Published on 10/15/2012
Technically Correct
or, The Best Kind of Correct
By Eli Shiffrin, Carsten Haese, and James Bennett
This Article from: James Bennett
Cranial Translation
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Note: This article is over two years old. Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes. Proceed with caution.
Music to my ears.
Potential petitioners are reminded that questions may be submitted by completing Form 27b/6 in triplicate, co-signed, and addressing to the Azorius Senate, New Prahv Guildhouse, courtesy of Cranial Insertion moko@cranialinsertion.com , or via alternate tweet-based filing courtesy of @CranialTweet. Please allow 3-6 weeks for delivery (offer void where prohibited).
Q: My opponent has used Garruk Relentless to make several 2/2 green Wolf tokens, and then Garruk, the Veil-Cursed to make several 1/1 black Wolf tokens. Will Detention Sphere exile all of them?
A: When the effect which creates a creature token does not specify a name for the token, its name is identical to its creature type(s). Neither face of Garruk gives an explicit name to its tokens, so they are all named "Wolf". Please also note that creators of tokens are encouraged to file a certificate of manufacture, including full name, with the Ministry of Information Retrieval.
Q: If my opponent has an animated land and I Cytoshape or Mirrorweave to make it a copy of one of his other creatures, can I then exile the land by using Detention Sphere on the creature it's copying?
A: Yes, Detention Sphere only pays attention to whether the target is nonland; any other permanents, land or nonland, which have the same name will also be exiled. Additionally, when his animated land becomes a copy of another creature, it stops being a land, so it would be a legal target for Detention Sphere's ability anyway.
And if, somehow, all of your opponent's lands end up having the same name as one of his nonland permanents, you can in fact get rid of all of them with Detention Sphere.
Q: If the game is restarted by my Karn Liberated, which had previously exiled Thought Reflection, will I begin the restarted game with seven cards, or fourteen?
A: Seven. Placing the formerly-exiled permanents onto the battlefield occurs after carrying out other restarting procedures, such as drawing an opening hand. As a result, Thought Reflection will not yet be on the battlefield at the time the opening hand is drawn, and will not affect that initial draw.
Q: Is it legal for my opponent to exile my Supreme Verdict with Mindbreak Trap? What will happen if it is?
A: While Supreme Verdict cannot be countered, it can be removed from the stack by any effect capable of doing so. And a spell or ability that is removed from the stack will not resolve and will not have any of its normal effects.
With a sign saying "Beware of the Leopard"
A: The bureaucratic mind is nothing if not persistent. Although Fall of the Gavel is unable to counter Abrupt Decay, it will still do as much as it is able to do, so you will gain 5 life.
Q: When my opponent declares blockers, can I use New Prahv Guildmage's ability in response to detain his blockers?
A: You can, but it will not undo the blocks. Once a creature is declared blocking, making it unable to block does not cause it to stop blocking. You will need to use the Guildmage's ability before blockers are declared (and as a result you will not know which creatures he intended to block with when you use it).
Q: If my opponent's Dungeon Geists is tapping one of my creatures, can I detain the Geists to be able to untap for a turn?
A: No. Activated abilities are always worded "Cost: Effect". So Dungeon Geists does not have any activated abilities, and detaining it will not end or prevent its effect (which is a triggered ability that creates a continuous effect).
Q: If I manage to detain the same creature twice (say, by Cloudshifting my Azorius Arrester), does it stay detained for two turns? Or still just one?
A: Just one. No matter how many detention effects are applying, they will all wear off at the start of your next turn.
Q: During his turn, my opponent cast Inaction Injunction to detain one of my creatures, and I was tapped out. On my turn when I have mana again, can I use Faith's Shield to give protection from blue and break the effect?
A: At that point, it is too late; protection from blue would only have been relevant in response to the Injunction. Once that has resolved, it will keep the creature detained for the normal duration, regardless of whether the creature gains protection at a later date.
Q: What if I Cloudshift instead? Will that un-detain my creature?
A: It will, since by changing zones your creature becomes a new game object with no memory of or relation to its previous detained existence. However, note that it will have a fresh case of summoning sickness (a just punishment for attempting to escape from detention), so it still will be unable to attack or to use abilities that involve a tap or untap symbol in their activation cost.
