==ISLANDHOME #5==
April 2nd 2008 ---- $ -1/-1
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: I-Con - 7 PM Standard in the SAC Ballroom
Saturday: I-Con - 12 PM Vintage, 3 PM Standard in Psych A 144/146
Sunday: I-Con - 12 PM Extended in Psych A 144/146
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: I-Con - 7 PM Standard in the SAC Ballroom
Saturday: I-Con - 12 PM Vintage, 3 PM Standard in Psych A 144/146
Sunday: I-Con - 12 PM Extended in Psych A 144/146
==I-CON 27==
I-Con 27 is fast approaching, and I've got details on the coolest/nerdiest event on all Long Island! All kinds of stuff will be going on April 4th-6th at Stonybrook University. Billy West, the voice of Fry, Dr. Zoidberg, and other characters from Futurama will be there, Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters, and a bunch of other guests from sci-fi/fantasy stuff. Wizards of the Coast will be there, showing off 4th Edition. Dungeons and Dragons, not Magic, sorry. I'll be running tournaments all three days, starting Friday night in the SAC Ballroom, so if anyone knows where that is, please get me there so I don't accidentally walk into the Lord of the Rings LARP room.
The schedule looks like this:
Friday at 7 PM: Standard, 1/2 box prize, in the SAC Ballroom.
Saturday at Noon: Type 1 Unsanctioned; grand prize is a Moat from Legends. In Psych A 144/146.
Saturday at 3 PM: Standard, 1/2 box prize, in Psych A 144/146.
Sunday at Noon: Extended, 1/2 box prize, in Psych A 144/146.
There'll be drafts going on as long as we have product to support them, with entry for each draft being only $5! Entry into the constructed events is FREE, but of course you need an I-Con membership to get into the event.
Donato Giancola, the Magic artist most famous for Chrome Mox, Coalition Relic, Memory Jar, 10th Edition Shivan Dragon, and the recent Magic Player Reward promo Mana Tithe will be there, as will Larry Elmore, who's done Might Weaver and a couple of older basic lands. I can't promise they'll be signing cards, but I will be, so bring your Tarmogoyfs!
The full schedule for I-Con is here. You'll need Adobe's PDF reader to view it.
The schedule looks like this:
Friday at 7 PM: Standard, 1/2 box prize, in the SAC Ballroom.
Saturday at Noon: Type 1 Unsanctioned; grand prize is a Moat from Legends. In Psych A 144/146.
Saturday at 3 PM: Standard, 1/2 box prize, in Psych A 144/146.
Sunday at Noon: Extended, 1/2 box prize, in Psych A 144/146.
There'll be drafts going on as long as we have product to support them, with entry for each draft being only $5! Entry into the constructed events is FREE, but of course you need an I-Con membership to get into the event.
Donato Giancola, the Magic artist most famous for Chrome Mox, Coalition Relic, Memory Jar, 10th Edition Shivan Dragon, and the recent Magic Player Reward promo Mana Tithe will be there, as will Larry Elmore, who's done Might Weaver and a couple of older basic lands. I can't promise they'll be signing cards, but I will be, so bring your Tarmogoyfs!
The full schedule for I-Con is here. You'll need Adobe's PDF reader to view it.
==SHADOWMOOR==
Rumor Season has officially started for Shadowmoor with the release of the first spoilers on magicthegathering.com (at least one card will be previewed every night at midnight), and many more are starting to pour in from foreign magazines and other sources. The Rumor Mill on MTGSalvation.com is the best source for new rumors on the internet. What we know so far is that the "Q" mechanic is the untap symbol: it works like the tap symbol, except the creature must be tapped in order to use it. The "persist" mechanic has also been revealed: Whenever a creature with Persist is put into a graveyard from play, if it didn't have a -1/-1 counter on it, return it to play under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it. At least one other new mechanic, "Wither", seems to have something to do with damage to creatures being replaced with -1/-1 counters.
Utopia Vow + Leech Bonder + Judge of Currents = Infinite life. Enchant the Leech Bonder with Utopia Vow, tap it for blue, gaining 1 life. Use the blue mana to untap Leech Bonder and repeat the whole process over again!
Don't forget, the Long Island prerelease is on April 19th!
Utopia Vow + Leech Bonder + Judge of Currents = Infinite life. Enchant the Leech Bonder with Utopia Vow, tap it for blue, gaining 1 life. Use the blue mana to untap Leech Bonder and repeat the whole process over again!
Don't forget, the Long Island prerelease is on April 19th!
