Only cards with a converted mana cost of 5 or more may be submitted Deck Size: 3 Land Rule: Basic Land Rule Additional Banned list: none Commentary
Have you wanted to play Karn, but the format is always too quick?
Do you have a pet EDH combo, but know you couldn’t do well?
Now you can!
Commentary:
This round was a lot quicker than expected. There's so many ways to cheat on mana and gain effects even with big cmc cards. Suspend, Morph, Evoke, Convoke, Affinity and Ninjitsu were all used to get ahead of turn 5. There were lots and lots of discard effects so Emrakul is excellent in the format.
6nerdyjoe : This needs a ban Pyromancer's Goggles / Sphinx of the Final Word / Goblin Game
No disruption makes this worse, but it more was a deck to emphasize that Goblin Game is legal in PHM, where it clearly doesn't belong.
How to Enter
Anyone is free to enter the Perfect Hand Magic League. To enter, simply send a private message (PM) to the user PerfectHandMagic with your deck submission. The standard rules of the format are explained below in the click-able spoilers. If you get stuck or need some advice, please don't hesitate to speak up on this thread or send a private message to user PerfectHandMagic for tips and tutorials. Decks are commonly submitted as:
Card 1 / Card 2 / Card 3
(eg. for a 3 card format)
Please submit your hand by Tuesday, May 31, 0000 GMT.
You Make the Format
In PHM we vote on the formats YOU want to play! Submit your ideas for formats into the thread below, and they will be added to the vote for next week's format selection.
Contents
1. Overview
2. Game Rules
3. Deck Construction Rules
4. Entry
5. Perfect Hand Magic League
6. Scoring
7. Variant Format Rules
1. Overview
Perfect Hand Magic (PHM) is a competitive strategy game for two or more players. It can be played using pencil and paper; however, it's most commonly played via online forum. To play the game, each player secretly chooses a specified number of Magic cards which form that player's hand. Once all players have chosen hands, the hands are revealed and scored.
The object of the game is to choose the hand that will score the most points. The score for each hand is determined by the result that it would achieve if it were used to play two games of Magic – one match – against each competing hand; the rules for these theoretical games are covered in Section 2 – Game Rules. During each theoretical game, the theoretical player of each hand employs the strategy that will maximize the score for his or her hand, taking into account the strategy of his or her opponent.
A hand scores 3 points for each game that it would win, 0 points for each game it would lose, and 1 point for each game that would end in a draw. However, a hand scores only 2 points for any match that would have a symmetrical result, regardless of whether the result would be two drawn games or a win for each hand.
The composition of a hand is limited only by a short banned list and a few restrictions on the game states that it can enable; these restrictions are covered in Section 3 – Deck Composition.
2. Game Rules
2.1. Except for the changes described in these rules, games follow the rules for a normal game of Magic.
2.1a. Changes to the Comprehensive Rules or the Oracle text of a card take effect at the following times:
i. Changes that would take effect during the prerelease for a set take effect during the first round for which cards from that set may be submitted instead.
ii. Changes that would take effect at any other time take effect during the first round for which those rules have been in effect since the start of the round instead.
2.1b. Ignore any part of an instruction that isn't covered by these rules or the rules of Magic.
2.2. A player's opening hand contains that player's chosen cards.
2.3. Players' libraries begin the game empty.
2.3a. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
2.4. A cost or effect that would produce a random result produces the result that least benefits the player who paid that cost or the owner of the source of that effect instead.
2.5. Each player is the starting player for one game in each match.
2.6. Players know the identities of all face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players.
2.7. If a game would continue indefinitely, then the game is a draw.
2.8. If a loop containing at least one optional action would be repeated indefinitely during a turn, then any player may propose a number of times for that loop to repeat instead. If a player does, then each other player may propose a different number and the loop is repeated for the greatest number of times proposed instead. No player is required to make a choice that would end a loop that crosses multiple turns.
2.9. Cards can't be brought into the game from outside the game.
3. Hand Construction Rules
3.1. A player may not choose an opening hand that could enable that player to achieve any of the following results before an opponent's second turn would begin, such that that opponent could make no sequence of decisions that would not result in at least one of these results:
i. win the game
ii. take an infinite number of turns
iii. cause a card to leave an opponent's hand.
Ignore this rule in the following cases:
3.1a. That player's hand would be legal if that player's opponents' cards had no rules text.
3.1b. That player's hand would be legal if that player's opponents had no maximum hand size.
3.1c. That player could achieve one of these results only during a game that was restarted after an opponent's second turn had begun.
3.1d. All cards that would leave an opponent's hand during the resolution of an effect would be put onto the battlefield by that effect.
3.1e. All cards that would leave an opponent's hand during the resolution of an effect would be in that opponent's hand once that effect resolved.
