A Quick Preface
A friend of mine, he's a cheeky one. Really cheeky.
He made one of the most hilarious, brilliant, cheeky and unfortunately illegal plays I've ever witnessed or heard of.
Game one. Turn one. plays Watery Grave, pays 2 life and plays Inquisition of Kozilek.
Skip to game two. Turn one. Plays Swamp, taps for black, slightly reveals a Raven's Crime and says "reveal your hand".
His opponent reveals his hand, my friend writes down all the cards in his hand, and says "thanks".
Thankfully, this was a fairly casual event, so no punishments, but it got me thinking. What other mischievous plays could you pull, that potentially get you ahead without even playing a single card??
Unfortunately, this is an illegal play, because of ruling:
3.12 Hidden Information
Hidden information refers to the faces of cards and other objects at which the rules of the game and format do not allow you to look.
Throughout the match, a draft, and pregame procedures, players are responsible for keeping their cards above the level of the playing surface and for making reasonable efforts to prevent hidden information from being revealed.
However, players may choose to reveal their hands or any other hidden information available only to them, unless specifically prohibited by the rules. Players must not actively attempt to gain information hidden from them.
Anyway, the point of this thread is to try and pull together as many mind games as we can. They, unfortunately, have to be legal.
The great thing about mindgames, is that it's up to YOU to focus on them. You can devote as much as you need to the mindgame.
If you don't feel you can keep up a perfect mindgame while playing perfectly, then don't, just do what you can, where you can. If your opponent is lighthearted, and see's what you're doing, it's fun for both of you and they may join in. If your opponent gets tilted, then you're having a great time, not only are you having fun with your mindgame, you also have a better chance of winning.
Here's a list we've come up with:
1. "Oh, I've never played this card"
Pick up almost every card they play, barring the obvious things, like Lightning Bolt and basic lands and read said cards.
Insist you've never played the card and ask how expensive they are/how many are in their deck/whether they think it would go into your XYZ Deck.
Remember, you are fully within your right to pick up cards and read them Don't take too long as they may call a judge for time wasting.
2. The Come On
Jose Luis Velasquez went to cast his Empty the Warrens, he looks up slightly and says "use the 4 remaining mana in my pool to cast...", but he something catches his eye. In front of him, is a handsome male with a thick Pompadour hairstyle. His opponent bites his lip slightly, raises his hand to his cheek. A glint in his eye, he winks, and brushes his foot against Jose's leg. He goes on to whisper "what do you cast, Jose?". Jose runs his tongue over his lips quickly, and says "I-I actually only use two mana and cast Grapeshot for 28 d-damage" A lump rises to his throat as you tap 1 mana and cast Angel's Grace and he realises, he's been tricked.
I have yet to see this one, and I think you have to be somewhat good looking to pull this off. Ask an honest friend before you try this one, because you could just be making a fool of yourself.
3. "What texture is this?"
When you touch his sleeves, or his playmat, you ask what material it is, talk about the texture, ask how long they've been using it, whether they have had to wash it to keep it as clean as it is. "What sleeves are those? They aren't matte, what sleeves are these? I love this texture, I'm going to get a set of these sleeves. How long have you been using these sleeves for??"
Pull their mind from their cards, to everything around their cards.
4. Pretend to not be looking
Find a point off in the distance, and lock your eyes there, but focus every last bit of your attention onto the game.
Don't even look at your hand when you play counterspells, use your peripheral vision. This one is pretty tricky to do without knocking your land off the table when you go to tap them. Obviously look at what you draw, but I think it's got potential to the right player.
5. Pretend not to have a Play (Thanks to DrewReaLee)
There was a Pro Tour or high level event some time ago where Patrick Chapin was playing an opponent. When his opponent nervously said "Declare Attack", Chapin immediately picked up his pen as if signifying he was about to take all the damage. His opponent saw this and went all in, expecting Chapin to not have any response. But Chapin had a trick in his hand to make it a blow out.
6. Pretend to be a real hardcore X-colour player (Thanks to 6jerfz)
This ones quite simple really, turn up with bright red sleeves, a red dice or life counter, a red pen, a red deck box.
Play a turn 1 Swamp into Inquisition of Kozilek after they've kept a hand with 2 Kitchen Finks because they expect you to Lava Spike them.
Any suggestions? You ever played a mindgame on someone else? Ever had someone ruse you into a bad play?
