My game day was pretty awesome. I threw together a WW Quest deck that I had in mind the moment I saw Argentum Armor during the Scars Pre-release (fortunately, I wasn't alone and had numerous decklists to look at for comparison). I barely had time to playtest, since I finished building it just 3 hours before the tournament. Oh, the deck was also crippled by having merely 1 copy of the Armor (leading to a higher rate of mulligan, of course ).
Anyway, I went to my local shop, which had not done Type 2/Standard tournaments in a [b]long[/b] time (it's generally Vintage only, which is gross when few people, myself included, have the budget for it). I wasn't expecting too much interest in the tournament as a result. I was the 12th and last person to sign up, which really surprised me as our usual turnout is less than that (and that's for Vintage, more popular here since people don't have to worry about card legality nearly as much). The tournament was also single elimination, which was a relief since it would make the event much faster.
Match 1 - Brian, U/B Infect
Game 1: Immediately my deck decides to screw with me. I'm running 21 lands and a curve that drops off at 3, so I figure I can keep a 1 land hand. However, my first hand had 0 lands, and I had to mulligan to 5 just to get a single Plains. It doesn't pan out very well, as I don't see any new land until turn 5 or so. By the time I mount an actual offense, I lose to a Necropede equipped with Livewire Lash and with Distortion Strike cast on it. I was at 5 poison counters at the time, so that was it.
Game 2: This game goes much more smoothly for me. I draw the correct pieces this time, and come out swinging with an active Armor by turn 3. This effectively shuts down my opponent, and the game is over 3 or 4 turns later.
Game 3: This was the closest one. My opponent gets his Lash active early on, and when my Armor is ready to go, I find myself at 4 poison counters already. I was one or two turns away from winning, but he had plenty of mana to go around. Fortunately, he was [b]exactly[/] one mana away from being able to tutor out the card that would kill me. So, the extra turn I had alive was enough to finish.
Match 2 - Carlos, U/B Infect, part 2
Game 1: Oh man, again? Anyway, this deck was of a different sort of build, in that I saw Contagion Clasp right away. My Argentum Armor and Quests weren't showing up, and being at 1 mana for 3 turns didn't help things. Insta-lose.
Game 2: Okay, I was sick and tired of my deck giving me almost no land drops. Mulligan to 6, and I find 2 land and decide to keep. Topdeck into an early Quest, and even activate it, but Into the Roil returns Armor to my hand; ouch. My weenies are somehow able to stall me out long enough, and I find a win with 9 (!!!) poison counters on me. I'm usually not intimidated by Infiltration Lens, but the card is just mean when attached to a creature with Infect.
Game 3: I think this is where my deck shines through again, and Armor seals it for me. Well, kinda lucky on my part -- he taps himself out, and I have 4 quest counters but no creatures. Topdeck into Memnite, and do an imaginary fist pump in my head.
Match 3 - Matt, R/W/G Walls, burn?
Game 1: I'm not actually sure what the ultimate goal of Matt's deck was, since my vast army of Squadron Hawk and Glint Hawk flew over his Wall of Omen for lethal damage over the course of a few turns. Argentum Armor was also on the board eventually, but it didn't seem necessary here.
Game 2: Matt decides to use his sideboard, which I can see fairly soon when my Armor gets exiled by Revoke Existence. However, my flyers come through again (Squadron is such an all-star in this deck, seriously), and even the scorch of Lightning Bolt does little to slow me down.
Match 4 - Robert, U/B control (?)
I made it into the final match, which is waaaay better than I was expecting.
Game 1: It's really weird -- despite all the U/B I played against, Robert's deck was the first to use Mana Leak against me. It stopped a couple of my semi-important plays, but I was fortunate enough to run just fine while Robert experienced mana screw.
