4/60 cards foil at GP

[Einherjer]

Hey guys, as I will attend to GP Ghent Ive got a question for you:
I am playing a deck with 4 foil Emrakul, and 56 nonfoil cards and a 15 card nonfoil sideboard. Will this be a problem at a GP?

Greetings

[stealth]

yes at least try and foil some basic lands or something or it will be judge calls all day long

[Nihil Credo]

Alternatively, temporarily exchange your 4 foil Emrakul's for 4 nonfoil ones until the end of the tournament (obviously with someone at least a little trustworthy).

[Einherjer]

Hmm, I got the Promo-ones so the nonfoil are worth more... Thats bad as I do not feel like spending 50 Euro on a playset of Emrakul....

Greetings

[rxavage]

This will seriously cause issues even if they aren't bent? I have the same situation and plan on bringing similar to an SCG... I never had an issue with my reanimator deck, where only my entombs and reanimation spells were foil.

[cdr]

4 foil Emrakul in an otherwise nonfoil deck will cause additional scrutiny, both from opponents and from judges. Some people prefer to avoid that extra potential hassle and so avoid using foils.

However, 4 foil Emrakul is not a problem as long as those foils are not marked / distinguishable from the rest of the deck. Promo foils are particularly prone to warping, so you would have to be especially cautious if they're promo.

Obviously if the foils are marked, it's a big problem - game loss and replace at minimum and potentially a DQ if it's found to be likely to have been an attempt at cheating.

[rxavage]

Would adding 4 foil basics alleviate this scutiny or would it just make it worse? ... All this because I bought the foil emrakuls because they were actually cheaper.

[Einherjer]

I just added 4 foil Basic-Lands to the deck. The problem should be settled right? Could any Judge answer please?

Greetings

[entity]

Find a friend with at least one nonfoil Emrakul and ask him to borrow it for GP. That in addition with adding a few foil basics should solve the problem.

[Einherjer]

Find a friend with at least one nonfoil Emrakul and ask him to borrow it for GP. That in addition with adding a few foil basics should solve the problem.

Would that solve the problem? I would like to hear an answer from a judge or very experienced GP-player.

[oRen]

Imo it would not. Be ensured that people will go fishing if they have the opportunity. Like cdr said it comes down on whether the cards (especially the promotional cards) are distinguishable from the rest of the deck or not. Spare yourself the hustle and buy a 4 non foil or trade in your foils for non foils at a vendor of your choice even if it means losing 20 bucks.

[Einherjer]

Hmm why would 8 foils not solve the problem?

[saspook]

Hmm why would 8 foils not solve the problem?

(Judge response)

It doesn't matter if you have foils, or not. It matters if the foils are distinguishable from how they sit in the sleeve.

Even if there is no pattern. But 4 warped Emrakuls and 4 warped basic lands is a pattern. But you are the only person in this discussion who can look at the cards you own and see if the Ermakuls are warped. Additionally, you might ask the head judge before an event if they are warped, but because it is a hot and humid day, they could potentially warp during the event and become marked.

[Einherjer]

So if I got it right it depends on the fact that CARDS are foiled and not that certain card-types are foiled. Btw - my Judge-Promos are bent. So, I thought if I had 4 creatures and 4 lands foiled I wouldnt be able to feel the difference and therefore I cant be blamed to cheat hu?

Greetings and thanks

[oRen]

Even if you have 3 Island 1 Mountain and 4 Emrakul as foils and all are bent in the same way it is still a clearly remarkable pattern.

[B.C.]

It doesn't matter what configuration of foils/non-foils you have. If some of your cards are bent and some are not, it's not going to work. I recommend double-sleaving your deck. It does a lot to straighten out bent cards and otherwise make everything look the same.

[RaNDoMxGeSTuReS]

Just ask the head judge prior to the tournament. Generally he or she will make attempts to cut to said card "X" times.

Bring non-foils as a back up.

Pretty much that's it.

[lordofthepit]

Yet another reason to hate foils, besides looking tacky.

Pay extra money to buy something shiny that is incompatible with your other cards? This is like the cardboard version of Apple.

[rxavage]

Yet another reason to hate foils, besides looking tacky.

Pay extra money to buy something shiny that is incompatible with your other cards? This is like the cardboard version of Apple.

Thats the funny thing. The foil Emmys are cheaper than the normal ones which are also harder to find.

[Einherjer]

I think it was the only time I bought something CHEAP! I will never do that again. But you all know this: Paying 50 bucks for a playet of cards- sure. But paying 70 bucks a year later for the same playset of cards...UGH! But I guess I have no choice.