I think mindgames are especially effective vs combo decks. They are trying to keep track of their storm count, or whether you've already played a counterspell or not, and they realise you're eyeing them up, or you're scratching their playmat and asking what material it's made of, if they think you could use it as a mouse mat instead of a playmat.
There was a Pro Tour or high level event some time ago where Patrick Chapin was playing an opponent. I don't remember the exact details but when his opponent nervously said going to attacks, Chapin immediately picked up his pen as if signifying he was about to take all the damage. I think his opponent saw this and swung out seeing Chapin didn't have any response. But Chapin had a trick in his hand to make it a blow out.
Well...now...this is cheeky....and well...possibly illegal. But it isn't illegal if you note it mentally
Opponent wearing glasses or sunglasses? Catch the reflection of their hand in their glasses.
Now, for some LEGAL things:
1) I was playing in a legacy tourney a while back, playing elf combo...in sleeves with the red mana symbol...with all red dice. My opponent goes "playing red?" I just smiled and laughed. Whether this offers much advantage to you is debatable, but maybe he chose an improper starting hand for G1 because he thought he was combating burn? It's worth doing anyway.
2) Ask your opponent not to do something. Right from the start. When they pick up your deck, untap after drawing, WHATEVER...ask them to either do something differently or not to do something. In a lot of people, this triggers some form of embarrassment/mortification/anger and it can actually throw them off their game. I've asked people shuffling my deck, and not in any particularly bad way, if they could look up from doing it so they weren't peeking at my deck. It also puts people on their guard thinking you're that guy and it gets them wound up or nervous.
3) Talk if you can. Not about Magic if you can. Takes people out of the zone if you're engaging.
You are better off tightening your game rather than resort to things like this.
Remember, you are fully within your right to pick up cards and read them
It is a violation of etiquette to just pick up your opponent's cards. You can ask what they do. You can read them. Picking them up without permission is asking for a sock in the face, especially if were talking vintage cards, or in conjunction with many of these "tricks".
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"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Well...now...this is cheeky....and well...possibly illegal. But it isn't illegal if you note it mentally
Opponent wearing glasses or sunglasses? Catch the reflection of their hand in their glasses.
Not really a mind game, but it's a good trick
1) I was playing in a legacy tourney a while back, playing elf combo...in sleeves with the red mana symbol...with all red dice. My opponent goes "playing red?" I just smiled and laughed. Whether this offers much advantage to you is debatable, but maybe he chose an improper starting hand for G1 because he thought he was combating burn? It's worth doing anyway.
I like this one, before the game has even begun, you've got a one up on them. You could go a step further and use the Fire & Lightning promotional D20 as your dice.
2) Ask your opponent not to do something. Right from the start. When they pick up your deck, untap after drawing, WHATEVER...ask them to either do something differently or not to do something. In a lot of people, this triggers some form of embarrassment/mortification/anger and it can actually throw them off their game. I've asked people shuffling my deck, and not in any particularly bad way, if they could look up from doing it so they weren't peeking at my deck. It also puts people on their guard thinking you're that guy and it gets them wound up or nervous.
I like this, might include it.
3) Talk if you can. Not about Magic if you can. Takes people out of the zone if you're engaging.
If there's a judge, they'll probably stop you, for time wasting at least, but you could start announcing everything you ever do.
You say at the beginning of each turn "Untap, upkeep, draw, entering main phase...hmmm..."
You are better off tightening your game rather than resort to things like this.
A million times this, but the point of this thread is to suggest mind games which is a legitimate strategy. Will these effects work on me if you do them? No, probably not. Doesn't mean the strategies can't be discussed.
I remember playing a guy in the 7th round of a PTQ in Los Angeles during Jund Standard. I was on UW Control. I had just lost and we were both 4-2. He comes wearing a mana green shirt, hat, deckbox, and sleeves. I thought to myself, "there's no way this guy is playing Green, especially since his record isn't too bad." It turns out that he was in fact playing Mono Green Elves.
Now, I still see this guy at my LGS occasionally and he is s Judge. Although he now uses Pink sleeves, I never would have suspected the quite obvious.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
In my mind the best to keep in mind for both use and to not fall for is bluffing that you lost.
I have heard of and used bluffs to get an opponent to mistake their way to a loss from an easy win.
For example... I remember a story a local told me from playing ravager affinity a long time ago from at a PTQ or something where he was done... his opponent had lethal on board plus blockers and his own creatures were short even if they all got through... On his turn though he drew a Shrapnel Blast, that wins him the game if and only if his creatures get through... so as soon as he draws his card he sighs... looks dejected, shrugs and says "swing with everything?"... the opponent thinking he just won says "sure no blocks" and promptly loses to a blast to the face.
