Judge's Corner w/ Bill Guerin

Legends and Unnatural Selection

A little note here before we get started … When you see numbers in parenthesis after I answer a question, the numbers are the section out of the Comprehensive Rulebook that apply to this situation.

Q: Anyway, I have Reya Dawnbringer (or any Legend) in play and I use Unnatural Selection to change her creature type to something other than legend, then play another Reya. First question - do both get to stay in play until the effect is removed at the end of the turn? Second, if yes to the first question, can I change Reya's creature type at the beginning of my opponents turn to keep both of them in play? Thanks again.

-James Racine

Q: If I have a legend out, say Chainer, Dementia Master, and an Unnatural Selection, can I change Chainer's card type to something besides legend in order to play another Chainer?

-jaideep patel

A: First of all, did I miss reading an article somewhere? :)

You can change the creature type of the legend, but once the Unnatural Selection's effect wears off (during the cleanup step), the creature that you turned into something other than a legend is buried (since it is the legend of the same name that has been a legend the shortest period of time (420.5e, 314).

I'll use Chainer here, as it has an additional thing that happens when he goes away …

· You enter your cleanup step.
· Discard down to 7 cards.
· The Unnatural Selection effect wears off the Chainer that you turned into a penguin (or whatever creature type you chose).
· Game sees that a state-based effect is happening, and prepares to open a priority window (314.1c).
· Before a player is given priority, the Chainer-penguin is put into the graveyard as a State-Based Effect.
· This triggers Chainer's ability ("When Chainer, Dementia Master leaves play, remove all Nightmares from the game.")
· The trigger is put on the stack, and the active player receives priority to play spells or abilities.
· (…time passes by, that and whatever else each player cares to do resolves, and …)
· Both players pass on an empty stack in the cleanup phase
· Another cleanup phase starts, in the same player's turn.

Q: If I have a Forbidding Watchtower and an Angelic Chorus, will I gain 5 life every time I turn the Watchtower into the 1/5 creature?

-jaideep patel

A: No … the Watchtower isn't coming into play, it's already in play, just changing forms. So the Angelic Chorus won't trigger.

Q: Can three Ana Sanctuaries target one of my Pyschatogs, or do they have to target three different cards?

-Jason

A: You can the same Psychatog with each of the Ana Sanctuaries just fine. In fact, who needs a hand and graveyard to pitch to Psychatog when you have 3 Ana Sanctuaries out?

Q: What is type 2 format?

A: Type 2 (aka "Standard") is a tournament format that only allows you to play the most recent base set of Magic (right now, Seventh Edition) and the 2 most current "blocks."

A "block" spans three sets … A large set (currently 350 cards, usually released in early October) and it's accompanying expansions.

For example, the two blocks legal right now in type 2 are Invasion block and Odyssey block. Invasion block contains Invasion (the large set), Planeshift, and Apocalypse. Odyssey block for the purposes of tournaments, right now only contains Odyssey, but as of March 1, Odyssey block will contain Odyssey (the large set) and Torment.

A block leaves type 2 when the second large set (after the large set in that block) is released. For example, when Odyssey became legal, Masques block (Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, and Prophecy) left type 2. When Onslaught (the next large set, scheduled for release in October) becomes legal , Invasion block will rotate out.

Q: What is the difference between colored and colorless land? I read that in my 7th edition rulebook that all lands are colorless, but on cards like Underground River it says to add a colorless mana to your mana pool, for its first ability, and the second says to add an island or swamp to your mana pool Underground River deals 1 damage to you; so why would I tap to take a swamp and take 1 damage, when I can take the swamp for free? (with the first ability)

Underground River
land

Tap: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool.
Tap: Add Island or Swamp to your mana pool. Underground River deals 1 damage to you.

-Dustin

A: First, all lands are by definition colorless (unless an effect has given them a color), even Underground River.

