You don't need to calculate the final PTs or score, just your individual results. The scoring conventions are outlined in the rules at the bottom of this post. If there are any difficult or controversial matchups, please highlight these in some way and provide a brief note in your post.
Each player starts the game with an emblem that says
0: Add WUBRG to your mana pool. Only activate this ability if your mana pool is empty.
Spells can't be countered by spells or abilities.
If a spell would be removed from the stack by a spell or ability, instead it isn't.
Deck Size: 3 Land Rule: None Additional Banned list:Silence, Orim's Chant, Time Stop, (please remember to check PHM Banned List, shown in the spoiler below)
7xStormaggedonx : "free mana" Doubling Cube / Shizuko, Caller of Autumn / Progenitus
I don’t want to lie. I do not know how this deck works. Shizuko and doubling cube are both super cool though
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.
I know that the can't be countered stuff is for Venser/ Brutal expulsion. But how does it work with spells who lose their (previously) legal target? Usually through shroud/hexproof/protection.
I know that the can't be countered stuff is for Venser/ Brutal expulsion. But how does it work with spells who lose their (previously) legal target? Usually through shroud/hexproof/protection.
Either the rule gets errata to add "by spells or abilities", or we play it like Gilded Drake's trigger, where the spell does anything it still can after removing any effects that depend on the target(s).
Following from the 500 turn rule adjustment, some suggestions were to try a shorter time, so let's do it again.
Slow Down v2
Rule 3.1 is adjusted so as to mean the following:
Before an opponent has taken 100 turns, decks may not win the game, cause an opponent's cards to change zones or take an arbitrary number of turns.
Deck Size: 3
Land Rule: Basic Land Rule (7.3a, below)
Additional Banned list: None (please remember to check Land Rule and regular PHM Banned Lists)
Reducing deck size makes this still a bit of a puzzle, as some of the worst creatures (survivor of the unseen) still get the job done too quick (21 turns), but the classic Gut Shot / Reiterate / Disruption or protection still works.
If the purpose of the ban on Time Stop is to avoid needing to deal with the rules headache that would ensue if the "end the turn" procedure can't remove things from the stack, then Sundial of the Infinite and Day's Undoing should probably also get bans.
Banning Time Stop is to prevent "countering" of any given card by ending the turn. If you use sundial or day's undoing, you can't counter things cast on your opponent's turn, only your own (and therefore usually only cards with flash). It gives your opponent an opportunity to assuredly resolve their spells.
Fair enough, but out of interest, how would we play it out if this came up with the other cards?
"End the turn" mechanically means "exile all spells and abilities on the stack, remove any pending triggered abilities that are waiting to be put onto the stack, and move the game to the cleanup step." If spells can't leave the stack due to spells or abilities, then presumably we do everything else, leave current spells or abilities on the stack (Day's Undoing would then finish resolving and hit the graveyard), and give players priority during the cleanup step because there may still be things on the stack that need to resolve (subsequently, the "keep having cleanup steps until there's one without priority" rule would kick in.)
I'm not really expecting these other cards to come up, but it can't hurt to be prepared.
Since ending the turn makes those other things happen (exiling spells on stack etc), _not_ the spell making those things happen directly, it's countered/exiled by the rules of the game, much the same way protection works. If Day's Undoing said: "Each player shuffles graveyard and hand into library then draws seven. Exile all spells on the stack and go to the cleanup step." Then it would work like you describe with things still on the stack (since we've changed the rules to say spells and abilities can't exile spells from the stack). But as is, the game is the one doing the exiling, and that's allowed.
716.3. Sometimes a loop can be fragmented, meaning that each player involved in the loop performs an independent action that results in the same game state being reached multiple times. If that happens, the active player (or, if the active player is not involved in the loop, the first player in turn order who is involved) must then make a different game choice so the loop does not continue.
AKA if you attack with a creature you can boost indefinitely, and are blocked by a creature that can be boosted indefinitely, the attacker (as the active player) would need to stop the loop, letting the defender have the stronger creature.