Similarly I had a situation where at a regionals playing Rakdos back when Kamigawa and Rav were in Standard... my opponent managed to get 6 or 8 Jitte counters up and I was about to die but he is at 4 and has had to use Jitte counters for life for a few turns now. I draw my card... Flames of the Blood Hand... so I sigh put it in my hand that I was slowly building up... "swing with my dudes?" He makes some blocks and uses a counter for life gain which would end up keeping him at 4 or less... "response to the Jitte counters, Char?" now I can only assume that he thought this was my only play or he got nervous because this makes him decide he now has to use all of his Jitte counters instead of just 1.... so with all of his Jitte life on the stack "Flames of the Blood Hand you lose". All he had to do was only use as many counters as necessary per action and he would have been fine.
The classic counterspell bluff: leave two blue mana open, counterspell in hand or not.
We played a two headed giant game once, where one of the opponents saw they had lethal on the board if they swung with everything. While they discussed it, we both looked discouraged, and acted like we were done for. The bluff worked and they swung away. Safe Passage saved the day and we took them out on our turn. (very similar to the pen bluff but I had to share)
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Blue Rules. Berserk, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork
"Does trample go around the table?"
============================
One of the best ones I've seen was Frank Karsten vs Tiago Chan I believe. Frank Had the win but got bluffed into activating something on his turn when he didn't have to.
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Was playing at an FNM where I won the die-roll. I say the number on the die, and the opposing player quickly asks, "you on the draw?" So I instinctively say "yep" automatically hearing if he is asking if I'm on the play as someone normally would. I balk "no wait, what I meant...", he smiles and goes. "Got ya!...you can be on the play." So cheeky and hysterical. loved it.
^ Haha, that IS genuinely funny. Mainly because he was being a good sport about it.
I invariably do the whole sleeve colour contrary to the deck colours thing, but that has nothing to do with mind games. I simply enjoy using certain coloured sleeves.
My two favourite techniques are:
Using mana dorks, then pulling them back to where my lands are when I tap them for mana, and leaving them there. People usually tend to forget about them as creatures and exhibit surprise when I throw chump blockers under their attacking creatures.
Shuffling the opponent’s library when asked to cut, and deliberately putting half of the library the other way around. This makes them draw some cards the right way around, and some upside down, annoying them no end, and making them want to adjust their library constantly.
[*]Shuffling the opponent’s library when asked to cut, and deliberately putting half of the library the other way around. This makes them draw some cards the right way around, and some upside down, annoying them no end, and making them want to adjust their library constantly.
[/numlist]
This will be interpreted as cheating. You are marking their cards, and you'll have a fun time trying to explain it.
There is one interesting play, by Chapin. He cast Profane Command with a Chameleon Colossus out, and chose the fear as one of the modes, declaring "all legal targets" as what he was choosing. His opponent didn't realize the Colossus couldn't be targeted, and didn't block it.
List tags are malformed.
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"If you don't wear your seatbelt, the police will shoot you in the head."
- To my youngest sister when she was 6.
Everyone knows that good luck and good game are such insincere terms that any man who does not connect his right hook with the offender's jaw on the very utterance of such a phrase is no man I would consider as such.
There is one interesting play, by Chapin. He cast Profane Command with a Chameleon Colossus out, and chose the fear as one of the modes, declaring "all legal targets" as what he was choosing. His opponent didn't realize the Colossus couldn't be targeted, and didn't block it.
This is a perfect example of how far just acting confident can get you. One of my CS professors in college was big into security which even in the computer world we often talk about physical security... he told us that many times the easiest way to breach security is with a clipboard and confidence. Walk into a building holding a clipboard and a hard hat and people tend to assume you are there for some purpose that they probably dont care too much about. By casting Profane Command and then attacking with the Colossus his opponent's brain is going to automatically look for the most obvious even if it's false... The obvious here is that of course Colossus has fear that's why he just cast Profane Command, why would he do that if it didnt win him the game?
Another thing I just thought of... sometimes it's wise to make odd plays if those plays would be correct sometimes. This is mostly helpful for places like FNM where people might start to pick up on tendencies or deck choices. For example... Way back in Kamigawa days I played a B/G aggro control that had BOP and Ink Eyes in it. Now sometimes a great play was to swing with BOP and ninjitsu in ink eyes... but why swing with BOP unless I had ink-eyes? In that deck, especially at FNM where people quickly learned I was playing with Ink-Eyes, it was important to swing with the BOP and 5 mana up every once in a while just to make sure people didnt know that a BOP swing meant I had Ink-Eyes coming out.
