Consulting Oracle

[Gabethebabe]

Is a player able to request the Oracle text of a card to the judge?

Suppose he wants to put Engineered Plague into play and forgot the creature type of Goblin Welder

[The Atog Lord]

Yes, if you can name a card or point to a card or describe it such that there is only one card you are describing, you may view the Oracle text.

[Gabethebabe]

Interesting.

We had a discussion on our local forum about the following situation:
A guy plays some deck around Weatherseed Treefolk.
The other guy plays Cranial Extraction, but he forgot the name of the card (quite relevant).

So he can ask the judge: what is the name of the 5/3 trampler with the ability "Whenever this is put into a graveyard from play, return this to owner´s hand" that costs 2 ?? And the judge will have to respond?

I said the judge shouldn´t answer this. It´s your own bloody fault.

[Subaru]

So he can ask the judge: what is the name of the 5/3 trampler with the ability "Whenever this is put into a graveyard from play, return this to owner´s hand" that costs 2 ?? And the judge will have to respond?

I said the judge shouldn´t answer this. It´s your own bloody fault.

If the card's description is sufficiently explicit then the judge must respond to your question, and even if the we (or the judge) can't give the card's name the description is sufficiently explicit to consider that we gave the name of this card (here : Weatherseed Treefolk)

[epeeguy]

If the card's description is sufficiently explicit then the judge must respond to your question...

Actually a judge is not required to respond when it comes to requesting Oracle wording.  While it is generally good practice to have a copy of the Oracle and to bring it to the player at their request, there is nothing in the DCI guidelines that require a judge to respond to a player's request for Oracle text on a card.  This could either be to such things as time constraints and/or why the player is asking for the Oracle text.  So, while it is good form to provide the Oracle text, it is not required at all.

[The Atog Lord]

To give an example, at PT Columbus, my opponent played a Cephalid Wizard in French. I had no idea what the card did. I called over a judge, pointed to the card, and said, "Please get me the Oracle text of this card." He did without any hesitation.

[Godder]

If the card's description is sufficiently explicit then the judge must respond to your question...

Actually a judge is not required to respond when it comes to requesting Oracle wording.  While it is generally good practice to have a copy of the Oracle and to bring it to the player at their request, there is nothing in the DCI guidelines that require a judge to respond to a player's request for Oracle text on a card.  This could either be to such things as time constraints and/or why the player is asking for the Oracle text.  So, while it is good form to provide the Oracle text, it is not required at all.

That may or may not be true, but combined wisdom of 'Ask the Judge' on SCG.com has yet to have made that point, while they have consistently said that Oracle text must be made available on request. This is particularly true for errata on extended staple cards like Vampiric Tutor and Worthy Cause.

[epeeguy]

That may or may not be true, but combined wisdom of 'Ask the Judge' on SCG.com has yet to have made that point, while they have consistently said that Oracle text must be made available on request. This is particularly true for errata on extended staple cards like Vampiric Tutor and Worthy Cause.

As I said, it is generally good practice to provide the Oracle when requested; but it is not a requirement that it be provided.  There is no requirement in any DCI policy document that specifically states "A judge is required to provide the Oracle to any player who requests it".  While 'Ask the Judge' may have not made that point explicitly enough for you, I can tell you with 100% certainty that there is no requirement to provide it.  And there are times where a request for the Oracle is not granted, and does not have to be.

To reiterate, it's good practice to have it, and there are few times where a judge should not honor a request for the Oracle text on a card; but it is not a requirement that it be provided.

[Tristal]

To reiterate, it's good practice to have it, and there are few times where a judge should not honor a request for the Oracle text on a card; but it is not a requirement that it be provided.

I was wondering where this would apply.  Can you give an example of where you would choose not to give a player Oracle text, aside from slow play concerns, and a question that was too vague ("Can you give me the oracle text for that 2/2 beater guy?")

[epeeguy]

I was wondering where this would apply.  Can you give an example of where you would choose not to give a player Oracle text, aside from slow play concerns, and a question that was too vague ("Can you give me the oracle text for that 2/2 beater guy?")

Limited is the easiest situation where this comes up.  In Limited the cards are almost never have errata on them (Saviors has two that were errataed already), so there should never be a reason to consult the Oracle at all for those cards.  So, typically if I were to get a request from a player for Oracle, I usually ask why.  Most of the time it's a reasonable request (for example "I can't remember X card in his deck, but I know it does this, this and this... Can you tell me the name?"), or I just know the name off the top of my head and there's no reason for me to even grab the Oracle.

But, outside of that reason and those you stated, that's really it.  And those are the only instances where it needs apply; hence why it's not a right to request Oracle.  Because sometimes a judge shouldn't provide it.  Personally, I carry a copy of the Oracle on me in my Palm, so it takes 2 seconds to look up a card; but the player still better have a reasonable reason for requesting the Oracle.

[Tristal]

Ah, I misunderstood your intent previously - I guess if you don't need the Oracle you don't need to get it, for sure - but I took you to mean that if a player asked for help about card text in certain circumstances, you wouldn't give it.  That didn't seem right.

[epeeguy]

Ah, I misunderstood your intent previously - I guess if you don't need the Oracle you don't need to get it, for sure - but I took you to mean that if a player asked for help about card text in certain circumstances, you wouldn't give it.  That didn't seem right.

If the player genuinely (and that's the key word here) needed the Oracle text, I would certainly provide it.  But let's get it straight, requesting the Oracle is a privilege that the player is not necessarily entitled to (as indicated by a prior poster); that is, it is not a right that the player has nor is guarenteed.  The player simply cannot ask for Oracle text "just 'cause" and expect to receive it.

I wanted to make it clear that there is a difference between a "right" and a "privilege", and requesting the Oracle is the later, not the former.