I much prefered the original ruling because, while I don't like some of the current ruling philosophies, it was much more consistent with it. The whole lapsing triggers saga created the precedent that you don't get to have the benefits of your cards if you forget about them, and this ruling contradicts that.
It also reminds me of the Demigod of Revenge ruling, where if your opponent didn't specify that the trigger resolved, you got back the one they countered. Is that one still the case?
I honestly don't see why this is that bigger deal is. You have to declare your usage of CoS... oh well...
No this change means you do not have to declare it anymore. This makes the community as a whole stupider as they are being told they don't have to remember to announce key abilities...
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I will play what wins, not what is convenient. Personal preference is nothing, The win is all that matters. I will netdeck at every opportunity, but I will not let that stifle my creativity. Style points do not appear on tournament reports. A good deck with an incompetent pilot is nothing more than a dressed up match win. I will crush my opponent mercilessly, and expect no less from him. Victory is its own reward, The prize is just a bonus.
Legacy is dying
When a player neglects to use an ability, the default option, shouldn't be "that player used the ability, because it was obvious that he should have done so"
Sorry for wanting to punish players for not declaring abilities.
When you tap your island do you specify that you are tapping for Blue mana? When you tap 6 lands for Wurmcoil Engine do you specify what colors you tapped for? How frequently do you specify exactly how you are tapping your mana to pay for a spell? It's almost always either you tapepd such that a correct way exists, or you didn't. There isn't a reason to want to tap Cavern of Souls for colorless when you could use the second ability. The person knew the 2nd ability was there and intended to use it. Why should they have to waste time to do something that obvious? Trying to "catch" your opponent with rules lawyering isn't meant to be how you play the game. There is a difference between a player not performing a trigger and a player making actions without spelling them out to you letter by letter.
Pinenutt10 the whole issue here now is that wizards said "hey now you don;t have to announce anything about which ability your using for CoS because we are sure you meant to use the better one". This is purely hand holding by wizards because players are to ****ing lazy to announce what mana they are producing from the land they have in play.
If I have 2 mountain's out and a cavern of souls and I cast a Goblin Chieftain by tapping all 3 lands but don't say anything about cavern that turn then by all means you should be able to counter it. As long as I named goblins when I played cavern but didn't actually say what I was taping cavern for then I ****ed up. I as the player should have said I was making a red otherwise I tapped it for colorless.
The above situation highlights the problem with not announcing what I was doing. It shouldn't mean by any stretch that if my opponent countered it that I can call a judge and argue that I meant something that I didn't say. This is why what wizards did enrages me and probably thousands of other competent players.
And for everyone saying they shouldn't have to announce anything then why don't we just drop priority for that matter. Wizards is setting a very dangerous precedent here and we all should be mad. Basically how hard is it to actually talk to your opponent during a match? How hard is it to say what your doing with Cavern. You want the ability right? Then utter the few words " I tap cavern for a color". That's all it takes. If that is to hard then stop playing the game.
When you tap your island do you specify that you are tapping for Blue mana? When you tap 6 lands for Wurmcoil Engine do you specify what colors you tapped for? How frequently do you specify exactly how you are tapping your mana to pay for a spell? It's almost always either you tapepd such that a correct way exists, or you didn't. There isn't a reason to want to tap Cavern of Souls for colorless when you could use the second ability. The person knew the 2nd ability was there and intended to use it. Why should they have to waste time to do something that obvious? Trying to "catch" your opponent with rules lawyering isn't meant to be how you play the game. There is a difference between a player not performing a trigger and a player making actions without spelling them out to you letter by letter.
Those are cases where there is only one possible outcome (and even then, I point again to lapsing triggers to point out that even that isn't sacred anymore).
And no reason not to use the second ability? Ever had to bait a counterspell?
Those are cases where there is only one possible outcome (and even then, I point again to lapsing triggers to point out that even that isn't sacred anymore).
And no reason not to use the second ability? Ever had to bait a counterspell?
You bait counterspells when your opponent knows you could choose to make it uncounterable? That's not very good baiting.
Before this ruling, it could have been a perfectly viable way to bait a counterspell.
Besides, you can concoct and number of scenarios in which you would want to have a spell countered. A player has Hesitation in play, and I need a creature with flying in the graveyard in order to get through with my Cairn Wanderer.
Dear everyone who is calling everyone else stupid,
I pose the following question:
If people are idiots or morons for not declaring the colored mana ability, they are equally morons for not declaring the colorless mana ability.
