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Tyr's Hand - Rule Check
I have Tyr's Hand installed in a remote server and Heimdall 2.0 protecting it. The runner declares a run and approaches Heimdall 2.0. I pay to rez the ice, and the runner decides to break all three subroutines with whatever means are at her disposal.
Is it correct that Tyr's Hand can be rezzed and trashed now to prevent the runner from breaking the second subroutine (1 brain damage, end the run)? And is it correct that essentially the runner has no way of avoiding this from happening - once they have elected to break a subroutine, I can prevent them from breaking it and they must suffer the consequences?

Tyr's Hand should be rezzed after the runner encounters a piece of bioroid ice and declares that they are going to break subroutines on that ice (usually via clicks/breakers).  So, in your example, you would rez Heimdall 2.0 first, and if the runner declares that they are going to break the subs, then you would rez Tyr's Hand.  So, you don't have to rez Tyr's Hand when you rez the ICE (which might be useful if they see Heimdall can't break anything anyways).
When the runner declares that they are breaking, you can rez Tyr's hand and trash it to prevent one subroutine from being broken.  This means: whatever the runner spent to break that subroutine is still spent (e.g. 2 clicks from 2.0 ICE, or credits) - however, they can still spend more to rebreak the subroutine.  So, if they used a breaker - perhaps it just costs them an extra credit.  But if they were relying on clicks, then they are out of luck!

OK, so if they approached Viktor 1.0 with two clicks left, and decided to use both clicks to break both subroutines, I can rez Tyr's Hand and trash it. If I picked the brain damage subroutine they could still pay to break it again, but with no clicks left... bad luck?

Exactly.  In other words, if they hit Viktor 1.0 with 3 clicks left (running first click), and declare they are spending 2 clicks to break both subroutines, you can rez Tyr's Hand to stop from one break... but they can still use their 4th click to rebreak it.

+1! I don't know if there are good options out there for Netrunner, but if this were an analogous MtG question a great answer would be supported with a keyword and comprehensive rules quote. If there's a similarly official source to back up your explanation, it would be awesome to include it.


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Interactions between Oblivion Sower and counter spells that make you pay mana to prevent them?
Lets say I am casting Oblivion Sower. The on-cast effect would activate, exiling the top 4 cards of my opponents deck. The person decides to cast Mana Leak to counter my creature. Assuming I don't have enough mana to prevent the Mana Leak on my own, could I tap the lands, assuming I get three, that are exiled with Oblivion Sower to prevent Mana Leak from countering my creature?

Today I learned that "in response to" is an actual phrase in the comprehensive rules glossary (I always thought it was player slang). It means to cast something while another object is on the stack. In this case you have two objects on the stack, and so the question needs clarification. When exactly did your opponent cast Mana Leak? Before, or after Oblivion Sower's trigger resolved?

@Rainbolt it was a more casual game, so I don't think we truly specified. Also probably because we didn't really separate the on cast trigger and the spell itself. We are still learning.

You would not be able to use the lands gained by Oblivion Sower to pay Mana Leak's cost.
The reason for this is that you will not have those lands when you need to Pay Mana Leak's cost.
Here is the interaction broken down step by step, assuming proper play from your opponent:

You cast Oblivion Sower, it's ability goes onto the stack on top of it.
Your Opponent responds to your spell by casting Mana Leak targeting your Oblivion Sower, Mana leak goes onto the stack on top of Oblivion Sowers Ability.
Assuming no responses, the stack will now begin to resolve the spells/abilities.
Mana Leak resolves, you must now pay the 3 generic mana or have your oblivion sower countered.
The on-cast ability of Oblivion Sower resolves, you would now get your lands.
If you paid the costs for Mana Leak, your Oblivion Sower would now resolve and enter the battlefield.

As you can see, at the time you need to pay Mana Leak's costs Oblivion Sower's ability is still on the stack, so no fresh lands for you (yet). It is also not possible for you opponent to respond to the Oblivion Sower before the cast trigger is on the stack, as no player is given priority when Oblivion Sower is cast until after its on cast ability goes onto the stack.

601.2i: Once the steps described in 601.2a–h are completed, effects that modify the characteristics of the spell as it’s cast are applied, then the spell becomes cast. Any abilities that trigger when a spell is cast or put onto the stack trigger at this time. If the spell’s controller had priority before casting it, he or she gets priority.

However your opponent can wait until after the Oblivion Sower's on cast ability resolves and then cast Mana Leak. In that situation you will have the lands, but this would have to be a deliberate choice by your opponent so it is unlikely for that to happen.
An Interesting note to keep in mind is that you will get the lands regardless of whether or not Oblivion Sower is succesfully countered, since the ability is triggered on cast.

I'm sorry but I don't understand why the on-cast ability doesn't go on the stack in step 3.

@sinsedrix "603.2. Whenever a game event or game state matches a triggered ability’s trigger event, that ability automatically triggers. The ability doesn’t do anything at this point." and "603.3. Once an ability has triggered, its controller puts it on the stack as an object that’s not a card the next time a player would receive priority." The trigger happens as you cast the Oblivion Sower, because that's what it says on the card. Then the next time any player gets priority, which is the moment you've finished casting the Oblivion Sower, the triggered ability goes on the stack.

@sinsedrix No need to be sorry, everyone is here to help answer questions and understand MTG. Did @ Arthur's explanation help, or is there something else you need clarified? If you think the question is big/complicated enough feel free to ask it as a new question.

Thanks @Malco,it's maybe a bit tricky for me. The statement "that ability automatically triggers.The ability doesn’t do anything at this point" seems contractictory and set me confused. Also, I'm not at ease with the "priority" concept.

There is a really good answer that might help you understand things over here: In plain English, how does casting spells and using creature abilities work with the stack and priority?
Timing and priority is the back bone of MTG as it lets us know when you are allowed or not allowed to preform an action, it can be tough to understand the fiddly-bits of it. Most of the time you just need a basic understanding though.

It depends on exactly when your opponent casts Mana Leak; he can prevent you from doing so.
Your opponent has 2 options here... cast Mana Leak in response to the "when you cast" triggered ability, or to wait until that ability resolves, and then cast Mana Leak in response to the Oblivion Sower instead.
When you cast Oblivion Sower, the "when you cast" ability will go on the stack on top of the Oblivion Sower. At this point your opponent could cast Mana Leak on top of both of them, and the triggered ability will not have resolved yet, so you will not have those lands.
Note that even if Oblivion Sower is countered, the triggered ability will still resolve normally and you will still get the lands.

Okay, so Oblivion Sower gets countered first, and I must pay the mana right then and there. And once the counter spell has finished on the stack, then the on cast effect would happen? So technically they could counter a spell after the on cast effect but still counter the spell, or they could counter it before the on cast effect, though it would still resolve.

@ShadowZ. does the explanation in my answer below help? I tried to be thorough and break it down step by step.

@ShadowZ. Okay, so Oblivion Sower gets countered first, and I must pay the mana right then and there. No. If you allowed Oblivion Sower to be countered, then you already lost your chance to pay for Mana Leak. You either pay, or the spell is countered. The two options are mutually exclusive. [...] then the on cast effect would happen? As the answer states, the on cast trigger happens regardless.

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Can I use Westvale Abbey in a Commander deck that does not use black?
Is it possible for me to use Westvale Abbey in a Commander deck that does not use black? I am making a Blue, Green, and White commander deck, and I would like to add Westvale Abbey. Could I use it?

Related: http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/6292/in-edh-commander-what-is-the-color-identity-of-a-double-faced-card

No, you cannot. Westvale Abbey's color identity is Black.

903.4. The Commander variant uses color identity to determine what cards can be in a deck with a certain commander. The color identity of a card is the color or colors of any mana symbols in that card’s mana cost or rules text, plus any colors defined by its characteristic-defining abilities (see rule 604.3) or color indicator (see rule 204).
903.4c The back face of a double-faced card (see rule 711) is included when determining a card’s color identity. This is an exception to rule 711.4a.

And the definition of color indicator:

204.1. The color indicator is printed to the left of the type line directly below the illustration. It consists of a circular symbol filled in with one or more colors. A color indicator is usually found on nonland cards without a mana cost.
204.2. An object with a color indicator is each color denoted by that color indicator.

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In response to Meren's end of turn trigger, could I sacrifice a creature?
When the end of my turn comes around, Meren of Clan Nel Toth lets me target a creature in my graveyard to either bring back to the battlefield or return to my hand. In response to this trigger being put on the stack, could I sacrifice a creature with something like Ashnod's Altar or High Market, thus killing it and sending to the graveyard and being able to be targeted by Meren of Clan Nel Toth's ability?
The reason I am asking is so to see if I can flicker a creature with Conjurer's Closet, then sacrifice it, then reanimate it with Meren of Clan Nel Toth.

Small note: generally exiling a creature and then immediately returning it to the battlefield is called "flickering" or "blinking". "Bouncing" a permanent refers to returning that permanent from the battlefield to its owner's hand.