10WhammeWhamme : "all in iona" Through the Breach / Iona, Sheild of Emeria / Unburial Rites
this is complicated, but i think i 6-0. if a through the breached iona names green, i cast council naming rites. if she names blue or white, i can just beast it first then do the same
4v1 - Council stop Invulnerability. I can Evil Twin to destory Pride or just outrace. 6-0
4v2 - Evil Twin deals with Torrent, outrace. 6-0
4v3 - Savage the Council in, naming Evil Twin. Lodestone and Council trade if Lodestone attacks (which would let me cast Evil Twin), so it draws. 2-2
4v5 - Drop Council on my turn naming Through the Breach. If you Breach in response, Savage the Twin for Emrakul. If you Breach on your turn, Savage Twin after attackers have been declared (to avoid annihilator) in order to have the better Emrakul. 6-0
4v6 - Council stops Invulnerability, Savage Evil Twin to be the better Uril. 6-0
4v7 - Council stops Cube, Evil Twin cries at missed opportunity to be Progenitus. 6-0
4v8 - Council stops Eviction, Savaged Evil Twin copies Colonnade when it goes creature, game ties. 2-2
4v9 - Council councils Beast Within. Twin copies either my Council or toms Council to both deal with toms Council and to Council the elixir. 6-0
4v10 - Council stops Unburial. 6-0
Council seems a touch strong this week.
EDIT: For the Slimshady deck, I get how Doubling Cube works (drop for 2, activate for 3, use WUBRG while that's on the stack) but I'm not sure what Shizuko is for. Some kind of control and/or protection probably would've worked better
1v2: I can't make enough birds to get through when you have Pride too, you can't touch me thanks to Invulnerability. 2-2
1v3: You lock me out of Invulnerability, but I kill your Lodestone Golem. Once I have more than one bird, I can race Shimmer Myr forever. 6-0
1v4: I had this as 6-0 originally based on the fact that forecast birds would outrace two Councils, but 4 can use Evil Twin to cut off my bird supply instead. 0-6
1v5: Emrakul never actually deals any damage to me thanks to Invulnerability. Annihilator slows me down a lot, but I basically get through for 1 every other turn because you have to spend 2 turns drawing Emmy+Breach each time. Sultai Charm is a blank on both sides. 6-0
1v6: Charm kills Page and Invulnerability on both sides is a standoff. 2-2
1v7: If I'm correct about Doubling Cube not working like you were expecting (see my post below), you're left trying to outrace birds with Shizuko, and that doesn't end well. If you do get Progenitus down, I just spam Invulnerability and ignore it. 6-0
1v8: Invulnerability standoff. 2-2
1v9: One bird per turn can't race a 3/3 and 5 life every other turn. 0-6
1v10: Iona names white, dies, is reanimated, names white, dies to Sultai Charm, is reanimated again, and names white. But it can't stop Pride's forecast ability. Pride forecast outraces any single creature without trample/evasion. 6-0
I feel like I'm missing something on deck 5. Edit: Nevermind, I'm an idiot and forgot that the reshuffle brings Through the Breach back as well.
EDIT: For the Slimshady deck, I get how Doubling Cube works (drop for 2, activate for 3, use WUBRG while that's on the stack) but I'm not sure what Shizuko is for.
I get it now! It's there to mess with the numbers on strategies that rely on spending exactly 5 mana several times.
Only, it doesn't look like there were any decks that relied on being able to spend 5 mana repeatedly during their own turns. The Invulnerability decks aren't affected because they do their thing on the opponent's turn.
Though I'm pretty sure that Doubling Cube's ability is a mana ability, which would mean that you can't float WUBRG in response to an activation.
EDIT: Unless I'm missing something (Nevermind, I was. See below.)
@Artscrafter: For 4v9, Council can't name creature cards.
For 4v1, I forgot about Forecast being repeatable (for some reason I thought it discarded), but I'm pretty sure I still win as I can drop Evil Twin as a copy of a bird and destroy them at the same rate you drop them.
