioned tournament. If you receive a ruling from any judge other than the head judge, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for an appeal to the head judge. […]
Vedalken Shackles only checks power vs. islands on activation and resolution (not any time after that).
is one of the key board control cards in Mono Blue Faeries (as of the time of this writing) … but how does it work? First, when you activate it, you have to choose a target, and that target can’t have power greater than the number of Islands you control at that time. Then your […]
What happens between two spells or abilities on the stack resolving.
Magic is a game of playing spells and abilities, interacting with them, and dealing with the results of them. How does this all work, and what happens during this process? When played, spells and abilities go into a zone called the stack until they resolve. At this point, each player can respond to that spell […]
You have to name a color when you add “one mana of any color” to your mana pool.
If something instructs you to add ‘one mana of any color’ to your mana pool, you have exactly five options: the five colors of magic. You can pick White, Blue, Black, Red, or Green, and you must name a color when you add ‘one mana of any color’ to your mana pool. You cannot add […]
What judges do for you and your events.
Ask any long-time judge what a judge can do for you or your event, and you’re likely to get an earful! As this is a blog, and we like to keep it readable, let’s cover some simple ABC’s of how a judge can help. Let’s start with the perspective of a store owner or tournament […]