==RULES CORNER==
I had quite a few interesting situations come up at Saturday's FNC event, and I figured I'd repost them here for everyone to see. If you have a rules question you need answered, don't be afraid to ask me, whether it's online or in person.
Q. Grego played Oblivion Ring on my creature, then bounced the Ring with his Vedalken Mastermind and told me my creature's gone forever! What happened? I thought when the Ring leaves play, my creature returns!
A. When Oblivion Ring leaves play, whatever it removed does come back - but Grego bounced the Ring before it actually removed anything, so there's nothing to bring back!
What happened is this: Oblivion Ring has two triggered abilities, one that triggers when it comes into play, and one that triggers when it leaves play. Grego played Oblivion Ring, and then targeted a creature with its comes-into-play ability. Now with the comes-into-play ability on the stack, he bounced the Oblivion Ring to his hand, which triggered the leaves-play ability, and that went on top of the stack. The top ability on the stack, "When Oblivion Ring leaves play, return the removed card to play under its owner's control.", resolved, returning nothing to play. Even though Oblivion Ring was targeting a creature, that creature hadn't actually been removed from the game yet. Then the next ability in line resolved, "When Oblivion Ring comes into play, remove another target nonland permanent from the game.", and removed the creature from the game. The same trick used to be done with Faceless Butcher back in the day.
Q. What about Sower of Temptation? If that comes into play and targets my creature and it's bounced in response to the trigger, does my opponent keep it forever?
A. Sower's different. Instead of having two triggered abilities, it has one triggered ability with a duration. If you're confused, compare Oblivion Ring and Sower. Oblivion Ring has two separate lines that both start with "When Oblivion Ring....", and Sower has one line that starts with "When Sower of Temptation...." and says "as long as" - that's a triggered ability with a duration, the duration being "as long as Sower of Temptation remains in play". There's a rule that states that if an effect with a duration would stop before it begins, it doesn't do anything. It doesn't start and then stop, and it doesn't last forever, so nothing happens when Sower's ability resolves.
Q. If Bryan Fazio plays a Sower of Temptation targeting my Sower of Temptation that's controlling his Epochrasite (*deep breath*), what happens to the Epochrasite after his Sower's ability resolves?
A. It stays right where it is, under your control. Sower's a strange girl, she doesn't care about the guys she takes after she brings them over to your side. All the Epochrasite cares about is whether or not the Sower whose spell it's under is in play, not where she is. However if The Faz sacs your old Sower to his Nantuko Husk, the one-sided relationship's over and the Epochrasite goes back under his control.
Q. Jim's got two Countryside Crushers out and it's his upkeep. What happens?
A. Since Jim controls both Crushers, he can put them on the stack in any order he wants. So let's say he puts Crusher A's trigger on the stack above Crusher B's, because it'd be silly the other way around. Crusher A's ability resolves and he reveals a land, then another land, then another land, because he's really lucky this turn. Each time he reveals a land, it goes into his graveyard and BOTH Crushers' "Whenever a land card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, put a +1/+1 counter on Countryside Crusher." abilities trigger (but no counters go on yet!). Once he hits a non-land card, it stays on top of his library. Now that Crusher A's ability has resolved, Crusher B's reveal trigger is still on the stack, but the +1/+1 counter triggers go on above it. This is the last chance his opponent has to Incinerate either Crusher, because as soon as these triggers resolve (one by one), they've both got three +1/+1 counters on them. Now Crusher B's reveal trigger resolves and he reveals the top card of his library, which isn't a land unless he played some kind of library manipulation spell between the triggers.
Q. I've got a Venser, Shaper Savant in play and I my opponent plays another one. Can he bounce anything?
A. Anything but a Venser! As soon as the second Venser comes into play, state-based effects are checked and both Vensers go to the graveyard. Then the second Venser's bounce trigger will go on the stack and he'll get to pick a target.
Q. My opponent has a Magus of the Abyss out and I have a Mutavault in play. At the beginning of my upkeep, can I animate the Mutavault and have the Magus kill it?
A. At the beginning of your upkeep, Magus of the Abyss's triggered ability triggers and goes onto the stack, and those player whose upkeep it is (yours) chooses a target for the ability. This all happens before anyone gets priority, so you have to choose a legal target that's already in play. Mutavault won't be a creature at this time, so it's not a legal target. If Magus's ability was written "At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a nonartifact creature," then you could, since there'd be no target required and it'd make you lose a creature when the ability resolved, not when it was put onto the stack.
