Magic the Gathering... most geeky question ever.

[hannaugh]

Does anyone play Magic the Gathering here, and if so, where can you find more detailed interpretations on individual cards?  My husband and I find that we disagree about what certain cards mean, for example:

Windstorm (green card); Deals X damage to each creature with flying. 

There is a green mana symbol and an any color mana symbol next to it with an X in it.  I think that X means it deals however many land cards you want to tap to use it, but my husband thinks it might mean you're supposed to roll a dice. 

Another one:

Negate (blue card) Counter target noncreature spell.

Does this mean you can counter any spell that isn't summoning a creature, or just spells that don't have to do with creatures? (for example, it would be able to counter Might of Oaks which gives a chosen creature +7/+7, but it wouldn't be able to counter Nature's Spiral, which returns a card from my graveyard to my hand.)

We're noticing there are several cards that could be interpreted 2 ways, but we haven't been able to find anything that explains them more clearly. 

There are also some cards that we can't even figure out what they do from the description.  Regenerate is kind of vague about when you can use it. Are you supposed to use it in anticipation of combat, or can you use it any time that turn?  I also don't understand what the advantage of first strike is.  Does it mean you can strike if someone attacks you but it's not your turn?  Because if that's not what it means, then it doesn't make sense because a character with 2/2 is going to negate itself against another character with 2/2 whether it has "first strike" or not, right? 


Yes, I know.  I'm the biggest nerd ever.  But seriously, they need to write these descriptions more clearly. 

 

[Volitions Advocate]

How long have you been playing?
in my entire life i have not spent more than 10$ on magic cards but I do know the rules quite well and my friends usually make me play with them (using their cards) and such.

So... my take:

Windstorm: the green mana is the casting cost and the colourless mana X is the damage the card does.  No card requrie you to roll a die unless they say "roll a die" or give specific instructions to do so.  (also don't confuse the difference between "mana of any colour" and "colourless mana", in this case you're safe, but often it does matter)

As for the countering non-creature spell.  Summoning a creature is a spell. just like casting any other spell. so when it says creature spell it means summoning a creature.  Because a creature casting a spell is no different than casting an instant from your hand.  So it can't stop a creature from being summoned, and it can stop a spell that has an effect ON a creature.  such as "destroy target creature" "bury target creature" "or return target creature from graveyard to hand"

The first strike thing is a little odd but I think I understand how it is supposed to work.  If your 2/2 creature has first strike and you attack,  another 2/2 creature could block that doesn't have first strike.  You deal that creature its 2 damage and it dies, but your creature does not take the 2 damage because it "struck first".  if the other creature does have first strike than you just treat it like normal combat.

much of the spells and abilities in magic are used retroactively.  They've changed the rules over a decade ago to make all spells instants.  It used to be that you had instants and interrupts and it got really confusing.  Basically any time you cast a spell it stops the clock and your spell does its magic. then the game resumes.  but if your creature dies, you can cast resurrection to keep it from going to the graveyard, But then somebody can counter your resurrection spell AFTER you cast it (immediately after, not later in the turn) and you lose your creature, the ressurrection card, and the mana you tapped into the mana pool.  It all kind of works in reverse order.

 

[mayfly]

wow - this is pretty nerdy.  I gave all this up just when D&D was starting to get more popular about, er, 25 years ago.

You guys need to have kids (independently, of course).  That'll keep you busy!

 

[Volitions Advocate]

like I said, no more than 10  bucks my whole life,  I actually haven't played a game in probably 4 years.  and the last time I owned my own cards was probably 12 - 14 years ago.

 

[kboman]

Oh come on Mayfly, there's nothing wrong with having a hobby is there? "I grew out of that years ago" (to paraphrase) is pretty arrogant.

Anyway, one of my best friends the 3rd ranked Magic player in Sweden so I showed him this thread. This is what he says:

- x can be paid with any type of mana. it can be green, white, blue, black and/or red but also colorless. x is paid with as much as you choose.
- negate counters a non-creature spell. it means any spell that isn't a creature

Here's an apparently useful link : http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Default.aspx
And another one: http://www.wizards.com/magic/playmagic/

 

[mayfly]

Oh come on Mayfly, there's nothing wrong with having a hobby is there? "I grew out of that years ago" (to paraphrase) is pretty arrogant.

Apologies - was not my intent to be arrogant or even to imply that I grew out of anything. 

Just rattling Hannaugh's cage  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[big bob]

Yeah I hear ya. I have this stupid hobby, building guitars, and another stupid hobby where I buy guitars other people build. My wife and friends think I need help. My kids on the other hand are enablers..

 

[hannaugh]

Thanks for the info guys, that does make more sense now.  Also, colorless mana?  I do not know of such a thing.  Is that like when you get Terramorphic Expanse or something?  I thought those cards went to the graveyard after you are done with them. 

It's funny because it's not even a hobby, I just bought my first deck this week.  We decided to get it because we're going to be spending an ungodly number of hours on a plane due to the Germany trip, and probably at least 8 more hours in airports for layovers and such, and Magic is the only game we carry at the comic book store that isn't something lame like
Yu-Gi-Oh and doesn't involve playing with mini-action figures or cardboard space ships. 

We are having a lot of fun learning how to play though, so who knows, maybe it will become a hobby.  God knows there are a lot of people around with which I could play.  There's a Magic store that has tournaments 10 minutes away from me.  Maybe if I get good, I can win some cash for a new Warmoth!  (Yes, people who are good can actually win money playing.  Weird, huh?)