6v9 is complex. Obviously the councilor names Invulnerability, then it's a race between page and uril and beasts and elixirs (and draw steps). I dunno. To create a beast for 9, they have to blow up councilor. Blowing up page gives me a beastie which costs them a draw (beast in their deck) and 3 points any turn council isn't in play. Every turn they don't loop elixir, they take 5 damage until they get 2 beasts. Fastest they can get two beasts is turn 4, with one elixir activation. Page is 1 damage a turn. Still more details to work out, but this is close.
On turn 1, you get a beast, and the council for 5 power to block. Doesn't matter too much if they die to uril, they'll get recycled. So this isn't too close.
Edit:
For 2v6, Cloud can chump uril every turn, If I cast page, it gets commandeered and then would kill me. 2-2
@Artscrafter: For 4v9, Council can't name creature cards.
For 4v1, I forgot about Forecast being repeatable (for some reason I thought it discarded), but I'm pretty sure I still win as I can drop Evil Twin as a copy of a bird and destroy them at the same rate you drop them.
Yep, didn't see that line of play initially. Updated.
6v9 is complex. Obviously the councilor names Invulnerability, then it's a race between page and uril and beasts and elixirs (and draw steps). I dunno.
Deck 9 goes to 25 life on its first turn and has enough beast tokens to block and kill Uril by its third turn. Elixir every other turn blanks Page.
vs. 01 Artscrafter: Iona on White needs killing twice, but Pride works. 0-6
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: Commandeer works. 0-6
vs. 03 Heinsun: I can resolve Breach, but it doesn't matter. 0-6
vs. 04 herziquerzi: Can't finesse around council. 0-6
vs. 05 Madmanquail: ...dammit, thought I had this, but I can't see a way to get Charm in graveyard and Breach locked down. so sad. 0-6
vs. 06 nerdyjoe: Iona on White is a lock. 6-0
vs. 07 Stormaggedonx: Iona on Green is a lock. 6-0
vs. 08 Tidalslimshady: Iona on White is a lock. 6-0
vs. 09 Tomsloger: Council locks Rites. 0-6
1. 2-2. Prides tie.
2. XXX
3. 6-0. Sphere/Lode doesn't touch; tokens get Golem. Token+Pride gets myr.
4. 0-6. Twin'ing the token and naming Torrent kills me.
5. 6-0. (Take a hit on draw). Make a token. Commandeer breach. Token wins.
6. 0-6. Cant stop Page without openening up to Uril.
7. 6-0. Even if cube worked, I can commandeer it and Torrent beats Shizuko.
8. 2-2. Eviction lets one swing through, but tokens stop the rest.
9. 0-6. Can build tokens, they overrun.
10.6-0. Commandeer Breach. Torrent comes back to kill.
(Snip: Matchups miscalc'd due to misunderstanding. Redacted.)
Edit: @Tom
Your line needs another look, although it doesn't look too far off.
You can't make beast tokens - at least not as it appears you think.
You lose 0-6 to 1, for sure.
Tom's line of play is to play Elixir, move to another phase to reset mana, then activate Elixir's ability, hold priority, and cast Beast Within on the Elixir. Elixir is destroyed, Beast goes to the graveyard, then both shuffle in when Elixir's ability resolves.
It took me a moment to see that too, but it works pretty well.
For 2v4, recall that Herzi can use Evil Twin to counteract birds; it's why 1 loses to 4. Herzi's analysis assumes that you play Torrent, but there might be a line where you just don't and force the issue with birds first, dropping Torrent when it's safe to do so. I haven't worked out what the race math looks like on that though.
Tom's line of play is to play Elixir, move to another phase to reset mana, then activate Elixir's ability, hold priority, and cast Beast Within on the Elixir. Elixir is destroyed, Beast goes to the graveyard, then both shuffle in when Elixir's ability resolves.
Ahh. I forgot Elixir stays on the board for a moment before the ability resolved. So use to sac effects I guess.
