Ruling question
Asked by The-Xellos 10 years ago
I probably know the answer is no, but wanted to double check.
I play a deck with Nevermore. I am so bad with names, took me 3 months to learn my wife's name, so I was wondering if I could bring a sheet of paper with names of cards that I want to name. I played this at a couple local stores and I usually describe the card I want to name. I would say something like "The card that cannot be countered. Destroy target nonland permanent with converted mana cost 3 or less. Costs one green and one black". The other person would say Abrupt Decay and I would say yes. In a friendly environment that is not a problem, but in a big event I do not know if people will be that nice. I can see going against a Tron deck and saying Karn and then the person plays Karn Liberated and says you did not say that name, but that is what i meant.
So my question is can I bring a list of card names and have it at my side so I can say the name correctly? Could I ask a judge what the name of the card is if i say the description?
I am asking because i might be going to a tournament that has a judge and a list requirement. I know the rules say no notes, but is a list of cards notes? If not I was thinking between games study my list and when game starts write down all the names that i can remember, because during game i can write notes.
The-Xellos says... #2
brcap - thanks.
I did not know where to post this. I could not find a ruling area. I play modern, but this holds true for all types of games. I thought that this was were it should have went. What forum should I have posted under?
March 10, 2015 1:40 p.m.
The-Xellos says... #3
I saw the post of "First Time Judging" in this forum so thought it was the right one. Now seeing it was moved to Social, I should have posted in that area.
March 10, 2015 1:43 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #4
The MTG Q&A section is the place to put rules-related questions, whether game rules or tournament rules.
You can bring a short list of outside notes with you but you can only refer to it between games, not during a game. If you make notes during a particular match, then you can refer to those notes at any time during that match (but not during any other match). Your strategy for studying between matches and then composing a list during a game is questionable, and you need to ask the Head Judge for his/her opinion before trying it. If writing out your list means holding up the current game for no reason then you might be penalized for Slow Play.
When it comes to naming cards, the requirement is that you have to give enough information to make it clear that there's only one card you could be talking about. Your example description of Abrupt Decay is perfectly valid at any level of Rules Enforcement. Saying "Karn" in a Modern event can only realistically mean one card: Karn Liberated. In a Legacy event that's not enough, because it could also mean Karn, Silver Golem. If your opponent doesn't feel like being generous and helping you out with a description, call a Judge and see what he/she thinks of it. If your opponent allows you to make an ambiguous description and tries to weasel around it later, definitely call a Judge.
March 10, 2015 1:48 p.m.
My guess is just under MTG Q&A, as it probably falls under "game rules".
Don't worry about it. The Mods will move it if you've offended the formatting gods.
March 10, 2015 1:50 p.m.
The-Xellos says... #6
Thanks Rhadamanthus and brcap. I looked for something like that in the forums and could not find it but now i see that it has it own tab on top.
I might bring stickies with me so when i name i can write down and sticky it to the card.
So far everyone i play with is helpful and not a jerk. The tournament is a local one, but never played with the people from that area yet. I only play 2 Nevermore, one in main and one on side. Out of the 20 games I played, only drew them 2 times.
March 10, 2015 2:04 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #7
I have no tournament experience. I don't know how acceptable this is.
I know you can alter cards, or if you double sleeve on an inner sleeve for something like noting which cards are main/sideboard, would listing names or potential targets on an inner sleeve be cheating? (again, my tournament experience is entirely casual and I've got no idea and could be entirely describing cheating or having notes in a match-up) above all else, ask the head judge the day of the event about what you want to do. they can give you an absolute answer.
and yeah this belongs in MTG Q&A, Epochalyptik or ChiefBell can move it to the correct place.
March 10, 2015 2:13 p.m.
The-Xellos says... #8
asasinater13 if i do notes then i think the notes will have to be written on the card itself. Writing on the sleeve could be a form of marking the card.
I'll talk to the judge before the game starts. I do not want to talk to players too much because I do not want them to change there sideboard (before they submit) to add hate against me.
Just so people know I am not trying to cheat the system or try to get away with something. I am just trying to find a way to help me remember card names without taking a lot of time to sit down and memorize everything (I can see if now, my wife asking me what the card name is and what it does).
March 10, 2015 2:27 p.m.
It's not acceptable to include information on any card that could give you an advantage.
Xellos please could you mark an answer as accepted.
March 10, 2015 2:28 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #11
Why I said an inner sleeve of double sleeve. Chief (who I trust much more for this) days that's unacceptable I think. Just wanted to clarify I meant an inner of two sleeves not the outer visible sleeve
March 10, 2015 2:38 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #12
The official policy regarding notes written onto the cards themselves says:
"Artistic modifications to cards that indirectly provide minor strategic information are acceptable. The Head Judge is the final arbiter on what cards and notes are acceptable for a tournament." The words indirect and minor are important here. This idea for notes in your specific situation is also questionable, and probably not okay. Again, get the Head Judge's opinion before trying it.
March 10, 2015 3:29 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #13
Sorry, formatting problems. There's supposed to be another line break after the end of the quote where my own comments start again.
brcap says... #1
I'm not certain of the legality of the list idea, so i wont speculate.
One thing that comes to mind is that players can ask a judge for the oracle text of any card at any moment. I have only seen this done for foreign language cards, but you could probably use this for the purposes you're asking about. Even if you have to describe the card, and forget the specific name.
Obligatory "this is probably in the wrong forum" comment.
March 10, 2015 1:35 p.m.