Game 2: Robert boarded some stuff in, and off we went. I was more wary of being Mana Leaked this time, so I decided to hold off on a Quest I drew on turn 3. This paid off, as he tapped out on his next turn, allowing me a turn with Quest and Glint Hawk/Ornithopter without interference. Squadron Hawk once again proved to be awesome, and I was able to win a few turns later with an Armor out and a board crowded with birds.
So, by tournament's end, I had picked up full-art Memnite, full-art Tempered Steel, a Peace Strider for being the top Mirran deck, as well as a little 6/6 Wurm figure from Japan. All in all, I'd call it a successful day.
I think this portion of Sylvan Library's rulings should make it clear:
If you choose to draw two cards, then replace one or more of those draws with some other effect, the rest of Sylvan Library's ability still happens. If you've actually drawn only one card that turn, you must choose that card and either pay 4 life or put it on top of your library. If you haven't actually drawn any cards that turn, the rest of the ability has no effect.
If you use a Dredge ability, the card that is returned to your hand wasn't actually drawn. As such, you would have to return the card you normally draw for the draw step to the top of your library (or pay 4 life).
Of course, if you replaced all of your draws with Dredge abilities, then you don't have to worry about putting anything back on top, as indicated above.
Edit - Nath'd at 4:20 (Alaskan Daylight Time); didn't think anyone else would still be around.
Yes. The declare blockers step doesn't end until both of you pass priority on an empty stack.
So, you simply need to wait for Celestial Colonnade's ability to resolve, and then use Doom Blade when you next receive priority.
EDIT - D'oh, that's right. As ACOG Kirin pointed out, your opponent wouldn't be able to block with Celestial Colonnade unless it became a creature prior to the start of the Declare Blockers step.
When a permanent has a +1/+1 counter and a -1/-1 counter on it, both of them are removed as a state-based action. Here's the relevant rule from the Comprehensive Rules:
121.2. If a permanent has both a +1/+1 counter and a -1/-1 counter on it, N +1/+1 and N -1/-1 counters are removed from it as a state-based action, where N is the smaller of the number of +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters on it. See rule 704.
So, yes, Kitchen Finks's Persist will trigger again in that case.
You mean the defending player? No, they won't take damage unless the attacking creature also has trample.
A blocked creature won't do any of its excess damage to the defending player unless it has trample. The fact that it has double strike doesn't factor into this. Even if the blocking creature is destroyed prior to the combat damage step, the attacking creature is still considered blocked.
Edit - 'Nathed, which is usually the case when I post via mobile phone.
Doom Blade destroys target creature. This refers to an object on the field. When Llanowar Elves is on the stack, it's a spell, and as such is not a legal target for Doom Blade, or any other "destroy creature" spell/ability (though, of course, cards like Counterspell or Cancel can be used against cards that are on the stack).
Nope. Combat damage is defined as damage that is dealt via combat itself. Here is the relevant portion from the Comprehensive Rules:
119.2a Damage may be dealt as a result of combat. Each attacking and blocking creature deals combat damage equal to its power during the combat damage step.
119.2b Damage may be dealt as an effect of a spell or ability. The spell or ability will specify which object deals that damage.
If damage dealt by a spell or ability is going to be counted as combat damage, its text would say so specifically. Even though Inferno Titan's ability triggers when it attacks, the source of this damage is the Titan's ability, and not combat itself. Also, this ability triggers and resolves before the actual Combat Damage Step takes place.
Yes. Protection From [quality] means that the object in question cannot be: Damaged, Enchanted Blocked, or Targeted
...by any source that has that quality. Meddling Mage does none of these things - it merely prevents the named card from being cast. There is no target for this ability, and this is also why you can name a card with Shroud to keep it from being cast.
Edit - Double 'Nathed. That's what I get for posting from my phone. =P
...then they do not include any Planeswalkers (the idea is that you are a Planeswalker), and really only have common/uncommon cards from the Tenth Edition core set. No rares whatsoever.
Hell, even if you go to Juneau (where I live), there's no FNM; just Saturday *Vintage* tournaments, which really doesn't feel right when you don't have any Power.
