Enchantment spells cost one mana of any color less to cast for each turn that's been completed.
If an enchantment card would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle it into its owner's library instead. Deck Size: 4 Land Rule: None Additional Banned list: None. Commentary
The last time we played this format, there was only 1 enchantment creature. And it sucked.
Because of Theros, this time around we only get 4 cards.
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.
So just to clarify, is it that the player going second gets a 1 mana discount on their first turn, then the player going first gets a 2 mana discount on their second turn, then non-starting player gets a 3 mana discount, and so on? Or is it for each player's own turn count?
Is the cost reduction able to apply to the generic portion of mana costs?
So just to clarify, is it that the player going second gets a 1 mana discount on their first turn, then the player going first gets a 2 mana discount on their second turn, then non-starting player gets a 3 mana discount, and so on? Or is it for each player's own turn count?
Is the cost reduction able to apply to the generic portion of mana costs?
Yes and yes - maybe one mana of any type would have been more correct.
Yes, the rule where you can't win the game before your opponent gets a second turn would still be in effect. (I got the idea from the round where players' starting life totals equaled the total CMC of their cards, and people noted that it was possible for an opposing hand to start at 1 via Helix Pinnacle wincon or similar.)
I considered the anti-lifegain clause, but I think it makes for a more interesting meta if people have to respect the possibility of someone throwing down Kabira Crossroads or similar.
10 xStormaggedonx : fecund feast fecundity / grim guardian / fallen ideal / master of the feast
loses to disruption that lands before turn 3 and ties with things that only land on turn 3. Not a good week for me at all
It does kind of feel like there was supposed to be a Wheel of Sun and Moon in there somewhere or something...
Edit: Completely missed the round rule where this effect essentially happens by itself.
vs. 01 AvatarDylaang: OTD, I combo off before he gets a 3cmc discount. OTP, I get Seal of Cleansing and Deal of Primordium down, but he can Seal/Act/Aura to lock out Presence. 3-3
vs. 02 HerziQuerzi: I go off in one turn. He can Surgery ONE of my enchantments, but then dies. 6-0
vs. 03 mogg: ...dang, that fast. Can't resolve a Seal, get rolled. 0-6
vs. 04 nerdyjoe: Seals clear Auramancy and Seal out of the way, then combo. 6-0
vs. 05 piato: OTD, win before he hits 3CMC. OTP, double seal drop clears Nexus and Sphere off the board. 6-0
vs. 06 SeeNamedPerson: Leyline exiles ONE Seal, which is fine. OTD, kill before rest of deck, OTP double seal. 6-0
vs. 07 tidalslimshady: This is the mirror, except Primordium/Cleansing beats Oblivion/Silence. 6-0
vs. 08 tomsloger: First turn Aura of Silence was a good call. 0-6
vs. 10 Stormageddonx: OTD, win race. OTP, Seals. 6-0
Correction:
Mogg vs. tomsloger : tomsloger drops first turn Aura of Silence. Mogg can then either play Lotus, paying 2, or not. If he does, Aura of Silence can kill the Lotus and then the second Aura comes down, before Hive Mind is cheap enough to play (as well as the return of the first Aura). If he doesn't, then the second Aura comes down.
(I just did a turn-by-turn in my head, but I could be wrong)
vs. 01 AvatarDylaang: OTD, I combo off before he gets a 3cmc discount. OTP, I get Seal of Cleansing and Deal of Primordium down, but he can Seal/Act/Aura to lock out Presence. 3-3
vs. 02 HerziQuerzi: I go off in one turn. He can Surgery ONE of my enchantments, but then dies. 6-0
vs. 03 mogg: ...dang, that fast. Can't resolve a Seal, get rolled. 0-6
vs. 04 nerdyjoe: Seals clear Auramancy and Seal out of the way, then combo. 6-0
vs. 05 piato: OTD, win before he hits 3CMC. OTP, double seal drop clears Nexus and Sphere off the board. 6-0
vs. 06 SeeNamedPerson: Leyline exiles ONE Seal, which is fine. OTD, kill before rest of deck, OTP double seal. 6-0
vs. 07 tidalslimshady: This is the mirror, except Primordium/Cleansing beats Oblivion/Silence. 6-0
vs. 08 tomsloger: First turn Aura of Silence was a good call. 0-6
vs. 10 Stormageddonx: OTD, win race. OTP, Seals. 6-0
Correction:
Mogg vs. tomsloger : tomsloger drops first turn Aura of Silence. Mogg can then either play Lotus, paying 2, or not. If he does, Aura of Silence can kill the Lotus and then the second Aura comes down, before Hive Mind is cheap enough to play (as well as the return of the first Aura). If he doesn't, then the second Aura comes down.
(I just did a turn-by-turn in my head, but I could be wrong)
Each Aura slows Hive Mind by a turn by increasing its cost - Hive Mind can still be cast.
Destroying Hive Mind in response to trigger does nothing.
Storm I don't think your combo works at all other wise I would love to be enlightened
my deck was fecundity, grim guardian, fallen ideal, and master of the feast. The combo was to cast everything after three turns with fallen ideal targeting master of the feast, then sacrifice master of the feast, who goes back to my library, and fecundity makes me draw him back again. Then play master of the feast and fallen ideal again, and keep saccing them and replaying them for grim guardian constellation damage. Hope this helped
In that case, *I* beat tom too, since he can't stop my combo (cleansing/primordium clear the path, then WHEEE!)
