Must-Know for Chicago?

[Anusien]

I'm gonna putting together some information in one form or another for the judging staff at Grand Prix: Chicago. I wanted to get some information on what calls you've seen judges get wrong or what interactions you think are especially tricky and it would be a good idea to prep the judges on.

Stuff along these lines:
Sea Drake with only one land in play doesn't require you to return anything.
Humility in general
Blood Moon versus Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Trinisphere + Shattering Spree versus Sphere of Resistance and Shattering Spree
Standstill + Stifle/Trickbind

[Clark Kant]

I've seen a judge mess up the ruling on the size of Mishra's Factory when a Godhead of Awe is in play. I doubt that would come up in the GP though.

[RoddyVR]

The only actual wrong calls i've ever seen are:
Mishra's Factory under Humility is a 2/2
Stifle can actualy be used against Madness (leaves card removed from game)

One that i am personaly likely to encounter and would hate to have an argument about:
Engeneered Plague naming slivers is in play, Harmonic sliver gets played and actualy kills the Plague as it dies to being a 0/0

Another that i think might be a common one cause there will be a lot of people playing top, and some might never have played against people who can actualy kill a top:
Sensei's top gets killed in response to its tap ability

[leander?]

Stifle can actualy be used against Madness (leaves card removed from game)

Are you sure you don't mean flashback here? I mean, why would a madnessed card be removed from the game when you only discard it?

[Anusien]

Stifle can be used on Madness's "You may play this card" trigger. Flashback cannot be Stifled.

[Sims]

Are you sure you don't mean flashback here? I mean, why would a madnessed card be removed from the game when you only discard it?

No, he does mean madness.

502.24a

Madness represents two abilities. The first is a static ability of cards that functions while the card is in a player's hand. The second is a triggered ability that functions whenever the first ability is applied. The phrase "Madness [cost]" means "If a player would discard this card from his or her hand, that player discards it, but may remove it from the game instead of putting it into his or her graveyard," and "Whenever this card is removed from the game this way, until he or she passes next, he or she may play it any time he or she could play an instant as though it were in his or her hand by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost. When he or she passes next, he or she puts it into his or her graveyard."
502.24b Playing a spell using its madness ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 409.1b and 409.1f.
502.24c Any time you discard a card which has madness, you have the option to remove it from the game (to play it using its madness ability) or not. If you remove it from the game, the second part of the madness ability triggers. When this ability resolves, you have the option of playing the spell for its madness cost. You can only play it the very next time you could play an instant this turn. If it's an instant or sorcery, put it into your graveyard when it resolves. If it's an artifact, creature or enchantment, put it into play when it resolves.

Instead of going to the graveyard, when you decide to play a madness spell while discarding it, you remove it from the game and finish resolving your spell or ability. If you did remove it from the game you get the trigger to play it for it's madness cost. I believe it is possible to stifle the madness trigger and keep the card RFG'd.

[Bryant Cook]

Trinisphere + Shattering Spree versus Sphere of Resistance and Shattering Spree

I already know Trinisphere and Spree, but...Shattering spree and Sphere is...?1R?

[Anusien]

I already know Trinisphere and Spree, but...Shattering spree and Sphere is...?1R?

Exactly. They don't interact in the same way.

[Atwa]

Exactly. They don't interact in the same way.

I'm not exactly sure, but it might be smart to add an explanation to this post? Otherwise someone is going to ask for it and you (or someone else) will have to put an additional explanation as a reply.

[Peter_Rotten]

I'm not exactly sure, but it might be smart to add an explanation to this post? Otherwise someone is going to ask for it and you (or someone else) will have to put an additional explanation as a reply.

Agreed. This thread is a good idea, so why not make it better by adding explanations or at least links?

[Anusien]

I will certainly post whatever I create after its done. However, it's more important and useful to me to solicit information and post the final deliverable later than to take the time and flesh every bit out now.

[Nihil Credo]

A few words on the 'free' spells (FoW, Daze, Fireblast, Pyrokinesis) and their interaction with Chalice/Trinisphere/Counterbalance.

Timing rules regarding Krosan Grip vs. CounterTop and the upkeep/draw steps. People probably know this from Extended, though.

[KillemallCFH]

Vedalken Shackles (or Seasinger, I guess) + Manlands (i.e. 'Do I get my Factory back because it's no longer a creature?' To which the answer, by the way, is no.).

[ansset]

Wait, DO they get their manland back if Shackles untaps/leaves play? I have heard infinite permutations of this ruling, and clearly all but one of them is wrong. ha;lp

[nitewolf9]

No, they do not. When it becomes a land again it sort of "falls off" the Shackles, but it does not change controllers again unless shackles is untapped or destroyed before the factory reverts to a land.

[ansset]

No, they do not. When it becomes a land again it sort of "falls off" the Shackles, but it does not change controllers again unless shackles is untapped or destroyed before the factory reverts to a land.

Thanks Dan. Okay, so to take it one step further, I Shackles a Factory. They pass the turn, I untap Shackles, draw, and animate Factory and attack. They destroy Shackles. Do they get Factory back?

[miro]

I untap Shackles

... and no longer control Factory
:)

[ansset]

... and no longer control Factory
:)

rtfthread plz

I mean, unless Dan was wrong, in which case my questions were irrelevant.

[Anusien]

The duration on Vedalken Shackles is only as long as the controller does not untap the Shackles. If Shackles leaves play or untaps, the controller gets the Factory back. Otherwise they maintain control of it.

[konsultant]

All I have to say is this, at GP Columbus I sat next to game where the judge actually ruled that you could cast Stifle and stop your opponent from drawing cards with Standstill. I understand alot of the players aren't going to be familiar with all of the card interactions but I don't put much faith in the judge's. My rule of thumb is this, if I know i'm right get the head judge.