Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game for 2 or more players, set in a variety of fantastical realms. The cards represent the player's resources and available spells and their interactions lead to an often high paced battle of wits.
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What happens when you blink a cipher-ed creature?
if I have a cipher ability encoded on a creature, and I cast a Restoration Angel, thus exiling and returning the creature to play, does the creature still have the cipher ability?
How about creatures ...
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2answers
353 views
Mistakes a beginner should avoid in Magic the Gathering with more than 2 players
I have been playing Magic the Gathering for several years now and I have a solid understanding of basic strategy and deck building. Until now I have only played against a single opponent. Magic the ...
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2answers
918 views
Finding places to play Magic the Gathering games
A friend of mine recently got MTG for the XBox and is talking us into getting real cards.
I'm all up for starting but I dread the idea of playing the same two people over and over with no change ...
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2answers
320 views
Can Conjurer's Closet be used to keep a stolen Commander?
We had this situation come up in a game last night, and we think we stumbled upon the right answer, but we're not sure.
So, Player A's Commander (Sliver Overlord) was stolen by Player B using a ...
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1answer
328 views
How big is a Consuming Aberration after it is stolen with Act of Treason?
Suppose I take a Consuming Aberration with an Act of Treason. Consuming Aberration says: Consuming Aberration's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in your opponents' graveyards. ...
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1answer
416 views
Can I counter a land-creature?
Say my opponent plays Dryad Arbor. Can I counter it with a Cancel from my hand? I know that lands can't be countered because they don't go on the stack, but what about land-creatures?
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399 views
How many of the same artifact can be on the battlefield at once?
How many of the same artifact can be on the battlefield at once? For example, could I play more than one Dragon's Claw or Angel's Feather?
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2answers
641 views
How do Captivating Vampire and Deadeye Navigator abilities interact?
In a recent casual game, an opponent controlled a Captivating Vampire and had enough untapped Vampire creatures in play to use its ability. I had a Deadeye Navigator on the battlefield, and on my ...
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3answers
2k views
How can I play around graveyard hate?
Graveyard-based strategies are common in casual and tournament MTG. The graveyard offers players easy ways to cheat on costs (e.g. Reanimator), grind out incremental advantage (e.g. Sun Titan decks, ...
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8answers
2k views
How fast can you win against a passive opponent in the Innistrad block format?
There have been legacy decks in the past that were able to win a game in the first round, without even giving your opponent a chance to act. I wonder how many rounds minimum it would take to win a ...
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1answer
230 views
Can I change the order of cards when they change zones?
While goldfishing with my new UG self-mill standard deck, I realized that I have a particular habit that is probably not legal. When I cast Forbidden Alchemy, I have a habit of unintentionally ...
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2answers
689 views
What does an Evil Twin of an opponent's Essence of the Wild look like?
Let's say I have an Evil Twin entering the battlefield under my control, and my opponent controls an Essence of the Wild. I choose the Essence as the creature that the Twin will copy.
When the Evil ...
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2answers
547 views
Does “Mountainwalk” imply “Snow-Covered Mountainwalk”?
If I am playing a deck with Snow-Covered Mountains, does a creature with Mountainwalk become unblockable or do they require Snow-Covered Mountainwalk (where "mountain" is interchangeable with plains, ...
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3answers
2k views
How can I beat green Tron with a control deck?
I've been building a Modern control deck based around the Gifts reanimator engine. The general gameplan is to slow your opponent using counters and removal until you can reanimate a big creature for ...
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1answer
2k views
What is the resolution of tapping a blocking creature?
Let's say I have declared a blocker during the correct phase and during the activate abilities step I choose to tap the blocker to use its ability.
All the abilities resolve and now we move to the ...
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1answer
669 views
How does Inquisitor's Flail interact with Trample?
Lets say I am attacking with a Runeclaw Bear with an Inquisitor's Flail equipped. My opponent uses a Runeclaw Bear of his own to block. I then use Kessig Wolf Run to give my creature +3/+0 and ...
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2answers
4k views
How can I mana ramp in a Commander game without helping my opponents?