3.2. A hand may contain any number of copies of any card legal in Vintage.
3.2a. An unreleased card is treated as though it's legal in Vintage if it will become legal in Vintage upon release and if the release notes for the set that contains that card were published prior to the start of the round (See rule 4.1).
3.3. A hand may not contain any cards on the PHM Banned List.
4. Entry
4.1. A player plays a round of PHM by submitting a list of his or her chosen cards to the PHM moderator.
4.2. A player may change his or her hand until the posted deadline.
4.2a. If a player submits an illegal hand, then the moderator will try to notify that player to change his or her hand prior to the deadline. If the hand is discovered to be illegal after the deadline – or if the player does not submit a new hand – then the moderator may either disqualify that hand or replace it with a similar hand, in which any cards causing that hand to be illegal have been removed or replaced.
4.2b. The moderator also will try to notify a player if that player's hand doesn't enable that player to win the game against any possible hand.
4.3. A player may name his or her hand. If that player doesn't, then the PHM moderator may name it. The PHM moderator may also rename a player's hand at his or discretion.
5. Perfect Hand Magic League
5.1. PHM League play consists of four rounds of PHM.
5.2. Each round, a player earns League points according to the following formula:
League Points = Points Scored / Number of Opponents x 100 (rounded to the nearest integer)
5.3. The player with the most League points at the end of League play is the PHM League winner.
5.3a. If multiple players have the most League points at the end of the League, then the PHM moderator may allow those players to play additional rounds until only one of those players has the most League points or until a specified number of additional rounds have been played.
6. Scoring
6.1. A table of match results is posted at the end of each round. Each row lists one player's results against each other player. A player's points and League points are tallied at the end of his or her row.
6.2. A player may earn bonus League points as specified by the PHM moderator.
6.3. Each player is responsible for determining the match results for his or her hand.
6.3a. Players are encouraged to determine or verify additional match results.
6.3b. An undetermined match result is counted as a loss for both players in that match.
6.3c. A player may challenge any result until the moderator announces that the result is final.
7. Variant Format Rules
7.1. Perfect Hand Magic has been played with hands containing between one and seven cards. Additionally, the Game Rules and Deck Construction Rules have been adapted to create hundreds of variant formats. Five commonly-played variants are described in Sections 7.3-7.7.
7.2. The rules of a variant format overwrite any other applicable rules.
7.2a. Some variant formats generate continuous effects. A continuous effect generated by a variant format is treated as having the earliest timestamp within a layer or sublayer. If continuous effects generated by multiple variant formats would apply in the same layer or sublayer, assign timestamps to those effects in the order that the variant formats are listed in the rules or name of the round.
7.2b. Some variant formats require a player to make some number of decisions in addition to or instead of submitting a hand. A player's submission must comply with the Hand Construction Rules, taking into account any decisions made at this time.
7.2c. Some variant formats require players to make decisions "before the start of each game". For these decisions, follow the "Active Player, Nonactive Player order" rule, replacing "active player" with "starting player".
7.3. Land Rule Variant.
7.3a. This is the basic land rule (LR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. A hand may not contain any cards on the Land Rule Banned List.
7.3b. This is the extra land rule (ELR). Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand. A hand may not contain any cards on the Land Rule Banned List.
7.3c. This is the draw land rule (DLR). If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land or basic snow land card of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn. A hand may not contain any cards on the Land Rule Banned List.
7.4a. Only cards contained in sets legal in the named format may be submitted.
7.5. Life Rule (LF).
7.5a. If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game.
7.5b. A player must choose an opening hand that enables that player to win both games of a match against at least one legal hand, irrespective of rule 7.5a.
7.6. Backbuild.
7.6a. Players exchanges hands before the start of each match. A hand must enable the player of that hand to win both games of a match against a specified hand or specified hands. Ignore rule 3.1.
7.7. Bonus Points.
7.7a. A player earns bonus points if his or her hand meets specified requirements.
PHM Banned List
The following cards are automatically banned in all Perfect Hand Magic League rounds unless otherwise specified by the round rules. Each round may have an additional banned list that extends beyond, but always includes, these cards.
Land Rule Banned List
"Land Rule" is the most common variant for PHM, and thus a separate ban list has been developed to allow for easier moderation. The following cards are banned in Perfect Hand Magic League rounds when a Land Rule is used. There will be a reminder of this on the round rules.
Hi everyone! I'm nut. Personman has been telling me a bunch about PHM lately, and the timing worked out great since this week's CMC5+ is a really big restriction. I felt like I could wrap my head around what sorts of things might be possible, so I submitted a deck. I'm excited to see the results!
1Artscrafter : Swingy Dramatic Entrance / Progenitus / True Conviction
on the play, mindstab does its job.
on the draw, it still takes away conviction and its a race
t4 unmorph angel, 24-16
a5 dramatic entrance, proj
t5 swing, 28-12. mindstab gets true conviction
a6 swing. 18-12
t6 ith. swing both. 22-5
i totally win the race vs progenitus. awesome.