Recalc'd. The tokens make the difference.
Unless I'm missing something, 2 beats 4 by holding Torrent in reserve.
This one's interesting because there are a bunch of different lines of play. Do note (I made this mistake too) that Council can't name creature cards, so Torrent is safe from the lockout.
If 4 plays out Council and Evil Twin copying Council as soon as possible, 2 wins the race. So 4 doesn't do that.
If 2 plays out Torrent as soon as possible, 4 can Evil Twin it and win the race. So 2 doesn't do that.
Therefore, 2's optimal strategy is to play only birds until it wins or Evil Twin is committed.
If 4 powers out Council immediately:
At the end of 2's first turn, 2 has one bird and 4 has a 3/5 Council.
4 can then either copy the Bird or hold off. Holding off doesn't end well for 4 because 2 can get a second bird, chump Council forever, and get in for 1 per turn. So 4 plays Twin copying a bird.
The rest of the round plays out:
4: Attack for 3 (2@17)
2: Second bird, attack for 1 (4@19), Torrent Elemental
4: Kill a bird (it's either now or in response to the "tap your stuff" trigger), can't profitably attack
2: Second bird, swing for 4 (4@15)
4: Kill a bird, swing for 3 (2@14)
2: Second bird, swing for 4 (4@11)
At this point 2 is winning the race.
If 4 uses Savage Summoning to get an Evil Bird first:
At the end of 2's first turn, 2 has a bird and 4 has a 2/2 Evil Twin bird.
4: Kill the bird. If on the play, swing for 2 with Council (2@18)
2: Bird, Torrent
4: Kill the bird, can't attack
2: Bird, swing for 3 (4@17)
4: Kill the bird, swing for 2 (2@18 or 16 depending on turn order)
2 wins the race here as well.
3 Card - Attack of the WUBRG Monster
Commentary
free mana is pretty powerful. lets see what we all did with it.
Next week's format will be 5C mana dependency. will you be a slave to a higher life total, or just go with good decks. quite the balancing act.
Scores
X | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 | PT | Points
1 | X 2 6 0 6 2 6 2 0 6 | 30 | 333
2 | 2 X 6 6 0 0 6 2 0 6 | 28 | 311
3 | 0 0 X 2 6 6 6 6 0 6 | 32 | 356
4 | 6 0 2 X 6 6 6 2 6 6 | 40 | 444
5 | 0 6 0 0 X 2 6 2 0 6 | 22 | 244
6 | 2 6 0 0 2 X 6 2 0 0 | 18 | 200
7 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 | 00 | 000
8 | 2 2 0 2 2 2 6 X 0 0 | 16 | 178
9 | 6 6 6 0 6 6 6 6 X 6 | 48 | 533
0 | 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 6 0 X | 18 | 200
You don't need to calculate the final PTs or score, just your individual results. The scoring conventions are outlined in the rules at the bottom of this post. If there are any difficult or controversial matchups, please highlight these in some way and provide a brief note in your post.
Each player starts the game with an emblem that says
0: Add WUBRG to your mana pool. Only activate this ability if your mana pool is empty.
Spells can't be countered by spells or abilities.
If a spell would be removed from the stack by a spell or ability, instead it isn't.
Deck Size: 3
Land Rule: None
Additional Banned list: Silence, Orim's Chant, Time Stop, (please remember to check PHM Banned List, shown in the spoiler below)
The Entries
1Artscrafter : "Birdfog"
Pride of the Clouds / Invulnerability / Sultai Charm
Pride and invulnerability seem very strong.
2Feyd_Ruin : "from exile"
Commandeer / Torrent Elemental / Pride of the Clouds
Commandeer is always fun. Especially when you can still win afterwards
3Heinsun : "the resistance"
Shimmer Myr / Sphere of Resistance / Lodestone Golem
This should lock out a lot of decks
4herziQuerzi : "Cruel Counselors"
savage summoning / council of the absolute / evil twin
Council is becoming a format staple, and I love it
5Madmanquail / "emmy's revenge"
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn / Through the Breach / Sultai Charm
Annhilator is pretty good.
