Magic: The Gathering

[BaneTheBrawler]

fuck infect. i'd sideboard melira.

speaking of fun games, though, i had one a couple weeks ago i don't think i mentioned:

one guy (A) is using a deck he made out of a bunch of cards/combos he felt were too good to not use, but didn't really fit in any particular deck. we're doing 2headed giant and his teammate is playing a stall deck (because he saw im using my venser deck and hes an ass like that), while my teammate is playing is playing Gruul. So, this is game two, and my teammate and I have already lost to an infinite loop from A's deck. One of his tactics in that deck is to play Meddling Mage and name big cards. So anyway, I've been drawing nothing but lands and instant/sorceries. All my creatures apparently decided to hang out on the bottom of the deck. He plays his Meddling Mage, names one of my teammate's big cards, and passes to our turn. I do my draw, and finally get a creature: Clone. So I play it, clone his Meddling Mage, and name one of the infinite loop cards he used to win last game. Then I use Cloudshift and Ghostly flicker to bounce it twice, each time copying Meddling Mage and naming a new card. I did that several more times before he finally sacrificed his own mage just to prevent me from copying it.

He still ended up winning because he had other stupid win conditions in the deck I didn't know about, but that maneuver was extremely fun.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

If you want great Modern Infect tech then follow Tom Ross. He pilots Infect quite often in Legacy and Modern and really knows his shit.

In other news my MBD run ended on round 7 today at SCG Portland. Still debating about staying and watching Legacy tomorrow but for now I get to wash my sorrows away sitting in a titty bar

[Myrrh_Quetz]

Thats the deck I'm currently running. Both his Modern and Legacy deck. Having played Legacy for the first time today at a tourney. That shit is fucking hard. I've only played Standard, a bit of Modern, and EDH. If a person has all their lands tapped, 9 times out of ten they don't have a response. I've learned in Legacy that if a person has lands tapped, that's when they can fuck you over the most.

I had a play today. 4 land and a Noble Heirarch. I attack. Exalted trigger, cast Invigorate giving my opponent 3 life, Kick Vines of the Vastwood, Invigorate giving them another 3 life, Berserk. Hit for 26, win the game. I was using an infect deck, no one expected me to win with a Noble Hierarch. Shit was glorious. But ya, really weird doing Legacy after only playing those 3 formats. Requires so much more thought and patience. Really enjoying it.

Also, Modern infect wins by like turn 4 at the latest.

And the biggest downside building a deck for those two formats even though they share the same cards is that they're both crazy expensive. I spent all my money just making the main deck of each and I couldn't afford to build either sideboards. I don't mind it though. I can build up.

[Chrius]

He plays his Meddling Mage, names one of my teammate's big cards, and passes to our turn. I do my draw, and finally get a creature: Clone. So I play it, clone his Meddling Mage, and name one of the infinite loop cards he used to win last game. Then I use Cloudshift and Ghostly flicker to bounce it twice, each time copying Meddling Mage and naming a new card. I did that several more times before he finally sacrificed his own mage just to prevent me from copying it.

He still ended up winning because he had other stupid win conditions in the deck I didn't know about, but that maneuver was extremely fun.

Once your copy of Meddling Mage leaves the battlefield, he can cast the card it was blocking right? Were you changing your MM to prevent the current most dangerous card?

[Xerlic]

I've learned in Legacy that if a person has lands tapped, that's when they can fuck you over the most.

Modern is like that too. Nothing like being tapped out and someone jerking off their hand onto a Blighted Agent or having someone try to Splinter Twin a Pestermite only to run into a Slaughter Pact. To be fair, FoW is a lot more prevalent in Legacy.

Once your copy of Meddling Mage leaves the battlefield, he can cast the card it was blocking right? Were you changing your MM to prevent the current most dangerous card?

Yeah, that's correct. It's similar to Pithing Needle in that the effect goes away once it leaves the battlefield. Check the last rules clarification here. http://magiccards.info/arb/en/8.html

[Myrrh_Quetz]

Modern is like that too. Nothing like being tapped out and someone jerking off their hand onto a Blighted Agent or having someone try to Splinter Twin a Pestermite only to run into a Slaughter Pact. To be fair, FoW is a lot more prevalent in Legacy.

Yeah, there is so much of that in Legacy, I'm finding. It's like "Oh good, they're tapped out. Better attack with my Inkmoth and toss my hand of Pump at it." "Oh look, Force of Will, fuck"

[BaneTheBrawler]

Yeah, that's correct. It's similar to Pithing Needle in that the effect goes away once it leaves the battlefield. Check the last rules clarification here. http://magiccards.info/arb/en/8.html

he's full of shit, then, because he said it lasted the whole game regardless and that's how we played it (we don't typically look up rules unless there's an argument or no one is sure). oh well, it ended up working in my favor.

[Tricen]

Yeah, infect used to be busted back when modern first came out. They had to ban blazing shoal because of it.

[Xerlic]

Speaking of Modern, is anyone planning to hit up GP Boston later this month?

[Chrius]

he's full of shit, then, because he said it lasted the whole game regardless and that's how we played it (we don't typically look up rules unless there's an argument or no one is sure). oh well, it ended up working in my favor.

