Card Names

[Upinthe]

This was in a recent rules article called "Oh I Like Pie… Humble Pie" on the WoTC website

However, you can also call over a judge and ask for a card's name. All you have to do is be able to uniquely identify the card—just keep it fast. For example, you could say “the black dragon in Champions�, and the judge can confirm that that card's name is Kokusho, the Evening Star. Be careful, if you can't accurately describe the card, a judge might not be able to help—saying “the Akroma card� isn't good enough because there are multiple cards with “Akroma� in the name

I'm a little confused by this. Does it mean I can say something like "the card with the collector number 157 in Mirrodin" and the judge has to tell me what the name of it is?

[Jacob Orlove]

If they have oracle available, that shouldn't be too tough.

[Jebus]

If they have oracle available, that shouldn't be too tough.

Except the Oracle doesn't normally list that info.

I'd urge you to be specific.  A judge can only give you that info if they actually know the card numbers.  I doubt many if any actually have them memorized.  I certainly don't.  These numbers are also not normally listed in most documents judges have.

So, don't expect an answer if that is all the info you give.

[Ephraim]

On the other hand, it seems that such information exactly specifies a card. If you wish to name a card by its expansion and collector number, I would imagine a judge would allow such information as sufficiently specific and then oversee the examination of the opponent's cards to ensure the condition is or is not met. Of course, such information wouldn't be sufficient in a proxy tournament, since that could be one of the cards the opponent is proxying.

[Jebus]

On the other hand, it seems that such information exactly specifies a card. If you wish to name a card by its expansion and collector number, I would imagine a judge would allow such information as sufficiently specific and then oversee the examination of the opponent's cards to ensure the condition is or is not met. Of course, such information wouldn't be sufficient in a proxy tournament, since that could be one of the cards the opponent is proxying.

The information is specific enough.

However, the problem arises with confirming what that specific card is.  If the judge knows, they can tell them.

I'm not going to look at their opponent's hand for said card.  That can be exploited.

[Jacob Orlove]

This was in reference to Cranial Extraction, I believe. That's why you'd be looking at their hand and deck for all copies of the card so identified.

[Jebus]

This was in reference to Cranial Extraction, I believe. That's why you'd be looking at their hand and deck for all copies of the card so identified.

What I mean is the judge looking at their hand for a card could reveal information that doesn't need to be revealed at the current moment.

[Jacob Orlove]

Ephraim meant that the judge would watch while you resolved extraction, I thought.

[Jebus]

Ephraim meant that the judge would watch while you resolved extraction, I thought.

I see.  I had misinterpreted what he said.

[brianb]

Is there an authoritative ruling (in the comprehensive rules or a rules team statement) that says a judge can/should tell you a card name?  That seems like it has the potential to create too many inconsistencies in judging, since some judges are virtual encyclopedias and others don't know specific cards at all.  The one time I ever saw this issue come up was when a dude was casting demonic consultation and he forgot the name of the ice age pump knight.  (Fallen Empires had just rotated out and he switched his pump knights from the Order of the Ebon Hand ones to the Knight of Stromgald ones.)  The judge wouldn't tell him, so he had to consult for something else.  Without seeing a specific ruling otherwise, I'd probably rule the same way.

[Jebus]

There is nothing specific that I can think of, but it comes down to common sense.

Players are allowed access to the Oracle during a tournament.  The names of cards is public information that can be provided to them.  They could search the Oracle for it, or I could save time and give them the info they need now.  Since this is public information and as long as they are specific, I'm not coaching.  I'm just answering a question.

[SliverKing]

There is nothing specific that I can think of, but it comes down to common sense.

Players are allowed access to the Oracle during a tournament.  The names of cards is public information that can be provided to them.  They could search the Oracle for it, or I could save time and give them the info they need now.  Since this is public information and as long as they are specific, I'm not coaching.  I'm just answering a question.

Jebus is dead-on on this one.  The real issue is that a great many low-level judges are NOT aware that the players have access to the entire oracle at all times.  This is the place your inconsistency comes from. When a judge is aware of this policy, most are very good about applying it fairly (not coaching, requiring unique identification).
Answering questions about a uniquely identified card (the 2/1 pump knight from ice age that costs BB  e.g.)  is a time saver for the judge (not hauling out the oracle) and works both ways (the player consulting for this Knight of Stromgald, or hte player Cranial Extracting the same Knight of Stromgald).

[Upinthe]

Players are allowed access to the Oracle during a tournament.  The names of cards is public information that can be provided to them.  They could search the Oracle for it, or I could save time and give them the info they need now.  Since this is public information and as long as they are specific, I'm not coaching.  I'm just answering a question.

Just one more question about this. Does it apply at a Prerelease?

[Jebus]

Players are allowed access to the Oracle during a tournament.  The names of cards is public information that can be provided to them.  They could search the Oracle for it, or I could save time and give them the info they need now.  Since this is public information and as long as they are specific, I'm not coaching.  I'm just answering a question.

Just one more question about this. Does it apply at a Prerelease?

It should.  However, this really depends on the preparedness of the judge staff.