So my opponent is still very confused on this interpretation.
The reason why he is confused is because Nightveil Spector dosnt explicitly say that for spells that you actually have to pay the mana cost.
It doesn't say that because it doesn't have to.
So is there any where in the comprehensive rules that goes over this or is there any better way to help explain this interpretation.
The rules say that you have to pay the total cost to cast a spell. Nightveil Specter doesn't say anything to override those rules.
601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 717, "Handling Illegal Actions"). Announcements and payments can't be altered after they've been made.
I think we're done here. The bottom-line is that the "summoning sickness" rule applies only to permanents that are creatures at the moment you try to do something with it that's covered by that rule.
So there is only 1 card on battlefield. the Lazav turns into the thragtusk. I'm trying to figure out if that was the only card I had on battlefield would I have 2 blockers or 1
Lazav doesn't make a copy of Thragtusk. It becomes a copy of Thragtusk. You control exactly one creature, which is a Lazav that looks like a Thragtusk.
What is the official procedure for such an unlikely, almost inconceivable blunder?
There isn't one.
Was I entitled to those extra two cards and should the pack have gone around even after everything else was drafted?
It's debatable whether you were entitled to those cards. If everybody had followed the procedures spelled out in the Magic Tournament Rules, including you, then you would have gotten two more cards than you did get, but the rules don't say that you're entitled to a certain number of cards. As I said already, there is no official procedure in the rules, so there is no basis for saying that the leftover pack should or should not have been drafted.
Was omitting the pack from the pod entirely the right call on the judge's part?
We weren't there to investigate what happened, and there is no official guideline on what to do, so it's impossible to say whether the solution was correct or not. Leaving the situation alone is a possible solution, and since nobody spoke out against it, including yourself, it would have seemed like the best solution to the judge at the time.
Should the guy who neglected to open a pack (and isn't a new player who didn't know how to draft) have been disqualified or penalized in some way (I was thinking perhaps we should each get to draft a card or two from his pool depending on how many we were missing, and then he keep the unopened pack himself)?
If the judge determines in an investigation that the player deliberately stole from the draft, the player should be disqualified. Otherwise, there is no penalty at Regular REL for messing up a draft.
Are players required to count their pools after drafting, and if not, is the onus on the judge to recommend it?
The Magic Tournament Rules say this: "Players who receive an erroneous number of cards at any time must immediately notify a judge." Reading between the lines, you should actually count the cards you receive with each pass, in addition to counting the total number of cards you have drafted.
The copy has cipher, but the cipher ability of the copy does nothing:
702.97a Cipher appears on some instants and sorceries. It represents two static abilities, one that functions while the spell is on the stack and one that functions while the card with cipher is in the exile zone. “Cipher” means “If this spell is represented by a card, you may exile this card encoded on a creature you control” and “As long as this card is encoded on that creature, that creature has ‘Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you may copy this card and you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.’”
Opp attacks with say a 2/2, I chump block with a 1/1 Lifelink creature and target my guy with Righteousness. Do I gain 8 or just the 2 it takes to take out his 2/2, or am I way off in general?
Your 8/8 neither knows nor cares that 2 damage is enough to kill the attacker. It deals 8 damage, so you gain 8 life.
Say I cast Biomass Mutation for 3 with 2 Intangible Virtue on the field and I control 2 Spirit tokens. Are my Spirits 3/3s or 5/5s? Is the X/X permanent for the turn or does it mean the base P/T?
Effects that set power/toughness to particular values are always applied before p/t increases and decreases, so your tokens are 5/5.
Why couldn't it? If an instant such as Cancelcould, then why couldn't Simic Charm?
Cancel targets spells, which are things on the stack. Simic Charm doesn't.
Quote from Cancel »
Counter target spell.
Quote from Simic Charm »
Choose one — Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn; or permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn; or return target creature to its owner's hand.
109.2. If a spell or ability uses a description of an object that includes a card type or subtype, but doesn't include the word "card," "spell," "source," or "scheme," it means a permanent of that card type or subtype on the battlefield.
So it wouldn't matter if the charm resolved the +3/+3 on the creature entering even before the creature finished resolving?
There's no way to cast Simic Charm on the creature before it finishes resolving. Simic Charm targets a creature, which is by definition something on the battlefield.
Can you use the +3/+3 ability of Simic Charm on a creature entering the battlefield to trigger evolve?
No. Evolve has an intervening-if clause that checks at the moment the creature enters the battlefield whether its power or toughness is greater than that of the evolving creature. If it isn't, the trigger doesn't even go on the stack.
It doesn't say that because it doesn't have to.
The rules say that you have to pay the total cost to cast a spell. Nightveil Specter doesn't say anything to override those rules.
601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 717, "Handling Illegal Actions"). Announcements and payments can't be altered after they've been made.
Thread locked.
Next time please make a new thread instead of replying to an existing thread with an unrelated question.
Lazav doesn't make a copy of Thragtusk. It becomes a copy of Thragtusk. You control exactly one creature, which is a Lazav that looks like a Thragtusk.
There isn't one.
It's debatable whether you were entitled to those cards. If everybody had followed the procedures spelled out in the Magic Tournament Rules, including you, then you would have gotten two more cards than you did get, but the rules don't say that you're entitled to a certain number of cards. As I said already, there is no official procedure in the rules, so there is no basis for saying that the leftover pack should or should not have been drafted.
We weren't there to investigate what happened, and there is no official guideline on what to do, so it's impossible to say whether the solution was correct or not. Leaving the situation alone is a possible solution, and since nobody spoke out against it, including yourself, it would have seemed like the best solution to the judge at the time.
If the judge determines in an investigation that the player deliberately stole from the draft, the player should be disqualified. Otherwise, there is no penalty at Regular REL for messing up a draft.
The Magic Tournament Rules say this: "Players who receive an erroneous number of cards at any time must immediately notify a judge." Reading between the lines, you should actually count the cards you receive with each pass, in addition to counting the total number of cards you have drafted.
Even if we knew the answer to this question, which we don't, this question doesn't belong in the Rulings forum. Thread locked.
Not a rules question. Deckbuilding and strategy advice can be found in other subforums.
The copy has cipher, but the cipher ability of the copy does nothing:
Your 8/8 neither knows nor cares that 2 damage is enough to kill the attacker. It deals 8 damage, so you gain 8 life.
Effects that set power/toughness to particular values are always applied before p/t increases and decreases, so your tokens are 5/5.
If you need DCI numbers immediately, your best bet is to ask in the #mtgjudge irc channel on EFnet (reachable via chat.magicjudges.org)
Since this is not actually a rules question, I'm going to go ahead and close this thread.
Cancel targets spells, which are things on the stack. Simic Charm doesn't.
There's no way to cast Simic Charm on the creature before it finishes resolving. Simic Charm targets a creature, which is by definition something on the battlefield.
No. Evolve has an intervening-if clause that checks at the moment the creature enters the battlefield whether its power or toughness is greater than that of the evolving creature. If it isn't, the trigger doesn't even go on the stack.