Everything I told the judge was true.  If you remember, I gave a lot of thought during that turn before I decided to cycle decree.  I was trying to remember if there was anything better in my deck to answer your soldiers.  I determined that cycling the decree was my best option.  That is why when I cycled, I put the top card of my library into my hand face down, because I really didn't care what it was.  I never even looked at it until we were waiting for the judge to come over.  I really WASN'T sure which one it was, because I didn't look at it when I drew it (I think it was probably Secluded Steppe, btw).

I would also like to point out that this was a hairy turn with lots of instants flying around (opponent was playing Solidarity).  I do not believe my opponent was trying to cheat, I think he honestly just forgot.  If the Brainstorm had been one of the first spells played, obviously I would have called a judge to straighten it out, but in this case, it was his last spell played, and nothing of significance happened before I noticed the extra cards in his hand.  Calling a judge would have only served as a way for me to get a penalty on this guy.  During the match, this guy was talking trash about how MWC has no chance whatsoever of beating Solidarity (which is mostly true, but not totally; I found I had 55% chance after boarding during testing).  It was very important to me that I beat him straight up due to my card choices and play skill.  Otherwise, I would have proven nothing to him.

Just so you don't think I care nothing for the rules, I'd like you to know that on the night before the tournament, I actually looked up Decree of Justice in the Oracle, Scourge FAQ, Saturday School, AND Ask the Judge on Starcitygames, because I wasn't sure the order of the triggers was supposed to go.  The Scourge FAQ says, "When you cycle this card, you choose X and pay when the cycle trigger resolves."  I took this to mean when the card draw happens, then you make your dudes.  Also, the starcity judge seems to indicate that making your dudes and drawing your card can happen in either order (not that starcity is the ultimate authority or anything).  My point is, I was neither trying to gain an unfair advantage nor was I totally oblivious to the rules. 

Spynul, I'm not trying to get into an argument with you, and frankly, my post wasn't really aimed specifically at you, it was just my starting point.  My intention was to point out that I did not enjoy the tournament in the least bit, even when I was winning, due to the attitude of the players.  As a matter of fact, the only match I really enjoyed was against Tygre, which I lost, just because he was a friendly guy and wasn't trying to steal a win.  I even saw him let several of his opponents take small plays back, yet he still won the mox.  It just goes to show you that you can be competitive without being a jerk.

Let's face it, almost none of us can say we play magic to feed our families.  It is, even on the competitive level, still just a hobby; a game.  So why don't we at least have a good time while we're doing it!

I have to say that this tournament has largely turned me off to competitive magic.  It was absolutely clear that my intention was to make soldiers in order to block your soldiers.  You were simply consumed with greed for a cheap win.  The whole day I saw many similar calls to the judge just to try to catch their opponent on some minor technicality.  I started playing magic because it was a fun game to play with my brother and eventually my friends.  I miss those days.  I mean really, how good would you feel about yourself if the only reason you won was because of a technicality.  I'd rather win through my own play skill and why not make some friends in the progress.  For example, during the tournament an opponent of mine brainstormed during my main phase, and forgot to put 2 cards back.  I cast a spell, then went to end of turn step and noticed that he had too many cards in hand.  My understanding is that this is potentially game loss worthy, especially if I had waited til his draw step.  But I'm sorry, a Mox Jet isn't worth my being a bastard.  I'd like to give my opponent the benefit of the doubt, point his mistake, and continue on with the match, especially since in this particular instance, his mistake had not caused him to have any unfair advantage.

I know some of you strongly disagree with what I'm saying and think you should take a win any way possible outside of cheating, and that opponents should be punished for not knowing every little detail of the rules.  But that's fine with me, if that's the way you want the magic scene to be, then you can have it.  Before this tournament I was ranked 2nd in Austin, and I was looking forward to seeing how far I could go in competitive magic, with plans to start strong in Philly.  I have to say that after this tournament, I have a bad taste in my mouth for the competitive magic scene, and I am disappointed with all the unsportsmanship.  You will not be seeing me in any more of the larger tournaments; I have had enough.

never never never ever get rid of your power.  I can guarantee that you will regret it at some point.  This comes from personal experience, trust me.  Get a 2nd job, sell some plasma, pick up pennies off the street, sell your type 2 collection, or whatever to get the drains.  But trust me, DO NOT sell/trade the power.

Why would you Vial this out??? now you have an upkeep on your vial.

Need to check your math... difference between those 2 numbers is actually:
4.992592267644834086565804709 9338e+83

Intuition I believe is better than you think.  I use it in type 4, which also only uses 1 ofs, and it is still quite powerful.  Just go get 3 of your bombs.  And if you have a Genesis in your deck, even better.

Brainstorm is pretty good for draft, even without shuffling.  It digs 3 cards deep and gets you the answer you need right NOW.

You're right about the Tolarian Academy though.  I miscalculated the artifact ratio.

Blue:
Brainstorm
Intuition

Artifacts:
Black Vise
Mana Vault

Lands:
[card]Maze of Ith[/card]
Tolarian Academy
City of Brass

I'm just now getting into Type 4, and man I love it.  It's just about the only magic i play right now.  Anyway, I was wondering if there were any irc rooms or mail lists for other type 4'ers out there.  I'd love to talk strategies, card pool choices, and possibly find some people to play with.

Hi,

I hope this is the right place to ask this question.  I have been playing Type 1.5 for a while now, and I am just starting to get into some Type 1 tournaments.  Due to financial constraints, obtaining power will be possible, but gradual for me.  I am just curious as to what order I should obtain them; in other words, which ones are more important?  I mainly play control, sometimes aggro control.  The main deck types I am interested in exploring would be stuff like 4c control, hulk smash, and possibly land still.  I already have the ancestral and a set of drains, so I can actually stand a chance playing right now.  My guess is that next would be between a Mox Sapphire, Time Walk, or Library.  Thanks in advance for your response.

 The first piece of power that is more important to acquire is Black Lotus and Mox Sapphire for someone in your position.  Black Lotus is the hardest to acquire and will continue to rise in price.  Finding one should be a priority for you.  Wait six months and the price will have jumped $50.  Lotuses have tripled in value in the last two years.  Lotus will also enable you to have a good start of nearly any deck.  If you play in a five proxy event, you can play Lotus, X moxen and still have a decent chance.  Black Lotus is the most univesally played card in the format and is played in every deck except for fish.  However, if you can't find one, I suggest trying to find Mox Sapphire and the two blue power.  

Smmenen

Hey,

I'm playing in a highlander creature feature this weekend and I was hoping to get some suggestions from you guys.  The rules are pretty much like this:

Creatures and basic land cards only
Highlander - no more than 1 of any card other than basic land

Here's a list of creature that I feel would be good, but I want to compile a list because we are going to start having more of these type of games in the future.

Flametongue Kavu
Troll Ascetic
River Boa
Any regenerator really
Commander Eesha and other pro creature dudes
Shadow dudes
Mogg Fanatic
SiegeGang Commander
Deranged Hermit
That black morph guy w/ mutilate built in
Desolation Giant
Voracious Cobra and other snake type creatures
Masticore
Squee
I'm thinking some cheap walls might actually be good
Morphling
Exalted Angel

that's all i got for now... please give me some ideas if you've got em

I am having a hard time coming up with the necessary mana for this deck.  Is 6 lands enough?  And some of you only run 4.  That seems pretty low.  I mulligan a LOT and I never seem to have a permanent source of black I can use on both turn 1 and turn 2.

Another idea i was thinking of (not to solve the above problem, but just an idea) is Lion's Eye Diamond.  What do you think?