Q. Mike Evans is using sleeves with pictures on 'em! JUDGE!
A. There's a common misconception that all sleeves with pictures on them are illegal. Actually, the DCI doesn't officially ban ANY sleeves, it's all up to the head judge of the event to tell the players what sleeves he or she doesn't allow. I'll allow any sleeves as long as the picture doesn't touch the edge of the sleeve, because those are easy to get marked through wear and tear. And don't worry too much about "reflective" parts of the picture - as long as you can't easily/accidentally see the reflections of cards in the shiny part, they're okay. If someone's actively lifting their cards in such a way that they can see the next card they'll draw anyway, that's a whole other problem.
Q. We're doing a sanctioned draft at Grim and their lands are all old and I can tell which cards are lands just from the backs of the cards. What should I do?
A. Having all your lands easily identifiable is a major problem, even if you intend to honestly randomize your deck. The penalty is Marked Cards -- Pattern, which is a Warning at Regular REL and comes with an order to change out the marked lands by the next match. Not doing so will certainly earn you a Game Loss. If the head judge believes you're using marked lands on purpose, or are shuffling your deck in a way that you know lands are coming up, that's Manipulation of Game Materials and is a DQ. Ideally, you should use sleeves when using old lands. Most players buy one of those 50-sleeve packs of UltraPros for $3, which should last many drafts.
Q. If Madonia has a rules question and I think I know the answer, can I tell him?
A. No, definitely not! I've seen too many games almost ruined because a spectator gave up the wrong ruling, even though they thought their answer was correct. To prevent this from happening, the DCI says that only judges of the event can answer rules questions, and at Regular REL, it's a Warning for Outside Assistance if a player decides to "help out". There's nothing stopping a judge from asking a more knowledgable player for advice on a ruling however.
Q. Grego played Oblivion Ring on my creature, then bounced the Ring with his Vedalken Mastermind and told me my creature's gone forever! What happened? I thought when the Ring leaves play, my creature returns!
A. When Oblivion Ring leaves play, whatever it removed does come back - but Grego bounced the Ring before it actually removed anything, so there's nothing to bring back!
What happened is this: Oblivion Ring has two triggered abilities, one that triggers when it comes into play, and one that triggers when it leaves play. Grego played Oblivion Ring, and then targeted a creature with its comes-into-play ability. Now with the comes-into-play ability on the stack, he bounced the Oblivion Ring to his hand, which triggered the leaves-play ability, and that went on top of the stack. The top ability on the stack, "When Oblivion Ring leaves play, return the removed card to play under its owner's control.", resolved, returning nothing to play. Even though Oblivion Ring was targeting a creature, that creature hadn't actually been removed from the game yet. Then the next ability in line resolved, "When Oblivion Ring comes into play, remove another target nonland permanent from the game.", and removed the creature from the game. The same trick used to be done with Faceless Butcher back in the day.
Q. What about Sower of Temptation? If that comes into play and targets my creature and it's bounced in response to the trigger, does my opponent keep it forever?
A. Sower's different. Instead of having two triggered abilities, it has one triggered ability with a duration. If you're confused, compare Oblivion Ring and Sower. Oblivion Ring has two separate lines that both start with "When Oblivion Ring....", and Sower has one line that starts with "When Sower of Temptation...." and says "as long as" - that's a triggered ability with a duration, the duration being "as long as Sower of Temptation remains in play". There's a rule that states that if an effect with a duration would stop before it begins, it doesn't do anything. It doesn't start and then stop, and it doesn't last forever, so nothing happens when Sower's ability resolves.
Q. If Bryan Fazio plays a Sower of Temptation targeting my Sower of Temptation that's controlling his Epochrasite (*deep breath*), what happens to the Epochrasite after his Sower's ability resolves?
A. It stays right where it is, under your control. Sower's a strange girl, she doesn't care about the guys she takes after she brings them over to your side. All the Epochrasite cares about is whether or not the Sower whose spell it's under is in play, not where she is. However if The Faz sacs your old Sower to his Nantuko Husk, the one-sided relationship's over and the Epochrasite goes back under his control.
Q. Jim's got two Countryside Crushers out and it's his upkeep. What happens?
A. Since Jim controls both Crushers, he can put them on the stack in any order he wants. So let's say he puts Crusher A's trigger on the stack above Crusher B's, because it'd be silly the other way around. Crusher A's ability resolves and he reveals a land, then another land, then another land, because he's really lucky this turn. Each time he reveals a land, it goes into his graveyard and BOTH Crushers' "Whenever a land card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, put a +1/+1 counter on Countryside Crusher." abilities trigger (but no counters go on yet!). Once he hits a non-land card, it stays on top of his library. Now that Crusher A's ability has resolved, Crusher B's reveal trigger is still on the stack, but the +1/+1 counter triggers go on above it. This is the last chance his opponent has to Incinerate either Crusher, because as soon as these triggers resolve (one by one), they've both got three +1/+1 counters on them. Now Crusher B's reveal trigger resolves and he reveals the top card of his library, which isn't a land unless he played some kind of library manipulation spell between the triggers.