Really, those are literally the exact same things! You're choosing an arbitrary default action for a card that has an obvious default action. From now on, if you're going to be pedantic about this ****, then you have to say exactly what colors you tap for every time you tap any land, especially when you're casting colorless spells. Why? Because you're not telling me how you're activating your Darkslick Shores when you cast your Wurmcoil Engine, and I've decided that's relevant because I also feel like being pedantic.
If you don't like losing the game because you can't lawyer yourself out of being unable to counter a creature cast with the Cavern, play ****ing Ghost Quarter and fight the card the way that is actually part of the game.
Bottom line: People should always declare which ability they're using when casting a creature of the chosen type. Always. No matter what. But people won't always do it, so why should the game assume that all players are idiots and use the wrong ability by default?
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Those are concoctions, the default choice is going to be for the spell to be uncounterable. In the vast majority of situations you want the free uncounterable.
Of course, and in the vast majority of the time, I want my Siege-Gang Commander to put goblins into play, but current ruling philosophy is, if I don't state it, I don't get it.
No this change means you do not have to declare it anymore. This makes the community as a whole stupider as they are being told they don't have to remember to announce key abilities...
This change doesn't mean that at all. The game has a TON of shortcuts built into it that are based on what we believe the players intent is.
For example, if you cast an Oblivion Ring, and your opponent responds with "Mana Leak" and then you respond with "Mana Leak" we assume you're going to target their Mana Leak instead of your Oblivion Ring even if you don't specify it.
Personally I think that stances like yours make the community more antisocial, which is a terrible thing for any game.
Pinenutt10 the whole issue here now is that wizards said "hey now you don;t have to announce anything about which ability your using for CoS because we are sure you meant to use the better one". This is purely hand holding by wizards because players are to ****ing lazy to announce what mana they are producing from the land they have in play.
If I have 2 mountain's out and a cavern of souls and I cast a Goblin Chieftain by tapping all 3 lands but don't say anything about cavern that turn then by all means you should be able to counter it. As long as I named goblins when I played cavern but didn't actually say what I was taping cavern for then I ****ed up. I as the player should have said I was making a red otherwise I tapped it for colorless.
The above situation highlights the problem with not announcing what I was doing. It shouldn't mean by any stretch that if my opponent countered it that I can call a judge and argue that I meant something that I didn't say. This is why what wizards did enrages me and probably thousands of other competent players.
And for everyone saying they shouldn't have to announce anything then why don't we just drop priority for that matter. Wizards is setting a very dangerous precedent here and we all should be mad. Basically how hard is it to actually talk to your opponent during a match? How hard is it to say what your doing with Cavern. You want the ability right? Then utter the few words " I tap cavern for a color". That's all it takes. If that is to hard then stop playing the game.
Thank you for that fantastic explanation. I obviously misunderstood the announcement.
Why would Wizards change that?! This has got to be the most ridiculous "errata" ever!
Sigismond0 the issue here is it is not a mandatory ability. It is not mandatory for the owner of cavern of souls to say what they want to tap it for. The card has 2 abilities and one NEEDS to be announced. That doesn't make it mandatory. The card rewards players who want to actually announce it. If a player doesn't then they should not whine about forgetting a NON-MANDATORY ability. In your example of colorless spells it doesn't matter but in the case of cavern it actually makes all the difference.
Yes Pinenutt10 I agree it is likely one of the worst errata's we have seen in along time.
Dear everyone who is calling everyone else stupid,
I pose the following question:
If people are idiots or morons for not declaring the colored mana ability, they are equally morons for not declaring the colorless mana ability.
Really, those are literally the exact same things! You're choosing an arbitrary default action for a card that has an obvious default action. From now on, if you're going to be pedantic about this ****, then you have to say exactly what colors you tap for every time you tap any land, especially when you're casting colorless spells. Why? Because you're not telling me how you're activating your Darkslick Shores when you cast your Wurmcoil Engine, and I've decided that's relevant because I also feel like being pedantic.
If you don't like losing the game because you can't lawyer yourself out of being unable to counter a creature cast with the Cavern, play ****ing Ghost Quarter and fight the card the way that is actually part of the game.
Bottom line: People should always declare which ability they're using when casting a creature of the chosen type. Always. No matter what. But people won't always do it, so why should the game assume that all players are idiots and use the wrong ability by default?
If a wurmcoil was casted with 5 black and 1 blue, or 3 blue and 3 black that is irrelevant.