@murgatroid99 edited and noted

You cannot sacrifice a creature in response to Meren's triggered ability and then bring that creature back with the ability, but you can sacrifice a creature at any time before that in the turn and bring it back with the ability.
For all abilities and spells, including triggered abilities like on Meren, you choose targets as part of the process of putting the spell or ability on the stack. So by the time you have a chance to respond, the target is already set. In the situation you describe, the sequence of events plays out like this:

The end step begins. Meren's ability triggers.
You put Meren's ability on the stack. As part of the process of doing that, you choose the target, which has to be a creature card that is in your graveyard at this time.
You gain priority, which means that you have a chance to respond. At this time you can sacrifice a creature.
Meren's ability resolves and it returns the creature chosen in step 2 to the battlefield or your hand.

Adding in a Conjurer's Closet doesn't really change anything, but that situation plays out like this:

The end step begins. Meren's ability and Conjurer's Closet's ability both trigger.
You put Meren's ability on the stack first. As part of the process of doing this, you choose the target, which is a creature card that is in the graveyard at this time.
You put Conjurer's Closet's ability on the stack second, on top of Meren's ability. As part of this process, you choose the target, which is a creature you control.
You have a chance to respond with both abilities on the stack.
Conjurer's Closet's ability resolves. It exiles the creature chosen in step 3, then returns it to the battlefield.
You have a chance to respond to Meren's ability. At this time you can sacrifice a creature.
Meren's ability resolves and it returns the creature chosen in step 2 to the battlefield or your hand.

Would there  be a window where I could do what I was trying to do in the last line? Flickering, sacrificing, and reanimating? Or would the stack and such prevent me from doing all of it (without a sacrifice at end of turn effect).

Your question indicates to me that you may not have a full understanding of the basics of how the stack works, so I would suggest that you find an article about that. I'll edit in a more detailed description when I get a chance tomorrow, but the short answer is that doing another thing in response to Meren's ability doesn't change the fact that if you sacrifice a creature in response to Meren's ability, it is too late to reanimate it. A "sacrifice at end of turn effect" still wouldn't help because you would be doing it with Meren's ability on the stack, which is still too late to reanimate it.

@ShadowZ. the latest time you have priority, before you have to choose the target of Meren's ability, is in your postcombat main phase. If you have anything else to do in that phase, the sacrifice can be the final thing you do. Note that your opponent will always have a chance to respond to the sacrifice before you choose the target of Meren's ability

@ShadowZ. This answer helped me understand the stack when I was new to the game.

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How does Homeward Path work with cards that enchant to steal?
How does the card Homeward Path work with cards like In Bolas's Clutches? Homeward Path would imply that you still get it back, but those types of effects continue as long as the creature is enchanted, at least from a surface level inpsection of the enchantment.

Even though Homeward Path looks to have an instantaneous effect, it's actually continuous:

611.1. A continuous effect modifies characteristics of objects, modifies control of objects, or affects players or the rules of the game, for a fixed or indefinite period.

Since both continuous effects apply in layer 2:

613.1b Layer 2: Control-changing effects are applied.

you have to apply them in timestamp order:

613.2. Within layers 1–6, apply effects from characteristic-defining abilities first (see rule 604.3), then all other effects in timestamp order (see rule 613.6). Note that dependency may alter the order in which effects are applied within a layer. (See rule 613.7.)

If Homeward Path is activated after In Bolas's Clutches is cast, the owner will get the creature back:

613.6. Within a layer or sublayer, determining which order effects are applied in is usually done using a timestamp system. An effect with an earlier timestamp is applied before an effect with a later timestamp.

(quotes are from the Comprehensive Rules)

I was just looking at this, but not sure if or why this is correct... 611 is dealing specifically with continuous effects, so the one-shot effect of Homeward Path wouldn't be covered under 613.1b - Layer 2.

Further research seems to indicate that Homeward Path actually does create a continuous effect, not a one-shot effect. I'm not clear on how we can know this, however.

Intuitively, it could be a one-shot effect; I'm going by the examples given in 610.1 and 611.1.

Indeed, it looks like 611.1 is perhaps supposed to be read as saying that all effects that modify control of objects are continuous effects.

aren't all control change effects continuous? They would have to be to change an objects characteristics?

@Malco I think that's the key, but the Rules do not explicitly state one-shot effects can't change characteristics (just that continuous effects do so).

@Glorfindel Yes, until now I always thought that "you control target creature" was a continuous effect, while "gain control of target creature" was a one-shot effect.

I just now realized you were two different people....
RE: "611.1. A continuous effect modifies characteristics of objects, modifies control of objects, or affects players or the rules of the game, for a fixed or indefinite period." is defining what a CE is, ie anything that mods charateristics/control of obj is a CE

Well ... almost. It's logically equivalent to "a cow has four legs and eats grass", which defines some properties of a cow. But a sheep is not a cow, and still has four legs and eats grass.

true, but I don't think there is anything conflicting this in the CR (ie. something that changes obj characteristics that isn't a CE)

@Glorfindel, By the rules of logic, you are correct. However, 611.1 should indeed be interpreted to mean that all effects that match the criteria are continuous effects. (If there were one-shot effects that matched the criteria, they would have no effect since they're not mentioned in 613.) Therefore, all change of control effects are continuous effects. (Just confirming what was already said.)

The exception is those that set the initial controller. For example, "put that card onto the battlefield under your control" is a one-shot effect ("put") that sets the initial characteristics.

I think if we apply the rules for triggered abilities to this, it makes more sense. "603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as '[When/Whenever/At] [...]'". We use this rule to know that anything that starts with "When" or "Whenever" or "At" is a triggered ability.

So pretty much, because both are only applied once, the Homeward Path effect would override the Bolas Clutches effect? It would stay enchanted, but return to the owner?

@ShadowZ. not quite... they aren't both only applied once, quite the opposite. They are both always applied continuously. Any time you need to see what an object currently looks like, you apply all the things that are affecting it, in a given order. In this case, to see who the controller is, you start with the normal rules (its owner is the controller), then apply Bolas's Clutches' effect, then apply Homeward Path's effect. End result is that is would stay enchanted, but be controlled by the owner.

@Shadow Z., An example of what Gendolkari is saying in the previous comment: If the creature in the OP's scenario up is then captured by Rubinia Soulsinger, it will override the other two control-changing effects because it was created last. Once the effect ends (say if Rubinia is killed), Homeward Path's effect becomes the winner again (being the last-created existing effect)

So what happens if Homeward Path leaves the battlefield? Its continuous effect ends and control reverts to whoever controls In Bolas' Clutches?

No, it won't end, just like Donate's effect doesn't end when the spell ends up in the graveyard.

Just found that this whole conversation already happened several year ago: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/20995/djinn-of-infinite-deceits-interacting-with-other-control-changing-effects?noredirect=1&lq=1

If Homeward Path later is destroyed, does the player who controlled Homeward Path still gain control of the enchanted creature? (assuming the order of play was 1. Alice took Bob's elf creature using In Bolas's Clutches. 2. Bob used the ability of Homeward Path to regain control of the elf. 3. Alice destroys Homeward Path). Who will then control the elf? I think it is Bob, because the effect is still in play even though Homeward Path leaves the battlefield.

Yes, Homeward Path's ability produces a permanent effect which cannot be cancelled (not even when its owner leaves the game). It can be overwritten, with a newer control changing effect.

Seems that the creature's owner would regain control of the creature, even though In Bolas's Clutches stays in play:
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-rulings/magic-rulings-archives/292336-homeward-path-mind-control
Both create continuous effects, the most recent effect is the one that's active.

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Do Cascade and Epic work together?
Spells that have Epic, such as Neverending Torment prevent you from casting any more spells outside of the copy that you cast of it each turn. But, does playing a card count as casting a spell? I am specifically asking about cards that give Cascade, such as Maelstrom Nexus.
Would I get a Cascade trigger off of the Epic spell copy?

I've switched to use the spiffy [mtg:Card Name] template on this site, rather than embedding images of the cards. Among other things, this allows users with screen readers to be able to read a text version of the card on the page that comes up.

No, Cascade and Epic don't work together.
Epic creates a copy of that spell on the stack, which then resolves.
Cascade responds to spell casting. Copying a spell is not casting it. You can frequently see that on the rulings on cards that copy spells, such as on Insidious Will:

The copy is created on the stack, so it’s not “cast.” Abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell won’t trigger.

The final nail in the coffin is that Epic says “you can't cast spells”. If somehow you did trigger Cascade, you would not be allowed to cast the spell you cascaded down to. Of course, you wouldn't be able to cast spells to trigger Cascade in the first place. (Thanks @Gendolkari.)
Only the original casting of the Epic spell will trigger Cascade. That will be the final Cascade you will see this game.


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Multiple Replacement Effects for "Next Time"
So I recognize that replacement effects are chosen in order by the affected object/player's controller per

616.1. If two or more replacement and/or prevention effects are attempting to modify the way an event affects an object or player, the
affected object's controller (or its owner if it has no controller) or
the affected player chooses one to apply, following the steps listed
below. If two or more players have to make these choices at the same
time, choices are made in APNAP order (see rule 101.4).