 

[tfarny]

There's this great game called Chess, they make travel versions, very fun... :icon_thumright:

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Regarding Mana:

There are 2 types of mana: coloured and colourless.  You have to dissociate "Land" with "Mana".  when you drop a forest or an island down into your play area you're not dropping mana, you're dropping land.  when you tap the land it adds mana to your mana pool.  Your mana pool has no representation in the game it just.. is.  So when you tap a forest it adds a Green mana to your mana pool (or an island adds blue mana etc.)  Pretty easy right?
When you get the little grey circle on your casting cost with a number inside that means you can use mana of any color to fulfill that casting cost.  So a card with casting cost of 1 Green and 2 colorless means you can use any combination of 1 green mana and 2 others.  Even 3 green is okay, just so long as one of them is green.

where it gets confusing is when you have land (which remember is different from mana) that adds colourless mana to your mana pool.  There are lands that do not have a colour (which doesn't mean they're artificats either,, they're just "land")  and most of them will say something like "tap to add 3 colourless mana to your mana pool"  this means that your mana pool gets 3 more mana, but those three mana do not have a colour, meaning you cant use those 3 mana to cast your green card... you still need a Green mana from somewhere.

BUT! if your land (or spell, or creature or whatever) says tap (or cast) to add 3 mana of any colour to your mana pool. that means those 3 mana can be any colour of your choosing.  So you pick green and instead of adding 3 colourless mana, it adds 3 green mana.

Thats why I said to make sure you keep "colourless mana" and "mana of any colour" separate in your brain.

Man... i FEEL nerdy .... wtf.  what is worse? somebody who plays the game and knows all the rules or somebody who doesn't play and still knows everything?

EDIT: Oh yeah! dont' forget that if you did that trick where you have 3 colourless mana and you add a green mana to cast your creature/spell. you still have 1 colourless mana left in your mana pool.  You have to find a way to use that mana up before the end of your turn, or you get "mana burn"  You probably already know this but just in case you didn't.  If there is any mana left in your mana pool at the end of your turn you take mana burn, which is oen point of life for every unused mana. 

 

[Jeremiah]

  You probably already know this but just in case you didn't.  If there is any mana left in your mana pool at the end of your turn you take mana burn, which is oen point of life for every unused mana. 

Actually, this is no longer true; as of the latest rules revision (sometime this year, can't remember exactly,) mana burn no longer exists, so it doesn't matter if you have mana  left at the end of a phase. Also, the timing of damage dealing in combat has been changed.

I used to play this game a lot; probably still would but it got too expensive so I decided I'd rather not play at all than play with only half the cards I wanted. (Plus the rules are too complicated and cause too many arguments  :icon_scratch I still take an interest in the latest developments though

 

[Volitions Advocate]

I stopped paying attention somewhere around Mirage if that's any indication of my understanding.

I vaguely understand phasing and flanking, but anything introduced after that you'd have to ask my friends I guess.

Who needs the new stuff anyway? Get a Sliver deck and it'd take a really resourceful person to ever beat you. (harder to make friends that way though)

 

[Xplorervoodoo]

I admit it...  I'm a Magic nerd.

I've been playing since about 1995, and have amassed a fair collection.  I still play too.

Your questions here have already been answered, but if you'd like to know anything else, let me know.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

FWIW, with Hannaugh the OP, running a comic book store is her livelihood, so this is also work related.

 

[hannaugh]

There's this great game called Chess, they make travel versions, very fun... :icon_thumright:

Ah yes, but they don't sell that at the store where I get 30% off because of my employee discount.  That and it's kind of annoying when people come in and ask me questions about Magic and it's really obvious that I don't know anything about it.

 

[hannaugh]

  You probably already know this but just in case you didn't.  If there is any mana left in your mana pool at the end of your turn you take mana burn, which is oen point of life for every unused mana. 

Actually, this is no longer true; as of the latest rules revision (sometime this year, can't remember exactly,) mana burn no longer exists, so it doesn't matter if you have mana  left at the end of a phase. Also, the timing of damage dealing in combat has been changed.

I used to play this game a lot; probably still would but it got too expensive so I decided I'd rather not play at all than play with only half the cards I wanted. (Plus the rules are too complicated and cause too many arguments  :icon_scratch I still take an interest in the latest developments though

Yeah, I'm playing 2010 Core Set, so I haven't heard of mana burn at all.

 

[hannaugh]

Hey actually I have another question.  It seems like I always get to the point where I have no cards in my hand really fast.  Is there some sort of rule I'm missing that prevents you from not having any friggin cards?  My husband will wait until I have one card left and then he uses Hypnotic Specter so I never have any cards in my hand.  It's very frustrating. 

 

[Xplorervoodoo]

Hey actually I have another question.  It seems like I always get to the point where I have no cards in my hand really fast.  Is there some sort of rule I'm missing that prevents you from not having any friggin cards?  My husband will wait until I have one card left and then he uses Hypnotic Specter so I never have any cards in my hand.  It's very frustrating. 

Unfortunately you can only draw one card per turn...

Unless a card (such as a spell you cast, or an ability you use) specifically tells you to draw more.  The card always overrides the rule.

 

[Volitions Advocate]

There's an artifact that I used to use all the time that lets you pickup 2 cards per turn or something like that.  coupled with another that lets you skip your discard phase it's a pretty great combination.  There's another that lets you flip your graveyard over when your deck runs out too.  All pretty useful.

Unless of course the discard phase was also...  discarded... like the mana burn rule.

 

[Return of Guitlouie]

Poker anyone?