Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Judge's Corner

Feb 20, 2004  Agonizing Corrupt

Title: Agonizing Corrupt
Questions: 6

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Someone asked you:

>>>Q: If I play a Corrupt with 6 swamps in play targeting a 3/3 Call Of The Herd token, after resolution, do I gain 3 or 6 life?

A: You gain 6 life. Corrupt does not limit the amount of life gain to the toughness of the creature. Since Corrupt deals 6 damage to the token, you will gain 6 life.<<<

Q: If the creature that Corrupt is being used on also has the Binding Agony enchantment on it, will the creatures controller take 3 or 6?

-Seth

A: How much damage does the Corrupt say it's dealing?

The correct answer is "6." Corrupt deals 6 damage, therefore, the person controlling the Corrupted creature will take 6.

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Q: I was wondering about counters that add negative power or defense. If a negative counter is put on a creature that decreases its defense below 0 does it die or can it stay in play to block an attacking creature (which will obviously kill it)? I can't find anything regarding this in the rulebook.

-Michael D.

A: Under State-Based Effects:

420.5b A creature with toughness 0 or less is put into its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration can’t replace this event.

It doesn't matter how the toughness was reduced below 1, simply that it is below 1.

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Q: I have a Panoptic Mirror and I have a Fireball imprinted upon it...

-Darlene B.
A: I'll stop you right there. With Panoptic Mirror (and similar imprint cards), you play the copy without paying the mana cost. This means you CAN'T pay the mana cost, even if you want to. Since X is undefined in this instance, X is 0, and thus, you will always do 0 damage with a Fireball imprinted on Panoptic Mirror.

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Q: I have a Sleight of Mind on an Isochron Scepter, and a Gloom in play. If another player plays a non-white spell, can I in response Sleight of Mind his spell to make it white, and therefore make that player have to pay 3 more mana for that spell?

A: No. Once they've paid the mana cost and played the spell, it is played.

409.3. Playing a spell or ability that alters costs won’t do anything to spells and abilities that are already on the stack.

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Q: If my opponent activates an ability of a creature he controls, say, Spikeshot Goblin, can I use my Neurok Transmuter to turn it into an artifact creature in response, then use my Brown Ouphe to counter Spikeshot Goblin's activated ability?

-Kyle F.

A: Yes. Once you finally play the Ouphe's ability, the Spikeshot's ability is an activated ability from an artifact source, and is a legal target for the Ouphe's ability.

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Q: Do medallions and familiars (e.g. Pearl medallion) reduce the costs of flashback spells (e.g. Ancestral tribute) played from the graveyard?

-Fred

A: Yes. Flashback is an alternative cost to play the spell, and is evaluated before you apply cost increases or decreases.

409.1f ...The total cost is the mana cost, activation cost, or alternative cost, plus all cost increases and minus all cost reductions.

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Tournament Report - Frank & Son's Tournament - 2/14/2004
Where we had the first chance to play with Darksteel These tournaments are unsanctioned, and this tournament an the three following it (meaning tomorrow's, and the 2 Saturdays' following) are all free. Free is good.

So I manage to scrounge up a couple of Arcbound Ravagers for the deck (thanks to my friends at shuffleandcut.com), and put the following deck together:

2 Arcbound Ravager
2 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Broodstar

4 Chromatic Sphere
1 Aether Spellbomb
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
2 Lightning Greaves
4 Thoughtcast
4 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Mana Leak
3 Override
3 Talisman of Progress

4 Ancient Den
4 Great Furnace
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Glimmervoid

Sideboard
3 Last Word
4 Pyroclasm
4 Sacred Ground
4 Shatter

Yes, it's 61 cards, so sue me. I find the lone Aether Spellbomb has helped me out of more situations that I could ever know, and I can't find anything else to cut with it. The color screw was a real problem yesterday (see Tuesday's column) without the Chromatic Spheres, so that's another card I won't live without.

Other notes:

2 Ravagers: The only 2 I could find.

2 Frogmite: to get my mana fixing in.

2 Lightning Greaves: Helps to have hasty men, as well as untargetables, to send through.

Thoughtcast/Thirst for Knowledge: The old standard is better than anything we could get from Darksteel. You get multiple card advantage off both these cards, where you do not in Machinate and Pulse of the Grid.

7 counters: Lost the 8th in the squeeze for room.

20 land/3 Talisman: Really need at least 1 more land, and probably the 4th Talisman too.

No Chrome Mox?: Too pricy for me. It may be good in this build, but I'll never know.

Sideboard:

3 Last Word: For anyone who didn't get the memo that U/W control is dead. Also, it helped to have a hard counter against Urzatron.