6-0
vs. 01 Artscrafter: Turn 5 annihilator 6. 6-0
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: OTP, can threaten Breached Whelk blocker to stop discard. 3-3
vs. 03 HerziQuerzi: Chancellor/Stain is bad for me... oops. 0-6
vs. 04 InfiniteNutshell: OTP, Whelk stops casting stuff. 3-3
vs. 05 Mogg: 0-6
vs. 06 nerdyjoe: Annihilation. 6-0
vs. 07 Personman: OTP, Whelk > Stain and Breach > Storm. 3-3
vs. 08 Reyemile: ...better Whelk deck. 0-6
vs. 09 SeeNamedPerson: Specter is an issue. 3-3
vs. 10 tidalslimshady: OTP, discard two Golems. 3-3
vs. 11 tomsloger: ANNIHILATOR. 6-0
Well, I knew my deck was a very silly excuse to submit Possibility Storm and not terribly likely to win, but I think I underestimated just how universal doing good things before turn 4 would be.
On my play, I just Stain your Stain and get Storm down in time to stop you from playing spells. On your play, you have to stain Storm, because Staining Stain doesn't solve the problem. But then I get to stain one thing, which has to be Reign, and then we almost draw - by the time Chancellor comes down on t7, I've gotten through on 3, 4, and 6 (you block with the token on 5), and then I'm one turn off racing you. But I can't, so it's 3-3.
On my play I can race Specter to a draw. I get you to 11 before Specter flips (and if you block before that we draw immediately), and then you have to attack 5 times and I only have to attack 4 times, so you don't, and we draw.
On my play, Stain's "any number of cards" text is actually relevant, and I get to rip two Golems out of your hand for a draw.
07 | 6 1 3 0 0 6 X 3 1 1 0 3 | 21
nerdyjoe, I don't understand why Goblin Game needs to be banned, or how your deck works. My understanding is that you as the active player will always choose your number first, and then your opponent will choose that number plus one, and (assuming you make the copy) you'll die.
Ditto on the early-value misread. I'm pretty sure I managed to search for/think of every possible method of doing things early except the ones that people actually used here.
I picked up more points than I was expecting after first seeing the list (thank you Progenitus having the reshuffle clause) but damn, that was a lot of turn 4 discard. Kind of thinking that Anger would have been a much better third card even with no way to get it into the graveyard normally. (Edit: Nevermind, Anger wouldn't have been legal this round.)
01 | X 3 0 3 0 6 0 3 6 3 0 0 | 20
1-2: You hit me with discard on turn 4. I discard Prog and Conviction, Prog shuffles in. OTP I Entrance it out on T5 anyway and win. OTD I have to discard Entrance before T5 and die to rat beats.
1-3: Fold to T4 hand-exile.
1-4: I lose to the aggro line of play on the draw, outrace with Progenitus on the play.
1-5: Tempo'd.
1-6: Win outright OTP. OTD, I choose 1 for each copy of Game and go to 4 then win.
1-7: Stain still wrecks.
1-8: OTP, discard Prog and Conviction to evoke, then Entrance out Prog for the win. OTD, reanimated Mournwhelk gets Entrance and Alhammarret names Progenitus.
1-9: The 5-mana unmorph means Progenitus is coming down no matter what. I never get Conviction down but still outrace.
1-10: Whoever gets to take their fifth turn first wins easily.
1-11: I actually manage to land Progenitus OTP, but that lifegain.
1-12: Oh hey look, it's the creature I should have been playing.
Still floored by the consistent near-perfect results that Mogg is managing. He's either psychic or does an impressive amount of research.
Re: Goblin Game: I think Personman is right, but it's also worth noting that the opponent has the option of choosing 1 and going to 4 after two copies regardless of what the Game hand pilot is doing.
Most interesting matchup was 8/Reyemile with Unburial Rites / Mournwhelk / Alhammarret, High Arbiter
1: 3-3
Dramatic Entrance / Progenitus / True Conviction
Gibbering Descent won't do much until Progenitus is already out, but it does get rid of True Conviction on turn 6. I get to swing for 9 twice on the play by taking a hit, but I'm not fast enough to stop the hydra if it comes out before I play all my cards.
2: 6-0
Cave-In / Okiba-Gang Shinobi / Chancellor of the Forge
I can just pitch Descent (without casting it if need be) to keep Raiders alive against Cave-In, and then it's a race of my 5/5 and 4/3 against your 3/2.
3: 3-3
Chancellor of the Forge / Stain the Mind / Reign of the Pit
On the play I get Descent out before you can Stain it, and you lose both your other cards before you can cast them. On the draw I don't get Descent, and I can only get you down to 2 life before you stabilize with the Chancellor to defend against my Raiders and a 4/4 flier to kill me.