6Nerdyjoe : "my name is uril"
Invulnerability / Uril, the Miststalker / Etherwrought Page
Page is very odd to me, but perhaps it will do stuff
7xStormaggedonx : "free mana"
Doubling Cube / Shizuko, Caller of Autumn / Progenitus
I don’t want to lie. I do not know how this deck works. Shizuko and doubling cube are both super cool though
8Tidalslimshady : "esper control"
Celestial colonnade / merciless eviction / invulnerability
I'm not certain colonnade is a powerful enough threat, but the control aspects seem pretty solid
9Tomsloger : "council of the belixir"
council of the absolute / elixir of immortality / beast within
Oh hey, this is me. Awesome deck tom!
10WhammeWhamme : "all in iona"
Through the Breach / Iona, Sheild of Emeria / Unburial Rites
When iona works, she tends to work really well.
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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Following from the 500 turn rule adjustment, some suggestions were to try a shorter time, so let's do it again.
Slow Down v2
Rule 3.1 is adjusted so as to mean the following:
Before an opponent has taken 100 turns, decks may not win the game, cause an opponent's cards to change zones or take an arbitrary number of turns.
Deck Size: 3
Land Rule: Basic Land Rule (7.3a, below)
Additional Banned list: None (please remember to check Land Rule and regular PHM Banned Lists)
Reducing deck size makes this still a bit of a puzzle, as some of the worst creatures (survivor of the unseen) still get the job done too quick (21 turns), but the classic Gut Shot / Reiterate / Disruption or protection still works.
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"End the turn" mechanically means "exile all spells and abilities on the stack, remove any pending triggered abilities that are waiting to be put onto the stack, and move the game to the cleanup step." If spells can't leave the stack due to spells or abilities, then presumably we do everything else, leave current spells or abilities on the stack (Day's Undoing would then finish resolving and hit the graveyard), and give players priority during the cleanup step because there may still be things on the stack that need to resolve (subsequently, the "keep having cleanup steps until there's one without priority" rule would kick in.)
I'm not really expecting these other cards to come up, but it can't hurt to be prepared.
AKA if you attack with a creature you can boost indefinitely, and are blocked by a creature that can be boosted indefinitely, the attacker (as the active player) would need to stop the loop, letting the defender have the stronger creature.
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9Tomsloger : "council of the belixir"
council of the absolute / elixir of immortality / beast within
Pride of the Clouds / Invulnerability / Sultai Charm
6-0 council stops invulnerability. charm whiffs. beasts + lifegain wins.
2Feyd_Ruin : "from exile"
Commandeer / Torrent Elemental / Pride of the Clouds
6-0 council stops commandeer. beasts + lifegain wins
3Heinsun : "the resistance"
Shimmer Myr / Sphere of Resistance / Lodestone Golem
6-0 doesnt lock me out. i have spare mana
4herziQuerzi : "Cruel Counselors"
savage summoning / council of the absolute / evil twin
0-6 more councilors is more better
5Madmanquail / "emmy's revenge"
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn / Through the Breach / Sultai Charm
6-0 council stops through the breach. sultai charm whiffs.
6Nerdyjoe : "my name is uril"
Invulnerability / Uril, the Miststalker / Etherwrought Page
6-0 council stops invulnerability. beasts and lifegain
7xStormaggedonx : "free mana"
Doubling Cube / Shizuko, Caller of Autumn / Progenitus
still don't know how this deck works, but i can definitely kill doubling cube. 6-0?
8Tidalslimshady : "esper control"
Celestial colonnade / merciless eviction / invulnerability
6-0 council names invulnerability (again). beast destroys colonnade. win at my leisure.
10WhammeWhamme : "all in iona"
Through the Breach / Iona, Sheild of Emeria / Unburial Rites
this is complicated, but i think i 6-0. if a through the breached iona names green, i cast council naming rites. if she names blue or white, i can just beast it first then do the same
that can't be right. what did i do wrong?