That's one of my pet peeves in some Magic players. They will be dead set on an incorrect ruling, and looking it up would offend some of them greatly.
Sometime in the last 2 years, a dude very rudely actually told me to look at the rule book about an interaction with +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters. Yes, if his rulebook was pre 2000 he would have been right. I googled it and showed him rule 121.3, they literally cancel each other out and equal numbers of the counters are physically removed. (Relevant for proliferate and infect times)

Even had to appeal a judge call when a dude with doublestrike lost the doublestrike ability during the first strike step. He and the judge were very certain that creatures without first strike get to deal combat in the normal step which kind of sounds legit. Technically, the only creatures that do are those with doublestrike and those that did not have doublestrike or firststrike during the firststrike step, which his dude did. It was the difference in winning and losing a PTQ match because my opponent thought he was alpha striking

Trust no one! Question everything! Run the interaction on MODO! (unless it's bugged!)

[Moridam]

i might actually go since i live quite close to the DCU center, depending on how onerous the entry fees are and what else is going on at the time. i don't even know what i'd do there since i've got nothing remotely competitive and have close to zero understanding of how high-level magic actually works, but it seems like it'd be neat to check out anyway.

[Xerlic]

I think it's $40 to enter the tournament, but it should be free to enter the site. There will be side events like drafts, dealers, trading etc if you're not playing in the main event.

[Myrrh_Quetz]

At a standard PT 2 years ago, I cast a Timely Reinforcements main phase 1, main phase 2 I realized I didn't gain my life(I was at 2 and my opponent was at 3). I mentioned that and he goes "Oh, it's too late". Draws his card then says "Actually, gain your life". And then cast his own Timely Reinforcements.

Called a judge on him for that shit. Judge did shit all.

[Weltall]

I don't think you have the option of gaining 6 life or not, so you should have just called the judge as soon as he said its too late.

[BaneTheBrawler]

yeah, the way cards are worded affects that shit. if it says "Gain 6 life." you do it regardless, and if you forget, you can go back and do it later (within reason) whether your opponent says its okay or not. if it says "You may gain 6 life." and you forget, it's more up to your opponent on how much of a stickler he wants to be.

in our group, we typically allow one mulligan on stuff like that, or playing the wrong land, or wrong spell, or whatever. we play very casually, which is why we don't do a rule check if someone says they know how something works and no one disagrees.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

I remember back in college playing a casual rock(ish) deck against a neckbeard who started playing in 94 that was using me as a punching bag with some Powered Dr. Who deck. He cast Extinction on my Spiritmonger naming beast, np I regenerate, he then proceeds to tableflip because fuckall revised rules somehow applied a decade later. Even after pointing out with offishial rules that it needed to say "bury" or explicitly say it couldn't be regenerated he still remained butthurt.

Needless to say he now owns the local card shop in Grants Pass and he still continues to be a manchild over stupid shit. I drive right past it to Medford 30 mins away to a better shop with better players.

Also managed to talk with Cedric Phillips in Portland and have him sign some cards and my Jace playmat. 10/10 would magic with. Really regret not bringing my Keibler playmat though.

Spoiler: show

[Xerlic]

At a standard PT 2 years ago, I cast a Timely Reinforcements main phase 1, main phase 2 I realized I didn't gain my life(I was at 2 and my opponent was at 3). I mentioned that and he goes "Oh, it's too late". Draws his card then says "Actually, gain your life". And then cast his own Timely Reinforcements.

Called a judge on him for that shit. Judge did shit all.

This is a pretty interesting situation. For the record, at competitive Rule Enforcement Level (PTQ, GPT and higher) if you miss a triggered ability, you may put it onto the stack once you remember if the opponent allows it. In 99% of these situations, the opponent will not allow it. It's shady that the opponent says that you lose the trigger, then draws his card, then says you gain the trigger.

However, the effect from Timely is a spell ability. Not a trigger. So I think Welt is correct that you're unable to not gain the life. It just happens on resolution of the spell. That's probably why the judge didn't say anything, though you definitely should have called a judge over once the opponent said you don't gain the life.

yeah, the way cards are worded affects that shit. if it says "Gain 6 life." you do it regardless, and if you forget, you can go back and do it later (within reason) whether your opponent says its okay or not. if it says "You may gain 6 life." and you forget, it's more up to your opponent on how much of a stickler he wants to be.

in our group, we typically allow one mulligan on stuff like that, or playing the wrong land, or wrong spell, or whatever. we play very casually, which is why we don't do a rule check if someone says they know how something works and no one disagrees.

Competitive Magic and kitchen table are two very different environments. Myyrh was at a PT (PTQ?) where any type of rules questions have to go before a judge and they make the final say. Like I said above, if you miss a trigger, you won't get it back. Take this asshole for example:

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers...9685&type=card

Thragtusk has 2 triggers. One when it comes into play and one when it leaves play. At competetive REL, if I cast a Thragtusk and don't say any thing, don't announce a change in life total, and say go then I don't gain the 5 life even if I remember on my opponent's next turn. Same deal for if it dies and I don't grab a token or say "get a beast". Playing a wrong land or wrong spell or trying to change how lands were tapped after a spell was played are all committal actions at competitive REL and higher.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Competitive Magic and kitchen table are two very different environments.

well yeah, but the same principles often apply. such as it being up to the opponent on how much of a stickler they want to be.

[Myrrh_Quetz]

I called a judge after his "oh you can gain life" and told the judge that he refused me gaining my life on my turn. My oppenant didn't get a warning or anything. Was bullshit

[GoggleHead]

Competitive Magic is bullshit in general.