5: 0-6
Catch & Release / Greater Gargadon / Pardic Dragon
You steal and sac my Raiders before I can do anything with it and I am sad.
6: 6-0
Pyromancer's Goggles / Sphinx of the Final Word / Goblin Game
You can't play any threats before I Descent all your cards
7: 6-0
Oxidda Golem / Stain the Mind / Possibility Storm
On the play I get Descent and kill you with my 5/5. On the draw I...also kill you with my 5/5.
8: 3-3
Unburial Rites / Mournwhelk / Alhammarret, High Arbiter
Interesting one! Took me a while to work out. On the play, my turn 4 Gibbering Descent puts the Arbiter in the graveyard where you want it, which means you can use Mournwhelk to make me discard Incorrigible Youths while I don't have mana to play it, and then you can reanimate both your creatures. But Gibbering Descent's life drain forces you to attack first, which lets me get hits with my 5/5 raiders and just barely outrace you.
On the draw, there are a whole lot of possible ways to play it out but I don't think there's any way I keep up. If I play my morph on time, I can't afford to madness anything when you evoke Mournwhelk, and then I'm stuck with just a 5/5 against a 3/3 and a 5/5. If I hold mana against Whelk, I can madness out Youths and then either play a morph I'll never be able to flip or play a Descent that won't do much, and I'm still way behind.
9: 0-6
Silent Specter / Shriekmaw / Creeping Renaissance
If I play my morph it dies to Shriekmaw without giving me a chance to use madness. If I wait, I can't get enough mana in time to cast all my spells without losing something to the Specter's effect, so if I play Descent I only have one creature (Terror'd) and if I don't you can use Creeping Renaissance normally (so both my creatures get Terror'd).
10: 3-3
Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem
On the play, Gibbering Descent hits one of your golems before you can cast it, and then my clock is faster. On the draw I can't shut you down in time.
11: 0-6
Mindstab / Ith, High Arcanist / Exalted Angel
Your hand is empty by turn 3 and I can't answer Exalted Angel.
12: 3-3
Through the Breach / Emrakul, the Aeons Torn / Mournwhelk
On the play, I have 7 permanents when you swing with Emrakul on turn 5. I keep my Raiders and kill you before you can get Emrakul back on the board. On the draw, I only have at most 6 permanents, so I get annihilated.
Goblin Game adds a bit of undecidablity to matches. I misread the format so it didn't come up.
The dream is T5 Goggles, T6 Sphinx, T7 2xGG, swing with sphinx. The opponent is then motivated to not go to 4. So the oracle we use to decide matches breaks down.
In terms of active/nonactive player, that doesn't matter. Both players choose prior to knowing what the other player chose. Exactly like Liliana +1 or Show and Tell. Those don't cause the same issue, because it isn't a 1-card combo to break the oracle, although they could occasionally come to a place where the oracle breaks.
I'm pretty sure Goblin Game and the like are covered by "2.6. Players know the identities of all face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players."
1. Victory on the play by Whelking myself, then Uburialing Alhamaret naming Entrance. On the draw, I'd like to whelk my opponent, but Progenitus just gets shuffled in and redrawn.
2. Okiba on me just enables me; either Whelk or Al stops chancellor, and even with ping damage from the goblin early I'll win the race with my flier.
3. On the play, I Whelk turn 4 and the game is over. On the draw, Stain has to name Whelk or else I'll whelk away the other two cards, then either remaining card wins against a 1/1. On turn 7 I'll be at 13, then get attacked for 3 by hasty goblins going to ten. Al comes in naming Reign. I get attacked, trade with Chancellor, go to 7, and unburial Al. At this stage, I neither of us can win.
4. Agreed with nutshell.
5. Crushed. Sick deck. I thought we had decided to disallow split cards from this format though?
6. Whelked.
7. Whelk wins on the play. It gets Stained on the draw, then storm locks me out.
9. On the play I Whelk myself and Al names Shriekmaw (or Renaissance, if Maw was evoked turn 2 as a dodge). I'll have been attacked once by a morph, putting me at 18, when Al comes down. I win in 4 swings; the opposing 4/4 takes 4 swings to kill me, so I win.
On the draw, I run the same line but take an extra hit for 4. I can't race, but my opponent can't get through.
10. On the play, Whelk hits two golems.
On the draw, my opponents hand is empty on turn 4 and my life total is empty on turn 5.
11. Ith beats me.
12. If I'm whelked, I use Al to stop Breach. If I'm not whelked, I whelk twice, since I can have Emrakul be the second card re-drawn. my 3/3 will kill before Emrakul can be cast the fair way.
Private Mod Note
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3CH Battlecruisers
Only cards with a converted mana cost of 5 or more may be submitted
Deck Size: 3
Land Rule: Basic Land Rule
Additional Banned list: none
Commentary
Have you wanted to play Karn, but the format is always too quick?
Do you have a pet EDH combo, but know you couldn’t do well?