4v2 - Evil Twin deals with Torrent, outrace. 6-0
4v3 - Savage the Council in,
naming Evil Twin. Lodestone and Council trade if Lodestone attacks (which would let me cast Evil Twin), so it draws. 2-24v5 - Drop Council on my turn naming Through the Breach. If you Breach in response, Savage the Twin for Emrakul. If you Breach on your turn, Savage Twin after attackers have been declared (to avoid annihilator) in order to have the better Emrakul. 6-0
4v6 - Council stops Invulnerability, Savage Evil Twin to be the better Uril. 6-0
4v7 - Council stops Cube, Evil Twin cries at missed opportunity to be Progenitus. 6-0
4v8 - Council stops Eviction, Savaged Evil Twin copies Colonnade when it goes creature, game ties. 2-2
4v9 - Council councils Beast Within. Twin copies either my Council or toms Council to both deal with toms Council and to Council the elixir. 6-0
4v10 - Council stops Unburial. 6-0
Council seems a touch strong this week.
EDIT: For the Slimshady deck, I get how Doubling Cube works (drop for 2, activate for 3, use WUBRG while that's on the stack) but I'm not sure what Shizuko is for. Some kind of control and/or protection probably would've worked better
Pride of the Clouds / Invulnerability / Sultai Charm
01 | X 2 6 0 6 2 6 2 0 6 | 30
1v3: You lock me out of Invulnerability, but I kill your Lodestone Golem. Once I have more than one bird, I can race Shimmer Myr forever. 6-0
1v4: I had this as 6-0 originally based on the fact that forecast birds would outrace two Councils, but 4 can use Evil Twin to cut off my bird supply instead. 0-6
1v5: Emrakul never actually deals any damage to me thanks to Invulnerability. Annihilator slows me down a lot, but I basically get through for 1 every other turn because you have to spend 2 turns drawing Emmy+Breach each time. Sultai Charm is a blank on both sides. 6-0
1v6: Charm kills Page and Invulnerability on both sides is a standoff. 2-2
1v7: If I'm correct about Doubling Cube not working like you were expecting (see my post below), you're left trying to outrace birds with Shizuko, and that doesn't end well. If you do get Progenitus down, I just spam Invulnerability and ignore it. 6-0
1v8: Invulnerability standoff. 2-2
1v9: One bird per turn can't race a 3/3 and 5 life every other turn. 0-6
1v10: Iona names white, dies, is reanimated, names white, dies to Sultai Charm, is reanimated again, and names white. But it can't stop Pride's forecast ability. Pride forecast outraces any single creature without trample/evasion. 6-0
I feel like I'm missing something on deck 5.Edit: Nevermind, I'm an idiot and forgot that the reshuffle brings Through the Breach back as well.Only, it doesn't look like there were any decks that relied on being able to spend 5 mana repeatedly during their own turns. The Invulnerability decks aren't affected because they do their thing on the opponent's turn.
Though I'm pretty sure that Doubling Cube's ability is a mana ability, which would mean that you can't float WUBRG in response to an activation.
EDIT:
Unless I'm missing something(Nevermind, I was. See below.)The draws though
For 4v1, I forgot about Forecast being repeatable (for some reason I thought it discarded), but I'm pretty sure I still win as I can drop Evil Twin as a copy of a bird and destroy them at the same rate you drop them.
X | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 | PT | Points
6 | 2 2 0 0 2 X 6 2 0 0 | 14 | 156
6v9 is complex. Obviously the councilor names Invulnerability, then it's a race between page and uril and beasts and elixirs (and draw steps). I dunno.
To create a beast for 9, they have to blow up councilor. Blowing up page gives me a beastie which costs them a draw (beast in their deck) and 3 points any turn council isn't in play. Every turn they don't loop elixir, they take 5 damage until they get 2 beasts. Fastest they can get two beasts is turn 4, with one elixir activation. Page is 1 damage a turn. Still more details to work out, but this is close.On turn 1, you get a beast, and the council for 5 power to block. Doesn't matter too much if they die to uril, they'll get recycled. So this isn't too close.
