About
Riccardo Tessitori
Riccardo Tessitori
Riccardo
Tessitori is a level 5 judge from Italy; he judged more than 50 professional
events, headjudged 10 Grand Prix and has just started headjudging Pro Tours, such
as:
- Pro
Tour Kyoto 2009
- Pro Tour Austin 2009
- GP
Paris 2008
Hello everybody
Did you see how many players
came to Madrid?? It was crazy! The previous world record smashed, we had probably
even more players than at Worlds! It was great to be there!
This week, in addition to
answering your questions and talking about the card of the month for March
(Chalice of the Void, one of the most played and most interesting cards from GP
Madrid), I will tell you about my experience in Madrid and discuss a few ideas
for future GPs of this size.
User Questions
What happens if you cascade
into a card with an X in its mana cost?
Answer
The Cascade ability allows
you to cast a spell “for free”; exactly, it allows you to “cast a spell without
paying its mana cost”; if there are any additional costs, you still need to pay
them (or choose to pay them, like for example kicker).
Question for you. I have a Thopter Foundry in play and a Sword of the Meek in the graveyard. If I pay 1
and sacrifice an Arcbound Worker to make a thopter token, can I move the
counter from the worker onto the token? And if I can do so, can the sword still
attach since it will be a 1/1 creature with a +1/+1 counter. Any help would be
appreciated. Also does it matter if it’s my turn or their turn for the stacking
of effects? Thanks in advance.
Answer
First of all, it doesn’t
matter if it’s your turn or not. Here we have triggered abilities and all these
abilities are controlled by you. The turn matters when both you and I put triggered
abilities on the stack (On my turn, my abilities go on the stack first and
resolve last). Second, Sword of the Meek has an ability with a condition that
is checked only at the moment the creature enters the battlefield (the
abilities that also check during resolution are written this way: “When a
creature enters the battlefield, IF it’s a 1/1 creature” (the important part is
COMMA+IF); because of this, it doesn’t matter if your 1/1 token has a +1/+1
counter at the moment the Sword is returned to play.
Finally, let’s see if the
token will get the counter: At the moment you sacrifice an artifact for the
Foundry, you are triggering the modular ability and you need to put it on the
stack and declare the target; since the token from the Foundry isn’t on the
battlefield, you can’t choose it as target for the Modular ability. The final
answer is unfortunately NO, because you need to already have an artifact
creature that will receive the +1/+1 counter at the moment you sacrifice your Arcbound Worker.
You are at 10 life. You
have a Death's Shadow on the board making it a 3/3. On your turn you Earthquake
for 3. Is your Death's Shadow dead, or a 6/6 that has taken 3 damage?
Answer
Let’s see how damage
interacts with creatures and players. I cast Earthquake for 3; during its
resolution, everybody is dealt three damage. My life points and your life
points are immediately reduced. At the same time, all creatures are dealt three
damage but remain on the battlefield until Earthquake finishes resolving; only
after the end of the resolution, state based actions are checked (“a creature
with lethal damage is destroyed”). When these “destruction rules” are checked,
my life points are already 7, and my Death's Shadow is already a 6/6; it will
survive!
Question by ducat
What happens when a Clone
copying a creature with persist dies, does the persist trigger and if it does,
does the Clone come back able to copy a new target or does it come back as the
original copy.
Answer
I cast a Clone and copy Kitchen Finks; I gain 2 life points. Then, my Clone-Finks dies and is put in
the graveyard. Since Clone copies everything, it will have the Persist ability
too! The Persist ability will trigger and, when it resolves, will do what it
says: It will return the card to the battlefield (it’s not important if the
card was named Kitchen Finks on the battlefield and Clone in the graveyard;
when an ability refers to the card itself, it checks for the card itself
independently from its name) and it will return it with a -1/-1 counter. When
the Clone returns to play, it’s a new Clone (with just the -1/-1 counter) and
you will need to choose another creature (or the creature you copied the first
time, if it’s still on the battlefield).
Question by mike warner
Turn one I cast a Bloodchief Ascension.
opponent turn 1
Turn two I cast a Lightning Bolt for 3 direct damage (1 counter on the bloodchief)
opponents turn 2
Turn three I cast a Shock
(for another counter that’s 2) opponents turn 3 I cast another Shock.