Now you can!
This round was a lot quicker than expected. There's so many ways to cheat on mana and gain effects even with big cmc cards. Suspend, Morph, Evoke, Convoke, Affinity and Ninjitsu were all used to get ahead of turn 5. There were lots and lots of discard effects so Emrakul is excellent in the format.
Entries
1Artscrafter : Swingy
Dramatic Entrance / Progenitus / True Conviction
Quick and to the point.
2Feyd_Ruin : Nijna
Cave-In / Okiba-Gang Shinobi / Chancellor of the Forge
Forcing discard before turn 5 is probably really good.
3HerziQuerzi : Strain of the Forge
Chancellor of the Forge / Stain the Mind / Reign of the Pit
Getting rid of a specific card a turn early is likely to be good.
4InfiniteNutshell : Madness
Gathan Raiders / Gibbering Descent / Incorrigible Youths
An efficient way to get threats out quickly, as well as on opportunity for disruption.
5Mogg : Gimme that
Catch // Release / Greater Gargadon / Pardic Dragon
Emptyhanded on turn three is good for getting to use all your card.
6nerdyjoe : This needs a ban
Pyromancer's Goggles / Sphinx of the Final Word / Goblin Game
No disruption makes this worse, but it more was a deck to emphasize that Goblin Game is legal in PHM, where it clearly doesn't belong.
7Personman : Possibly Locked
Oxidda Golem / Stain the Mind / Possibility Storm
Possiblity Storm is a good answer, but it may be too slow.
8Reyemile : And again
Unburial Rites / Mournwhelk / Alhammarret, High Arbiter
The resiliency to discard is good.
9SeeNamedPerson : Silent... then a shriek!
Silent Specter/Shriekmaw/Creeping Renaissance
Creeping Renaissance is likely to be very effective.
10tidalslimshady : Agro
Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem
A quick turn 5 kill looks good.
11tomsloger : from the great beyond
mindstab / ith, high arcanist / exalted angel
Disruption, protection, Psuedoremoval, you've got it all
12WhammeWhamme : Morning has broken
Through the Breach/Emrakul, the Aeons Torn/Mournwhelk
A resilient threat and a quick clock pair well.
How to Enter
Anyone is free to enter the Perfect Hand Magic League. To enter, simply send a private message (PM) to the user PerfectHandMagic with your deck submission. The standard rules of the format are explained below in the click-able spoilers. If you get stuck or need some advice, please don't hesitate to speak up on this thread or send a private message to user PerfectHandMagic for tips and tutorials. Decks are commonly submitted as:
Card 1 / Card 2 / Card 3
(eg. for a 3 card format)
Please submit your hand by Tuesday, May 31, 0000 GMT.
You Make the Format
In PHM we vote on the formats YOU want to play! Submit your ideas for formats into the thread below, and they will be added to the vote for next week's format selection.
1. Overview
2. Game Rules
3. Deck Construction Rules
4. Entry
5. Perfect Hand Magic League
6. Scoring
7. Variant Format Rules
1. Overview
Perfect Hand Magic (PHM) is a competitive strategy game for two or more players. It can be played using pencil and paper; however, it's most commonly played via online forum. To play the game, each player secretly chooses a specified number of Magic cards which form that player's hand. Once all players have chosen hands, the hands are revealed and scored.
The object of the game is to choose the hand that will score the most points. The score for each hand is determined by the result that it would achieve if it were used to play two games of Magic – one match – against each competing hand; the rules for these theoretical games are covered in Section 2 – Game Rules. During each theoretical game, the theoretical player of each hand employs the strategy that will maximize the score for his or her hand, taking into account the strategy of his or her opponent.
A hand scores 3 points for each game that it would win, 0 points for each game it would lose, and 1 point for each game that would end in a draw. However, a hand scores only 2 points for any match that would have a symmetrical result, regardless of whether the result would be two drawn games or a win for each hand.
The composition of a hand is limited only by a short banned list and a few restrictions on the game states that it can enable; these restrictions are covered in Section 3 – Deck Composition.
2. Game Rules
2.1. Except for the changes described in these rules, games follow the rules for a normal game of Magic.
2.2. A player's opening hand contains that player's chosen cards.
2.3. Players' libraries begin the game empty.
2.4. A cost or effect that would produce a random result produces the result that least benefits the player who paid that cost or the owner of the source of that effect instead.
2.5. Each player is the starting player for one game in each match.
2.6. Players know the identities of all face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players.
2.7. If a game would continue indefinitely, then the game is a draw.
2.8. If a loop containing at least one optional action would be repeated indefinitely during a turn, then any player may propose a number of times for that loop to repeat instead. If a player does, then each other player may propose a different number and the loop is repeated for the greatest number of times proposed instead. No player is required to make a choice that would end a loop that crosses multiple turns.