I also remember occasionally swinging a 1/2 Goyf into Imperious Perfects when I had removal... because I also had Funeral Charm in the deck. If I ran into a situation where I wanted them to block so I could instant speed make them discard grow my Goyf to kill the Perfect... I needed them to get used to me attacking into that situation and not over analyse it.
I think the player was Mike Long, I think the setting was a PT finals, and I think the deck was a prosperous bloom deck.
It was at least a combo-deck that used Drain Life to win. Now the player in question only had a single Drain Life in his deck, and this had got exiled during the course of the game. At this point he had no way to win. But instead of giving up, he played on until he got his combo going and said something like "...and repeat and repeat for infinite mana.. and the opponent scooped rather than wait for the Drain Life.
(I think there was originally two Drain Lifes in the deck, and the opponent knew about this, but one had been sideboarded out.)
Whenever I'm topdecking, every card is either the greatest card I've ever drawn or the absolute ruin of my game plan. Even if my opponents catch on that my reactions are all fake, it still prevents any true reactions from coming through on my part.
I engage in casual conversation during FNMs as much as I can. Partially because I enjoy it, but also because I know that I can multitask well and count on my opponents not keeping up. If they make conversation with me, I usually feel at the advantage.
When I play control and am holding a dead hand, I'll often make a point of fixing my mana. For example, I'll topdeck and cast something like Elixir of Immortality with no immediate impact on the board and a bunch of lands remaining in my hand, but then make a point of switching which land I tap for it to bluff action.
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Formerly Angrypossum over at the now-defunct WotC forums.
If opponent plays a deck with sleeves with images on the back, in a competitive REL he will get a game loss if all the cards are not facing the same direction(becoming marked). I think that upon a judge call this thing can backfire. But I have to ask a judge, I am not sure about the consequencies.
My personal favorite is to cast vendilion clique, wait and hope they reveal their hand, before declaring ETB effect and targeting myself. Works so often you wouldn't believe it, and it's entirely legal provided you are careful and explicit about the actions you take--"Cast vendilion Clique--Resolves? *they show hand* *quickly respond* ETB effect trigger--target myself?" Watch their faces. Works SOOO often.
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Yes, I am a local area mod. WELP. GOOD LIFE CHANGES ALL HAPPEN AT ONCE AND SOME ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE
Primary Decks:
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Legacy: RUG Lands
EDH: Sidisi turn-3 storm
Personally I love the V-clique trick. One of my favorite mind games (albeit limited) is when playing dnt/goblins/fish is to lead off with port into aether vial or wasteland into aether vial. It throws opponents off into not knowing what exactly you're playing. I've had people go for my first few turns talking about goblins and then vial in SFM or the like and then they just get so... sad. Its hilarious. Or playing TES/ANT open with a underground sea, brainstorm, mutter under my breath "goyf..." or something putting me on another deck. Boom. Combo out next turn. Minor play tricks go a long way, though the second trick isn't necessarily a "minor play trick".
A Quick Preface
A friend of mine, he's a cheeky one. Really cheeky.
He made one of the most hilarious, brilliant, cheeky and unfortunately illegal plays I've ever witnessed or heard of.
Game one. Turn one. plays Watery Grave, pays 2 life and plays Inquisition of Kozilek.
Skip to game two. Turn one. Plays Swamp, taps for black, slightly reveals a Raven's Crime and says "reveal your hand".
His opponent reveals his hand, my friend writes down all the cards in his hand, and says "thanks".
Thankfully, this was a fairly casual event, so no punishments, but it got me thinking. What other mischievous plays could you pull, that potentially get you ahead without even playing a single card??
Unfortunately, this is an illegal play, because of ruling:
Hidden information refers to the faces of cards and other objects at which the rules of the game and format do not allow you to look.
Throughout the match, a draft, and pregame procedures, players are responsible for keeping their cards above the level of the playing surface and for making reasonable efforts to prevent hidden information from being revealed.
However, players may choose to reveal their hands or any other hidden information available only to them, unless specifically prohibited by the rules. Players must not actively attempt to gain information hidden from them.
Anyway, the point of this thread is to try and pull together as many mind games as we can. They, unfortunately, have to be legal.