Sure - you have one effect that increases the cost and one effect that reduces it; the total cost is calculated by applying both.
This is what led me to spend most of the round working on various Nether Void builds.
4 Card I Enchantments
If an enchantment card would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle it into its owner's library instead.
Deck Size: 4
Land Rule: None
Additional Banned list: None.
Commentary
The last time we played this format, there was only 1 enchantment creature. And it sucked.
Because of Theros, this time around we only get 4 cards.
1AvatarDylaang : Authority of Cleansing the Silent Endurance
Archetype of Endurance / Aura of Silence / Act of Authority / Seal of Cleansing
act of authority is powerful, but this may be a little slow.
2HerziQuerzi : I hate enchantments
Psychic Surgery / Serenity / Runed Halo / Seal of Fire
surgery is gross.
3Mogg : the hive
Black Lotus / City of Traitors / Hive Mind / Pact of the Titan
fastest possible clock, play and draw. good stuff.
4nerdyjoe : perplexamancy
Seal of Primordium / Oblivion Ring / Greater Auramancy / Perplexing Chimera
clearly the most powerful enchantment creature
5piato : bargain with fire
Parallax Nexus / Yawgmoth's Bargain / Detention Sphere / Seal of Fire
if its fast enough, awesome combo.
6SeeNamedPerson : mono black control
Leyline of the Void / Master of the Feast / Master of the Feast / Bottomless Pit
that drawback could be big.
7tidalslimshady : looping fire
Seal of fire / Eidolon of blossoms / Oblivion ring / Aura of silence
very cool engine. card draw trigger on the stack, sac seal and redraw it.
8tomsloger : SILENCE!
aura of silence / aura of silence / black lotus / oath of gideon
9WhammeWhamme : presence of fire
Enchantress' Presence / Seal of Fire / Seal of Cleansing / Seal of Primordium
second fastest deck of the week. half a turn cycle slower than mogg.
10xStormaggedonx : fecund feast
fecundity / grim guardian / fallen ideal / master of the feast
another sweet combo.
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
Follow me to be notified when weekly Perfect Hand Magic results are posted
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
Is the cost reduction able to apply to the generic portion of mana costs?
Yes and yes - maybe one mana of any type would have been more correct.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
3 card, no land rule
Each player's starting life total is 1.
Banned: Leyline of Sanctity
Is the idea that the two turn win delay rule is still in effect, or...
I considered the anti-lifegain clause, but I think it makes for a more interesting meta if people have to respect the possibility of someone throwing down Kabira Crossroads or similar.
score your row now!
also remember to vote for the next format.
Follow me to be notified when weekly Perfect Hand Magic results are posted
3| 6 6 X 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 | 54 | 600
Everyone else submitted slow hands.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
fecundity / grim guardian / fallen ideal / master of the feast
loses to disruption that lands before turn 3 and ties with things that only land on turn 3. Not a good week for me at all
XX| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
10| 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 X | 6
5| 6 6 0 0 3 6 X 6 0 6 | 32
V1 6-0 I play nothing till I win, my removal removes your removal
V2 6-0 destroy surgery and halo and combo off
V3 0-6 ya, no
V4 6-0 blow up your protection then combo off
V5 3-3 nvm I have aura
V6 6-0 combo out the with against no real distruption against me
V8 6-0 your clock is not fast enough and I can combo out
V9 0-6 same deck but your faster
V10 6-0 your combo doesn't work
It does kind of feel like there was supposed to be a Wheel of Sun and Moon in there somewhere or something...Edit: Completely missed the round rule where this effect essentially happens by itself.
vs. 02 HerziQuerzi: I go off in one turn. He can Surgery ONE of my enchantments, but then dies. 6-0
vs. 03 mogg: ...dang, that fast. Can't resolve a Seal, get rolled. 0-6
vs. 04 nerdyjoe: Seals clear Auramancy and Seal out of the way, then combo. 6-0
vs. 05 piato: OTD, win before he hits 3CMC. OTP, double seal drop clears Nexus and Sphere off the board. 6-0
vs. 06 SeeNamedPerson: Leyline exiles ONE Seal, which is fine. OTD, kill before rest of deck, OTP double seal. 6-0
vs. 07 tidalslimshady: This is the mirror, except Primordium/Cleansing beats Oblivion/Silence. 6-0
vs. 08 tomsloger: First turn Aura of Silence was a good call. 0-6
vs. 10 Stormageddonx: OTD, win race. OTP, Seals. 6-0
Correction:
Mogg vs. tomsloger : tomsloger drops first turn Aura of Silence. Mogg can then either play Lotus, paying 2, or not. If he does, Aura of Silence can kill the Lotus and then the second Aura comes down, before Hive Mind is cheap enough to play (as well as the return of the first Aura). If he doesn't, then the second Aura comes down.
(I just did a turn-by-turn in my head, but I could be wrong)
Each Aura slows Hive Mind by a turn by increasing its cost - Hive Mind can still be cast.
Destroying Hive Mind in response to trigger does nothing.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
In that case, *I* beat tom too, since he can't stop my combo (cleansing/primordium clear the path, then WHEEE!)
Sure - you have one effect that increases the cost and one effect that reduces it; the total cost is calculated by applying both.
This is what led me to spend most of the round working on various Nether Void builds.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy