6CH Overhwhelming Splendor
Hand Size: 6 cards.
Land Rule: None.
Format Rule: Creatures lose all abilities and have base power and toughness 1/1.
Players can't activate abilities that aren't mana abilities or loyalty abilities.
Rules and banned list
Be sure to review the rules and regular banned list by clicking below. In addition, be sure to review the "Land Rule" banned list as well.
Format ideas?
If you have a format you'd like to try, send me a message, mention it along with the cards in your hand, or post it here!
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 her 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 result 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 typically 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.
Tentatively, next week's format will be 4CH LR 1001 Nights.
Hand Size: 3 cards.
Land Rule: Basic Land Rule.
Format Rule: When submitting a hand, each player also chooses two cards in his or her hand.
Each player starts the game with an emblem with "At the beginning of your end step, if this game is the main game, players play a MAGIC subgame.
Each player's opening hand in the subgame contains all of that player's chosen cards that were in his or her hand as the subgame was created.
Each player who loses the subgame loses 1 life.
At the end of a subgame, each player takes all cards he or she owns that are in the subgame and puts them into his or her main game hand.
This ability can't be countered."
Please let me know if you have any suggestions for changes to the format or ideas for other formats. Thanks!
EDIT 1: Changed "half his or her life total" to "1 life", so the main game has some relevancy.
EDIT 2: 4 cards -> 3 cards.
Once again, I developed a few hands and managed to choose the worst of them to compete with (this also involved, again, choosing Leyline of the Void over Mishra's Workshop; I feel like I'm having to relearn principles that I preached for years, but maybe I took too long of a break).
I chose the Foil hand on the basis that six cards could have incredibly degenerate openings; I failed to account for how easy it is to include disruption in those hands while maintaining a serviceable win condition.
The matches:
1) CalvinSchwa: 6: I counter Wheel, leaving CalvinSchwa without sufficient mana to cast Opalescence. Smokestack removes Sheltered Valley.
2) CzarBomba: 0: In the face of my Foil and Nether Spirit, ten goblin tokens hit me for 9, then, 8, then lethal.
4) feyd_ruin: 0: 5/5 beats 1/1.
5) knobbodi: 6: lotus, lotus, will, empty, foil or lotus, lotus, will, foil, pierce; either way, knobbodi gets 6 1/1's which can only deal 15 through my recurring 1/1.
Alternatively, knobbodi can play patiently and not commit until I do; this forces me to cast Nether Spirit and prevents me from discarding it to Foil. I add counters to Vault and eventually play Island, Smokestack, and Spirit on one turn. knobbodi plays island, lotus, lotus, will, empty, making eight goblins.
In either case, we arrive at a position where I have Smokestack, Spirit, Vault, Leyline, and 0-1 Island. knobbodi has Island and 6-8 goblins. Two extra goblins for knobbodi and one extra Island for me is the favorable case for knobbodi, so I'll outline that below.
m: add counter to Smokestack (1)
k: sacrifices Island, attacks (I block a token, 7 tokens remaining)
m: 13, 1 counter on Smokestack, return spirit, sacrifice Island
k: sacrifices a token, attacks (I block a token, 5 tokens remaining)
m: 8, 1 counter on Smokestack, return spirit, sacrifice Leyline
k: sacrifices a token, attacks (I block a token, 3 tokens remaining)
m: 5, 1 counter on Smokestack, return spirit, sacrifice spirit
k: sacrifices a token, attacks (2 tokens remaining)
m: 3, return spirit, sacrifice spirit, two counters on Smokestack
k: sacrifices both remaining tokens
So, it's clear that knobbodi can't pressure me attacking through Spirit. The last scenario to explore is one where knobbodi attacks only once Spirit is off the battlefield.
m: add counter to Smokestack (1)
k: sacrifices Island
m: sacrifice Island
k: sacrifices token (7 tokens remaining)
m: sacrifice Leyline
k: sacrifices token (6 tokens remaining)
m: sacrifice Spirit
k: sacrifices token (5 tokens remaining)
5 + 4 + 3 + 2 (second counter placed on Stack at last iteration) = 14 damage, so I can safely clear out all potential counterattacks, then proceed to win.
6) tomsloger: 0: Tom casts Elspeth with double counter back-up. I have no answer.
7) WhammeWhamme: 0: Sorin resolves, domes me for ten, then for two per turn, and then me before Stack causes sac.
Black Lotus (1 spell)
Black Lotus (2 spells)
Empty the Warrens (3 spells, 6 tokens)
Yawgmoth's Will (4 spells, tapping Island)
Black Lotus (5 spells)
Black Lotus (6 spells)
Empty the Warrens (7 spells, 14 tokens + 6 tokens = 20 tokens; the hand can win before an opponent's second turn)
The hand seems like it should be easy enough to legalize. Does anyone have a suggestion for a straightforward replacement?
I don't see a straightforward legalization. Island/Spell Pierce is pretty core to the deck, and running (say) Foil in that slot - or Daze and a CIPT island - changes the deck pretty significantly. Conversely, you can't really cut Yawgwin or Empty the Warrens. You could go with Lotus Petal over a Black Lotus, I guess?
vs. 01 CalvinSchwa: Counter Wheel, life gets boring. 2-2
vs. 02 CzarBomba: OTP, Sorin gets enough Loyalty to buy me a draw. 1-4
vs. 03 Mogg: I force through Sorin, who beats slow Smokestack. (Edit: And can handle a Nether Spirit) 6-0
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: ...I hate Leyline of the Void . 0-6
vs. 05 knobbodi: OTP, I can pay for Spell Pierce. 1-4
vs. 06 tomsloger: I can't see a win. 0-6
Sorry, knew I missed something in the rules. Misread the can't prevent an opponent from taking a second turn as if turn two kills were legal. Thanks to the moderator for making my submission fair.
As for my results, let's see if I can score correctly too...
Vs. 01 CalvinSchwa OTP he can't get opalescence down fast enough, edit: OTD opalescence only produces 2 blockers 6-0
Vs. 03 Mogg too many goblins for nether spirit 6-0
Vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin too many goblins for Daghatar 6-0
Vs. 05 knobbodi too many goblins for me! 0-6
Vs. 06 tomsloger enough goblins to kill elspeth through 3/6 soldiers OTP/OTD 6-0
Vs. 07 WhammeWhamme foil keeps me at 10 goblins, Sorin can kill one, 9 attackers into one Nether spirit, so even OTD I can kill sorin(4 starting up to 8 loyalty by the attack) so then it's 7,6,5,4,3 dmg over the next 5 turns for 25 dmg to his 24 life, 6-0
Edit: updated for 01 match, thanks CalvinSchwa
X|1.2.3.4.5.6.7|
2|6.X.6.6.0.6.6|30|500
Black Lotus / Lotus Petal / Empty the Warrens / Island / Spell Pierce / Yawgmoth's Will
(Black Lotus -> Lotus Petal)
VS:
1) CalvinSchwa
Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Opalescence / Serra's Sanctum / Sheltered Valley / Wheel of Sun and Moon
--Spell pierce on wheel means you can't cast Opalescence. OTD you resolve wheel, then you just play opalescence and attack with the white leyline (since you can recast it) 3-3
2) CzarBomba
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Empty the Warrens
Moderator substitution: Cathars' Crusade -> Black Lotus
--I go island, lotus petal, spell pierce lotus petal, black lotus, yawg will, lotus, lotus petal, empty for 14 to Czar's 12 6-0
3) Mogg
Bottomless Vault / Foil / Island / Leyline of the Void / Nether Spirit / Smokestack
--agreed, 0-6
4) Feyd_Ruin
Daghatar the Adamant / Leyline of Lifeforce / Leyline of Punishment / Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Serra's Sanctum
--Because of Leyline of the Void and the Lotus Petal substitution I can only make 6 tokens, which could block and kill daghatar if you ever attacked. So you don't. 2-2
6) tomsloger
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Daze / Elspeth, Sun's Champion / Island / Spell Pierce
--OTP, I make 14 tokens to your 3 per turn. First attack does 11, second attack does 8, third attack is lethal. OTD, if I play island and lotus petal first I can pay for daze and protect lotus/will with pierce but having to hold pierce means I only get 12 tokens. However, 12 is exactly enough to kill Elspeth in one attack. 6-0
7) WhammeWhamme
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Foil / Island / Nether Spirit / Sorin Markhov
--OTD, you play Lotus to have enough mana to pay for pierce and Foil Lotus, so I die to nether spirit 3-3
1) CalvinSchwa
Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Opalescence / Serra's Sanctum / Sheltered Valley / Wheel of Sun and Moon
2) CzarBomba 0-6
Pleased to meet you! I'm the resident long-term noob.
EDIT: And the reason I think I lose is something I just realized: Wheel isn't made a creature by Opalescence, so I only have 2 blockers.