The great thing about mindgames, is that it's up to YOU to focus on them. You can devote as much as you need to the mindgame.
If you don't feel you can keep up a perfect mindgame while playing perfectly, then don't, just do what you can, where you can. If your opponent is lighthearted, and see's what you're doing, it's fun for both of you and they may join in. If your opponent gets tilted, then you're having a great time, not only are you having fun with your mindgame, you also have a better chance of winning.
Here's a list we've come up with:
1. "Oh, I've never played this card"
Insist you've never played the card and ask how expensive they are/how many are in their deck/whether they think it would go into your XYZ Deck.
Remember, you are fully within your right to pick up cards and read them Don't take too long as they may call a judge for time wasting.
I have yet to see this one, and I think you have to be somewhat good looking to pull this off. Ask an honest friend before you try this one, because you could just be making a fool of yourself.
3. "What texture is this?"
Pull their mind from their cards, to everything around their cards.
4. Pretend to not be looking
Don't even look at your hand when you play counterspells, use your peripheral vision. This one is pretty tricky to do without knocking your land off the table when you go to tap them. Obviously look at what you draw, but I think it's got potential to the right player.
5. Pretend not to have a Play (Thanks to DrewReaLee)
6. Pretend to be a real hardcore X-colour player (Thanks to 6jerfz)
Play a turn 1 Swamp into Inquisition of Kozilek after they've kept a hand with 2 Kitchen Finks because they expect you to Lava Spike them.
Any suggestions? You ever played a mindgame on someone else? Ever had someone ruse you into a bad play?
I think mindgames are especially effective vs combo decks. They are trying to keep track of their storm count, or whether you've already played a counterspell or not, and they realise you're eyeing them up, or you're scratching their playmat and asking what material it's made of, if they think you could use it as a mouse mat instead of a playmat.
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My 540 Card Cube (WIP)
What a great dupe. Will add to the list.
Opponent wearing glasses or sunglasses? Catch the reflection of their hand in their glasses.
Now, for some LEGAL things:
1) I was playing in a legacy tourney a while back, playing elf combo...in sleeves with the red mana symbol...with all red dice. My opponent goes "playing red?" I just smiled and laughed. Whether this offers much advantage to you is debatable, but maybe he chose an improper starting hand for G1 because he thought he was combating burn? It's worth doing anyway.
2) Ask your opponent not to do something. Right from the start. When they pick up your deck, untap after drawing, WHATEVER...ask them to either do something differently or not to do something. In a lot of people, this triggers some form of embarrassment/mortification/anger and it can actually throw them off their game. I've asked people shuffling my deck, and not in any particularly bad way, if they could look up from doing it so they weren't peeking at my deck. It also puts people on their guard thinking you're that guy and it gets them wound up or nervous.
3) Talk if you can. Not about Magic if you can. Takes people out of the zone if you're engaging.
It is a violation of etiquette to just pick up your opponent's cards. You can ask what they do. You can read them. Picking them up without permission is asking for a sock in the face, especially if were talking vintage cards, or in conjunction with many of these "tricks".
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Not really a mind game, but it's a good trick
I like this one, before the game has even begun, you've got a one up on them. You could go a step further and use the Fire & Lightning promotional D20 as your dice.
I like this, might include it.
If there's a judge, they'll probably stop you, for time wasting at least, but you could start announcing everything you ever do.
You say at the beginning of each turn "Untap, upkeep, draw, entering main phase...hmmm..."
A million times this, but the point of this thread is to suggest mind games which is a legitimate strategy. Will these effects work on me if you do them? No, probably not. Doesn't mean the strategies can't be discussed.
Now, I still see this guy at my LGS occasionally and he is s Judge. Although he now uses Pink sleeves, I never would have suspected the quite obvious.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)I have heard of and used bluffs to get an opponent to mistake their way to a loss from an easy win.
For example... I remember a story a local told me from playing ravager affinity a long time ago from at a PTQ or something where he was done... his opponent had lethal on board plus blockers and his own creatures were short even if they all got through... On his turn though he drew a Shrapnel Blast, that wins him the game if and only if his creatures get through... so as soon as he draws his card he sighs... looks dejected, shrugs and says "swing with everything?"... the opponent thinking he just won says "sure no blocks" and promptly loses to a blast to the face.
