He said she said

[jazzykat]

If there is a disagreement about something that isn't apparent from the state of the board e.g. change in step and you are at end of last step and beginning of new step.

To make it more concreate one opponent says its the end of the first main phase and the other says its beginning of the attack phase and one guy casts cryptic command to tap a creature and the other guy then backs up and says no it's still first main phase.


Also what happens if my opponent accuses me of betting on the match and I deny it and accuse him of betting on the match.


What would be the ruling with:
1. No external witnesses
2. External witnesses known to be a friend of 1 or both parties
3. External witnesses with unknown loyalties.

My point is, how do the rules protect us from outright lying or do they?

[dorsch]

You will not find any rule like "the guy with most witnesses is right" or "The one with witnesses who are not his friends is right", because no such rule nor policy exists.

Any scenario, such as the one you described, is, in my opinion, one of the most challenging situations for a judge.
Any good judge will try his best to find out the truth. He (or she) will interrogate both players and any possible witnesses (be them friends or not). After some time (which might take one minute to much more minutes) the judge will get to a conclusion what has actually happened. Then he will make a ruling and all the other stuff judges use to do.

Of course witnesses help, but are just one of many factors which can lead to a judge believing you instead of your opponent.

If the judge discovers, that your opponent lied on purpose, he will most probably give him a DQ for cheating.

My advice if you find yourself in front of a lying opponent: Tell the judge everything you know and tell him what you think or believe is going on. (But make clear which statements are facts and which statements are assumptions). Use ur time to give him every information you have and trust him to find out the truth. And never ever lie to a judge. If you did a honest mistake admit it and take the minor (if any) penalty.

Most judges are pretty good at telling liars. And lying to a judge will DQ you (or your opponent) instantly.

[umbowta]

I'm so confused, jazzykat. How many people were playing in this game...wait...have you been drinking? The end of first main happens when the active player attempts to move to the attack step, passing priority to the nonactive player, who can then cryptic whatever he/she so desires. When both players have passed on an empty stack => attack step begins. WTF man.

[cdr]

My point is, how do the rules protect us from outright lying or do they?

People who lie are disqualified.

[jazzykat]

People who lie are disqualified.

Great, I hope they get caught!