3) Mogg 0-6
Nether Spirit vs Valley. Why didn't I just play Lotus or something?
4) Feyd_Ruin 0-6
This match pretty much demonstrates all the weaknesses in my deck.
5) knobbodi 0-6
I can lose to you countering Wheel. I can also lose to you making 8 tokens (LoV), delaying Opalescence, and putting me at precisely 0. So... hurray for choices, I guess?
6) tomsloger 0-6
Playing out this match is like playing a precon EDH deck vs well-tuned Legacy Death and Taxes.
7) WhammeWhamme 3/3!?
I may be crazy... but it looks like you can only cast either Sorin or Spirit, not both. LotV shuts down Spirit, and LoS means Sorin can't touch me at all. However, you can still Foil Wheel, so I can't cast Opalescence.
EDIT: Oh hey you already did your matches. Yeah. Anyhow.
| X 0 0 0 0 0 2 | 2 |
*cough* So it's been a while since I've done this badly. Oh well.
Things I've learned: look at the rules, like, 5 times or something. Don't stick to a flawed idea when you discover it's illegal. Don't stick to a flawed idea modified to be legal, when you discover it's broken. And most of all...
...figure out (or steal) whatever the equivalent of Leyline/Karakas is in this new format, 'cause that was a mighty fine crutch for weeks when I didn't know what to play.
"It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes... Three generations of imbeciles are enough."
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
5) knobbodi 0-6
I can lose to you countering Wheel. I can also lose to you making 8 tokens (LoV), delaying Opalescence, and putting me at precisely 0. So... hurray for choices, I guess?
Because my deck was illegal as it was and I had to replace a Black Lotus with a Lotus Petal, I can only make 6 tokens through Leyline of the Void instead of 8
Another question for next week's format; Do the basic lands we play and "own" in the subgame return to our hand with the 2 selected cards? I'm asking because of the potential value of discard protection, retrace, or discarding for value in the main game...
Another question for next week's format; Do the basic lands we play and "own" in the subgame return to our hand with the 2 selected cards? I'm asking because of the potential value of discard protection, retrace, or discarding for value in the main game...
Good question. I've clarified the wording of the rules in the thread for the format.
Previously: "At the end of a subgame, each player takes all cards he or she owns that are in the subgame and puts them into his or her main game hand."
Now: "At the end of a subgame, each player takes all of his or her chosen cards that are in the subgame and puts them into his or her main game hand."
@PerfectHandMagic
So am I correct, then, that using a Wish in a subgame would leave the retrieved card permanently in, uh, nonexistence (assuming it's not one of the 'chosen cards')?
Also -- just to confirm here -- if a subgame is started that can't end, eg both players have no hands in the main game, then that would be a draw for the main game, right? (Going off your ruling on draws above.)
@knobbodi Good point! I still lose to your counterspell though.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes... Three generations of imbeciles are enough."
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
@PerfectHandMagic
So am I correct, then, that using a Wish in a subgame would leave the retrieved card permanently in, uh, nonexistence (assuming it's not one of the 'chosen cards')?
Also -- just to confirm here -- if a subgame is started that can't end, eg both players have no hands in the main game, then that would be a draw for the main game, right? (Going off your ruling on draws above.)
@knobbodi Good point! I still lose to your counterspell though.
1) Correct.
2) Correct.
Note: If I were to re-write the rules from scratch, I'd go with a slightly different wording than what we currently have, but if the rules for the current version are unambiguous, then I'm happy with that. I did expect that a Shahrazad format would be hard to pin down perfectly.
6CH Overhwhelming Splendor
Hand Size: 6 cards.
Land Rule: None.
Format Rule: Creatures lose all abilities and have base power and toughness 1/1.
Players can't activate abilities that aren't mana abilities or loyalty abilities.