My question is, in the case of multiple "Next Time" effects, say, Circle of Protection activations, are all of the uses forced to happen at the same time? If a replacement effect isn't used, does it work similar to regeneration shields, in that they can still be used later?
Circle of Protection: Red has an activated ability with oracle text as follows

1: The next time a red source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage.

Example Scenario:

Adam activates Circle of Protection: Red two times during Nat's
Beginning of Combat step, choosing Nat's Dragon-Style Twins (A red
creature with double strike).
Nat attacks with his Dragon-Style
Twins, and Adam does not block.

Will Nat's Dragon-Style Twins deal combat damage during either the first strike or normal combat damage steps? Obviously, please cite your answer, thanks!

Nat really shouldn't be attacking on Adam's turn, it's quite rude.

Adam had to have priority when he activated his CoP!

@Skyl3lazer The convention of naming characters based on active player and non-active player is based on whose turn it is in the described situation. The NAP will still receive priority (just not first) and be able to activate CoP.

The Dragon-Style Twins will not deal damage in either combat damage step.
One of the subrules of the rule you quoted, 616.1e, says

Once the chosen effect has been applied, this process is repeated (taking into account only replacement or prevention effects that would now be applicable) until there are no more left to apply.

So, in the first combat damage step, the process of applying replacement and prevention effects goes like this:

We start with two instances of "the next time Dragon-Style Twins would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage".
The effect to be modified is "Dragon-Style Twins deals 3 damage to you".
You choose (arbitrarily) to apply the first prevention effect.
The new effect is "Nothing happens". Now there are no applicable replacement or prevention effects, so the process ends.
One instance of the Circle of Protection: Red effect was applied, and the other was not, so now we have one remaining Circle of Protection: Red effect to apply.

In other words, a replacement or prevention effect that applies to "the next time" something would happen is only consumed if it is actually applied to an event.

I can accept this justification as "since nothing told the second effect to stop waiting for damage to replace, it persists until it finds damage to replace" Thanks!

Since the Comprehensive Rule you quoted (616.1) is hard to understand, we can use a ruling on a similar card, Dazzling Reflection, to demonstrate the intent:

If two Dazzling Reflections targeting the same creature have resolved in the same turn, only one prevention effect will apply the next time it would deal damage. The other effect will apply if the creature would deal damage a second time later that turn.

We conclude from this ruling that if two prevention effects are competing, then one will apply "next time" and the second will apply the time after that.

Basically what happens is you have two effects trying to modify the same event, so you choose one of them to apply (616.1d). You then check if any other replacement effects apply (616.1e), since there aren't you are done applying replacement effects. Since only one of the two effects was used the other one is still waiting to apply the next time the source deals damage.

@diego That makes sense to me now - thanks for explaining it. I edited the answer to say "hard to understand" instead of "unclear".


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Does having 2 Flickerwisps and an Impact Tremors win me the game?
I'm just thinking that if I had a Flickerwisp and an Impact Tremors in play, and I cast another Flickerwisp, would I be able to have the Flickerwisps "flick" each other until my opponents are at 0 life and win me the game? I'm thinking I might be on to something here.
I'm not sure how the "end of turn" ruling affects this, but if it's an issue I guess I can use a Fiend Hunter for this combo, right?

If you want to use Fiend Hunter for this, you're going to need 3 of them. If you just have 2, the second one will exile the first, and then nothing will happen.

The Fiend Hunter combo requires four pieces. I am trying to find ones that only require three, and I only managed to find this one: Impact Tremors + Food Chain + Misthollow Griffin. This one requires four but I'll post it anyway: Impact Tremors + Cloudstone Curio + Burning-Tree Emissary + Burning-Tree Emissary. Purphoros, God of the Forge can act as an additional Impact Tremors to make the combo more consistent. Priest of Gix can also replace Burning-Tree Emissary. Torrent Elemental can replace Misthollow Griffin.

@Rainbolt Three, with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Deceiver Exarch instead of two Flickerwisps. This combo has been used in the past with Warstorm Surge, now Impact Tremors makes it cheaper.

No, the first Flickerwisp will come back at the beginning of your end of turn step. The creature it exiles wouldn't come back until the beginning of the next end of turn since after they wont trigger at the begging of the end step.
Ruling on the card:

If the permanent that returns to the battlefield has any abilities that trigger at the beginning of the end step, those abilities won't trigger that turn.

It is worth noting that the ruling on the card is just a clarification of the usual "beginning of phase" effects.  Since all beginning of phase effects are put on the stack first, and then are resolved in LIFO order any new "beginning of phase" effects that are put into play don't fire.  The "beginning of the phase" has already ended.
Fiend Hunter will work for this combo, but you would need three of them. We'll call them A, B, and C. The pattern would follow:

A enters
B enters, capturing A
C enters, capturing B, which releases A
Repeat

Oh okay, so it's a slow agonizing death then instead of instant 20 damage :D

You could do the combo with Restoration Angel

@JonTheMon Restoration Angel targets non-angel's.   I don't see how your proposed combo will work.

Huh, so it is. I haven't had to deal with that clause before.

no, the first Flickerwisp will come back at the beginning of the next end step, not at the beginning of its' controller's next end step

@novarg corrected the wording

Having a Heartless Summoning and impact tremors in play will initiate an infinite damage combo with myr retriever. You will of course need 2x myr retrievers so that when the second one dies returning the first one to hand, continue to play your free myr retrievers due to heartless summoning triggering the key card Impact Tremors.
Its not flickerwisp combo rather Heartless/Impact. Others have already explained the flicker combo above which needs more creatures to get going, also another card to add to flicker combo is cloudshift and this new erie return?? Something like that, from the Blessed v Cursed duel decks

Myr Retriever can't return itself because its death trigger specifies "another".

Correct, you need two of them but you play it for free. It has the same chance as finding two flickerwisps. I have a deck that runs this combo. I use muddle the mixture to transmute one of the enchantments or myr retriever. I also have mulldrifter which can convoke for 1x U. I also run jarads orders to kick to combo straight away. It does run 12 fetches to make sure we got the mana we need.

This answer is describing a similar combo. It doesn't actually answer the question.

Sorry what do you mean??? 2x myr retrievers will trigger each other, when the first one dies then play the second returning the first to your hand and so on and so on. They play for free due to heartless summoning and if you have impact tremors or altar of the brood in play it will trigger the ETB each time you play you free myr. Combo explained

What I mean is that the question is about Flickerwisp, and you didn't explain what happens in that case.

Oh ok np, yea i read it as Impact Tremors winning the game and Flickerwisp being an engine to trigger the infinite damage.  as others have explained above that combo doesn't work ... exactly. I meant that the chances of gaving 2 flickerwisps is about as likely as having 2 myr retrievers BUT there are plenty of ways to kick off and find 2x myr retrievers in a modern format.

Petty sure flickerwisp does not win the game hence why Impact Tremors is the key part and why I was providing an alternative using the said KEY card. Anyway MTG is full of sweet lil combos, i decided to play test (just casul multi player fun) 4x flickerwisps 4x banisher priest 4x fiend hunter 4x cloudshift and 4x eldrazi displacer and it is a bit slow but really fun to play


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Does Brain in a Jar let you cast a Sorcery at Instant speed?
This question is about the wording on a new card Brain in a Jar:

{1}, {T}: Put a charge counter on Brain in a Jar, then you may cast an instant or sorcery card with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Brain in a Jar from your hand without paying its mana costs.

Does this mean that we can cast a sorcery at instant speed? On an opponents turn?

Yes, Brain in a Jar allows you to cast a sorcery at any time that you can resolve the ability, even during your opponents' turns. But technically, you're not even casting it "at instant speed". When a spell or ability instructs you to cast a spell, you go through the process of casting the spell while that spell or ability is resolving. Doing so completely ignores the standard timing restrictions of non-instant spells.
The reason this works is that the rules don't actually restrict when non-instant spells can be cast. They actually just allow you to cast the spell at certain times. So, the rule for Instants, 304.1, says

A player who has priority may cast an instant card from his or her hand.

And the rule for Sorceries, 307.1, says

A player who has priority may cast a sorcery card from his or her hand during a main phase of his or her turn when the stack is empty.

As you can see, the rules do not by default allow you to cast sorceries in as many situations as it allows you to cast instants, but neither rule says that those are the only times when you can cast those spells.
So, when you activate Brain in a Jar's ability, it essentially says "you can also cast an instant or sorcery (with a particular CMC) during the resolution of this ability".
Remember that if a spell explicitly says that you can only cast it at a certain time, or that you can't cast it at a certain time, Brain in a Jar does not allow you to avoid that restriction. So, Brain in a Jar does not allow you to cast Berserk after the combat damage step.
This difference between rules that allow you to cast spells at certain times and text that restricts when you can cast spells is the reason that cards that let you cast spells like Bring to Light have rulings like this one:

If you cast the exiled card, you do so as part of the resolution of Bring to Light. You can’t wait to cast it later in the turn. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type are ignored, but other restrictions (such as “Cast [this card] only during combat”) are not.