Edit:
For 2v6, Cloud can chump uril every turn, If I cast page, it gets commandeered and then would kill me. 2-2
Deck 9 goes to 25 life on its first turn and has enough beast tokens to block and kill Uril by its third turn. Elixir every other turn blanks Page.
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: Commandeer works. 0-6
vs. 03 Heinsun: I can resolve Breach, but it doesn't matter. 0-6
vs. 04 herziquerzi: Can't finesse around council. 0-6
vs. 05 Madmanquail: ...dammit, thought I had this, but I can't see a way to get Charm in graveyard and Breach locked down. so sad. 0-6
vs. 06 nerdyjoe: Iona on White is a lock. 6-0
vs. 07 Stormaggedonx: Iona on Green is a lock. 6-0
vs. 08 Tidalslimshady: Iona on White is a lock. 6-0
vs. 09 Tomsloger: Council locks Rites. 0-6
X | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 |
2 | 2 X 6 0 6 0 6 2 0 6 | 28 | 311
1. 2-2. Prides tie.
2. XXX
3. 6-0. Sphere/Lode doesn't touch; tokens get Golem. Token+Pride gets myr.
4. 0-6. Twin'ing the token and naming Torrent kills me.
5. 6-0. (Take a hit on draw). Make a token. Commandeer breach. Token wins.
6. 0-6. Cant stop Page without openening up to Uril.
7. 6-0. Even if cube worked, I can commandeer it and Torrent beats Shizuko.
8. 2-2. Eviction lets one swing through, but tokens stop the rest.
9. 0-6. Can build tokens, they overrun.
10.6-0. Commandeer Breach. Torrent comes back to kill.
(Snip: Matchups miscalc'd due to misunderstanding. Redacted.)
No longer staff here.
It took me a moment to see that too, but it works pretty well.
For 2v4, recall that Herzi can use Evil Twin to counteract birds; it's why 1 loses to 4. Herzi's analysis assumes that you play Torrent, but there might be a line where you just don't and force the issue with birds first, dropping Torrent when it's safe to do so. I haven't worked out what the race math looks like on that though.
Recalc'd. The tokens make the difference.
Right, they do have a name of "Bird". That changes everything, and he does win it. (Played out, it's abysmal for me)
Both fixed in my line above.
No longer staff here.
If 4 plays out Council and Evil Twin copying Council as soon as possible, 2 wins the race. So 4 doesn't do that.
If 2 plays out Torrent as soon as possible, 4 can Evil Twin it and win the race. So 2 doesn't do that.
Therefore, 2's optimal strategy is to play only birds until it wins or Evil Twin is committed.
If 4 powers out Council immediately:
At the end of 2's first turn, 2 has one bird and 4 has a 3/5 Council.
4 can then either copy the Bird or hold off. Holding off doesn't end well for 4 because 2 can get a second bird, chump Council forever, and get in for 1 per turn. So 4 plays Twin copying a bird.
The rest of the round plays out:
4: Attack for 3 (2@17)
2: Second bird, attack for 1 (4@19), Torrent Elemental
4: Kill a bird (it's either now or in response to the "tap your stuff" trigger), can't profitably attack
2: Second bird, swing for 4 (4@15)
4: Kill a bird, swing for 3 (2@14)
2: Second bird, swing for 4 (4@11)
At this point 2 is winning the race.
If 4 uses Savage Summoning to get an Evil Bird first:
At the end of 2's first turn, 2 has a bird and 4 has a 2/2 Evil Twin bird.
4: Kill the bird. If on the play, swing for 2 with Council (2@18)
2: Bird, Torrent
4: Kill the bird, can't attack
2: Bird, swing for 3 (4@17)
4: Kill the bird, swing for 2 (2@18 or 16 depending on turn order)
2 wins the race here as well.