If a wurmcoil is uncounterable that is extremely relevant.
People should always declare which ability they're using when casting a creature of the chosen type. Always. No matter what. But people won't always do it, so why should the game assume that all players are idiots and use the wrong ability by default?
Why should people not be punished for being an idiot?
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Originally Posted by Massive Marc
You know back in the old days, when there wasn't EDH, these "griefer" cards in decks were the norm. If you played a Winter Orb when you're opponents were tapped out, it was a good play. Now, you get people tell you they wanna punch you ? It's really sad how carebare this format is, to the point that some loser has to rip up your cards.
Sigismond0 the issue here is it is not a mandatory ability. It is not mandatory for the owner of cavern of souls to say what they want to tap it for. The card has 2 abilities and one NEEDS to be announced. That doesn't make it mandatory. The card rewards players who want to actually announce it. If a player doesn't then they should not whine about forgetting a NON-MANDATORY ability. In your example of colorless spells it doesn't matter but in the case of cavern it actually makes all the difference.
No, actually it is mandatory. If a card has two tap abilities, you have to state which ability you are using. Otherwise there's no way of knowing, and the game does NOT provide for default actions. It just doesn't. So yes, you do have to declare it, just like you technically have to declare which mana ability you are using when tapping Plateau. Or are you going to try to argue that Plateau has a default ability?
But here's the thing, the game doesn't require that kind of pedantry! If I tap a plains and a plateau and attempt to cast Lightning Helix, are you going to call a judge and tell him I tried to cast it with WW because I didn't announce that I'm tapping for red? No, you will assume that I tapped for red, because of obvious reasons. Same goes for Cavern. If you want to be tricky and bait counters with it, you need to announce it both ways at all times. If you actually plan on using it to cast uncounterable creature spells, there's no need to announce it.
Alternate scenario: I tap a plains and a Cavern to play a Mind Stone. I don't announce which ability I activate on Cavern. Which one did I use? (Hint, it's obvious)
@Whoever said that bull**** about Siege-Gan Commander:
You have to have the tokens. It's not a may ability.
Why should people not be punished for being an idiot?
Okay, but I'm totally calling a judge every time you tap a dual land. You get to be punished for not slowing the game by announcing every land you tap.
And actually, color does make a difference. Probably not on a Wurmcoil Engine (Though I'm sure there's some horrible combination of cards that actually does make it relevant), but what about Torrent of Souls? If I tap three Darksteel Ciadels and two Badlands without specifically declaring the colors, do I get both abilities? If not, which of the two do I get?
You want people to be punished for streamlining gameplay, not being idiots. That's all this is, it's about streamlining gameplay. Unless you announce every trigger, every mana ability, every change of phase, and every other possible thing in the game, you're exactly as "stupid" as people that don't announce the choice on Cavern. And you know what, you're probably also stupid unless you stop the player and ask for clarification on the use of Cavern. Because if there's a dispute on what it's activated for (and there's no default), the judge will just back the game up, ask the player to declare it, and then give you both warnings.
Okay Sigismond0 I do agree there and I was wrong in that both abilities are mandatory. My apologies for forgetting that part.
I do still think that it falls on the player playing cavern to actually say something about it though. I don't like that wizards has changed the default.
If a wurmcoil was casted with 5 black and 1 blue, or 3 blue and 3 black that is irrelevant.
If a wurmcoil is uncounterable that is extremely relevant.
Why should people not be punished for being an idiot?
What you're saying here, is that assuming their opponent would give them the benefit of the doubt makes them an idiot.
Perhaps that is a mistake around you in perticular, but it does not make them an idiot as in most social circumstances in life people will give you the benefit of the doubt. Most people are kind enough to do that.
Okay Sigismond0 I do agree there and I was wrong in that both abilities are mandatory. My apologies for forgetting that part.
I do still think that it falls on the player playing cavern to actually say something about it though. I don't like that wizards has changed the default.
Agreed. But it falls to the other player to ask for clarification if the other player forgets. There really should be no "default ability", but if there has to be one for the sake of practicality, it does just make sense to have it be the ability that makes the card worth $25.
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Brunal Legend | Hazezon First | Cirrhosis of the Sliver | Animar Planet | The Joy of Pain-ting
Effects of lapsing abilities:
...
• Puts a permanent onto the battlefield under your control or gives you control of a permanent
....
If a missed trigger with a lapsing ability is discovered within the same part of the same turn in which it should have triggered, any opponent of the trigger’s controller may have the judge put that ability on the stack. Otherwise, the game continues and the ability is skipped.