If you have checked the Rumor Mill section lately, you would have known the reason for this seemingly peculiar product.
Duels of the Planeswalkers is the title of an Xbox 360 M:tG game, and the physical version of these decks is very clearly designed as a beginner-level product. The decks are so simplistic because they are exact copies of the decks featured in the game, and the idea is that you're playing as the planeswaler themselves, which is why the decks don't include their card form.
Anyway, hopefully this helps make some sense out of the release.
I play 3-4 player games of both EDH and normal casual with my playgroup, and it's glorious.
However, my local card shop runs weekly *cough* Vintage tournaments, which I think is blatantly ridiculous, particularly because the majority of the players there don't have Power 9 cards (at least, not full sets, I see one here or there from time to time), so Legacy would make much more sense. They also *never* play Standard or Limited, which greatly displeases me.
Oh well, looks like "kitchen table" casual/EDH is the only type of Magic I really get to enjoy in my hometown anymore.
I'd say it's because One with Nothing is awful, and should avoid play whenever possible. It's much more efficient to mill your creature cards directly from your deck, or at the very least through selective discard; it's not at all good to pitch your entire hand, at least not with this strategy in mind.
Anyway, I went to my local shop, which had not done Type 2/Standard tournaments in a [b]long[/b] time (it's generally Vintage only, which is gross when few people, myself included, have the budget for it). I wasn't expecting too much interest in the tournament as a result. I was the 12th and last person to sign up, which really surprised me as our usual turnout is less than that (and that's for Vintage, more popular here since people don't have to worry about card legality nearly as much). The tournament was also single elimination, which was a relief since it would make the event much faster.
Match 1 - Brian, U/B Infect
Game 1: Immediately my deck decides to screw with me. I'm running 21 lands and a curve that drops off at 3, so I figure I can keep a 1 land hand. However, my first hand had 0 lands, and I had to mulligan to 5 just to get a single Plains. It doesn't pan out very well, as I don't see any new land until turn 5 or so. By the time I mount an actual offense, I lose to a Necropede equipped with Livewire Lash and with Distortion Strike cast on it. I was at 5 poison counters at the time, so that was it.
Game 2: This game goes much more smoothly for me. I draw the correct pieces this time, and come out swinging with an active Armor by turn 3. This effectively shuts down my opponent, and the game is over 3 or 4 turns later.
Game 3: This was the closest one. My opponent gets his Lash active early on, and when my Armor is ready to go, I find myself at 4 poison counters already. I was one or two turns away from winning, but he had plenty of mana to go around. Fortunately, he was [b]exactly[/] one mana away from being able to tutor out the card that would kill me. So, the extra turn I had alive was enough to finish.
Match 2 - Carlos, U/B Infect, part 2
Game 1: Oh man, again? Anyway, this deck was of a different sort of build, in that I saw Contagion Clasp right away. My Argentum Armor and Quests weren't showing up, and being at 1 mana for 3 turns didn't help things. Insta-lose.
Game 2: Okay, I was sick and tired of my deck giving me almost no land drops. Mulligan to 6, and I find 2 land and decide to keep. Topdeck into an early Quest, and even activate it, but Into the Roil returns Armor to my hand; ouch. My weenies are somehow able to stall me out long enough, and I find a win with 9 (!!!) poison counters on me. I'm usually not intimidated by Infiltration Lens, but the card is just mean when attached to a creature with Infect.
Game 3: I think this is where my deck shines through again, and Armor seals it for me. Well, kinda lucky on my part -- he taps himself out, and I have 4 quest counters but no creatures. Topdeck into Memnite, and do an imaginary fist pump in my head.
Match 3 - Matt, R/W/G Walls, burn?
Game 1: I'm not actually sure what the ultimate goal of Matt's deck was, since my vast army of Squadron Hawk and Glint Hawk flew over his Wall of Omen for lethal damage over the course of a few turns. Argentum Armor was also on the board eventually, but it didn't seem necessary here.
