Regarding Rhystic Study
Asked by wereotter 7 years ago
I recently started playing with a new playgroup and was called out for my usage of this card. In my previous group I would watch what spells people played and the CMC of the spell, if the player didn't declare that he/she opted to pay or not pay, and I see that they tapped only the required mana for the spell resolution, I would draw a card.
However this new group called me out for not asking if they wanted to pay more. My understanding is the trigger is on the stack regardless of if I ask or not, unless my opponent declares a choice, then the defaulted choice is they did not pay, especially if not enough mana was tapped in order to pay the cost preventing me from drawing a card.
Am I obligated to ask on every single spell if my opponents want to pay, or can I press this issue?
JerichoDarkstar says... #2
Because the card says "you may," drawing a card is not an action that happens automatically. You get to decide if it happens or not.
You can actually forget to draw a card because they did not pay and miss the trigger.
Taking this into account, it is technically appropriate to ask your opponent if they are paying to stop you from drawing a card.
However, if they cast a spell without paying the extra and the card resolves, you can trigger Rhystic Study and declare you are triggering it's effect because they did pay.
April 27, 2017 6:54 p.m. Edited.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #3
The problem with that is, they choose whether or not to pay as part of the resolution of Rhystic Study's ability, not as part of its triggering. It says that much right on the Gatherer rulings.
"10/4/2004 The player gets the option to pay when this triggered ability resolves. This will be after the spell is announced, but before it resolves."
April 27, 2017 7:01 p.m. Edited.
That's what I understood. Obviously I can miss my trigger and not draw, but to provide more detail regarding the scenario I'm talking about, someone cast a spell, it resolved, I drew a card, and then the person made an issue of me not asking if they wanted to pay more before he went on to cast his next spell, and the entire table claimed I was obligated to ask if you wanted to pay more for each and every spell they played. This after the enchantment had already been in play for a couple full rounds of play, so at that point the trigger was well established.
As I understand it the trigger to pay 1 is there regardless of if I remind my opponent of it, and the default unless my opponent taps the mana and declares it is to pay for Rhystic Study is not to pay. So, if I can see you resolving a spell only paying the mana cost and no additional mana tapped, I then have the choice to draw.
April 27, 2017 7:01 p.m.
JerichoDarkstar says... #5
I apologize. I got this ruling wrong. Please disregard my previous post.
Because Rhystic Study is your card, you are responsible for remembering it's trigger going on the stack. Because it is your responsibility, you must remind your opponent of it's effect and ask if they are paying to stop you from drawing or not. This can be considered cheating if you intentionally don't.
This comes from Rule 603.3:
Once an ability has triggered, its controller puts it on the stack as an object thats not a card the next time a player would receive priority.
You are putting it on the stack, so not mentioning it is similar to playing a counter spell but not declaring you are doing so.
Once again, I apologize for getting this wrong. I realized it after I had already submitted my answer, and I could no longer edit.
April 27, 2017 7:06 p.m. Edited.
Except I can't miss the trigger. The choice for the player to pay or not pay is there regardless since it's not a "may" ability. The only may part is if I choose to draw or not or miss it entirely.
It seems to me that portion is more like Lethal Vapors in that even if I miss the trigger when a creature comes into play, the enchantment doesn't care and destroys it. I feel like the only trigger that can be missed on Rhystic Study is determining if my opponent payed extra and then deciding to draw. If the spell resolves and I can see the extra wasn't paid, then I should still have the choice.
April 27, 2017 7:17 p.m.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... Accepted answer #7
Right under "When do I have to say something?" "A triggered ability that causes a change in the visible game state (including life totals) or requires a choice upon resolution." is listed. Rhystic Study does both of these things. You must declare it.
April 27, 2017 7:22 p.m.
Ergh. I don't like it but I'll accept it, and will probably stop using it. Getting the cards isn't worth the annoyance to me personally haha
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #1
I'm having difficulty finding the specific rules on it, I'm sure someone can point you the right way, but as I understand it, yes. You control a triggered ability that you are putting onto the stack whenever an opponent casts a spell. This must be declared, just as any other ability or spell would.
April 27, 2017 6:49 p.m.