Hands:
1) CalvinSchwa
Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Opalescence / Serra's Sanctum / Sheltered Valley / Wheel of Sun and Moon
2) CzarBomba
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Empty the Warrens
Moderator substitution: Cathars' Crusade -> Black Lotus
3) Mogg
Bottomless Vault / Foil / Island / Leyline of the Void / Nether Spirit / Smokestack
4) Feyd_Ruin
Daghatar the Adamant / Leyline of Lifeforce / Leyline of Punishment / Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Serra's Sanctum
5) knobbodi
Black Lotus / Empty the Warrens / Island / Lotus Petal / Spell Pierce / Yawgmoth's Will
Moderator substitution: Black Lotus -> Lotus Petal
6) tomsloger
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Daze / Elspeth, Sun's Champion / Island / Spell Pierce
7) WhammeWhamme
Black Lotus / Black Lotus Foil / Island / Nether Spirit / Sorin Markov
Results:
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1| X 0 0 0 3 0 2 | 02 | 067
2| 6 X 6 6 0 6 6 | 30 | 500
3| 6 0 X 0 6 0 0 | 12 | 200
4| 6 0 6 X 2 0 6 | 20 | 333
5| 3 6 0 2 X 6 3 | 18 | 300
6| 6 0 6 6 0 X 6 | 24 | 400
7| 2 0 6 0 3 0 X | 10 | 167
CzarBomba wins!
Rules and banned list
Be sure to review the rules and regular banned list by clicking below. In addition, be sure to review the "Land Rule" banned list as well.
Format ideas?
If you have a format you'd like to try, send me a message, mention it along with the cards in your hand, or post it here!
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 her 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 result 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 typically 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
Beast Within
Chancellor of the Annex
Force of Will
Leyline of Anticipation
Leyline of Singularity
Pact of Negation
Trinisphere
Lands
Ghost Quarter
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Win Conditions
Barren Glory
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Laboratory Maniac
Leyline of the Meek
Magus of the Moon
Meddling Mage
The Rack
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
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
Win Conditions
Beacon of Creation
Maralen of the Mornsong
Nezumi Shortfang
Red Sun's Zenith
White Sun's Zenith
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Hand Size: 3 cards.
Land Rule: Basic Land Rule.
Format Rule: When submitting a hand, each player also chooses two cards in his or her hand.
Each player starts the game with an emblem with "At the beginning of your end step, if this game is the main game, players play a MAGIC subgame.
Each player's opening hand in the subgame contains all of that player's chosen cards that were in his or her hand as the subgame was created.
Each player who loses the subgame loses 1 life.
At the end of a subgame, each player takes all cards he or she owns that are in the subgame and puts them into his or her main game hand.
This ability can't be countered."
Please let me know if you have any suggestions for changes to the format or ideas for other formats. Thanks!
EDIT 1: Changed "half his or her life total" to "1 life", so the main game has some relevancy.
EDIT 2: 4 cards -> 3 cards.
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Please take a look and score your row.
Also, please welcome new player CzarBomba!
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4v2 :: 0-6 :: I wish I could have used LoSingularity
4v3 :: 6-0 :: 4/4 races Smokestack cast + sac
4v4
4v5 :: 2-2 :: 6 Tokens is a tie.
4v6 :: 0-6 :: Elspeth kills the 4/4
4v7 :: 6-0 :: Sanctity stops Sorin. Void stops spirit.
4 | 6 0 6 X 2 0 6 | 20 | 333
Edit: Changed Knoboddi matchup after replacement
GOGO vanilla
4/45/5!No longer staff here.
Once again, I developed a few hands and managed to choose the worst of them to compete with (this also involved, again, choosing Leyline of the Void over Mishra's Workshop; I feel like I'm having to relearn principles that I preached for years, but maybe I took too long of a break).
The other hands I considered were:
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker / Orim's Chant / Timetwister / Timetwister (I would have given good odds for WhammeWhamme to submit a Timetwister hand; I wonder whether he considered it)
Crumbling Sanctuary / Darksteel Reactor / Defense Grid / Mishra's Workshop / Mishra's Workshop / Null Rod
I think this hand would have scored 3-3 against tomsloger and 6 against the rest of the field. Great round for Null Rod, a card that sees surprisingly little play.
I chose the Foil hand on the basis that six cards could have incredibly degenerate openings; I failed to account for how easy it is to include disruption in those hands while maintaining a serviceable win condition.
The matches:
1) CalvinSchwa: 6: I counter Wheel, leaving CalvinSchwa without sufficient mana to cast Opalescence. Smokestack removes Sheltered Valley.
2) CzarBomba: 0: In the face of my Foil and Nether Spirit, ten goblin tokens hit me for 9, then, 8, then lethal.
4) feyd_ruin: 0: 5/5 beats 1/1.
5) knobbodi: 6: lotus, lotus, will, empty, foil or lotus, lotus, will, foil, pierce; either way, knobbodi gets 6 1/1's which can only deal 15 through my recurring 1/1.
