Morph and Damping matrix

[Offler]

Damping matrix
Disables all activated abilities.

According to my knowledge and according to:
http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Morph

Is morph a static ability and un-morph is a special action which does not use stack. This is important due cards like Krosan grip where cards like Willbender or Voidmage apprentice, because they can redirect/counter card with split second, because their ability triggers on unmorph.

Question is:
Can damping matrix supress unmorph? I dont think so.

Also I have been told that on M13 changed rules regarding morph, but when I tried to search for the change I did not find anything...

Thanks.

[rufus]

Turning a face down card face up is a 'special action', not an activated ability, and is not affected by Damping Matrix.


702.36d If you have priority, you may turn a face-down permanent you control face up. This is a special action; it doesn't use the stack (see rule 115). To do this, show all players what the permanent's morph cost would be if it were face up, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. (If the permanent wouldn't have a morph cost if it were face up, it can't be turned face up this way.) The morph effect on it ends, and it regains its normal characteristics. Any abilities relating to the permanent entering the battlefield don't trigger when it's turned face up and don't have any effect, because the permanent has already entered the battlefield.

[Offler]

As I thought. Thanks for confirmation.

[FTW]

One question about Morph:

If you Mindslaver the opponent and then on his turn play Brainstorm from his hand, he just hands you his hand, and you put back Exalted Angel and draw Squire, crack a fetchland to reshuffle, then cast Squire as a morph to deceive opponent into thinking he has an Exalted Angel on the field to unmorph, if opponent doesn't check the card and attempts to unmorph Squire for 2WW as an Exalted Angel, who gets the tournament penalty for cheating?

[Malchar]

One question about Morph:

If you Mindslaver the opponent and then on his turn play Brainstorm from his hand, he just hands you his hand, and you put back Exalted Angel and draw Squire, crack a fetchland to reshuffle, then cast Squire as a morph to deceive opponent into thinking he has an Exalted Angel on the field to unmorph, if opponent doesn't check the card and attempts to unmorph Squire for 2WW as an Exalted Angel, who gets the tournament penalty for cheating?

I believe that this will be a Game Play Error - Game Rule Violation for the player who cast the squire face down. However, it is also a Game Play Error - Failure to Maintain Game State for the opponent.

During mindslaver, the opponent still gets to see their hand at all times, and they should notice that you are morphing a squire. Normally, morphing an illegal card would have an upgraded penalty because the opponent can't verify the legality of the action, but in this case, the penalty is not necessarily upgraded because the opponent did have the opportunity to verify it.

[FTW]

You can't do any illegal actions while Mindslavering an opponent such as face-down casting a card that doesn't have morph. Trying to unmorph a face down card that doesn't have morph isn't cheating, so the opponent didn't do anything wrong.

Hmm... what if opponent already had one morph in play, then you "cheat" morph a Squire during a Mindslavered turn and move the cards around such that by the end the morphs could get legitimately mixed up. Then, later in the game, opponent goes to unmorph something and it is discovered it didn't actually have morph. You call a judge over. Opponent claims he did not morph the Squire, and you claim you did not morph the Squire. Since they are face down, it's your word against his and no spectators would be able to see... how would a judge resolve this?

[Malchar]

Hmm... what if opponent already had one morph in play, then you "cheat" morph a Squire during a Mindslavered turn and move the cards around such that by the end the morphs could get legitimately mixed up. Then, later in the game, opponent goes to unmorph something and it is discovered it didn't actually have morph. You call a judge over. Opponent claims he did not morph the Squire, and you claim you did not morph the Squire. Since they are face down, it's your word against his and no spectators would be able to see... how would a judge resolve this?

Sorry that I ninja-edited my own post after you quoted it.


If you control multiple face-down spells or face-down permanents, you must ensure at all times that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other. This includes, but is not limited to, knowing the order spells were cast, the order that face-down permanents entered the battlefield, which creature attacked last turn, and any other differences between face-down spells or permanents. Common methods for distinguishing between face-down objects include using counters or dice to mark the different objects, or clearly placing those objects in order on the table.

In this case, the player who controlled the morphs when they got mixed up should receive a Game Play Error — Game Rule Violation, and the other player should receive a Game Play Error — Failure to Maintain Game State.

Beyond that, I'm not really sure what else would apply. If we assume that the opponent looked at the face-down card and noticed the mistake before trying to unmorph it, then the opponent will not have committed any additional game rule violations.