Thank you for the detailed response!  That cleared a lot of things up.

There's also "116.1. Unless a spell or ability is instructing a player to take an action, which player can take actions at any given time is determined by a system of priority. The player with priority may cast spells, activate abilities, and take special actions." It doesn't really tell you exactly when you can cast instants and sorceries and so on, but it does pretty clearly indicate that instructions from spells and abilities are outside the usual timing restrictions.

I'm not sure it actually says that. The rule basically just says that you can only do stuff when you have priority and when spells and abilities tell you to. But I don't think that's actually sufficient to conclude that timing restrictions don't apply when you're not using priority. I think you also need to reference the stuff in the answer to see that the timing "restrictions" don't actually prevent you from casting when you don't have priority.

I definitely didn't mean it was a complete answer to the question. But nonetheless, it is pretty clear that the usual priority/timing restrictions are being set aside for the case when something instructs you to cast a spell.

Yes, that means you can cast a sorcery at instant speed.  For instance, you could cast a sorcery during an opponent's turn.  Note, there are other ways to do this as well (not necessarily in standard however)

Hypersonic Dragon
Quicken
Leyline of Anticipation
Vedalken Orrery
Alchemist's Refuge


text:
Ways to find and purchase out-of-print / rare / old supplies?
My question came from missing out on finding a copy of the Ajani v. Nicol Bolas Duel Deck box to complete my set of duel decks.
When something goes out of print, it obviously becomes harder to find. What resources are available to find items when amazon or ebay have none listed anymore? I've tried a dozen other online shops with similar aspects to them, as well as my local game stores (in Seattle, so I'm not lacking any). I've also checked google's shopping section, as well as the top 5 pages of most of the possible variations I could come up with. If you can find one I would love a link to a shop with one in stock, but I'm more interested in the method of finding items - how would one go about finding other rarities, like the christmas special MTG cards? If it's not on amazon, what is the next step?
Thankyou for your time ~

possible duplicate of Where can I buy Magic: The Gathering cards?

@Rainbolt I had seen that question, but I thought it was enough of a departure in that the linked one was a simple question about just finding singles, where I had intended to mean it as a question more along the lines of 'how to find things that are not listed on the normal popular websites / what steps would you go through as a collector searching for x item.' For example, if someone were looking for misprints, they could be linked to the misprint Facebook page. If you or other people still think that it's a duplicate I'll defer to you all and close it though.

That was an example meant to differentiate my question from the linked one - like misprints, certain supplies or items can be hard to come by, and that one does not cover items not listed on the more... tertiary level websites? Not sure the phrasing. themisprintguy on reddit and the misprint page on Facebook cover misprints, high end magic on facebook covers black lotuses, I just mean to ask where to go for that one rare deck box or play mat uou can't live without - ideally, something like a reverse ebay would be great hah

Whoops, I deleted my comment because I wanted to edit it but I ran out of time. Anyway, I think the question needs to be more targeted. Are you looking for misprints? Ask that. Are you looking for  holiday promos? Ask that. Both of those questions are useful. "Where can I find anything and everything that is rare?" is so broad. I mean, do you ever get on eBay and search for "rare stuff"? I don't think so.

If you are looking for something like this that you can't easily find through most normal sellers I would try contacting the Customer Service departments of larger sellers like Star City Games or Channel Fireball and see if they have any way of finding the item in question for you. I don't know if CFB does this, but SCG does have a process for managing user requests, they might not have it in stock now, but knowing that you are interested in buying one means they are likely to acquire one if they come across a seller.

Oh! I had no idea, that's fantastic. I had checked them both out, but had no success finding the item. I'm still looking for other methods in general so I can have a bit more of an idea in general how people go about finding rare things, but I'll right up an email to SCG right away. Thanks!


text:
Draw 2 stacking was wrong or official account played a prank?
There was a viral tweet by UNO's official twitter page:

This got a lot of backlashes and many people still allow +2 stacking. But is there any official historical evidence to support either side before this tweet?

The two seem to be talking past each other. It seems to me that scribb24 describes this situation: 1) Player A plays a Draw 2. 2) Player B draws two cards and loses their turn. 3) Player C (“not the one that drew two”) has a Draw 2 in hand and wants to know if they can play it. The answer by realUNOgame confirms Player B’s actions and says nothing about Player C. (Skimming the replies, I found at least one respondent saying this, but with no answer from realUNOgame.)

@TimPederick I believe the official rules state (emphasis mine): "Every player views his/her cards and tries to match the card in the Discard Pile. You have to match either by the number, color, or the symbol/Action." So if player A plays a green +2 and player B draws and skips their turn, then player C is now allowed to play a red +2 if they happen to have one. I don't see any other way to read that part of the rules.

There's a yellow Twitter check mark now too? I can't keep up with these anymore....

@Arthur The official rules more explicitly say a Draw Two Card "may only be played on a matching color or on another Draw Two card".

Draw card stacking is not part of the basic Uno game rules, but it is a house rule used so frequently that Mattel have included it in the bundled rules as a variant called "Progressive Uno".
The Progressive Uno rules are as follows:

Same rules as UNO® card game, except:

When a player plays a Draw Two card, the next player may play another Draw Two
card, causing the next player to draw 4 cards.
Same rule applies to Wild Draw Four cards:
When a player plays a Wild Draw Four card, the next player may play another Wild
Draw Four card, causing the next player to draw 8 cards. The last player to play a
consecutive Wild Draw Four card calls the color to continue play. If a Wild Draw Four
card is played illegally and the player is challenged, the usual rules apply (See
FUNCTIONS OF ACTION CARDS), except that the penalty will increase depending on
the number of cards played.
Players can continue to play consecutive Draw Two or Wild Draw Four cards, as long
as they have them in their hands. For example, if 4 players in a row played Draw Two
cards, the next player (who doesn’t have a Draw Two card) would have to draw 8
cards.
You can only play one Draw Two or Wild Draw Four during your turn, even though
you may have multiples of these cards in your hand.


text:
What bet to make in this Texas Holdem Tournament?
I was playing in a tournament. About 115 players started each getting 5000 chips. There was about 45 players left and I had just been moved to a different table, I had 17000 in chips. The blinds were now 1000/2000. The second hand after I sat down I was the big blind and was dealt pocket Aces. One player bet 2000, all others including the small blind folded.
What bet should I make?
The player who bet 2000 had more chips than me but I'm not sure how much as I had just been moved to the table.
In the actual game, I raised to 5000 (an additional 3000).
The other player called.
The flop was K, J, 7 all different suits.
I bet 2000, the other player called.
The turn was a 5, I bet another 2000. The other player raised another 3000.
This left me with 5000 so I went in all. The other player called.
He showed K, 3 not suited.
My bad luck, the river card was a 3 and I was knocked out.
Should I have bet differently?
Should I have gone all in before the flop?

This is going to be totally opinion based.  There isn't a right or wrong answer here.

2000 is a call, not a bet.

@StartPlayer, how is this opinion based?  The mathematics and strategy of Texas Hold'em is very deeply understood (just not by me).  Can you provide more evidence as to why you think this is opinion based?

@StartPlayer There exists an optimal mixed strategy. One can have opinions as to what it is, but what it is is a factual question (albeit one dependent on factors not included in the question).

Indeed, there are many factors of how many people are at the table, their chip counts, the blind structure (timing, mostly), any history of the players (which seems to be zero, if you just sat down). Any answer would be subjective, but not necessarily opinion-based. Checking accomplishes something. Betting 3-4x accomplishes something. Going all-in accomplishes something. I'd go all-in with 8.5 BB left, and hope to get in good pre-flop. But I just play once a year :)

@John Yes there is a lot of strategy once you have information on the players but when all you have is a chip count and your hold cards it doesn't give you much to go on.

@John.  I could provide you more evidence but it's all opinion based.  Personally I would have gone all in pre flop.   That might have changed depending if the other player only had me slightly covered.  So there isn't an answer.  ITs about what you want to to do in that situation at that time.  Like all games, it would be very boring if there was always 'the correct' thing to do all the time.

@john I think will be helpful to you is to avoid 'results oriented thinking'   It seems your smarting they hit the 3.  You could argue that you got your chips in whilst you were ahead. In which case you made the right decision.  If you went all in pre and they called AA is ahead of K3 so you would have made the right decision. If when you went all in on turn and they had KK you would have made wrong decision.  The fact is there is't going to always be a clear 'correct move' (so no answer)  unless you know all the cards.  In poker you can make right decision and get wrong result and vice versa.

This question seems familiar enough to me to many other well-received questions about good strategy for all sorts of various games.

For sure you bet too small on the flop.  That was time to jam.  But you probably would have been called anyway.  Not much you can do.

@StartPlayer - can you move your comments to an answer?  Your expertise here should lead to a good answer.  Thanks!

@PatLudwig I don't think what I said is an answer.  Its just an opinion based on years of playing Poker and Boardgames. I can't give solid reference for anything. My view applies to both,  there is very rarely a 'correct' play in games.  Players are free to make whatever choices they make depending on there objectives.  In view of the question there are so many unknown variables, the main being what was the players objective? trying to double up, trying to take some chips, trying to take blinds, trying to avoid losing with aces.  The only way I could answer this would be drawing a flow chart!

