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Bearer of Banding Short Answers: -Both players must pass in succession on an empty stack for the game to move to the next phase or step. (300.2) -If 2 different abilities ask you to discard a card, you can't activate both abilities with only one discard. So, to answer the specific question, if you are required to discard to two Chains of Mephistopheles, you can't also make a token with Zombie Infestation. -Regeneration does not cause creature to leave (and return to) play. It stays in play the entire time. So if you regenerate a Phage, none of its abilities trigger. --- Q: If my Shield Bearer (has Banding) blocks a Fungal Shambler, can I choose to assign all of the Shambler's damage to the Bearer so my opponent doesn't draw and I don't discard? -Ledian Warrior A: Yes. Banding allows you to assign damage from the Shambler instead of your opponent assigning damage in this situation. So you can assign all 6 to the Bearer, and the Shambler won't trigger. --- Q: An opponent attacks me with Drinker of Sorrow and a Symbiotic Beast. I block the Drinker of Sorrow with an Ardent Militia with an Improvised Armor on it, and I block the Symbiotic Beast with Valor. The question is, if he sacrifices the Symbiotic Beast for the Drinker of Sorrow's ability, does it still do the 4 points of damage to Valor? -Art C. A: Yes. You don't have to sacrifice a permanent for the Drinker until after its combat damage is dealt (and its triggered ability resolves). So the Symbiotic Beast will do its damage. --- Q: If you use Astral Slide out a creature with tokens on it (like Kurgadon etc.), does it come back into play with tokens or no tokens? A: The creature comes back in, basically like you just played it the first time. So Kurgadon wouldn't have any tokens. --- Q: For Spurnmage Advocate, the only cost for its ability is to tap it right? A: Cost, yes. --- Q: You can still destroy a creature with its ability even if there aren't 2 cards in the opponent's graveyard right? -Diewitt D. A: Wrong. To play an ability, you have to pay costs AND DECLARE TARGETS. Spurnmage's ability has 3 targets - the creature you want to destroy and 2 cards in the graveyard. If you are unable to declare all 3 targets (for example, if your opponent doesn't have 2 cards in his or her graveyard), then you can't play Spurnmage's ability. --- Tournament Report - FNM - Diamond Bar, CA In my quest to play as many of the decks in the metagame as I can before the grinders, so I have a handle on them, so I can pick the best deck for the grinder, I'm playing MBC this week. 3 Chainer's Edict 4 Corrupt 3 Diabolic Tutor 4 Duress 1 Haunting Echoes 1 Innocent Blood 1 Mind Sludge 4 Mutilate 1 Riptide Replicator 3 Skeletal Scrying 4 Smother 4 Undead Gladiator 2 Visara the Dreadful 23 Swamp 3 Cabal Coffers Sideboard: 2 Cabal Therapy 1 Chainer's Edict 2 Engineered Plague 4 Nantuko Shade 2 Persecute 1 Visara the Dreadful 2 Swamp (see first round for why ...) 24 players, so 5 rounds before the cut to top 4... Round 1 - Harrison - U/G/w madness Game 1 - I mulligan once. I only see blue and white from him this game. He gets the Rootwalla/Dog/Wurm draw, but I Mutilate, drop Visara, and keep his side of the board clear until I can Corrupt him out. Sideboard - I go digging in my sideboard, and put aside 4 Nantuko Shade, 2 Engineered Plague, 1 Chainer's Edict, and 1 Visara to go in. I count the remaining cards in my sideboard, and since there are 5 left, I have to take 10 cards out, right? So I set aside 4 Undead Gladiator, 3 Skeletal Scrying, 1 Diabolic Tutor, and 2 other cards. I then count the pile of cards to sideboard in ... only 8? I put them back in the sideboard, and count 13. =\ I inform Harrison he's just won the second game, but he tells me to just put a couple basic lands in instead and play it. Game 2 - I Duress him turn 1, and all he has is a Roar =\. He gets the perfect draw again, and I stall on 3 Swamp and a Coffers for a turn. That's enough, along with him holding 3 cards in hand to avoid the Mutilate. I Mutilate, and the Dog hits the graveyard. He plays a random creature, and I scoop, since I was planning on Blooding the next turn, and don't have another creature. Game 3 - I get a turn 2 Shade, and remove all his creatures as he plays them. He has 3 Bursts, but I leave 2 mana open each time so I can replay it. He eventually runs out of Bursts and