Which is why I have a problem with this ruling. Lapsing triggers as well as old fashioned "may" abilities like echo make it so that the default position is the non beneficial one. This ruling makes the default position the beneficial one, and I do not like the inconsistency.
Because if Cavern of Souls needed anything,
it's more power (just a tiny bit, I admit, but it's still a bit annoying)
I actually like it. It will avoid countless discussions that are completely needless - since there's no ADVANTAGE in not using the uncounterable ability.
Both sides end up winning, because the oponent would also be in trouble if the judge believed he wasn't using fair play, etc.
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Alea iacta est
I'm a Spike Vorthos - I love lore and flavor, but only if the cards are competition worthy.
If someone [REDACTED] up like that, I keep my mouth shut and do as I please (unless it's a casual game).
If you don't have your deck on lockdown and are just assuming people can read your mind in a competitive environment, you deserve to get some flack.
And the best bit is, you'll be getting more flak! They just committed GPE - GRV and get a Warning. YOU get Cheating - Fraud for "keeping your mouth shut" and allowing them to not name a creature type. Hope you enjoy being disqualified!
I strongly recommend you do not do what you're mentioning here. After an investigation, I would DQ you almost certainly.
Another fun thing: It's not my job to keep track of your life total for you. And when I do, don't constantly question it; just buy a 25 cent die you cheapskate.
Well, now it is both of your jobs to keep track of your life totals. Theoretically, you both have to do it, and announce all changes to the other player.
I say this mostly because I'm tired of being the 'nice guy' and giving people a second chance for small things than end up directly costing me the game. No one ever does this crap for me, so screw it.
If people intentionally let you play the game incorrectly, call a Judge immediately. If they let you play the game badly, by missing triggers etc., then at Comp REL and above that's your problem. At any REL, allowing Cavern to go unchosen is a MASSIVE problem.
For everyone whining about Lapsing abilities and everything;
1. Cavern doesn't even have a triggered ability, let alone a lapsing one.
2. Lapsing abilities don't apply unless you're at Competitive REL.
What I have a problem with is them saying "here's the ruling... no, wait, here's the ruling instead!"
Note to WotC, the DCI, R&D, T&A, UAW, whatever letters you have working on this thing - ONE RULING. Would it have been that hard to get your initial ruling in mind, then talk to a few more people about it before making the announcement? Issuing 2 conflicting rulings on a card in such a short time period only causes confusion to players and makes for a bad situation.
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L1 MtG judge (L2 coming soon) and Dominion tournament coordinator serving Flint MI and its surrounding cities.
This makes me feel like bad players were so giddy that they had one of the most broken lands in recent memory on the battlefield that they forgot to use its ability and their Prime Time was STILL countered. Since bad players can't be expected to get any better, Wizards decided to coddle them with this rules change.
Can we do the same for any situation where you have two choices with one being strictly better? I thought attention to detail was one of the things that was supposed to separate the good from the mediocre/bad?
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Playing: Modern - WU Solar Flare Modern - U Merfolk Modern - WB Castigation
The Philosophy of the card is very clear. R&D designed a card a certain way and they want the card operating that way. It's really the best solution. If you're fishing for ways to win, try something else.
What I have a problem with is them saying "here's the ruling... no, wait, here's the ruling instead!"
Note to WotC, the DCI, R&D, T&A, UAW, whatever letters you have working on this thing - ONE RULING. Would it have been that hard to get your initial ruling in mind, then talk to a few more people about it before making the announcement? Issuing 2 conflicting rulings on a card in such a short time period only causes confusion to players and makes for a bad situation.
Rulings change all the time. As an L1, you should definitely know the process behind this decision. The listserv was constantly going off about this card. Changing rulings for clarity is all that matters, who cares that it was done recently, this is the new one and it makes perfect sense.
It also reminds me of the Demigod of Revenge ruling, where if your opponent didn't specify that the trigger resolved, you got back the one they countered. Is that one still the case?
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No this change means you do not have to declare it anymore. This makes the community as a whole stupider as they are being told they don't have to remember to announce key abilities...
Personal preference is nothing, The win is all that matters.
I will netdeck at every opportunity, but I will not let that stifle my creativity.
Style points do not appear on tournament reports.
A good deck with an incompetent pilot is nothing more than a dressed up match win.
I will crush my opponent mercilessly, and expect no less from him.
Victory is its own reward, The prize is just a bonus.