2.9. Cards can't be brought into the game from outside the game.
3. Hand Construction Rules
3.1. A player may not choose an opening hand that could enable that player to achieve any of the following results before an opponent's second turn would begin, such that that opponent could make no sequence of decisions that would not result in at least one of these results:
Ignore this rule in the following cases:
3.2. A hand may contain any number of copies of any card legal in Vintage.
3.3. A hand may not contain any cards on the PHM Banned List.
4. Entry
4.1. A player plays a round of PHM by submitting a list of his or her chosen cards to the PHM moderator.
4.2. A player may change his or her hand until the posted deadline.
4.3. A player may name his or her hand. If that player doesn't, then the PHM moderator may name it. The PHM moderator may also rename a player's hand at his or discretion.
5. Perfect Hand Magic League
5.1. PHM League play consists of four rounds of PHM.
5.2. Each round, a player earns League points according to the following formula:
5.3. The player with the most League points at the end of League play is the PHM League winner.
6. Scoring
6.1. A table of match results is posted at the end of each round. Each row lists one player's results against each other player. A player's points and League points are tallied at the end of his or her row.
6.2. A player may earn bonus League points as specified by the PHM moderator.
6.3. Each player is responsible for determining the match results for his or her hand.
7. Variant Format Rules
7.1. Perfect Hand Magic has been played with hands containing between one and seven cards. Additionally, the Game Rules and Deck Construction Rules have been adapted to create hundreds of variant formats. Five commonly-played variants are described in Sections 7.3-7.7.
7.2. The rules of a variant format overwrite any other applicable rules.
7.3. Land Rule Variant.
7.4. Sanctioned Magic Format Variant.
7.5. Life Rule (LF).
7.6. Backbuild.
7.7. Bonus Points.
PHM Banned List
The following cards are automatically banned in all Perfect Hand Magic League rounds unless otherwise specified by the round rules. Each round may have an additional banned list that extends beyond, but always includes, these cards.
Acceleration
Channel
Fastbond
Flash
Show and Tell
Disruption
Pact of Negation
Chancellor of the Annex
Force of Will
Leyline of Anticipation
Trinisphere
Lands
Ghost Quarter
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Win Conditions
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Barren Glory
Laboratory Maniac
Magus of the Moon
Meddling Mage
The Rack
Vampire Hexmage
Land Rule Banned List
"Land Rule" is the most common variant for PHM, and thus a separate ban list has been developed to allow for easier moderation. The following cards are banned in Perfect Hand Magic League rounds when a Land Rule is used. There will be a reminder of this on the round rules.
Acceleration
Black Lotus
Disruption
Balancing Act
Energy Field
Time Walk
Win Conditions
Beacon of Creation
Maralen of the Mornsong
Nezumi Shortfang
Red Sun's Zenith
White Sun's Zenith
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Admittedly took a little bit of digging to find this.
Is Ley Line banned?
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
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11tomsloger : from the great beyond
mindstab / ith, high arcanist / exalted angel
Dramatic Entrance / Progenitus / True Conviction
on the play, mindstab does its job.
on the draw, it still takes away conviction and its a race
t4 unmorph angel, 24-16
a5 dramatic entrance, proj
t5 swing, 28-12. mindstab gets true conviction
a6 swing. 18-12
t6 ith. swing both. 22-5
i totally win the race vs progenitus. awesome.
6-0
2Feyd_Ruin : Nijna
Cave-In / Okiba-Gang Shinobi / Chancellor of the Forge
6-0 morph can stop ninjitsu
3HerziQuerzi : Strain of the Forge
Chancellor of the Forge / Stain the Mind / Reign of the Pit
6-0 stab takes reign. stain does nothing to me.
4InfiniteNutshell : Madness
Gathan Raiders / Gibbering Descent / Incorrigible Youths
6-0 angel and ith win it.
5Mogg : Gimme that
Catch // Release / Greater Gargadon / Pardic Dragon
2-2 i think. might need a turn by turn.
6nerdyjoe : This needs a ban
Pyromancer's Goggles / Sphinx of the Final Word / Goblin Game
i dont know how this works
7Personman : Possibly Locked
Oxidda Golem / Stain the Mind / Possibility Storm
6-0 angel wins by itself
8Reyemile : And again
Unburial Rites / Mournwhelk / Alhammarret, High Arbiter
6-0 mournwhelk does nothing. ith does stuff.
9SeeNamedPerson : Silent... then a shriek!
Silent Specter/Shriekmaw/Creeping Renaissance
0-6 i think recursion gets me
10tidalslimshady : Agro
Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem
6-0 lifelink does it.
12WhammeWhamme : Morning has broken
Through the Breach/Emrakul, the Aeons Torn/Mournwhelk
?
5) Catch // Release / Greater Gargadon / Pardic Dragon
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
5| 6 6 6 6 X 6 6 6 3 6 6 6 | 62 | 564
Most matches are straightforward, so I won't go into detail from my phone.
