What happens in an endless loop?
Asked by Raitaki 11 years ago
If a Detention Sphere that has exiled one Oblivion Ring from each player leaves the battlefield while there are no other nonland permanents, since each Oblivion Ring would simultaneously have to exile the other one causing itself to come back to the battlefield again and repeat the process, what happens? a) Can either player decide to not use their O-ring or target an illegal target to stop the loop, or does the game ends in a draw, or does someone wins? b) What happens if it's a multiplayer game, and only two players are involved in an O-ring loop and the other players are unable to interfere?c) What happens if one player is able to stop the loop with an instant or land ability, but refuses to?d) What happens if there are other legal targets for the O-rings in a multiplayer game, but both players that control the O-rings decide to keep targetting the other's O-ring?
I see. What about if some, but not all players, in a 3+-player game are involved in a loop? Does it end in a draw for everyone?
November 11, 2013 8:48 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
It's not possible for a game to end in a draw without that draw affecting all players. There's no such thing as a partial draw.
November 11, 2013 8:57 p.m.
Nigeltastic says... #4
A hilarious endless loop is Sporemound and Life and Limb as the trigger on Sporemound is not optional.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
Oblivion Ring 's ability is mandatory. It's not a may ability, and you can't target an illegal object. The players can choose a targeting permutation that does not result in an infinite loop, though.
Let's say that in a two-player game, player A controls two Oblivion Ring s, and player B controls one Oblivion Ring . A targets his own Oblivion Ring s - each Oblivion Ring 's ability targets the other. This means that there won't be a loop, regardless of which Oblivion Ring B targets.
If the game progresses such that there's a loop of Oblivion Ring s exiling one another, the game is a draw unless a player breaks the loop. Players aren't forced to break the loop, though. Even if a player has a way to break the loop, he or she can opt not to use it (and thus let the game become a draw).
However, if there are other available targets for the Oblivion Ring s' abilities, one of the players must choose one such target eventually. The game only ends in a draw when it enters a mandatory loop of repeating actions. In this case, it isn't mandatory that you target the other Oblivion Ring , so you must eventually choose another target.
November 11, 2013 8:31 p.m.