@StartPlayer - An opinion based on specific expertise is what we call an answer around here :)  Sharing your knowledge is what we live for!

You had 8 big blinds. That is a spot to push pre flop (go all-in) out of position (OOP). You should be playing a wide range in that spot and could get called with a wide range. You win the bet that was placed and the small blind if the villain folds. Losing to K3 is unlucky but you need to gamble with a small stack and AA is a good hand to gamble with.

For the uninitiated: Please explain what "at 8 bb", "is a cooler" and "pick up the bet and sb"  mean.

Agree 100% with this opinion. It is a much better line. Added some edits to clarify some of the poker slang.

With pocket aces, calling (not raising) is slow playing. It can work, because players with lower pairs or Ace King, or Ace rag (a low card) might play or raise instead of folding. If they raise, then I would have probably re-raised about 4 times the raise or at least the full pot before the flop as there is always the danger any low cards will make 2 pair, 3 of a kind or trips.
As a general rule never go all in with nothing, I would avoid it with one pair, even two pair is risky, unless you have more chips and will win a decent side pot if you lose. K 3 was a terrible hand to call with and you were just unlucky. If it's any consolation, he must have had a dreadful night to call with it.


text:
Penalties for forgetting to draw/discard cards
What is the penalty when a player forgets to draw card?
What is the penalty when a player forgets to discard a card and has six (6) or seven (7) cards in his hand?

Irregularities like this are rarely covered explicitly in a ruleset, so most of this comes down to "use your judgement."
For the first situation, since everyone always draws and plays 1 card, it makes the most sense to let them draw the card once they have realized their mistake. Since there's nothing more than draw 1 play 1, the only way a player would have less than 5 cards is if they forgot to draw afterward, so that would be the best way to resolve the situation in a casual game. (Of course, they don't get to "undo" any of their previous turns due to "I would have played that card instead", that would be the penalty for forgetting to draw.) Even in a competitive game, I cannot think of any reason why someone would benefit from not drawing, waiting for a while, and then claiming they had too few cards and drawing one to refill, so this would probably work then as well.
For the second situation, either they played a card and then picked it back up by mistake, or they didn't play a card and therefore didn't take a turn. If it's the former, then they should discard the card they shouldn't have (and if it's a competitive setting get some sort of formal warning, as they should know better.) Should the card already have been played...well that's a bit of a predicament, as you can't really recover a legal game state. (Bear in mind that that since all the cards are unique, the opponents should have noticed it, so all parties are somewhat at fault.) In a super casual game, perhaps just discard a random card, and ensure this doesn't happen again. In anything even somewhat competitive, a game loss is the fairest outcome.
For the latter (drawing, not finishing the turn by playing and moving, and therefore having an extra card) in a casual environment forcing the player to discard a random card is a decent option. They've already served their penalty by losing a turn, there's no need to make it worse. It should be a random card due to the fact that the player might have gotten a possible "combo" that they wouldn't have gotten if they actually played. However, this option should not be used in a competitive game, as there are situations where a player would want to "pass" (because they like their current position,) but the rules would force them to play and do something. The safest option would be a game loss (although again, both sides are at fault for not paying attention and letting things get to this point.)


text:
Settlers of Catan: Building Roads 'Through' Settlements
I think that this idea is a bit ridiculous but my friend insists that: because of ambiguity in the rules, it is perfectly legitimate to build roads 'through' settlements. In case 'through' is unclear, let me explain through an example:
So, say that we have our hexagonal board piece. Now, we have two settlements, one towards the top, another towards the bottom. Now, the bottom settlement wants to build roads, so it starts building around this same hexagon. Now, my question: can you build a road that 'passes through' the other settlement to complete the loop?
Also, can you please reference the language in the rules? (My friend is extremely stubborn)

I am trying to get a visual example, sadly I am nowhere near a board. I'll get the picture ASAP. Thanks in advance.

Ok, so the answer is no. But still, the reasoning for the first part of the question does not make sense to me. It seems unrelated.

Do the settlements in your example belong to the same player, or to two different players?

Being able to block a player from expanding is a major component of the game. I'm not sure what you mean by "it does not make sense". It even makes sense conceptually ("No, you can't travel through my village")

The reason it is no, is because when you build something new (except for the set up rounds) you need to build roads and settlements connected to something you have already built.
When you reach someone else's settlement with a road, it 'fills' up the intersection and by building a road past you would be trying to build onto their settlement not your road.  It works the other way too, if you have a long road and someone build a road to an open intersection on your road they can build a settlement on the end of their road and thus split your road into two.  So this is a reason not to go crazy building roads without settlements.


text:
What happens if I double Meddling Mage's 'enter the battlefield' trigger?
Let's say I play Meddling Mage while I have Panharmonicon out. What happens? Do I get to name two cards that can not be cast? Or does the second card I name overwrite the first one?

Nothing happens; you can't double Meddling Mage's 'enter the battlefield' trigger since it doesn't have one.
But then... what is the thing that happens as the Mage enters the battlefield? Well, it's a replacement effect:

614.1c Effects that read “[This permanent] enters the battlefield with . . . ,” “As [this permanent] enters the battlefield . . . ,” or “[This permanent] enters the battlefield as . . . “ are replacement effects.

while triggered abilities are always worded differently (at least in Oracle, but Meddling Mage is modern enough):

603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as “[When/Whenever/At] [trigger condition or event], [effect]. [Instructions (if any).]”

The rulings below Panharmonicon also note this:

Abilities that apply “as [this creature] enters the battlefield,” such as choosing a creature to copy with Clone, are unaffected.

In most Magic games, the difference between these kind of replacement effects and triggered abilities can be neglected, but not in this particular case. Another difference is that after Meddling Mage starts to resolve and it's on the battlefield 'banning' a specific card, nobody gets priority so you can't sneak in a final casting of the named card - you'd have to do so while the Mage is still on the stack.

Interesting. 614.1 claims that replacement effects "completely or partially replace the event with a different event", which is obviously not true since Meddling Mage does enter the battlefield.

@Fax The new event that it is replaced with is "choosing a name as it enters the battlefield". This replaces "it enters the battlefield".

The wording is a shorthand for the more usual form of a replacement effect: "If [this permanent] would enter the battlefield, instead it enters the battlefield and you choose a cardname as it enters the battlefield."

Glorfindel's answer correctly covers the case of Meddling Mage and Panharmonicon, but to answer what happens if you did manage to choose two different card names for a similar ability:
This could either happen if the first ability actually were a triggered ability instead of a replacement effect; or if there were some replacement effect (which does not exist on any actual Magic cards) such as "if you would choose a card name, choose two card names instead".
If you did choose 2 different card names with such an ability, the second ability would refer to either of the card names; and your opponent would be unable to cast cards with either name.
The 2 abilities printed on Meddling Mage are called linked abilities:

Linked Abilities

607.1. An object may have two abilities printed on it such that one of them causes actions to be taken or objects or players to be affected and the other one directly refers to those actions, objects, or players. If so, these two abilities are linked: the second refers only to actions that were taken or objects or players that were affected by the first, and not by any other ability.

And more specifically:

607.2d If an object has an ability printed on it that causes a player to “choose a [value]” and an ability printed on it that refers to “the chosen [value],” “the last chosen [value],” or similar, those abilities are linked. The second ability refers only to a choice made as a result of the first ability.

In the case of Meddling Mage; the second ability is referring to any card name that was chosen by the first ability.
Note that certain cards such as Shapeshifter use the phrase "the last chosen" instead of just "the chosen"; to differentiate abilities where you would not be able to get the second ability to apply to multiple choices made by the first ability.

There does not appear to be any examples that involve naming a card (or making a choice other than a specific object); Isochron Scepter and other Imprint cards are similar; but because there are other rules dealing specifically with "the exiled card" wording; I don't want to use those.


text:
Does Experiment Kraj's passive ability work while he is dead?
Let's say I have Experiment Kraj in my graveyard while I have a Reassembling Skeleton on the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter. Can I pay 1B to return Kraj from the graveyard to the battlefield tapped?

This question is closely related to https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/48426/mairsil-the-pretender-out-of-battlefield-abilities.

No, you can't. Kraj's static ability is only active when it's on the battlefield; in the graveyard it does exactly nothing. Therefore it does not have the Skeleton's ability and can't 'reassemble'.

113.3d Static abilities are written as statements. They’re simply true. Static abilities create continuous effects which are active while the permanent with the ability is on the battlefield and has the ability, or while the object with the ability is in the appropriate zone. See rule 604, “Handling Static Abilities.”


text:
How does Golos work with cards that increase mana costs?
Let's say I activate Golos, Tireless Pilgrim's ability while there is a Sphere of Resistance out. Do I have to pay 1 mana for each of the cards that are spells that I play from Golos?

See also https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/44943/how-does-casting-without-paying-mana-cost-work-with-additional-costs and https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/48849/if-i-play-a-card-does-it-count-as-casting-it.

