Thought Police

We've outlined a number of ways to screw around with the rules of Magic over the years, all viewable under this heading if you so desire. The thing is, most of these exist in the realm of the purely theoretical - the type of circumstances that would only ever line up if some little stinker deliberately set out to do so. Fun to think about, but not the type of thing that will ever come up in an actual game.

Today, however, we're going to look at a bit of a rules snafu that is of particular interest because it is a situation that can easily happen in a real Magic tournament: it involves two cards that are both played regularly!

So first, we have Brainstorm. It's played quite a lot based on how powerful and versatile it is, but the effect is fairly simple: draw three cards and then put two back. Then you have another card played in Legacy quite a bit, and that's Sylvan Library.

The Library is something you might need to consider for a minute, seeing as it has had a few changes in wording over the years. As is often the goal (I hope,) the most recent oracle text makes it pretty clear how the card operates. You draw two extra cards during your draw step, and then of all the cards you've drawn this turn (which should usually be three, seeing as you have your normal draw step plus the two extra from the Library) you have to put two back or pay 4 life apiece to keep the extras. Again, a strong card, but not too tricky to understand.

Now, the problem is that these two cards interact in an odd way that may not be immediately apparent. If you have a Sylvan Library in play and then cast a Brainstorm during your upkeep, you will have to call a judge over to resolve this part of the turn. Yeah, no kidding. This is because Brainstorm permits you to put ANY two cards from your hand back on top of your library - they need not be from among the three cards Brainstorm drew you. Because of this, it could potentially be strategically important for an opponent to not know whether a card you put back is one you just drew or already had in your hand.

But then, when Sylvan Library triggers, you draw two extra cards and have the option to put any card you drew this turn back on top of your library. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal since those cards will generally be the usual plus the two extra from the library. However, the cards you drew from Brainstorm are also cards you drew this turn. So now it suddenly can't be clear whether or not a card you're placing back on top is one you drew with Brainstorm earlier in the turn. Because of this, you have to call a judge over solely to watch your hand of cards and confirm you aren't cheating, which is fairly ridiculous.

Mana Abilities, Take Two

As we recently covered, the strictness of mana abilities can lead to some pretty bizarre consequences in very specific circumstances. A few more examples are gathered here, largely due to Chromatic Sphere featuring a mana ability that also causes you to draw a card.

Korlash, Heir to Blackblade and his fellow cards with Grandeur have an ability that involves discarding a copy of a card with the same name. What you might not have known is that it's actually possible to discard Korlash to himself. With a Suppression Field in play, his ability requires both mana and a discard to activate. Activate the ability of Words of Wind, then announce Korlash's ability. The quirkiness happens when you try to use a Chromatic Sphere's mana ability to pay for Korlash's ability - because remember, players can't respond to mana abilities, and they can be activated while paying for costs. So while paying for Korlash's ability (which costs "2, discard a card named Korlash, Heir to Blackblade",) activate Chromatic Sphere, replace the resulting card draw by returning Korlash to your hand, and then discard the card you just returned to your hand to finish paying the cost. Whoa! What happened there?

If you want to kick it old school rules-wise, it's possible to temporarily dip to 0 life or less while using mana abilities to pay for something. For example, with Words of Worship active, you can activate Tarnished Citadel and Chromatic Sphere to pay for a spell (might I suggest Repay in Kind?) and temporarily drop below 0 life until the Words replaces the card draw and brings you back to the realm of the living. After all, a player doesn't lose if they're only dead in between the checks on state-based effects. It almost feels like the old Mirror Universe ploy!

Because of the unique nature of mana abilities, Chromatic Sphere leads to many odd situations. If you control one plus a way to feed it mana, a Thought Lash and a Laboratory Maniac, you can win the game without ever giving your opponent a chance to respond - no Stifle, no Angel's Grace, nothing! Unlike the other combos listed, this one is good enough to actually win games at a tournament level... though be advised that it will result in no end of entertaining judge calls.

Standard Issue

 

Standardize? As in make things... Standard? Hey, what other formats could there be a card for?

Five Guaranteed Ways To Win

Tourney scene too rough? Sick of losing all the time? Of course you are. After all, you do lose all the time. I can tell. I smell it from here. Anyways, here are five sure-fire techniques for turning humiliating defeat into glorious victory. Simply follow the simple step-by-step directions and the fame, moolah and chicks will all be yours.