One match is more complicated, 5-9:
S: 1 land
M: 1, suspend Gargadon
S: 2
M: 2, 9 time counters, suspend Dragon
S: 3, morph
M: 3, 7, 3, Catch and sacrifice a land
S: 3, attack
M: 18, 4, 6, 1
S: 4, attack
M: 16, 5, 5, 0, Dragon, pump four times, sacrifice five lands, Gargadon, attack
S: 3, 5, Shriekmaw (Dragon)
M: attack (Shriekmaw blocks)
S: 3, 6, Renaissance
M: attack, morph blocks
S: 3, 7, Shriekmaw, win
Playing first, though, my hand is fast enough.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
It does. In my breakdown above, I cast Pardic Dragon three turns after I suspend it, due to your morph.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: OTP, can threaten Breached Whelk blocker to stop discard. 3-3
vs. 03 HerziQuerzi: Chancellor/Stain is bad for me... oops. 0-6
vs. 04 InfiniteNutshell: OTP, Whelk stops casting stuff. 3-3
vs. 05 Mogg: 0-6
vs. 06 nerdyjoe: Annihilation. 6-0
vs. 07 Personman: OTP, Whelk > Stain and Breach > Storm. 3-3
vs. 08 Reyemile: ...better Whelk deck. 0-6
vs. 09 SeeNamedPerson: Specter is an issue. 3-3
vs. 10 tidalslimshady: OTP, discard two Golems. 3-3
vs. 11 tomsloger: ANNIHILATOR. 6-0
2 Feyd_Ruin : Nijna
Cave-In / Okiba-Gang Shinobi / Chancellor of the Forge
On my play, you Cave-In to stop my from Staining, and then Storm stops Shinobi forever. On your play, it's the same but you get Shinobi down on t5.
3 HerziQuerzi : Strain of the Forge
Chancellor of the Forge / Stain the Mind / Reign of the Pit
On my play, I just Stain your Stain and get Storm down in time to stop you from playing spells. On your play, you have to stain Storm, because Staining Stain doesn't solve the problem. But then I get to stain one thing, which has to be Reign, and then we almost draw - by the time Chancellor comes down on t7, I've gotten through on 3, 4, and 6 (you block with the token on 5), and then I'm one turn off racing you. But I can't, so it's 3-3.
9 SeeNamedPerson : Silent... then a shriek!
Silent Specter / Shriekmaw / Creeping Renaissance
On my play I can race Specter to a draw. I get you to 11 before Specter flips (and if you block before that we draw immediately), and then you have to attack 5 times and I only have to attack 4 times, so you don't, and we draw.
10 tidalslimshady : Agro
Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem
On my play, Stain's "any number of cards" text is actually relevant, and I get to rip two Golems out of your hand for a draw.
nerdyjoe, I don't understand why Goblin Game needs to be banned, or how your deck works. My understanding is that you as the active player will always choose your number first, and then your opponent will choose that number plus one, and (assuming you make the copy) you'll die.
I picked up more points than I was expecting after first seeing the list (thank you Progenitus having the reshuffle clause) but damn, that was a lot of turn 4 discard. Kind of thinking that Anger would have been a much better third card even with no way to get it into the graveyard normally. (Edit: Nevermind, Anger wouldn't have been legal this round.)
01 | X 3 0 3 0 6 0 3 6 3 0 0 | 20
1-3: Fold to T4 hand-exile.
1-4: I lose to the aggro line of play on the draw, outrace with Progenitus on the play.
1-5: Tempo'd.
1-6: Win outright OTP. OTD, I choose 1 for each copy of Game and go to 4 then win.
1-7: Stain still wrecks.
1-8: OTP, discard Prog and Conviction to evoke, then Entrance out Prog for the win. OTD, reanimated Mournwhelk gets Entrance and Alhammarret names Progenitus.
1-9: The 5-mana unmorph means Progenitus is coming down no matter what. I never get Conviction down but still outrace.
1-10: Whoever gets to take their fifth turn first wins easily.
1-11: I actually manage to land Progenitus OTP, but that lifegain.
1-12: Oh hey look, it's the creature I should have been playing.
Re: Goblin Game: I think Personman is right, but it's also worth noting that the opponent has the option of choosing 1 and going to 4 after two copies regardless of what the Game hand pilot is doing.
Gathan Raiders / Gibbering Descent / Incorrigible Youths
4 | 2 6 2 X 0 6 6 2 0 2 0 2 | 28
Most interesting matchup was 8/Reyemile with Unburial Rites / Mournwhelk / Alhammarret, High Arbiter
Dramatic Entrance / Progenitus / True Conviction
Gibbering Descent won't do much until Progenitus is already out, but it does get rid of True Conviction on turn 6. I get to swing for 9 twice on the play by taking a hit, but I'm not fast enough to stop the hydra if it comes out before I play all my cards.