Yes, you have to pay 1 mana in this case. Golos' ability introduces a so-called 'alternative cost':

118.9. Some spells have alternative costs. An alternative cost is a cost listed in a spell’s text, or applied to it from another effect, that its controller may pay rather than paying the spell’s mana cost. Alternative costs are usually phrased, “You may [action] rather than pay [this object’s] mana cost,” or “You may cast [this object] without paying its mana cost.” ...

The exiled card's original mana cost is waived, but not the additional costs like the one from Sphere of Resistance:

601.2f The player determines the total cost of the spell. Usually this is just the mana cost. Some spells have additional or alternative costs. Some effects may increase or reduce the cost to pay, or may provide other alternative costs. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions. ...

Alright. That is what my gut was saying, but I Golos's effect saying "play" instead of "cast" confused me. I assumed they added play instead of cast so you could play a land from the 3 cards that are exiled.

@ShadowZ. Correct; "play" means "either cast a spell or play a land".


text:
How does Dredge work with drawing more than one card?
How does dredge work with drawing multiple cards at once? For example, let's say I cast Windfall and discard three cards, a Golgari Grave-Troll, and a Stinkweed Imp. With the at least five cards I am drawing from Windfall, could I dredge two of the draws with the troll and the imp? If so, how exactly do I do that properly? Do I get to select which of the five draws I am dredging?

Yes and yes.  Yes you can dredge both cards, and yes you can select which of the five draws you are choosing to replace with a dredge.  More than that, though, when you draw cards, you do so one by one.  So you could in theory be like "I'm looking for a specific card.  Draw 1?  Not it.  Draw 2?  Not it.  Draw 3?  Ok that's what I want, I'll Dredge using my other 2 draws instead of drawing".
To do this "properly" in the most formal way, you would say "I'm drawing a card and replacing my draw with CARDNAME".  Then you return CARDNAME to your hand and mill that many cards.  If you would like to dredge multiple cards in 1 action, you can shortcut this by saying "I'm going to draw 2 cards, I'm going to replace those draws with dredging CARDNAME1 and CARDNAME2".  Then you return both of those cards to your hand and mill a number of cards equal to the sum of their Dredge numbers.
Relevant sections of Comprules:

121.2. Cards may only be drawn one at a time. If a player is instructed to draw multiple cards, that player performs that many individual card draws.
702.51a Dredge is a static ability that functions only while the card with dredge is in a player’s graveyard. “Dredge N” means “As long as you have at least N cards in your library, if you would draw a card, you may instead put N cards from the top of your library into your graveyard and return this card from your graveyard to your hand.”

Alright. Is it possible if I could get the rulings for this?

Updated answer.  I believe those should be sufficient to explain the rules?

Alrighty, rule 121.2 was the one I was curious in seeing. Tyvm for adding the rulings

I didn't want to add this to the answer because you didn't ask the question, but another corrolary of rule 121.2 is that if you draw multiple cards in 1 action and you dredge the first card and you mill another dredger as part of that dredge action, then you are allowed to dredge that dredger for your second draw.  As a concrete example, say you cast Divination and for the first draw you dredge a Golgari Gravetroll.  You mill 5 cards, plus a Stinkweed Imp.  Then you may dredge that Stinkweed Imp with the second draw from the same Divination.

That is definitely something I would wonder eventually and I am glad you added it in as a comment. Thanks!

I occasionally play Legacy Dredge (like once every 2 years to remind myself why I hate playing the deck, but I own all the cards so mise), so I know most of the common interactions with those cards.

So "Each player discards their hand" resolves before "then draws cards" takes effect?

@Accumulation: When resolving the effects on a card, do them in the order printed, from top to bottom.


text:
Is it possible to pick a vehicle as your commander?
I'm making a commander deck, I've never played or deckbuilded in this game mode.
I've run across the Parhelion II card and I was wondering if it could be my commander. I know it's not a creature, but since planeswalkers can be commanders, I don't know if the vehicles can or can't be used as commander.

Nope, it can't be used as a commander. And for the record, most planeswalkers can't be used either; only those who explicitly state that they can. It's stated that way in the Comprehensive Rules:

903.3. Each deck has a legendary creature card designated as its commander. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself. The card retains this designation even when it changes zones.
Example: A commander that’s been turned face down (due to Ixidron’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A commander that’s copying another card (due to Cytoshape’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A permanent that’s copying a commander (such as a Body Double, for example, copying a commander in a player’s graveyard) is not a commander.

903.3a Some cards have an ability that states the card can be your commander. This ability modifies the rules for deck construction, and it functions before the game begins. See also rule 113.6n.

Of course, Commander is a casual format, so if your playgroup likes your idea of a Parhelion II Commander deck, they might allow it as a house rule.

+1 for casual format mention. Make the deck. Use it. BUT: always have the conversation before the game starts, especially with people you've never played with before: "Hey, y'all: I have this deck that I've made that uses Parhelion II as the commander. Is everyone cool with me using it? If not, that's totally fine, I have  that can also be the commander," then shuffle up and play.

While you cannot pick that specific vehicle as your commander, you can pick Shorikai, Genesis Engine, released in Neon Dynasty Commander after this question was posted. It is a Vehicle that can be your commander via an explicit rules text clause. Plus, its colour identity is blue-white, so you can include Parhelion II in a deck with it.


text:
Is it possible to fill an Othello/Reversi board with one color?
I have a simple question, but couldn't find an answer anywhere: is it possible to fill an Othello/Reversi board with one color?
I already played some games where one of the two opponents was wiped out, but in these case the board was never filled. It is possible to wipe out your opponent on the last move?

I found a game theory link here: http://math.duke.edu/~bray/Courses/49s/StudentSurveys/Fall2014/KL_Paper2_GameTheoryOfReversi.pdf but no direct answer to that question

Yes, it is possible.
Here is a youtube link showing a game where black fills the entire board:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prWG1OFgVqg&t=0m30s
(the game starts at 30s)

I've tried a dozen or so games versus myself and couldn't pull this off if I wanted to. Nice find.

I've had it happen to me once, and from me once: no clue how to reproduce it intentionally, though :)

Unfortunately this video no longer exists.


text:
What are the main results in combinatorial game theory regarding Go?
What are the main mathematical results concerning Go?
Go is a game with simple rules but high game complexity. It is inefficient to apply primitive chess AI methods (such as position brute force and empirical position estimation functions) to a Go game.
I am interested in results in the application of mathematical game theory to Go. Are there any good results in this field?


text:
When Turn to Frog changes a creature's base power/toughness to 1/1 do any affects that change creature's power and toughness still apply?
Turn to Frog changes a creature's base power and toughness to 1/1. Does that mean if target creature has a +1/+1 counter when Turn to Frog is cast, it becomes 2/2? If it has -1/-1 counter on it, would Turn to Frog effectively destroy it?
Does the same apply to enchantments or equipment that affect the creature's power/toughness?

The funny thing is that this is exactly the ambiguity that they were trying to clarify when they changed the wording to include the word "base".

Yeah I suppose it's pretty self explanatory. I'm overthinking it.

Yes, power/toughness modifications, including counters, apply on top of the base power/toughness exactly as you described in the question. Turn to Frog originally just said "becomes a 1/1", but along with many other cards, got the "base power and toughness" wording to help clarify this.
There's actually a specific order for applying those modifications as part of the layer system, but generally you don't need to know any details, just start with the base and add the rest. In case it does come up, here are the rules:

613.3. Within layer 7, apply effects in a series of sublayers in the order described below. Within each sublayer, apply effects in timestamp order. (See rule 613.6.) Note that dependency may alter the order in which effects are applied within a sublayer. (See rule 613.7.)
613.3a Layer 7a: Effects from characteristic-defining abilities that define power and/or toughness are applied. See rule 604.3.
613.3b Layer 7b: Effects that set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value are applied. Effects that refer to the base power and/or toughness of a creature apply in this layer.
613.3c Layer 7c: Effects that modify power and/or toughness (but don’t set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value) are applied.
613.3d Layer 7d: Power and/or toughness changes from counters are applied. See rule 121, “Counters.”
613.3e Layer 7e: Effects that switch a creature’s power and toughness are applied. Such effects take the value of power and apply it to the creature’s toughness, and take the value of toughness and apply it to the creature’s power.


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When is there no going back on a trade?
In Settlers of Catan, what are the precise rules for when a trade is completed and there is no going back? For example, if player 1 asks if anyone is looking to trade a resource for another resource and player 2 agrees, is player 1 bound to that trade or do both parties have to then agree on an exact trade before continuing?
In other words, is offering a trade to all players an implicit agreement to a specific trade with a particular player? If not, is there any way to agree on trades that does not result in showing what's in your hand?

Are you suggesting that "will anyone trade a sheep for an ore?" should be interpreted as "I will trade one sheep for one ore with the first person who agrees to it"?

Personally I think it shouldn't, but this was the debate that came up in play that we couldn't agree on

I don't see any way you could negotiate a trade without revealing anything about what's in your hand. Both parties need to know what is being traded. I suppose you could trade a brick for two unnamed resources, but I've never seen that happen.