Opponent's end phase I place the third counter. This is where my question comes
in. Can I now cast a Path to Exile before my turn so he hopefully fetches a
land to activate Archive Trap? If I can will he still take 26 damage because of
the Bloodchief Ascension?
Answer
The first ability checks if
your opponent lost 2 life at the end of each turn (his turns too); it means
that your Shock will allow you to put the third counter on your Ascension.
As you say, you need to
cast your Path to Exile after your Ascension received the third counter, in his
end step.
Just remember that your
Path gives him the choice of
searching his library; if he knows your plan, he will choose not to search; if
he doesn't expect your Trap, you will win the game!
Questions Of The Week.
This week I have again a
few Legacy situations!
Question
My opponent wants to steal
one of my creatures with his Vedalken Shackles. If I pump my creature until the
end of turn, will he gain control of my creature when the pump effect ends?
Answer
No. Vedalken Shackles’
ability checks the power of the creature in two moments: When the ability is
activated and when the ability resolves. If your opponent doesn’t “steal” the
creature immediately, you will keep control of it even when your +X/+X effect
ends.
Question
I have another Vedalken Shackles question. If my opponent steals my animated Mutavault, will I get it
back at the end of the turn?
Answer
No, even if the “targeted
creature” stops being a creature at the end of the turn, your opponent will
keep control of it as long as he chooses not to untap the Vedalken Shackles.
Question
I control Sacred Ground and
an animated Treetop Village; if I attack and my opponent blocks it with another
3/3, will I get my Treetop Village back?
Answer
No. Even if you can blame
your opponent for killing your animated Treetop Village, it was destroyed
because of a game rule (it was a 3/3 with 3 damage on it) and Sacred Ground
doesn’t trigger.
Question
My opponent played Show and Tell and put a card facedown on the table; what does that mean?
Answer
Show and Tell allows each
player to put a permanent on the battlefield; the active player chooses first
(and needs to identify the card, for example by putting it on the table face
down), then the opponent chooses (and needs to identify the card, for example
by holding it above the table); at the end, both cards are revealed and enter
the battlefield at the same time. It means that, if you are second, you can’t
choose your card knowing what your opponent will put on the table.
Card Of The Month: Chalice of the Void
Chalice of the Void, printed
several years ago, is seeing a lot of play in the formats where it’s legal
(Extended, Legacy and Vintage). Chalice of the Void has its
main use in control decks: If we are facing an aggro deck, a Chalice for 1
would counter all 1-cost creatures and Lightning Bolts, giving us a huge
advantage. But it can also be used the
opposite way! If we are playing an aggro deck against a control deck, we can
add pressure to the board with a few cheap creatures and then prevent our
opponent from playing his bounce-removal-counter spells with a Chalice set on
2.
From a rules point of view,
there are many things to say. Let’s start with the converted mana cost.
Chalice of the Void’s cost
has a double X. When the card is on the stack, X counts as the (half of the)
mana actually paid to cast the spell. When the card is in a zone other than the
stack (battlefield, deck, hand, graveyard, exile), X counts as zero.
First case: The converted
mana cost of Chalice of the Void is zero. When it’s in your library, you can
choose it when transmuting Tolaria West or when resolving the
enter-the-battlefield of Trinket Mage; when you reveal it with Counterbalance,
you can counter a spell that costs zero.
When it’s on the
battlefield. To destroy a Chalice (with any number of counters on it) you need
to sacrifice Engineered Explosives for zero or choose zero for Void. When it’s
in your hand. To make your opponent discard it, you need to choose zero for Void.
Second case: The converted
mana cost of Chalice of the Void is double the value of X. When it’s on the
stack, just after you cast it; if you want to play a Chalice for 1, you will
need to spend two mana, its converted mana cost will be 2, and it will be
countered by Spellsnare or by a Counterbalance that reveals Counterspell or Tarmogoyf
or Fire/Ice or Boom/Bust.
There are several effects
that modify the cost of a spell; these effects don’t modify the converted mana
cost. A Chalice for 1 has a converted mana cost of 2 even if there is a Sphere of Resistance on the battlefield (that makes you pay 3 because of an additional
cost) and even if there is a Trinisphere on the battlefield (that makes you pay
3 because it modifies the final cost).