Alternatively, knobbodi can play patiently and not commit until I do; this forces me to cast Nether Spirit and prevents me from discarding it to Foil. I add counters to Vault and eventually play Island, Smokestack, and Spirit on one turn. knobbodi plays island, lotus, lotus, will, empty, making eight goblins.
In either case, we arrive at a position where I have Smokestack, Spirit, Vault, Leyline, and 0-1 Island. knobbodi has Island and 6-8 goblins. Two extra goblins for knobbodi and one extra Island for me is the favorable case for knobbodi, so I'll outline that below.
m: add counter to Smokestack (1)
k: sacrifices Island, attacks (I block a token, 7 tokens remaining)
m: 13, 1 counter on Smokestack, return spirit, sacrifice Island
k: sacrifices a token, attacks (I block a token, 5 tokens remaining)
m: 8, 1 counter on Smokestack, return spirit, sacrifice Leyline
k: sacrifices a token, attacks (I block a token, 3 tokens remaining)
m: 5, 1 counter on Smokestack, return spirit, sacrifice spirit
k: sacrifices a token, attacks (2 tokens remaining)
m: 3, return spirit, sacrifice spirit, two counters on Smokestack
k: sacrifices both remaining tokens
So, it's clear that knobbodi can't pressure me attacking through Spirit. The last scenario to explore is one where knobbodi attacks only once Spirit is off the battlefield.
m: add counter to Smokestack (1)
k: sacrifices Island
m: sacrifice Island
k: sacrifices token (7 tokens remaining)
m: sacrifice Leyline
k: sacrifices token (6 tokens remaining)
m: sacrifice Spirit
k: sacrifices token (5 tokens remaining)
5 + 4 + 3 + 2 (second counter placed on Stack at last iteration) = 14 damage, so I can safely clear out all potential counterattacks, then proceed to win.
6) tomsloger: 0: Tom casts Elspeth with double counter back-up. I have no answer.
7) WhammeWhamme: 0: Sorin resolves, domes me for ten, then for two per turn, and then me before Stack causes sac.
3| 6 0 X 0 6 0 0 | 12 | 200
Even better, the format rules actually buff Daghatar up to a 5/5!
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
5) knobbodi: Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Empty the Warrens / Island / Spell Pierce / Yawgmoth's Will
Black Lotus (1 spell)
Black Lotus (2 spells)
Empty the Warrens (3 spells, 6 tokens)
Yawgmoth's Will (4 spells, tapping Island)
Black Lotus (5 spells)
Black Lotus (6 spells)
Empty the Warrens (7 spells, 14 tokens + 6 tokens = 20 tokens; the hand can win before an opponent's second turn)
The hand seems like it should be easy enough to legalize. Does anyone have a suggestion for a straightforward replacement?
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
vs. 01 CalvinSchwa: Counter Wheel, life gets boring. 2-2
vs. 02 CzarBomba: OTP, Sorin gets enough Loyalty to buy me a draw. 1-4
vs. 03 Mogg: I force through Sorin, who beats slow Smokestack. (Edit: And can handle a Nether Spirit) 6-0
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: ...I hate Leyline of the Void . 0-6
vs. 05 knobbodi: OTP, I can pay for Spell Pierce. 1-4
vs. 06 tomsloger: I can't see a win. 0-6
Yeah I guess lotus petal is the best replacement
As for my results, let's see if I can score correctly too...
Vs. 01 CalvinSchwa OTP he can't get opalescence down fast enough, edit: OTD opalescence only produces 2 blockers 6-0
Vs. 03 Mogg too many goblins for nether spirit 6-0
Vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin too many goblins for Daghatar 6-0
Vs. 05 knobbodi too many goblins for me! 0-6
Vs. 06 tomsloger enough goblins to kill elspeth through 3/6 soldiers OTP/OTD 6-0
Vs. 07 WhammeWhamme foil keeps me at 10 goblins, Sorin can kill one, 9 attackers into one Nether spirit, so even OTD I can kill sorin(4 starting up to 8 loyalty by the attack) so then it's 7,6,5,4,3 dmg over the next 5 turns for 25 dmg to his 24 life, 6-0
Edit: updated for 01 match, thanks CalvinSchwa
X|1.2.3.4.5.6.7|
2|6.X.6.6.0.6.6|30|500
Sorry for the strange formatting, on phone...