I've seen people offering to trade, hoping to obtain wheat, asking the table if anyone has any for trade. Then before closing the deal, they play a monopoly on wheat. AFAIK that's a legal move, but it doesn't win you any friends and can cost you the game.

Trading
The type of rule you are asking for is similar to the Chess rule that says...

Once the hand is taken off a piece after moving it, the move cannot be retracted (unless the move is illegal)."

Catan rules aren't that specific, unfortunately. There is no rule in Catan that covers when a trade is complete with this level of detail. Therefore, it is up to you and your play group. If I were in your play group, I would argue that a trade is complete when the cards have physically changed hands. That is how goods exchanges work in real life - I give you money, you give me goods.
If you allow trades to be taken back after cards have exchanged hands, then you have to remember what cards you traded. More importantly, you have to still have the cards, and not have spent them.
If you don't allow trades to be taken back before cards have exchanged hands, then what happens if I don't have the cards I said I would trade? Maybe I wanted to bluff that I had a card for trade just so the other guy would get a worse deal.
Bluffing
Bluffing is generally an acceptable practice in any game that involves hidden information. But, the difference between lying and bluffing is not always clear. In Catan, you just have to know it when you see it. For example, saying "I have wheat." when I really don't is a bluff by any reasonable definition of the word, but saying "I have seven cards." when I really have eight is just a lie. If your group is not okay with bluffing, then your play group may need to create a house rule that prohibits it. Otherwise, it's fair game.

I think the OP is proposing a system where you preserve hand secrecy as much as possible, at the cost of removing most of the flexibility of negotiation. You would just make a specific trade offer, then as soon as anyone accepts it, you're both bound to make that exact trade. You just wouldn't be allowed to bluff. And if you wanted to try to trade with a specific person preferentially, you'd have to offer just to them first.

@Jefromi I interpreted the question as simply "When are take backs allowed?" I don't think the OP was proposing a new system - he was just providing examples.

Okay, well, one way or another that system (offer+agreement is binding) was under discussion, whether it was the OP or someone they played who suggested it. I was trying to point out that, for example, the issues in your last paragraph are part of that system: you get more hand secrecy, but you can't really bluff or negotiate.

@Jefromi Oh, I see. I assumed that bluffing was an acceptable part of any board game, but you are pointing out that that may not be the case if your play group implements a system that doesn't allow bluffing. When I have time, I'll add a corrolary to MTG and explain the difference between bluffing and lying, and explain that while the rules of Catan don't say anything specifically about bluffing, it is probably acceptable unless your play group says it isn't.

Yeah, it's definitely acceptable in general, it's just this particular convention that'd remove the ability to do it. (And my impression is that it'd mostly be an incidental consequence - you'd pick this convention more because of the hand secrecy issue.)

Trades are done when cards change hands, not before, not after. Another player isn't allowed to take cards that are in my hand, I can only give them. If I propose a trade and then change my mind, the other player has no recourse for obtaining the card I offered, unless I consent to the trade. Similarly, once the cards have changed hands, I have no way of forcing my opponent to give it back if I change my mind. In Catan, possession is ten tenths of the law.
Proposing a trade to the table as a whole is usually just a shortcut for proposing it to one player at a time. Even if the leading opponent is the first to speak up about a trade, I would much prefer to trade with someone who isn't winning. Again, even if he's the first to "accept" the trade, he has no way of forcing me to carry it out.

The rules don't explicitly declare it as "locked in and done" at any one point.  Catan isn't MTG; the rules aren't that specific.  It's a social game, so the first rule is don't be an asshole.  That said, you can say you have an open call to trade wheat for bricks, but that is just a matter of you letting the other players know what you want.  Exposing the cards in your hand isn't required, AFAIK.  That means that in regards to your specific example, you could put out an open trade agreement on your own turn, then if another player wants to trade with you on their turn and offers it to you you can take it up.  However, you are never obligated to make a trade.
As far as take-backs, etc goes, generally the trade is considered done when both people have exchanged cards.  But the specific timing of that is up to your group.  I would not allow trade-backs once any other action (negotiation, card usage, rolls, etc) has taken place.

Bluffing
I have very important addition to this part of Rainbolt's answer. Catan is game without hidden information. By the rules and how it is implemented in Catan Universe online version, every move in terms of resources is open to everyone. When you gather resources from first settlement, when you roll the dice, when you trade (both people and bank), when you buy, every person have to see what you get and what you give out. Hence, you can remember all resources that every player has. As I see trade, you can't offer resource that you don't have.
Trading

Proposing a trade to the table as a whole is usually just a shortcut for proposing it to one player at a time.

If you have several options to trade, e.g. two or three players agree to trade, you select the one that is good for you. If you don't want to trade with specific player (who have 9 points or you just don't like that guy) you can decline trade request.

I don't think the fact that all gaining and losing of resources is public is relevant here. A lot of games make it technically possible to fully track who has what at all times, yet still expects memory and tracking ability to be a big part of the skill of the game. (In Dominion, the designer has specifically said that taking notes is not allowed, because remembering what people have is one of the skills that the game seeks to employ). It's the same with Catan; being able to remember what resources a player is holding is a skill that can help you do well in the game.


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Cost increase and suspend
During a recent game, my opponent Suspended two Rift Bolt in the same turn. Then, during my turn, I played a Damping Sphere.
The way we resolved it, is that at the next turn, my opponent payed 1 for the second Rift Bolt.
I'm not sure if this is correct, because the rule text for supspend says that when you remove the last suspend counter you cast the spell without paying its mana cost.
So, to me, it sounds like even if the cost was increased, one still does not need to pay for it.
What's the correct thing to do?
If actually one needs to pay for the second suspended spell, what would happen if he can't?

Thanks for the edit, I didn't know about the [mtg:] link trick :)

The first Rift Bolt costs {0} to cast, and the second costs {1}.

The total cost to cast a spell
= mana cost or alternative cost
+ additional costs and cost increases
- cost reductions
Suspend allows spells to be cast for the alternative cost of "free". Cost increases, such as the one from Damping Sphere, still apply.[1]
If you can't cast it (because you can't or choose not to produce the mana for it), it will remain exiled indefinitely.

Only Trinisphere modifies the total cost.

Ok, thanks... so if one cannot pay for the second rift bolt, it would just fizzle?

"Fizzle" usually means "countered (by the rules) for not having any valid targets". That's not the case here. Note that Suspend says "When the last time counter is removed from this card, if it’s exiled, play it without paying its mana cost if able." The Riftbolt wouldn't even be cast, and it would be permanently stuck in exile (unless you have a way of adding time counters to an exiled card, or unless you use something like a Ring of Three Wishes).

Ah, yes, I've found the relevant section of the rules: 702.61a -> If you can’t, it remains exiled.

@ikegami The casual definition of “fizzle” is changed now; because it would no longer be countered.

You still have to pay the taxman. (If you want your spells cast)
When a card comes of suspend you cast it without paying its mana cost, but any additional costs, like these 'tax' cost, still need to be paid if you want to cast your spells.
If the mana is in your mana pool then you must pay these additional costs, you can choose to not tap your mana which makes the paying of the tax impossible. If you choose not to pay the tax the spell will remain in exile with no way to be cast.

that is news to me, where is that rule from?

ok, will edit..


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Eldritch Horror test resolutions in other board games
I'm new at modern board-games, basically, and I got Eldritch Horror as a present.
I love the test resolution system where you through n number of dice and the number of 5 or 6 determines if a test is passed or failed.
Is their any other board game that use exactly this system (by exactly, I mean throughing n dice, then counting the number of 5 or 6)? Does Arkham horror use the same system for instance?
Thanks!

This question appears to be off-topic because it is asking for a list of games with a feature

Arkham Horror does in fact use the same pass/fail system of 5-6 pass, 1-4 fail.

There is a close vote option labelled "Game recommendation questions are off topic [...]". I'm not sure how this question deviates from that template such that it requires a custom reason.

Hello and welcome to the world of modern board games. The mechanism you are talking about is a common mechanism for a number of board games.
You are correct that Arkham Horror uses this exact mechanism.
Other games use a similar mechanism:

Summoner Wars - uses a 6 sided die for combat but here you typically hit on a 3+
Eclipse - uses a 6 sided die for combat but here you initially only hit on a 6

I'm quite positive there are dozens more that could be listed, but those were the first games that came to mind that I was familiar with.

Betrayal (at House on the Hill) has modified dice with two blank faces, two 1's and two 2's. This is equivalent to rolling a d6 where a 3 or 4 counts as a success, and a 5 or 6 counts as two successes.


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What is this token?

I found this token underneath my table.  It's cardboard and looks well-made (it doesn't bend or fold easily, fairly thick).  I have no idea where it came from or what it belongs to, but it probably belongs to a board game I played at some point or other.  Does anyone know what it is or where it's from?

