Failing to declare a target with Charbelcher

[lochlan]

In the Spanish Inquisition thread, Hanma posted a report that included this:


I play Belcher and activate but forget to declare a target. I show top up to 4(Bayou) and realize I made a mistake not targeting so we call a judge and he says I can't activate without declaring a target but with knowledge of damage I need to randomize and then reflip, works for me. I target pridemage and reflip like 10. Next turn I belch to kill him.

There was a creature on the battlefield that could have been targeted. Did the judge make the correct ruling on this? It seems absolutely insane since obviously Hanma would target his opponent (to, y'know, win the game). I looked through the Infraction Procedure Guide and the Tournament rules but I couldn't find anything that would cover this.

[cdr]

There was a creature on the battlefield that could have been targeted. Did the judge make the correct ruling on this? It seems absolutely insane since obviously Hanma would target his opponent (to, y'know, win the game). I looked through the Infraction Procedure Guide and the Tournament rules but I couldn't find anything that would cover this.

There's no official shortcut covering targeting players versus creatures (you can find the official shortcuts in the MTR). Backing up is correct if it was in fact a Game Play Error and it was not clear to both players what was being targeted, but I find that unlikely. You do not need to announce a target if it's clear to both players what's being targeted, shortcuts like that are common and a part of the game.

He sounds shady, actually. As a judge I'd be really skeptical that it was not abundantly clear that the opponent was being targeted. I would probably ask some pointed questions to assess potential attempted cheating ("I got a bad flip, so now I'm going to claim I didn't have a target and try to get another.")