FNM Experience

[Upinthe]

know I probably shouldn't be complaining, but today was the first time I had a Level 2 or higher judge do something they weren't supposed to. I had a Ghost Quarter in play, and I sacrificed it targeting my opponent's Watery Grave. My opponent put it in his graveyard and then picked up his hand as if he was ready for the game to resume. Then the judge blurted out: "Don't you search with Ghost Quarter?". My opponent got a dumb look on his face and said "Oh"...then proceeded to search for a swamp and put it into play. I was shocked. My opponent was able to play his Skeletal Vampire which he wouldn't have been able to do otherwise and I lost the game. Oh well, it is only FNM right? Has anyone ever had a similar experience?

I posted this on the WoTC board and was told that I have to notify my opponent that he "may" search his or her library for a basic land. Is this true? I thought if an opponent didn't  do something that was optional, it meant that he chose not to do it. Can someone clear this up for me? Thanks.

[Godder]

Ghost Quarter
Land
Tap: Add 1 Mana to your mana pool.
Tap, Sacrifice Ghost Quarter: Destroy target land. Its controller may search his or her library for a basic land card, put it into play, then shuffle his or her library.

The search is optional, as the highlighted wording indicates. However, when putting the ability on the stack, the onus is on you to make clear what that ability entails. This is especially true at FNM where the focus is on teaching players to play better, not catch them out with superior rules and card knowledge. At a PT or GP, on the other hand, it's somewhat more likely that the players know what a Ghost Quarter does.

However, it's difficult to say more without knowing exactly how you announced the ability.

[LotusHead]

There's only so many cards out there that give your opponents and option.

Ghost Quarter does, but Forbidden Orchard does not.

On both cards, you would have to acknowledge the effect that affects the opponent.

On Ghost Quarter, your opponent's response by doing nothing isn't very clear that he knew he had an option specifically generated by your card's ability.

Plus it's Friday Night Magic.  As stated before, it is supposed to be a fun thing, to get people to learn how to play Magic, without being too cutthroat.

This is also a little different than say, your opponent Mana Draining your Shivan Dragon, then forgetting to use Drain Mana next turn, thereby suffering Mana Burn.

[jro]

Is there some kind of hard and fast rule that's part of either the Comp Rules or DCI Rules, like "Players must specifically announce abilities that would permit the opponent to make an action"?

[LotusHead]

Technically, both players must be aware of the game state, and not deliberatly try to misrepresent it.

With one's own Drain Mana, it's probably all on you, but with Ghost Quarters, it's more likely on both players (including you).

The original question was in an FNM context, which is usually lax in rules to beginners.

[parallax]

Even if you were not required to inform the opponent of his option, the judge is well withing his rights to point out those options. During Mirrodin-legal Standard PTQs, judges often went around reminding people to keep track of their Disciple of the Vault triggers.

[Clariax]

When activating a Ghost Quarter, the player is definitely not required to inform the opponent of their option to search.  Consider Strip Mine as an analogy.  A player would typically say "I'll Strip Mine your Island,"  not "I'll Strip Mine your Island, this will destroy it."  What Ghost Quarter's ability does is printed right there on the card, you don't need to spell out the results of the ability to the opponent, simply make clear you're activating the second ability and what you're targetting with it.

However, if your opponent ASKS you what the ability does, then you'd need to inform them.  You can't simply tell them "It destroys a land."  While that is part of what the ability does, it's a lie by ommission (we're talking public information, there's no valid bluff here).  You'd need to inform them of the entire ability (or present them the card to read, or call a judge to explain it, etc.).

Simply put, if some effect says a player may do something, the opponent does not need to remind them of this optional action.


P.S.  This is completely different than targetted triggered abilities with a "may" option.  In those cases the ability always triggers when the triggering condition occurs, and the target needs to be declared, the "may" decision being made on resolution.  This may explain the judges reminding about DotV (It only has one legal target, or less, so no targetting decisions to make, but is still technically a targetted optional triggered ability) that parallax mentions, though I don't remember ever doing it, seeing it done, nor even having standard PTQs with Mirrodin in the format