It appears to be from the game Sheriff of Nottingham

That's the one!  Found a clearer image on Google.  Interesting, I have played that game once before at my apartment, but only once, and I do not own it.  Now I have to remember who it was I played it with XD

I hope you can track down the copy it came from! I've got the game (that's how I recognised it), but I'm no good at bluffing games...


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How to play a card game we called Queens
We used to play a game we called Queens - 3+ players. Everyone was dealt a hand of 7 cards, plus a dummy hand was dealt, after all the Queens were taken out and put into the main deck.
We started with lowest red (aces counted as low cards?) and players continued to play around the table if they could follow on this card in sequence. Once this 'run' was over the next player played their lowest black. If you managed to play a Queen it was put to the side of your 'played' cards.
I believe if you couldn't play you had to pick a card up from the main pack. The first player to play all their cards won - plus a bonus if your Queen was the same suit as the top card of the dummy hand as it was turned over at the end of the game. I recall it being good if you had a card below those being played, since you could start a new sequence with this one and no-one had the next card, meaning you could start another potential run with either your lowest black or red (a colour different to the one you'd just played).
This is all I can remember about this game, but I'm positive I've missed something important out in this description. Is anyone able to fill in my missing blanks, please?

These types of games where you try to play all your cards (similar to Uno, Crazy 8's, etc.) are called shedding type card games, if you're looking on wikipedia or boardgamegeek that will get you started down the rabbit hole.
I haven't found any that specifically have the bonus queens that you remember though. Usually they have additional rules where Aces or Kings act as skips or reverses and such like you'd see in Uno. It's highly possible that you played a homemade variant of one such game.
From googling, it looks like there is a game marketed as Crazy Queens where their queens are worth bonus points, but it's played ~3 decks worth of cards. Although a home variant probably could probably be played with a standard deck.
A lot of these types of games have actual scoring by when played by kids just end when someone runs out of cards without the scoring actually being figured up.

This does not provide an answer to the question and looks like it is a reply to the question.

maybe it's not super clear but I think they were playing a home variant of crazy queens, but wanted to provide the tools for them to investigate further because that might not feel like a complete answer.

That would still be a comment as it doesn't provide an answer of how to play the game.

Good point. As it was tagged identify this game, I was approaching it as them being unable to locate the instructions because they didn't know what it was called. I'm currently on a firewalled connection with limited internet access, but I'll see if I can find an actual copy of the rules to post, although they obviously were playing with home variant rules so I'll be of limited utility since most similar games have the same basic rules.

Rummoli is what it sounds like to me except with that there's usually pots and money involved


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What card game is this?
Dealer deals 3 cards to each player first, they’re not supposed to look at those. Then another three that you can look at but don’t touch go above them when the deck runs out of cards.
So the general gameplay is to have a higher card, you have three in your playing deck (not the ones you haven’t seen or the ones after card deck is empty) say one is a 10, that erases the pile and it’s set aside or maybe that’s 2.
I just remember the 2’s and 10’s were good cards to have if you didn’t have a higher number. also if four of a kind is placed that clears the deck as well. you can also have an even number and not have to take the whole deck.
I’m not really good at explaining it because I played when I was in a psych ward so my memory is a little fuzzy but I remember it being the funnest card game I ever played.

You are describing Shithead or one of its many variants.
from the wikipedia page.

From a standard, shuffled deck of cards, each player is dealt 9 cards
in total: 3 face-down cards in a row (blind cards), 3 face-up cards on
top of the blind cards, and 3 hand cards

also

Twos and tens are wildcards, and can be played on any card. Any card
can be played to follow a two. When a ten is played, the discard pile
is immediately "burned" (removed from play) and the same player takes
another turn, playing any card or set to begin a new discard pile.

In the version I played years ago 7's were considered transparent and could be played on anything as if invisible.


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Can anyone recognize these models?
I bought these models. 21 models titled Warhammer soldiers. They were used and painted. At first I thought they were part of Astra militarum or Death Korps of Krieg, but when I looked online I couldn’t find any match.
18 models are really similar. 1 is like the others except with a antenna supporting a skull icon. 2 last models are different than the rest.
I wish to fix them and repaint them, but first I would like to know who these are and what they are about. So can anyone help?

It's not much to go on, but the icon looks a little like the Star of Chaos as shown at https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Chaos, so that figure at least may not be Imperial at all.

How heavy are they? (compared to similarly size plastic / metal models)


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Move Animals Between Pens During Harvest
During the feeding stage I end up with one sheep in a pen for four and three cows, two in a pen for two and one pet.  After breeding I no longer have room for the cows.
After breeding there is no longer room for the additional cow unless I can shuffle the animals around. Is there a way to manually move them about on the iPad version of the game even if there is no swap space available on the farm?

Usually you can drag the animals to the storage bar at the bottom of the screen to assist in moving them around.  Just like whenever you get new ones and have to drag them out, I have usually just dragged them onto that bar, near the location of their little respective icon.

That's good advice but it doesn't appear to work during harvest.

Hm.. I thought it usually did. I'll play a game and see why it's not.


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Why do we have to remove all other cards once a dragon was hatched?
So me and my little one just heard about dragomino so we reviewed a presentation of that game.
It was said, once a player finds a hatchling in a flipped egg, the cards get removed and a new turn starts. So my little one smart as she is noted here this sounds really frustrating, and I had to agree. So I was wondering: what happens if we instead of starting a new turn once a hatchling is found, instead we only end turns once everyone has had their turn. Would this disturb the games ballance?
Or what is the reason for the turns being aborted, once a player found a hatchling?

From the rules

After each player has carried out their 2 steps (1: Pick a domino, 2: Match dominoes to collect eggs), turn over and discard the remaining dominoes, if any, then take 4 new dominoes from the box and place these in the center of the table, face-up.  The player holding the Mommy Dragon is the first player to start the next round

Nowhere in the rules does it say anything about immediately beginning a new round once a player finds a dragon so I'm unsure where you got that from.  If you happen to find dragons then that simply increases your current total number of points and nothing more.  On the other hand, if a player finds a cracked empty egg-shell the player will take the Mommy Dragon piece which will become relevant for deciding who begins the next round. (The Mommy Dragon piece may be taken multiple times by multiple players in a round if multiple players found cracked eggs.  It only matters who holds the piece at the beginning of the next round).  The current round still completes as normal regardless of whether or not any dragon or cracked egg was found.
All players will end up having played the same total number of turns.

We atched a review of the game where the person presenting the game claimed it was that way.

Attached it where?  In any event, either you misinterpreted what was said, or the person who made the video got it wrong and didn't do their research (which for a game targeted at small children with a two page rule book reflects very poorly on them)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGCXu-2tqA It was this one. I didnt add it to the OP cause it is in german, tho.


text:
How did Andrea Mengucci receive a game loss for incorrectly registering his card on arena?

I just received a Game Loss because I registered a wrong card from my Draft. It kinda stings because I acknowledged it in the checking process after decklists were handed. But as the Latin says: ‘Dura Lex, Sed Lex’. #MTGWorlds 0-0-1.

Source
For those not in the know, the current Worlds Tournament in Hawaii is drafted in paper and then imported to MTG Arena, the most recent MTG computer client.
How is it possible that the deck was allowed to be registered incorrectly when imported, was it not checked ahead of time? Is this unique to the unusual format (paper draft → computer games), or could this happen if the games were also paper?

I guess it's a game loss if you for example misspell a card. The player is responsible for correctly entering the cards they drafted. I didn't find any details on what actually happened, but I believe this is the case here.

@AulisRonkainen http://epicstream.com/news/JakeVyper/Andrea-Mengucci-Receives-Game-Loss-For-Registering-Wrong-Card-at-Magic-The-Gathering-World-Championship-XXVI

The player (Andrea Mengucci) wrote a wrong card to his decklist after the draft. This constitutes as a decklist problem. The fact that the tournament is partly played on MTG Arena, doesn't matter here. Appropriate penalty in this is case is a game loss.
Magic IPG (Infraction Procedure Guide) states (https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rules/ipg3-4/):

3.4 Tournament Error – Decklist Problem
Definition
The decklist is illegal, doesn’t match what the player intended to play, or needs to be modified due to card loss over the course of the tournament.
Penalty
Game loss

The player is fully responsible to mark the correct cards to his deck registration sheet. They aren't checked ahead of time.
One could argue that penalty isn't fair, but it's a correct call in this case, according to the rules. Maybe this motivates discussion about should the rules be changed.

It just seems odd that the onus of transcribing the cards into arena falls on the player and not an official?

Andrea Mengucci clarified this on his twitter just a few minutes ago:

People at home. I don’t have 2 Archon of Sun’s Grace. I have 2 of the uncommon Archon. That was the mistake in deck registration that gave me the game loss. My deck isn’t an A  #MTGWorlds

There are two archons in THB: Archon of Sun's Grace (rare) and Archon of Falling Stars (uncommon). He drafted two of the latter and mistook it for two of the former.
It's not clear yet whether the deck wasn't verified properly or whether whoever verified it simply made the exact same mistake, but it looks like a straightforward reading error.

I'm wondering if he miswrote it before entering it to arena and thus the awkward paper->arena transcription is not to blame...