I'm working on a Commander deck and I'm looking at ways to ramp my mana that won't aid my opponents. I may eventually use all the listed ramp cards, but, I'd like to keep the restriction for the ...
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2answers
248 views
Prateor's Grasp - Can Opponent Determine Taken Card Before Shuffle
I had a ruling on this by a L2 Judge at a TCG event in San Diego 2 weeks ago. I believe his ruling was wrong.
I played Praetor's Grasp
Mana Cost: 1BB
Types: Sorcery
Card Text: Search target ...
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1answer
3k views
How does the double strike mechanic interact with other mechanics like lifelink or trample?
I understand that the double strike mechanic allows a creature to attack in both a first strike combat damage step and a normal combat damage step.
It's clear that when a creature with no other ...
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1answer
6k views
In Magic free-for-all multiplayer, what happens when someone dies?
In a free-for-all multiplayer Magic game, what happens when someone dies?
Specifically:
What happens to spells they've cast that are on the stack?
What happens to enchantments they have cast onto ...
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2answers
357 views
Do Friday Night Magic games count toward your DCI rating?
I've gone to a few FNM drafts, and it's structured as three qualifying matches, followed by a single-elimination tournament for the top 8.
Do all these games affect your DCI rating?
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1answer
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Does Goblin Electromancer reduce both sides of a fused split card?
Does Goblin Electromancer reduce the cost of a fuse spell on both sides of the card? Would Turn // Burn be {1}{U}{R} to cast both sides?
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In EDH/Commander, what is the 'color identity' of a double-faced card?
The official deck construction rules for Commander (nee EDH) at http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php say that 'A card's colour identity is its colour plus the colour of any mana symbols in the card's ...
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1answer
116 views
Crimson Hellkite vs Telekinetic Sliver + Darkheart Sliver
If player A taps his Telekinetic Sliver to tap an opponent's Crimson Hellkite, the opponent can pay 2 red mana (he can pay X, but lets say he pays two) and tap the Crimson Hellkite to put the effect ...
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133 views
Can I pump my blocker after the attacker has chosen their order, before damage assignment?
The answer to this question about blockers and summoning sickness, reminded me of a seldom treaded area of the combat phase, which has caused confusion in a number of games.
When blockers are ...
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1answer
635 views
Can ciphers be countered?
Can a cipher copy be countered by a counter spell? Or, since the card has been encoded to a creature, does it act more like an ability, and can only be countered by cards like Stifle and others like ...
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1answer
238 views
When two card texts confict, which takes priority?
Let's suppose there are creatures in play and someone plays Humility.
It's clear that all the creatures lose their abilities.
How is this situation changed if True Conviction were in play? Is the ...
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1answer
598 views
What does it take to play a Battle of Wits deck successfully at a tournament?
Magic tournament rules specify that players must be able to randomize their decks in an appropriate amount of time (three minutes for pre-game procedures).
As Matt Sperling points out, this may be ...
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4answers
606 views
Why does Wizards of the Coast print terrible MTG cards?
I understand that there needs to be a wide variety of power levels in Magic: The Gathering. Even bad cards will see play in limited formats, some because they fill a specific niche (flying removal, ...
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6answers
2k views
What are the names for Magic's different colour combinations?
For example, Esper refers to decks made up of White, Blue and Black cards.
What are the names of the other colour combinations? In particular, how do we refer to a Red-White-Black deck?
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MtG: Can poison counters be removed?
Is there some way to remove or counteract poison counters? Specifically, once you've already accumulated them, not when you are dealt them.
For example, say I already have 9 poison counters. Is there ...
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467 views
How do Isochron Sceptre and the Fuse mechanic interact?
The split cards in the expansion set Dragon's Maze contain a new mechanic "Fuse". This mechanic allows you to cast both sides of the spell, a new option for cards of this type.
Isochron Sceptre ...
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651 views
When should I add life gain cards to my deck in MTG?
One common mistake in MTG is to overvalue life-gain cards (at least in 2 player games) because they don't do anything to actually help you WIN the game, and only make you lose slower. This makes them ...
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What general strategy exists for countering a white swarm/pump deck?