2: 6-0
Cave-In / Okiba-Gang Shinobi / Chancellor of the Forge
I can just pitch Descent (without casting it if need be) to keep Raiders alive against Cave-In, and then it's a race of my 5/5 and 4/3 against your 3/2.
3: 3-3
Chancellor of the Forge / Stain the Mind / Reign of the Pit
On the play I get Descent out before you can Stain it, and you lose both your other cards before you can cast them. On the draw I don't get Descent, and I can only get you down to 2 life before you stabilize with the Chancellor to defend against my Raiders and a 4/4 flier to kill me.
5: 0-6
Catch & Release / Greater Gargadon / Pardic Dragon
You steal and sac my Raiders before I can do anything with it and I am sad.
6: 6-0
Pyromancer's Goggles / Sphinx of the Final Word / Goblin Game
You can't play any threats before I Descent all your cards
7: 6-0
Oxidda Golem / Stain the Mind / Possibility Storm
On the play I get Descent and kill you with my 5/5. On the draw I...also kill you with my 5/5.
8: 3-3
Unburial Rites / Mournwhelk / Alhammarret, High Arbiter
Interesting one! Took me a while to work out. On the play, my turn 4 Gibbering Descent puts the Arbiter in the graveyard where you want it, which means you can use Mournwhelk to make me discard Incorrigible Youths while I don't have mana to play it, and then you can reanimate both your creatures. But Gibbering Descent's life drain forces you to attack first, which lets me get hits with my 5/5 raiders and just barely outrace you.
On the draw, there are a whole lot of possible ways to play it out but I don't think there's any way I keep up. If I play my morph on time, I can't afford to madness anything when you evoke Mournwhelk, and then I'm stuck with just a 5/5 against a 3/3 and a 5/5. If I hold mana against Whelk, I can madness out Youths and then either play a morph I'll never be able to flip or play a Descent that won't do much, and I'm still way behind.
9: 0-6
Silent Specter / Shriekmaw / Creeping Renaissance
If I play my morph it dies to Shriekmaw without giving me a chance to use madness. If I wait, I can't get enough mana in time to cast all my spells without losing something to the Specter's effect, so if I play Descent I only have one creature (Terror'd) and if I don't you can use Creeping Renaissance normally (so both my creatures get Terror'd).
10: 3-3
Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem / Oxidda Golem
On the play, Gibbering Descent hits one of your golems before you can cast it, and then my clock is faster. On the draw I can't shut you down in time.
11: 0-6
Mindstab / Ith, High Arcanist / Exalted Angel
Your hand is empty by turn 3 and I can't answer Exalted Angel.
12: 3-3
Through the Breach / Emrakul, the Aeons Torn / Mournwhelk
On the play, I have 7 permanents when you swing with Emrakul on turn 5. I keep my Raiders and kill you before you can get Emrakul back on the board. On the draw, I only have at most 6 permanents, so I get annihilated.
The dream is T5 Goggles, T6 Sphinx, T7 2xGG, swing with sphinx. The opponent is then motivated to not go to 4. So the oracle we use to decide matches breaks down.
In terms of active/nonactive player, that doesn't matter. Both players choose prior to knowing what the other player chose. Exactly like Liliana +1 or Show and Tell. Those don't cause the same issue, because it isn't a 1-card combo to break the oracle, although they could occasionally come to a place where the oracle breaks.
2. Okiba on me just enables me; either Whelk or Al stops chancellor, and even with ping damage from the goblin early I'll win the race with my flier.
3. On the play, I Whelk turn 4 and the game is over. On the draw, Stain has to name Whelk or else I'll whelk away the other two cards, then either remaining card wins against a 1/1. On turn 7 I'll be at 13, then get attacked for 3 by hasty goblins going to ten. Al comes in naming Reign. I get attacked, trade with Chancellor, go to 7, and unburial Al. At this stage, I neither of us can win.
4. Agreed with nutshell.
5. Crushed. Sick deck. I thought we had decided to disallow split cards from this format though?
6. Whelked.
7. Whelk wins on the play. It gets Stained on the draw, then storm locks me out.
9. On the play I Whelk myself and Al names Shriekmaw (or Renaissance, if Maw was evoked turn 2 as a dodge). I'll have been attacked once by a morph, putting me at 18, when Al comes down. I win in 4 swings; the opposing 4/4 takes 4 swings to kill me, so I win.
On the draw, I run the same line but take an extra hit for 4. I can't race, but my opponent can't get through.
10. On the play, Whelk hits two golems.
On the draw, my opponents hand is empty on turn 4 and my life total is empty on turn 5.
11. Ith beats me.
12. If I'm whelked, I use Al to stop Breach. If I'm not whelked, I whelk twice, since I can have Emrakul be the second card re-drawn. my 3/3 will kill before Emrakul can be cast the fair way.