Game 2: Matt decides to use his sideboard, which I can see fairly soon when my Armor gets exiled by Revoke Existence. However, my flyers come through again (Squadron is such an all-star in this deck, seriously), and even the scorch of Lightning Bolt does little to slow me down.
Match 4 - Robert, U/B control (?)
I made it into the final match, which is waaaay better than I was expecting.
Game 1: It's really weird -- despite all the U/B I played against, Robert's deck was the first to use Mana Leak against me. It stopped a couple of my semi-important plays, but I was fortunate enough to run just fine while Robert experienced mana screw.
Game 2: Robert boarded some stuff in, and off we went. I was more wary of being Mana Leaked this time, so I decided to hold off on a Quest I drew on turn 3. This paid off, as he tapped out on his next turn, allowing me a turn with Quest and Glint Hawk/Ornithopter without interference. Squadron Hawk once again proved to be awesome, and I was able to win a few turns later with an Armor out and a board crowded with birds.
So, by tournament's end, I had picked up full-art Memnite, full-art Tempered Steel, a Peace Strider for being the top Mirran deck, as well as a little 6/6 Wurm figure from Japan. All in all, I'd call it a successful day.
If you use a Dredge ability, the card that is returned to your hand wasn't actually drawn. As such, you would have to return the card you normally draw for the draw step to the top of your library (or pay 4 life).
Of course, if you replaced all of your draws with Dredge abilities, then you don't have to worry about putting anything back on top, as indicated above.
Edit - Nath'd at 4:20 (Alaskan Daylight Time); didn't think anyone else would still be around.
So, you simply need to wait for Celestial Colonnade's ability to resolve, and then use Doom Blade when you next receive priority.
EDIT - D'oh, that's right. As ACOG Kirin pointed out, your opponent wouldn't be able to block with Celestial Colonnade unless it became a creature prior to the start of the Declare Blockers step.
So, yes, Kitchen Finks's Persist will trigger again in that case.
...Did you just stop lurking to make your first post several months after you joined?
*High five*
A blocked creature won't do any of its excess damage to the defending player unless it has trample. The fact that it has double strike doesn't factor into this. Even if the blocking creature is destroyed prior to the combat damage step, the attacking creature is still considered blocked.
Edit - 'Nathed, which is usually the case when I post via mobile phone.
Edit - 'Nathed
If damage dealt by a spell or ability is going to be counted as combat damage, its text would say so specifically. Even though Inferno Titan's ability triggers when it attacks, the source of this damage is the Titan's ability, and not combat itself. Also, this ability triggers and resolves before the actual Combat Damage Step takes place.
Damaged,
Enchanted
Blocked, or
Targeted
...by any source that has that quality. Meddling Mage does none of these things - it merely prevents the named card from being cast. There is no target for this ability, and this is also why you can name a card with Shroud to keep it from being cast.
Edit - Double 'Nathed. That's what I get for posting from my phone. =P
...then they do not include any Planeswalkers (the idea is that you are a Planeswalker), and really only have common/uncommon cards from the Tenth Edition core set. No rares whatsoever.
Duels of the Planeswalkers is the title of an Xbox 360 M:tG game, and the physical version of these decks is very clearly designed as a beginner-level product. The decks are so simplistic because they are exact copies of the decks featured in the game, and the idea is that you're playing as the planeswaler themselves, which is why the decks don't include their card form.
Anyway, hopefully this helps make some sense out of the release.
However, my local card shop runs weekly *cough* Vintage tournaments, which I think is blatantly ridiculous, particularly because the majority of the players there don't have Power 9 cards (at least, not full sets, I see one here or there from time to time), so Legacy would make much more sense. They also *never* play Standard or Limited, which greatly displeases me.
Oh well, looks like "kitchen table" casual/EDH is the only type of Magic I really get to enjoy in my hometown anymore.