A white swarm/pump deck is a deck with a lot of small, inexpensive white creatures that are subsequently improved by enchantments such as Honor of the Pure or other bonuses.
The goal of this deck is ...
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286 views
Can I use a Corpse Cur to get a Vector Asp back from the graveyard?
I attack with a Vector Asp and use his activated ability to give him infect until the end of the turn. It's blocked by a 2/2 creature and goes to the graveyard.
If I cast Corpse Cur next, can I ...
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How should I determine how many lands of each different color to put in my deck?
Situation: You've built your at least 2 color deck, know exactly what number of lands you want in it, but don't know how many to put in of each basic-land type.
How do pro-players figure this out? ...
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Are cards of the same “rarity level” really equally rare in MTG?
In Magic the Gathering there are 4 rarity levels: common, uncommon, rare and mythical rare. In a booster pack you usually get 10 commons, 3 uncommons and 1 rare or 1 mythical rare. In Innistrad that ...
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599 views
Infinite loop where where both players choose to continue the loop
Yesterday, I was playing a casual game and I had a Stasis, Kismet, and Chronatog, causing my opponent to have to keep drawing, while I kept skipping my turn, with the intent of decking him.
My ...
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Do undying creatures get counters if I sacrifice them with Plaguemaw Beast?
I'm building a deck with undying creatures.
Suppose I have a card named Plaguemaw Beast:
What happens If I sacrifice a creature with undying?
A. The creature returns and gets the 2 counters ...
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2answers
337 views
What happens when I copy Precursor Golem with Rite of Replication?
I came across this issue with my friend a while ago and came up with many possible answers:
How many golems will you get if you copy Precursor Golem with a kicked Rite of Replication?
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366 views
Do I need to sacrifice again if I copy Goblin Grenade?
Let's say that I cast Goblin Grenade, sacrificing a goblin to pay it's additional cost. Then, before it resolves I cast Increasing Vengeance, which allows me to copy the Goblin Grenade. Since I've ...
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278 views
After using Act of Treason and Cloudshift, does a creature re-enter the battlefield under my control?
If player A has a creature, and then on player B's turn, he/she uses Act of Treason on it, and then Cloudshift, does that card, once it has been cloudshift-ed, return to the battlefield under the ...
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1answer
1k views
Does trample damage hurt players even if the creature dies?
I'm playing myself with two Avacyn Restored decks from a 6-booster sealed prerelease tournament, and wonder whether a 6/4 creature with trample blocked by a 4/1 creature would still allow damage ...
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308 views
When to choose what colors I will play and vary my picks accordingly?
In the first round of a draft, I usually just pick the best card from every pack. After that I look at what I've picked, try to pick good on-color card in the second pack, and pick whatever my deck ...
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Is the number of cards in my opponent's library public knowledge in Magic: The Gathering?
The number of cards in players' hands is public knowledge, as is the number of exiled cards and cards in anyone's graveyard. But is the number of cards in your library public knowledge at all times as ...
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Do things on the stack or state-based effects resolve between first strike and normal combat damage?
I have two examples of different scenarios that are confusing to me.
First, if I have a 1/1 creature with first strike and deathtouch, and my opponent blocks it with a 2/2 creature, will my creature ...
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Does Doubling Season affect planeswalkers?
According to 306.5b,
A planeswalker is treated as if its text box included, "This permanent enters the battlefield with a number of loyalty counters on it equal to its printed loyalty number." ...
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487 views
Why play Land Grant?
When looking through recent results of Pauper daily events in Magic Online, I noticed that some of the Infect decks are using Land Grant.
For the life of me, I can't figure out what this card is ...
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1answer
133 views
Do I own a token that I create under somebody else's control?
I was reading somewhere a few days ago that when a player creates a token using a spell like Rapid Hybridization they own the token, even though they never had control of it. I can't seem to find the ...
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419 views
Is it legal to take advantage of my opponent's priority mistakes?
Suppose I attack with a creature with infect, and then my opponent tells me he won't block.
My intent is to use Giant Growth on my infect creature regardless of whether or not my opponent blocks.
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