Legacy is dying
When you tap your island do you specify that you are tapping for Blue mana? When you tap 6 lands for Wurmcoil Engine do you specify what colors you tapped for? How frequently do you specify exactly how you are tapping your mana to pay for a spell? It's almost always either you tapepd such that a correct way exists, or you didn't. There isn't a reason to want to tap Cavern of Souls for colorless when you could use the second ability. The person knew the 2nd ability was there and intended to use it. Why should they have to waste time to do something that obvious? Trying to "catch" your opponent with rules lawyering isn't meant to be how you play the game. There is a difference between a player not performing a trigger and a player making actions without spelling them out to you letter by letter.
If I have 2 mountain's out and a cavern of souls and I cast a Goblin Chieftain by tapping all 3 lands but don't say anything about cavern that turn then by all means you should be able to counter it. As long as I named goblins when I played cavern but didn't actually say what I was taping cavern for then I ****ed up. I as the player should have said I was making a red otherwise I tapped it for colorless.
The above situation highlights the problem with not announcing what I was doing. It shouldn't mean by any stretch that if my opponent countered it that I can call a judge and argue that I meant something that I didn't say. This is why what wizards did enrages me and probably thousands of other competent players.
And for everyone saying they shouldn't have to announce anything then why don't we just drop priority for that matter. Wizards is setting a very dangerous precedent here and we all should be mad. Basically how hard is it to actually talk to your opponent during a match? How hard is it to say what your doing with Cavern. You want the ability right? Then utter the few words " I tap cavern for a color". That's all it takes. If that is to hard then stop playing the game.
And no reason not to use the second ability? Ever had to bait a counterspell?
You bait counterspells when your opponent knows you could choose to make it uncounterable? That's not very good baiting.
Besides, you can concoct and number of scenarios in which you would want to have a spell countered. A player has Hesitation in play, and I need a creature with flying in the graveyard in order to get through with my Cairn Wanderer.
I pose the following question:
If people are idiots or morons for not declaring the colored mana ability, they are equally morons for not declaring the colorless mana ability.
Really, those are literally the exact same things! You're choosing an arbitrary default action for a card that has an obvious default action. From now on, if you're going to be pedantic about this ****, then you have to say exactly what colors you tap for every time you tap any land, especially when you're casting colorless spells. Why? Because you're not telling me how you're activating your Darkslick Shores when you cast your Wurmcoil Engine, and I've decided that's relevant because I also feel like being pedantic.
If you don't like losing the game because you can't lawyer yourself out of being unable to counter a creature cast with the Cavern, play ****ing Ghost Quarter and fight the card the way that is actually part of the game.
Bottom line: People should always declare which ability they're using when casting a creature of the chosen type. Always. No matter what. But people won't always do it, so why should the game assume that all players are idiots and use the wrong ability by default?
This change doesn't mean that at all. The game has a TON of shortcuts built into it that are based on what we believe the players intent is.
For example, if you cast an Oblivion Ring, and your opponent responds with "Mana Leak" and then you respond with "Mana Leak" we assume you're going to target their Mana Leak instead of your Oblivion Ring even if you don't specify it.
Personally I think that stances like yours make the community more antisocial, which is a terrible thing for any game.
[[b]B]DCI Level 2 Judge[/B][/b]Thank you for that fantastic explanation. I obviously misunderstood the announcement.
Why would Wizards change that?! This has got to be the most ridiculous "errata" ever!
Heroes and Villains Comics and Games
Watch "The Giant Sharkgate Chronicles"
Watch "Eating Made Easy"
Yes Pinenutt10 I agree it is likely one of the worst errata's we have seen in along time.
If a wurmcoil was casted with 5 black and 1 blue, or 3 blue and 3 black that is irrelevant.
If a wurmcoil is uncounterable that is extremely relevant.
Why should people not be punished for being an idiot?
You know back in the old days, when there wasn't EDH, these "griefer" cards in decks were the norm. If you played a Winter Orb when you're opponents were tapped out, it was a good play. Now, you get people tell you they wanna punch you ? It's really sad how carebare this format is, to the point that some loser has to rip up your cards.
No, actually it is mandatory. If a card has two tap abilities, you have to state which ability you are using. Otherwise there's no way of knowing, and the game does NOT provide for default actions. It just doesn't. So yes, you do have to declare it, just like you technically have to declare which mana ability you are using when tapping Plateau. Or are you going to try to argue that Plateau has a default ability?