Q: Can I still cast a creature with a detain effect (like Lyev Skyknight) if my opponent doesn't have any permanents it could target? Can I still attack with Archon of the Triumvirate?
A: Yes. Auras are the only permanents that target as spells, and attacking never targets. Abilities that trigger when a permanent enters the battlefield or attacks will be put on the stack, then removed from the stack if legal targets cannot be chosen.
Q: If my Bruna, Light of Alabaster steals my opponent's Righteous Authority, whose hand does it count? And who draws the extra cards?
A: Righteous Authority's bonus is based on the number of cards in the hand of the player who controls the creature, so it will count your hand. Similarly, the creature's controller draws an additional card in each of his or her draw steps.
Q: Will enchantments stolen by Bruna count toward my Ethereal Armor?
A: Bruna simply attaches Auras to herself. She does not give you control of those Auras, so they will not be counted by Ethereal Armor.
"Filibuster" comes from a word meaning,
roughly, "pirate". Yarr?
roughly, "pirate". Yarr?
A: Yes. The fact that no creatures get destroyed is not the same as countering Supreme Verdict, so Supreme Verdict will still resolve, and will attempt to destroy all creatures. It will simply fail at the attempt.
Q: If I have an instant-speed way to reduce toughness, and Skymark Roc, can I respond to the Roc's trigger by shrinking one of one of my opponent's creatures to bounce it?
A: Skymark Roc's trigger requires you to choose a legal target at the time you put it on the stack. This means the creature must already have toughness 2 or less, so you will need to reduce toughness before declaring attackers.
Q: If I have an unpaired Deadeye Navigator, and cast Angel of Serenity, can I soulbond them and "blink" the Angel in time to permanently exile three cards?
A: Yes. Both soulbond and the Angel's ability trigger at the same time, and you may put them on the stack in an order of your choice. If you have soulbond resolve first, you can activate the "blink" ability while the Angel's enters-the-battlefield trigger is still on the stack, and the targets of that ability will be permanently exiled (much as with Cloudshift and Fiend Hunter).
Q: How does Isperia, Supreme Judge work in Two-Headed Giant? If someone attacks my teammate, do I draw a card? What about one of his planeswalkers?
A: In 2HG, individual players are not attacked, only teams. Isperia will trigger if your team is attacked. Isperia will only trigger for a planeswalker you control, however, so you will not draw a card if your teammate's planeswalker is attacked.
Q: Will Azor's Elocutors require all five counters to come from its own ability, or can I proliferate them or use Doubling Season to reach five counters more quickly?
A: Azor's Elocutors does not mention that the counters must come from its own ability; therefore, any means is permissible for reaching five filibuster counters. The Chair reminds petitioner, however, that good things come to those who wait.
Q: If I am dealt damage by a creature with infect, will my Elocutors still lose a counter? If they run out of counters, what happens?
A: Yes. Although the result of this damage is different (poison counters rather than loss of life), it is still damage dealt. Fortunately, Elocutors are exceedingly good at filibustering, so even if all counters are removed they will press on and acquire further counters in your subsequent upkeeps.
Q: Since Hover Barrier is an Illusion, do I have to sacrifice it if it gets targeted?
A: No; although some Illusion creatures have a trigger that causes them to be sacrificed when they become the target of a spell or ability, this does not automatically come from being an Illusion. Only creatures which actually have the trigger in their rules text will have it, and many Illusion creatures, including Hover Barrier, do not.
The alotted time has now expired, and this session of Cranial Insertion is declared to be in recess. Per Appendix C(III) of the Revised Schedules and Timetables (Rules), the next regular session will occur in approximately one week. Petitioners are encouraged to arrive on time.
- James Bennett, Bureaucrat Grade 36
About the Author:
James Bennett is a Level 3 judge based out of Lawrence, Kansas. He pops up at events around Kansas City and all over the midwest, and has a car he can talk to.
MontanaMTG
Great read, thanks guys =D
#1
• Date: 2012-10-15 • Time: 11:06:01 •
Falterfire
I wish to start a motion to award a commendation for the appropriate citation of the work known as "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by the late Douglas Adams.
#2
• Date: 2012-10-19 • Time: 11:34:09 •