Q. I've got a Venser, Shaper Savant in play and I my opponent plays another one. Can he bounce anything?
A. Anything but a Venser! As soon as the second Venser comes into play, state-based effects are checked and both Vensers go to the graveyard. Then the second Venser's bounce trigger will go on the stack and he'll get to pick a target.
Q. My opponent has a Magus of the Abyss out and I have a Mutavault in play. At the beginning of my upkeep, can I animate the Mutavault and have the Magus kill it?
A. At the beginning of your upkeep, Magus of the Abyss's triggered ability triggers and goes onto the stack, and those player whose upkeep it is (yours) chooses a target for the ability. This all happens before anyone gets priority, so you have to choose a legal target that's already in play. Mutavault won't be a creature at this time, so it's not a legal target. If Magus's ability was written "At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a nonartifact creature," then you could, since there'd be no target required and it'd make you lose a creature when the ability resolved, not when it was put onto the stack.
Q. Mike Evans is using sleeves with pictures on 'em! JUDGE!
A. There's a common misconception that all sleeves with pictures on them are illegal. Actually, the DCI doesn't officially ban ANY sleeves, it's all up to the head judge of the event to tell the players what sleeves he or she doesn't allow. I'll allow any sleeves as long as the picture doesn't touch the edge of the sleeve, because those are easy to get marked through wear and tear. And don't worry too much about "reflective" parts of the picture - as long as you can't easily/accidentally see the reflections of cards in the shiny part, they're okay. If someone's actively lifting their cards in such a way that they can see the next card they'll draw anyway, that's a whole other problem.
Q. We're doing a sanctioned draft at Grim and their lands are all old and I can tell which cards are lands just from the backs of the cards. What should I do?
A. Having all your lands easily identifiable is a major problem, even if you intend to honestly randomize your deck. The penalty is Marked Cards -- Pattern, which is a Warning at Regular REL and comes with an order to change out the marked lands by the next match. Not doing so will certainly earn you a Game Loss. If the head judge believes you're using marked lands on purpose, or are shuffling your deck in a way that you know lands are coming up, that's Manipulation of Game Materials and is a DQ. Ideally, you should use sleeves when using old lands. Most players buy one of those 50-sleeve packs of UltraPros for $3, which should last many drafts.
Q. If Madonia has a rules question and I think I know the answer, can I tell him?
A. No, definitely not! I've seen too many games almost ruined because a spectator gave up the wrong ruling, even though they thought their answer was correct. To prevent this from happening, the DCI says that only judges of the event can answer rules questions, and at Regular REL, it's a Warning for Outside Assistance if a player decides to "help out". There's nothing stopping a judge from asking a more knowledgable player for advice on a ruling however.
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
April 4th-6th: I-Con at Stonybrook UniversityMagic events will be run by me, in association with Brothers Grim, all three days beginning on Friday night. There'll be drafts running all three days while product is available, as well as sanctioned Standard and Extended events and even unsanctioned Vintage!
April 19th-20th: Shadowmoor Prerelease
Long Island and New York City prereleases will be held on Saturday the 19th, and New York City on the 20th. Read The Rumor Mill forum on MTGSalvation.com as we get closer to the release date for up to date information. I'll most likely be judging Long Island Saturday and NYC Sunday.
Summer 2008: PTQ Season for Berlin
The next PTQ season starts this summer, and it's going to be Lorwyn Block Constructed! Lorwyn block will consist of Lorwyn, Morningtide, and Shadowmoor. Eventide won't be available during the beginning of the PTQ season, and I'm not sure if it'll be released in time for the end of it. I don't have a date yet on the official start of the PTQ season, but I should know relatively soon. To help prepare for it, I'm going to try to sanction some Block Constructed tournaments after Shadowmoor is released.
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I-Con should be a lot of fun!
By the way, I'm trying to expand Islandhome to get out to more people, so if you know anyone who wants the newsletter, tell them to send me their email!
I-Con should be a lot of fun!
By the way, I'm trying to expand Islandhome to get out to more people, so if you know anyone who wants the newsletter, tell them to send me their email!
-Brian Paskoff
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