But here's the thing, the game doesn't require that kind of pedantry! If I tap a plains and a plateau and attempt to cast Lightning Helix, are you going to call a judge and tell him I tried to cast it with WW because I didn't announce that I'm tapping for red? No, you will assume that I tapped for red, because of obvious reasons. Same goes for Cavern. If you want to be tricky and bait counters with it, you need to announce it both ways at all times. If you actually plan on using it to cast uncounterable creature spells, there's no need to announce it.
Alternate scenario: I tap a plains and a Cavern to play a Mind Stone. I don't announce which ability I activate on Cavern. Which one did I use? (Hint, it's obvious)
@Whoever said that bull**** about Siege-Gan Commander:
You have to have the tokens. It's not a may ability.
Okay, but I'm totally calling a judge every time you tap a dual land. You get to be punished for not slowing the game by announcing every land you tap.
And actually, color does make a difference. Probably not on a Wurmcoil Engine (Though I'm sure there's some horrible combination of cards that actually does make it relevant), but what about Torrent of Souls? If I tap three Darksteel Ciadels and two Badlands without specifically declaring the colors, do I get both abilities? If not, which of the two do I get?
You want people to be punished for streamlining gameplay, not being idiots. That's all this is, it's about streamlining gameplay. Unless you announce every trigger, every mana ability, every change of phase, and every other possible thing in the game, you're exactly as "stupid" as people that don't announce the choice on Cavern. And you know what, you're probably also stupid unless you stop the player and ask for clarification on the use of Cavern. Because if there's a dispute on what it's activated for (and there's no default), the judge will just back the game up, ask the player to declare it, and then give you both warnings.
I do still think that it falls on the player playing cavern to actually say something about it though. I don't like that wizards has changed the default.
What you're saying here, is that assuming their opponent would give them the benefit of the doubt makes them an idiot.
Perhaps that is a mistake around you in perticular, but it does not make them an idiot as in most social circumstances in life people will give you the benefit of the doubt. Most people are kind enough to do that.
[[b]B]DCI Level 2 Judge[/B][/b]Agreed. But it falls to the other player to ask for clarification if the other player forgets. There really should be no "default ability", but if there has to be one for the sake of practicality, it does just make sense to have it be the ability that makes the card worth $25.
Which is why I have a problem with this ruling. Lapsing triggers as well as old fashioned "may" abilities like echo make it so that the default position is the non beneficial one. This ruling makes the default position the beneficial one, and I do not like the inconsistency.
I actually like it. It will avoid countless discussions that are completely needless - since there's no ADVANTAGE in not using the uncounterable ability.
Both sides end up winning, because the oponent would also be in trouble if the judge believed he wasn't using fair play, etc.
I'm a Spike Vorthos - I love lore and flavor, but only if the cards are competition worthy.
And the best bit is, you'll be getting more flak! They just committed GPE - GRV and get a Warning. YOU get Cheating - Fraud for "keeping your mouth shut" and allowing them to not name a creature type. Hope you enjoy being disqualified!
I strongly recommend you do not do what you're mentioning here. After an investigation, I would DQ you almost certainly.
Well, now it is both of your jobs to keep track of your life totals. Theoretically, you both have to do it, and announce all changes to the other player.
If people intentionally let you play the game incorrectly, call a Judge immediately. If they let you play the game badly, by missing triggers etc., then at Comp REL and above that's your problem. At any REL, allowing Cavern to go unchosen is a MASSIVE problem.
For everyone whining about Lapsing abilities and everything;
1. Cavern doesn't even have a triggered ability, let alone a lapsing one.
2. Lapsing abilities don't apply unless you're at Competitive REL.
Level 1 Judge
What I have a problem with is them saying "here's the ruling... no, wait, here's the ruling instead!"
Note to WotC, the DCI, R&D, T&A, UAW, whatever letters you have working on this thing - ONE RULING. Would it have been that hard to get your initial ruling in mind, then talk to a few more people about it before making the announcement? Issuing 2 conflicting rulings on a card in such a short time period only causes confusion to players and makes for a bad situation.
Can we do the same for any situation where you have two choices with one being strictly better? I thought attention to detail was one of the things that was supposed to separate the good from the mediocre/bad?
Modern - WU Solar Flare
Modern - U Merfolk
Modern - WB Castigation
Rulings change all the time. As an L1, you should definitely know the process behind this decision. The listserv was constantly going off about this card. Changing rulings for clarity is all that matters, who cares that it was done recently, this is the new one and it makes perfect sense.