A Chalice of the Void that
is already on the battlefield will not check for additional costs, for cost
reductions, for alternative costs, for Trinisphere effects; it will check only
the converted mana cost (that’s what is printed on the card, independently from
how it was cast)
For example, a Chalice with
two counters will:
- Counter a Tarmogoyf, even
if your opponent cast it “without paying its mana cost” (for example thanks to
a Mind's Desire).
- Counter a Tarmogoyf even if
your opponent paid three mana because of a Trinisphere or one mana thanks to an Emerald Medallion.
- Counter a Shattering Pulse,
even if the buyback cost was paid.
- Counter a Glacial Ray even
if you spliced an arcane spell on it.
- Counter Engineered Explosives, if two was paid for it.
- Not counter Engineered Explosives if three was paid for it (For example, if you want the Explosives
for two but there is a Chalice for two on the table; just pay three mana with
only two colors).
- Counter Sudden Shock, even
if it has Split Second; the Split Second ability prevents activated ability and
spells, but the Chalice has a triggered ability.
The converted mana cost of
a split card on the stack is only the converted mana cost of the half being
played; it’s just like the other half didn’t exist (this applies only to a
split card on the stack). For example, a Chalice with 2 counters will counter
Boom but will not counter Bust.
Finally, it’s important to
note that the Chalice will counter only the spells being actually cast, not the spells that are put
directly on the stack.
For example, if you want to
destroy a Chalice with one counter, you can:
As
an extra, remember that Isochron Scepter works the same way: It creates a
copy and then allows you to actually cast the copy; Chalice would
counter it only if it was the actual card; since what is cast is a copy
of the imprinted card Meddling Mage would NOT prevent it.
Behind The Scenes Of GP
Madrid
GP Madrid: New world
record: 2229 participants!
YES, we finally did it, we
finally broke 2000!!!
If you are looking for tournament
reports, I encourage you to read the other articles from our pro players:
Our Rookie of the Year is back from GP Madrid. He analyzes his performance at the biggest tournament in Magic history and tells you what lessons he
learned. In addition Lino explains his deck choice and presents an updated version!
GP Madrid is in the books and I bring you a detailed round by round report of how I (once again) came close to making top 8 at the biggest event in the history of the game! Join me as I battle my way through the Legacy format to a top 16 finish.
Level 4 pro Joel Calafell brings you
the deck he used to make day 2 in the biggest Magic tournament in the history of the game. If you are looking for the latest Legacy technology make sure to read on.
Joel also includes his
thoughts on the first card from Rise of the Eldrazi!
If you are looking for a
few stories from behind the scenes, here we go.
“The software can’t go over
2000”
You might have heard
something like “the software to run tournaments has a limit of 2000 players”;
yes and no. While local events are run with a new software called Wizards Event
Reporter (WER), Premier events are run with the old software called DCI
reporter (V3). Indeed there is a limit of 1998 players (that corresponds to 999
tables…. It looks like we are back to the year 1999 ^__^), but it doesn’t mean
that a GP can’t have more than 1998 players.
GPs are very often split into
two tournaments, and the main reasons are to enter the results on two computers
and to facilitate crowd movements. There would be space for 1998*2=3996
participants. In case there were more, it would just need to be split into
three, four, five…
Then, everybody with at
least 21 points (7 wins 2 losses) qualifies for day 2; at this moment, all
qualified players are transferred to a single tournament; in case of more than
2000 players, the simple way to do it is to create a brand new tournament,
resetting tiebreakers and assigning the appropriate number of points to
everyone; in addition to resetting tiebreakers, there would be the possibility
that two players who played against each other in day 1 would meet again in day
2.
Well, if these are the
disadvantages, let’s always have more than 2000 participants!
“0-3 will be automatically
dropped”
Yes, we said something
similar to that.
It was Saturday morning, we
had already 1900 people inside the tournament hall, there was a very very very
long queue outside and… we hadn’t enough tables and chairs for everybody!
The first three rounds wouldn’t have been a problem (We counted about 50 people
with 2 byes and 250 people with 3 byes); but what if the queue continued and
nobody dropped? Ah, yes, the sky was clouded and it looked like it might start
to rain!