However, the mana they produce differs. Underground River's second ability doesn't produce "an island or a swamp", as you write, but a blue or black mana (the second ability should read, "Tap: Add U (one blue mana) or B (one black mana) to your mana pool. Underground River deals one damage to you"). The basic lands tap to produce oune mana of their color (so an island taps to produce U (one blue mana), and a swamp taps to produce B (one black mana)).

Q: If I put into play a Palinchron, via Sneak Attack.... do I untap 7 lands or not?

-Martin

A: No … Palinchron has errata as follows …

Palinchron
5UU
Creature - Illusion
4/5
Flying
When Palinchron comes into play, if you played it from your hand, untap up to seven lands.
2UU: Return Palinchron to its owner's hand.

Since you did not play (cast) it from your hand, but instead you put it into play via Sneak Attack, it's untap 7 lands ability won't trigger.

Corrections/Clarifications:

First of all, let me wipe the egg off my face. I'll review the appropriate question and and answer to explain why …

>>>Q: I read your article explaining the different Magic: the Gathering formats, and found it quite helpful. However, I was wondering how lands work in booster draft, as booster packs do not generally include basic lands. Thanks for your help.

-lutra2000

A: Lands in a booster are just like any other card. This usually means that they'll be the last card picked.<<<

… Then it was pointed out to me that that wasn't the question being asked. The question that I was supposed to answer was … "Hey, I've drafted my 45 cards … now what do I do about basic lands?"

You can receive any amount of basic land to build your deck with. Once you have your deck built, you go up and get the land you need.

Now, more on Duress/Circular Logic …

>>>Q: Someone casts Duress on me and chooses Circular Logic. As it's being discarded, I pay the madness cost and counter the Duress. What happens to the Circular Logic? Is it discarded or does it return to the hand?

-whatareulooking

A: Once a spell has started resolving, you can't play any spells or abilities until it has finished resolving (except for mana abilities … 413.2e). Therefore, when you discard the Circular Logic, its madness ability waits until Duress has resolved and gone to the graveyard. Thus, unless there is another spell on the stack (which is highly unlikely, since Duress is a sorcery), you can't even play Circular Logic.

I haven't actually read the definition of madness, but I have had it explained to me, and what Ii was told was something along the lines of "when you discard this card, remove it from the game, as long as it is removed from game in this way you may play it by paying its madness cost. when you pass priority, put the card into your graveyard (some if these effects may be replacements to prevent them from using the stack, but this is the functionality that was explained to me)" <<<

I will quote the madness rules, in full …

502.24. Madness
502.24a Madness represents two abilities. The first is a static ability of cards that functions while the card is in a player's hand. The second is a triggered ability that functions whenever the first ability is applied. The phrase "Madness [cost]" means "If a player would discard this card from his or her hand, that player discards it, but may remove it from the game instead of putting it into his or her graveyard," and "Whenever this card is removed from the game this way, until he or she passes next, he or she may play it any time he or she could play an instant as though it were in his or her hand by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost. When he or she passes next, he or she puts it into his or her graveyard."
502.24b Playing a spell using its madness ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 409.1b and 409.1f.

There is a part c, but the netreps have said it will be removed from the rules for Madness shortly.

The replacement effect you are referring to is the first effect, the effect of removing the card from the game. The second ability of Madness uses the stack. So, in our previous example, the Circular Logic is Duressed. You choose to play it via Madness. So, you remove it from the game and put a trigger on the stack that reads (roughly), "You may play this card by paying its Madness cost until you pass next." Once the trigger resolves, there will generally be no more spells on the stack to counter, so you couldn't play Circular Logic.

>>>so then, how about this situation:
player A: duress your circular logic,
player B: okie dokie (allows it to be removed from game)
player A: announce: Nantuko Shade <<<

Stop right there. You still have to resolve the madness trigger of Circular Logic. Player A will not be able to announce Nantuko Shade at this time, as the stack is not empty.

-Bill Guerin
PojoMagicJudge@hotmail.com
DCI Level 2 judge