4 Pyroclasm: Damn goblins.

4 Sacred Ground: Go away Sugrim. =\ (The preceding comment was meant to say: "A local metagame necessity.")

4 Shatter: Mirror/other dangerous artifacts.

Round 1 - Bryce T. - Mono-Red Togs

I get a glance at his decklist before they come to pick them up, and it is an interesting concoction. The Megatogs and Atogs are his only creatures, with a lot of Equipment to back them up.

Game 1 - I win the coin flip, and go first. I mulligan a 1 land hand into a 2 land hand, and miss my third land drop. He gets way too tentative with his Atogs, leaving them back on defense, and I am happy to oblige by serving once with a Myr Enforcer, and then starting the Broodstar assault. Broodstar takes him out in 2 turns.

Sideboard: Nothing.

Game 2 - I keep a hand with 2 Broodstar, 3 Thirst for Knowledge, Mana Leak, Thoughtcast, and an artifact land on the play. Bad idea, as I discard for most of the game while he hangs back for a few turns. My deck doesn't give me an out, and he finally attacks for the win.

Game 3 - We both mulligan once, and he draws 7. He tries to slip it back on top instead of mulliganing, but I call a judge, and he goes down to 5.

It doesn't help that I got a nuts draw - 2 artifact land, 3 1 mana cost artifacts, and an Enforcer, and I draw another 1 mana cost artifact and a Talisman. He stalls on 1 land, and the Enforcer finishes it off on turn 6 with the help of 2 Pyrite Spellbombs.

Games: 2-1, Matches: 1-0

Round 2 - Alejandro R. - 3c Urzatron

Game 1 - I win the die roll, but miss my turn 3 land drop. By that time, he's got the full Urzatron out, and plays a couple of Bottle Gnomes. They beat on me for a couple of turns while he fixes his mana and casts Bosh.

Sideboard: In: 4 Shatter, 3 Last Word. Out: 4 Mana Leak, 2 Lightning Greaves, 1 Broodstar.

Game 2 - I get the turn 2 Ravager, and he has to spend some time fixing his mana. An Enforcer joins him, but I fail to give enough pressure, and he Mindslavers me. I scoop, not thinking I can sac the Ravager to itself to save my board position.

Games: 2-3, Matches: 1-1

Round 3 - Chris L. - Goblin Bidding

Game 1 - He wins the roll, and plays first. He gets an early Piledriver+Warchief combo, but I get rid of the Warchief with a Pyrite before it can do any damage. I send my team, as does he. Broodstar picks up some shiny new shoes, and I attack. He tries to cycle an Incinerator to kill my Ravager, and I sac it to make my Enforcer lethal. He scoops.

Sideboard: In: 4 Pyroclasm. Out: 2 Frogmite, Broodstar, Aether Spellbomb.

Game 2 - I miss a mana drop, and have to tap out turn 5 to cast a Pyroclasm. He plays a Mire, grabs his second Swamp, and Biddings me out.

Game 3 - He gets down an early Sledder, and I forget all about it through my 2 Pyroclasms, as it provides him just enough help to kill me.

Games: 3-5, Matches: 1-2.

I wait around for round 4, and almost fall asleep. I decide this is my last round, and Scott (the Head Judge) gives me my round 4 table - table 12. As I'm walking out, I hear

Round 4 - Terrance A. - DiscipleTog
mention that he is at table 12. I check the pairings sheet, and sure enough, I'm paired with him. I walk by the barricade to the tournament area, and toss my deck box on the table across from him. He then realizes that we are paired, and is none too happy about it.

Game 1 - He goes first, and drops a turn 3 Ensnaring Bridge. I stupidly cast a Thirst for Knowledge the next end step, and then immediately scoop it up.

He looks confused, and I tell him that I have no way to get around the Bridge, and have just removed my only remaining win condition (decking) by drawing cards.

Sideboard: In: 4 Shatter, 2 Pyroclasm. Out: 2 Arcbound Ravager, 2 Lightning Greaves, Frogmite, Broodstar.

Game 2 - I have to mulligan a 6 land hand. He gets a double Disciple draw, but I get rid of them. He proceeds to draw all 4 Togs, and sends the team. I shatter the Pyrite Spellbomb before blockers, and he pumps a Tog. I block 2 unpumped Togs, and he scratches his head, and pumps the Tog he pumped before with his other 2 artifacts. He's forgotten about my Aether Spellbomb, and I use it on that Tog. From there, it's academic.

Game 3 - He gets a start with an Ornithopter, an Atog, and a Disciple. I have to defensively Pyroclasm on turn 4, to get rid of the Disciple. Terrance decides to have a brain fart, and he gets black out of his Chromatic Sphere, and then instead of sacrificing the Ornithopter to keep the Atog alive, he decides to Terror the Atog to avoid mana burn.

Ok...

After that, it is almost academic, as I play a couple of Enforcers and go to town.

Games: 5-6, Matches: 2-2.

I decide to drop to be able to go home and rest.

See you Tuesday.

Bill Guerin
DCI Level 2 Judge
 

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