RTFC: Read The (you get the idea) Card!
Today we’re going to detail one of the most important aspects of Magic, reading cards! Now, I know you’re all thinking that you already know to read cards, but we’re talking about paying attention to detail.
Most of the time a player is surprised to have lost, it’s not because he didn’t know the rules. It’s because he didn’t actually read and fully understand what every card did. Let’s look at a few examples of oversight I see on a regular basis: equipping illusions, Armadillo Cloak, and double strike interaction with equipment.
In the past few months of Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, Realm of Illusions has remained one of the most viable decks. Unfortunately, a major flaw of phantasmal illusions is that if they are targeted by anything, they must be sacrificed. Thus, equipping illusions seems impossible.
Luckily there is a work-around if you read cards carefully enough: Quest for The Holy Relic.
Do you seek the Grail?
When sacrificed, it allows its controller to search his library for an equipment card and attach it to a creature he controls. Since the wording of the card doesn’t say anything about targeting, you can throw Sword of Feast and Famine on your Phantasmal Dragon!
Obviously this won’t always be a viable option (lest of all in Duels of the Planeswalkers) but it certainly opens many possibilities you might not have thought about had you not realized that you could equip these illusions.
Next let’s go into Armadillo Cloak. This card reads “Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has trample. Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, you gain that much life”.
The first part is rather straightforward, but the second part is interesting. It basically describes Lifelink, yet doesn’t say the word. You can use this to your advantage in multiple ways. For instance, you can enchant a powerful creature of your opponent’s and every time it deals damage you will gain life, not your opponent. Another way you can benefit from the strange wording is by creating double Lifelink. If you equip Aura Gnarlid with Lifelink and Armadillo Cloak, it will gain you life for the Armadillo Cloak and for Lifelink, which will result in you gaining twice as much as you would expect. All because you were functionally literate.
Double Strike’s interaction with equipment is my last example of how paying attention to the exact wording of each card can help you out tremendously. The first time I saw this happen in Magic the Gathering online I was utterly confused. I saw my opponent’s life keep going down and couldn’t understand why.
Then I read Sword of War and Peace more carefully. It reads, “Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player…” So the Kor Duelist that my Sword of War and Peace was attached to dealt combat damage to my opponent twice, once in the first strike damage phase and once in the normal combat phase thus activating the sword’s ability twice.
The importance of reading each and every card carefully isn’t an option, it’s necessary for winning games.
...and this is the part where Bethesda sues us.
Here’s a final example most of you have never heard of. This combination deals with Oblivion Ring and Into the Roil. You play Oblivion Ring targeting your opponent’s Jace the Mind Sculptor. He’s not worried because he has an Oblivion Ring of his own in his hand to take care of yours. But then after Jace is exiled you cast Into the Roil targeting your own Oblivion Ring. His Jace stays exiled and you have your Oring back.
As long as you cast Into the Roil before the second part of Oblivion Ring, “When Oblivion Ring leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to the battlefield under its owner’s control” resolves there is no way for the card exiled by Oblivion Ring to return to the battlefield.
Bye-bye Jace. Enjoy eternal damnation!
Great article, it addresses a simple yet significant issue that is quite common over the years in MTG. I’m pretty sure I’ve been a victim of my own oversights in similar situations to the ones you described above.
I agree sooo much. I have lost far too many games just due to not understanding all the nuances of my cards or my opponents.
Because reading is knowledge.
AND KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
*the more you know* In fact. Reading is OP. Needs a nerf.
100% truth. New rule: You can only look at your opponents cards for 2.3 seconds each. The rest of the game is played blindfolded.
Brilliant. Genius.
SOMEONE HIRE THIS MAN.
Herp Derp.
What is this ”nerd” game and why have i never heard of it!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?
You’ve never heard of magic!? Man you have to get on this… soooo much fun :)
Very nice article! I hadn’t been on the Magic Scene for a while and when I bought DOTP I had to research Lifelink, and some more of the other gimmicky attributes the cards have gained over years.
Thanks! I do like the names for abilities like that. Just in the past set things like that are really useful. Once you understand what they do it speeds everything up.
Great article for a MTG rookie like me! Also “…and this is the part where Bethesda sues us.” made me laugh ;)
Glad you enjoyed! Any questions always feel free to ask :)
I have a question.
What’s your favorite NON-VIDEO GAME related thing to do, and do you have a mustache.
Everyone else can answer this too. I wanna know.
Hang out with friends.
Nope. When I don’t shave for a week I get some facial hair but no mustache.
I’s got a long beard cause I’m a hobo. :[
mmmmm…… seems cool, but not exactly my cup of tea…….
You made a mistake regarding Oblivion Ring and Into the Roil. You have to cast Into the Roil BEFORE Jace is exiled. It works like this.
You cast Oblivion Ring and it goes onto the stack. Your opponent doesn’t respond so Oblivion Ring comes into play and triggers its first ability (to exile Jace).
In order to make this work, you have to cast Into the Roil before the first ability resolves. So you cast Into the Roil (targeting Oblivion Ring) and it goes onto the stack on top of Oblivion Ring’s first ability. Oblivion Ring then returns to your hand and its second ability triggers, to bring back whatever it exiled. Since nothing was exiled (yet), it fizzles.
Then you resolve the first part of Oblivion Ring which has been waiting on the stack the whole time. It resolves (because targeting is done at the time of casting) and Jace is exiled.
This situation worked because you got the second ability resolved before the first.
If you cast Oblivion Ring next turn, the game acts like it’s a completely new Oblivion Ring. It will exile something which will then return if it leaves play, but Jace will never return if it does leave play.