[lordofthepit]

Thats the funny thing. The foil Emmys are cheaper than the normal ones which are also harder to find.

It would have messed up my Apple analogy.

I guess a more appropriate comparison would be to the occasions when I get an iPod/iPhone cheap and end up regretting it.

[Gammadoom]

I think it was the only time I bought something CHEAP! I will never do that again. But you all know this: Paying 50 bucks for a playet of cards- sure. But paying 70 bucks a year later for the same playset of cards...UGH! But I guess I have no choice.

That's not what they're saying at all. They're saying that *if* your Emrakul's are warped *then* you'll have a problem. In lieu of buying a playset of non-foil Emrakul you could try buying some beef jerky or other product that comes with a packet of silica. Take the packet of silica and your foil Emrakuls and put them in a closed shoebox for about a day. The silica should pull the moisture out of the cards and flatten them out.

[Kich867]

That's not what they're saying at all. They're saying that *if* your Emrakul's are warped *then* you'll have a problem. In lieu of buying a playset of non-foil Emrakul you could try buying some beef jerky or other product that comes with a packet of silica. Take the packet of silica and your foil Emrakuls and put them in a closed shoebox for about a day. The silica should pull the moisture out of the cards and flatten them out.

Is this for real? That's the coolest shit I've ever heard. I will definitely try this out, I love beef jerky, it's like a win-win :eek:..

[Esper3k]

Is this for real? That's the coolest shit I've ever heard. I will definitely try this out, I love beef jerky, it's like a win-win :eek:..

The packets from new shoes work as well. I store my foils in boxes with those packets to keep the moisture out.

[cdr]

I could definitely see silica keeping foils from warping (humidity and heat are the primary culprits), but I'm skeptical it's going to do anything for foils that are already warped. Even if you dry a warped foil out it doesn't magically return to its old state.

[Gammadoom]

Is this for real? That's the coolest shit I've ever heard. I will definitely try this out, I love beef jerky, it's like a win-win :eek:..

Give it a shot. Worst case, I'm a lunatic and have no idea what I'm talking about, but you still get the jerkey. Best case, you've got unwarped foils and still get the jerkey.

[Gammadoom]

I could definitely see silica keeping foils from warping (humidity and heat are the primary culprits), but I'm skeptical it's going to do anything for foils that are already warped. Even if you dry a warped foil out it doesn't magically return to its old state.

It seems to depend on the foiling process used, or maybe how recently the cards started warping. When my LGS received their FTV: Dragons, it seemed like they'd all been sittting in some tropical rain forest for six months. The top of the curve of the foils were ~ 3/8" (my apologies if you're a metric user) off of the table when the cards were laid "flat". We put them in some top loaders and did the shoebox trick and they ended up being a lot closer to what I'd consider playable. We've had less luck with pre-Onslaught block.

At one time I planned on buying a humidifier and testing out foils from each set and with varying amounts of time before trying to pull the moisture out as a public service, but I never got there.

[Malakai]

Those silica packets are there as a cheap dessicant, which is a fancy word for a substance that absorbs moisture from the air. I highly recommend the use of dessicants for anyone with a large collection, especially if you don't have a naturally dry place to store your cards.

Note that unless your cards are in a sealed or semi-sealed area/container, drying out the air isn't going to do much as airflow will continuously bring in more moisture.

Lastly, when handling dessicants, take care not to get it on your skin, as they are very harmful.

[dahcmai]

I play a deck that is practically all foil with only the lands being non-foil. It seems as though that would be a problem if people decided to get nasty about it.

I just ask the head judge in any tournament I play in if it's ok and point it out that the deck is all foil except for those. I've never once out of 6 GP's had the judge say it would be a problem. I've asked at the SCG ones also and they never had a problem with it either.

If the head judge says it's ok, you're good. That's really all that counts anyway.


I bring some non-foils and a few foil lands just in case, but it's never been an issue despite how most losers would cry and try and get free wins thinking I can somehow stack my mana if they really noticed that separation.

[cdr]

If the head judge says it's ok, you're good. That's really all that counts anyway.


This is not really accurate, unfortunately.

A HJ may take a quick glance at a deck, but pre-tournament he's almost certainly busy and not going to give it the kind of scrutiny a deck check will.

More importantly, it's your responsibility to make sure your cards are not marked and no judge can absolve you of that. Even if the head judge says it looks ok, if a deck check finds that you have marked cards you're still getting the infraction.