Seeing as we weren’t sure
if we could seat everybody appropriately, we considered the option of forcing
0-3 players to drop; we discussed it with the American Organized Play manager
online and we announced before round 1 that “we have the option to drop all the
players at 0-3, in case it becomes necessary”; this way, everybody who’s dissatisfied
could drop from the tournament and receive their money back (nobody did it), and
we also had four more hours to consider all the options.
At the end of round two, we
had prepared the plan to let everybody continue the tournament for all the nine
rounds, and we started communicating the good news to anybody who was asking. When
round 4 started, enough people dropped and everybody still in the tournament
could play without the need of adding tables in the entrance area or adding
more chairs to the existing tables.
“We need a few more tables
and chairs, good luck for tonight”
This is the sentence we
said to the organizer on Friday evening; the room was prepared with about 1400
very comfortable seats, but we already had 1515 players registered; usually two
thirds of the people register on Friday, but with Madrid having an efficient
and cheap metro and one of the stops being very close to the tournament site, we
expected less than a third to register on Saturday morning; still, 1400 seats
weren’t enough.
The judges had their
meeting and dinner on Friday evening, and left saying good luck to the
organizer, who had the mission to find tables and chairs during the night!
Then, Saturday morning
arrived; there were more rows of tables, each row had more chairs than the day
before, for a total of 2000 seats and about 1700 tables. Good, where are the
chairs? Chairs are on the way, expected to arrive at 11:30 AM.
We started the tournament
collecting the decklists (and dividing the participants into two halves and
giving the general instructions) with 500 people standing. Thanks to the about
600 people with at least one bye, everybody had a chair at the beginning of
round 1… and the remaining chairs arrived before round 2. These are the
disadvantages of breaking all records!
“How many rounds did you
say??”
If you played a Grand Prix,
you surely know that we play nine rounds on Saturday and six rounds on Sunday
(+ top8); the total is 15 + top8.
At the previous GP Paris,
with 1960 participants, we played 16 rounds. At GP Madrid, for the first time
in history, we played 17 rounds!
The reason is that, if you
qualify for Sunday (making 7-2 or better), you need to be able to make top 8 if
you win all the matches on Sunday. Starting Sunday at 21 points, with 300
players, and playing only 6 rounds would mean that you couldn’t make top 8 even
with 6-0 (and this would be wrong); by adding two rounds, winning all eight
matches on day 2 would guarantee you a spot in the top 8.
This concept is equivalent
to the Swiss rounds at all the normal tournaments: “if you make X-1, you
qualify for the top 8” and the number of rounds depends on the number of participants.
“With more players,
shouldn’t we receive more Pro Points and more money?”
Yes, I agree, winning Pro
Points and money is much easier in Australia than in Europe (I’m just talking
about the number of participants, not about the skills); it surely would make
sense to have a prize pool (Pro Points and money) that reflects it.
What about money? Sorry,
I’m afraid it will never happen; companies have to create a budget and, even if
there are always changes, I’m quite sure that the total cash award is fixed.
What about pro Points?
Well, why not…. Pro Points are the competition award and contribute to the
standings at the end of the season, that represent the results of the year (and
winning a 2000 people GP is surely a remarkable result); Let’s see if next
season there will be an extra rule like “a GP with 1600+ players gives +10% Pro
Points”.
Thanks for reading, I hope
you enjoyed this article and I’m looking forward to reading any comments.
Riccardo
Don't forget to ask me all your rules questions for the next installment of Ask the Judge:
You have the unique opportunity to ask Level 5
judge Riccardo Tessitori all the questions you want to!
You can ask him questions concerning rules
problems, the life of a level 5 judge, DCI policies, interesting tournament
situations and anything else you want to ask him!
Bidding is now closed.
Current Bids
Buyin expires on Thu, 25 Mar
The following winning bids were featured on this page:
Email this page
With Necrogenesis, if there are no creatures in any graveyards, can I simply pay 2 to make a Saproling? I’m pretty sure I can, because removing the creature isn’t part of the cost and because the word “target” occurs in a different sentence from the one in which the Saproling token is made.
Please post your rules question as a bid and not as a comment. Thanks. Questions in comments won't be answered by Riccardo.
Chalice would counter it because it’s cast; Meddling Mage would prevent it, because it would be cast.
Then again, Meddling Mage only prevents cards from being cast, and a copy isn't a card ;)
Post new comment