dies. Games: 2-1, Matches: 1-0. Round 2 - Robert - Elves! Game 1 - I mulligan a hand of 4 Swamp, Duress, 2x Smother into a hand of 4x Swamp, Innocent Blood, and Diabolic Tutor. He's stuck on 2 land, and I Mutilate the team when he plays 2 Llanowar Elves. I Sludge him, followed by an Edict to clear his board, and then Echoes him. I take out most of his creatures, and Corrupt him out. Sideboard: In: 2 Engineered Plague, 1 Chainer's Edict, 1 Visara. Out: 4 Undead Gladiator. Game 2 - I mulligan a 4 Swamp, Coffers, Edict, Smother hand into a 5 Swamp, Mind Sludge into a 4 Swamp, Edict hand. My draws are, Mutilate, Mutilate, Swamp, Visara, Scrying, Swamp, Echoes, so I turn out ok. He plays turn 2 Steely Resolve. I Mutilate his team once, and he gets a Caller, but not enough mana to cast it the same turn. I get a Visara, and he is intent to gain life. I play a Tutor to get the Replicator, and choose to make 4/4 green elves for some reason. Not good when your opponent has 2 Wellwishers and a Hivemaster out. (I just saw the Resolve, and though Elves might be good for some reason. Derf, I guess.) He gets up to 58 with the Wellwishers, and then taps down to 2 mana to play a Chandelier. I ask him, "How many mana do you have available (knowing full well the answer). He says, "Lots," pointing to the Chandelier. I tell him the Chandelier is sick and ask again. He answers correctly this time, "2." I Mutilate, safe from the Caller, then I Sludge and Echoes him again. My 4/4 Bill Guerin elves go all the way. (I have about 20 Bill Guerin hockey cards I use as tokens.) Games: 4-1, Matches: 2-0 Round 3 - Sugrim - Land Destruction Well, I knew it would come down to this. Unfortunately, I probably have more chance of winning the lottery than I do of winning this match. Game 1 - He wins the roll, and is able to keep my mana down. He then plays a Magnivore, I Edict it the next turn, and he plays one 2 turns later. Sideboard - In: 4 Nantuko Shade, 2 Cabal Therapy, 2 Persecute, 1 Visara, 1 Haunting Echoes. Out: 4 Mutilate, 4 Smother, 1 Corrupt, 1 Skeletal Scrying. As I am sideboarding, I turn to Marshall, who is behind us, and ask, "What's a better matchup for LD than Wake (what Marshall's playing)?" He answers, "MBC and Astral Slide." I then tell him I'm playing MBC.) Game 2 - I play, and am able to keep my mana for most of the match, with a couple early Duresses. I play the Replicator (for 2/2 black Phelddagrifs. He drops a Braids, I Corrupt it. He drops a Magnivore, I block, and then take. I Edict it, and he drops another Magnivore. Somewhere in there, I Echoesed him twice, for his LD and Edicts, but it didn't help. Games: 4-3, Matches: 2-1 After the match, Sugrim graciously gives me a deck list and goes through it, so I can have it for the grinders. Round 4 - Sean C. - W/R Slide Game 1 - I win my first die roll, but have to ship back a hand of Coffers, 3xDuress, Smother, Scrying, and Visara into a hand of 2xSwamp, Duress, Corrupt, Mutilate, and Smother. I only draw a Coffers for mana in the next 4 turns, and after I Duress him a second time, leaving only 1 black open, he correctly drops the morphed Angel and Slides it immediately, avoiding my Smother. I get a Visara out, but try to hold the Corrupt for too long, and he Blessings the Angel, and Rifts twice while I am at 8. Sideboard: In: 4 Nantuko Shade, 2 Cabal Therapy, 2 Persecute, Visara. Out: 4 Mutilate, 4 Smother, Riptide Replicator. Game 2 - He gets three Rifts by the end of the game, and they all avoid my Duresses. I get Visara out, and have 2 Gladiators in the grave, which I don't recur for too long. I finally tap a Coffers for 6, and bring back a Gladiator, and am about to cycle it when I realize he has 2 Rifts out at the time and that wouldn't be the best play. So I get the other Gladiator out, and burn for 2. I am 1 turn off from killing him, when he drops the third Rift and kills me. Games: 4-5, Matches: 2-2. Let's see, how can I finish my night off? Oh yeah, I can play the other ... Round 5 - Alex V. - Land Destruction This is the first time he's played this. Game 1 - I get mana screwed, and he gets 2 Magnivores. I probably could go into a little more depth on this, but MBC's chance to win a match against LD is something like 0.002%. I concede the match after we play the first game. Games: 4-7, Matches: 2-3 See you Thursday. Bill Guerin DCI Level 2 Judge |
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