Black Lotus / Lotus Petal / Empty the Warrens / Island / Spell Pierce / Yawgmoth's Will
(Black Lotus -> Lotus Petal)
VS:
1) CalvinSchwa
Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Opalescence / Serra's Sanctum / Sheltered Valley / Wheel of Sun and Moon
--Spell pierce on wheel means you can't cast Opalescence. OTD you resolve wheel, then you just play opalescence and attack with the white leyline (since you can recast it) 3-3
2) CzarBomba
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Empty the Warrens
Moderator substitution: Cathars' Crusade -> Black Lotus
--I go island, lotus petal, spell pierce lotus petal, black lotus, yawg will, lotus, lotus petal, empty for 14 to Czar's 12 6-0
3) Mogg
Bottomless Vault / Foil / Island / Leyline of the Void / Nether Spirit / Smokestack
--agreed, 0-6
4) Feyd_Ruin
Daghatar the Adamant / Leyline of Lifeforce / Leyline of Punishment / Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Serra's Sanctum
--Because of Leyline of the Void and the Lotus Petal substitution I can only make 6 tokens, which could block and kill daghatar if you ever attacked. So you don't. 2-2
6) tomsloger
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Daze / Elspeth, Sun's Champion / Island / Spell Pierce
--OTP, I make 14 tokens to your 3 per turn. First attack does 11, second attack does 8, third attack is lethal. OTD, if I play island and lotus petal first I can pay for daze and protect lotus/will with pierce but having to hold pierce means I only get 12 tokens. However, 12 is exactly enough to kill Elspeth in one attack. 6-0
7) WhammeWhamme
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Foil / Island / Nether Spirit / Sorin Markhov
--OTD, you play Lotus to have enough mana to pay for pierce and Foil Lotus, so I die to nether spirit 3-3
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
5| 3 6 0 2 X 6 3 | 18 | 300
1) Main game's a draw.
2) No.
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Leyline of Sanctity / Leyline of the Void / Opalescence / Serra's Sanctum / Sheltered Valley / Wheel of Sun and Moon
2) CzarBomba 0-6
Pleased to meet you! I'm the resident long-term noob.
EDIT: And the reason I think I lose is something I just realized: Wheel isn't made a creature by Opalescence, so I only have 2 blockers.
3) Mogg 0-6
Nether Spirit vs Valley. Why didn't I just play Lotus or something?
4) Feyd_Ruin 0-6
This match pretty much demonstrates all the weaknesses in my deck.
5) knobbodi 0-6
I can lose to you countering Wheel. I can also lose to you making 8 tokens (LoV), delaying Opalescence, and putting me at precisely 0. So... hurray for choices, I guess?
6) tomsloger 0-6
Playing out this match is like playing a precon EDH deck vs well-tuned Legacy Death and Taxes.
7) WhammeWhamme 3/3!?
I may be crazy... but it looks like you can only cast either Sorin or Spirit, not both. LotV shuts down Spirit, and LoS means Sorin can't touch me at all. However, you can still Foil Wheel, so I can't cast Opalescence.
EDIT: Oh hey you already did your matches. Yeah. Anyhow.
| X 0 0 0 0 0 2 | 2 |
*cough* So it's been a while since I've done this badly. Oh well.
Things I've learned: look at the rules, like, 5 times or something. Don't stick to a flawed idea when you discover it's illegal. Don't stick to a flawed idea modified to be legal, when you discover it's broken. And most of all...
...figure out (or steal) whatever the equivalent of Leyline/Karakas is in this new format, 'cause that was a mighty fine crutch for weeks when I didn't know what to play.
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
Because my deck was illegal as it was and I had to replace a Black Lotus with a Lotus Petal, I can only make 6 tokens through Leyline of the Void instead of 8
Good question. I've clarified the wording of the rules in the thread for the format.
Previously: "At the end of a subgame, each player takes all cards he or she owns that are in the subgame and puts them into his or her main game hand."
Now: "At the end of a subgame, each player takes all of his or her chosen cards that are in the subgame and puts them into his or her main game hand."
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So am I correct, then, that using a Wish in a subgame would leave the retrieved card permanently in, uh, nonexistence (assuming it's not one of the 'chosen cards')?
Also -- just to confirm here -- if a subgame is started that can't end, eg both players have no hands in the main game, then that would be a draw for the main game, right? (Going off your ruling on draws above.)
@knobbodi Good point! I still lose to your counterspell though.
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
1) Correct.
2) Correct.
Note: If I were to re-write the rules from scratch, I'd go with a slightly different wording than what we currently have, but if the rules for the current version are unambiguous, then I'm happy with that. I did expect that a Shahrazad format would be hard to pin down perfectly.
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