Similarly I had a situation where at a regionals playing Rakdos back when Kamigawa and Rav were in Standard... my opponent managed to get 6 or 8 Jitte counters up and I was about to die but he is at 4 and has had to use Jitte counters for life for a few turns now. I draw my card... Flames of the Blood Hand... so I sigh put it in my hand that I was slowly building up... "swing with my dudes?" He makes some blocks and uses a counter for life gain which would end up keeping him at 4 or less... "response to the Jitte counters, Char?" now I can only assume that he thought this was my only play or he got nervous because this makes him decide he now has to use all of his Jitte counters instead of just 1.... so with all of his Jitte life on the stack "Flames of the Blood Hand you lose". All he had to do was only use as many counters as necessary per action and he would have been fine.
We played a two headed giant game once, where one of the opponents saw they had lethal on the board if they swung with everything. While they discussed it, we both looked discouraged, and acted like we were done for. The bluff worked and they swung away. Safe Passage saved the day and we took them out on our turn. (very similar to the pen bluff but I had to share)
Hooked on Magic since The Dark.
Blue Rules.
Berserk, Fork, Fork, Fork, Fork
"Does trample go around the table?"
============================
UWRMiraclesRWU
Modern
UWRControlRWU
Standard
Ummm no...
Trade Thread
I invariably do the whole sleeve colour contrary to the deck colours thing, but that has nothing to do with mind games. I simply enjoy using certain coloured sleeves.
My two favourite techniques are:
This will be interpreted as cheating. You are marking their cards, and you'll have a fun time trying to explain it.
There is one interesting play, by Chapin. He cast Profane Command with a Chameleon Colossus out, and chose the fear as one of the modes, declaring "all legal targets" as what he was choosing. His opponent didn't realize the Colossus couldn't be targeted, and didn't block it.
List tags are malformed.
- To my youngest sister when she was 6.
This is a perfect example of how far just acting confident can get you. One of my CS professors in college was big into security which even in the computer world we often talk about physical security... he told us that many times the easiest way to breach security is with a clipboard and confidence. Walk into a building holding a clipboard and a hard hat and people tend to assume you are there for some purpose that they probably dont care too much about. By casting Profane Command and then attacking with the Colossus his opponent's brain is going to automatically look for the most obvious even if it's false... The obvious here is that of course Colossus has fear that's why he just cast Profane Command, why would he do that if it didnt win him the game?
Another thing I just thought of... sometimes it's wise to make odd plays if those plays would be correct sometimes. This is mostly helpful for places like FNM where people might start to pick up on tendencies or deck choices. For example... Way back in Kamigawa days I played a B/G aggro control that had BOP and Ink Eyes in it. Now sometimes a great play was to swing with BOP and ninjitsu in ink eyes... but why swing with BOP unless I had ink-eyes? In that deck, especially at FNM where people quickly learned I was playing with Ink-Eyes, it was important to swing with the BOP and 5 mana up every once in a while just to make sure people didnt know that a BOP swing meant I had Ink-Eyes coming out.
I also remember occasionally swinging a 1/2 Goyf into Imperious Perfects when I had removal... because I also had Funeral Charm in the deck. If I ran into a situation where I wanted them to block so I could instant speed make them discard grow my Goyf to kill the Perfect... I needed them to get used to me attacking into that situation and not over analyse it.
It was at least a combo-deck that used Drain Life to win. Now the player in question only had a single Drain Life in his deck, and this had got exiled during the course of the game. At this point he had no way to win. But instead of giving up, he played on until he got his combo going and said something like "...and repeat and repeat for infinite mana.. and the opponent scooped rather than wait for the Drain Life.
(I think there was originally two Drain Lifes in the deck, and the opponent knew about this, but one had been sideboarded out.)
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
I engage in casual conversation during FNMs as much as I can. Partially because I enjoy it, but also because I know that I can multitask well and count on my opponents not keeping up. If they make conversation with me, I usually feel at the advantage.
When I play control and am holding a dead hand, I'll often make a point of fixing my mana. For example, I'll topdeck and cast something like Elixir of Immortality with no immediate impact on the board and a bunch of lands remaining in my hand, but then make a point of switching which land I tap for it to bluff action.
I was genuinely not aware of that. Well, I shan’t do that any longer! Thanks for the heads–up, folks.
Birds of Paradise
Yes, I am a local area mod.WELP. GOOD LIFE CHANGES ALL HAPPEN AT ONCE AND SOME ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVEPrimary Decks:
Modern: Esper Draw-Go
Legacy: RUG Lands
EDH: Sidisi turn-3 storm
*taps mountain "Can I bolt you?"
"Sure"
"Well, I don't want to, but since you passed priority, it is now the combat step"