719.3. Sometimes a loop can be fragmented, meaning that each player involved in the loop performs an
independent action that results in the same game state being reached multiple times. If that happens,
the active player (or, if the active player is not involved in the loop, the first player in turn order
who is involved) must then make a different game choice so the loop does not continue.
Example: In a two-player game, the active player controls a creature with the ability “{0}:
[This creature] gains flying,” the nonactive player controls a permanent with the ability
“{0}: Target creature loses flying,” and nothing in the game cares how many times an
ability has been activated. Say the active player activates his creature’s ability, it resolves,
then the nonactive player activates her permanent’s ability targeting that creature, and it
resolves. This returns the game to a game state it was at before. The active player must
make a different game choice (in other words, anything other than activating that creature’s
ability again). The creature doesn’t have flying. Note that the nonactive player could have
prevented the fragmented loop simply by not activating her permanent’s ability, in which
case the creature would have had flying. The nonactive player always has the final choice
and is therefore able to determine whether the creature has flying.
I was playing with a friend and a really messed up situation happened. I cast Purphoros, god of the forge and then cast Entomb grabbing worldgorger dragon and preceded to cast animate dead. The only creature card in both of our graveyards was worldgorger dragon. My opponent had a vedalken orrery in play and cast spike feeder then enchanted it with sunbond (before gorger triggered), which would give him as much life as he wanted. Now the ruling above states that because i am the active player i would have to take an action that does not result in the same board state, but i can't because my combo is mandatory. So does the game just stalemate?
104.4b If a game that’s not using the limited range of influence option (including a two-player
game) somehow enters a “loop” of mandatory actions, repeating a sequence of events with no
way to stop, the game is a draw. Loops that contain an optional action don’t result in a draw. 719.4. If a loop contains only mandatory actions, the game is a draw. (See rules 104.4b and 104.4f.)
The loop does not contain only mandatory actions my opponent is choosing to gain life.
So then is my opponent forced to stop gaining life because they are next in turn order and lose?
I believe in this situation your opponent gets to choose to break the cycle or not, effectively meaning they get to choose if the game is a draw.
Worldgorger Oracle ruling:6/8/2016 If Animate Dead is put onto the battlefield enchanting Worldgorger Dragon, Worldgorger Dragon’s enters-the-battlefield trigger will exile Animate Dead, which causes you to sacrifice Worldgorger Dragon, which causes Animate Dead to return to the battlefield attached to a creature card in a graveyard of your choice. If you can choose a creature card other than Worldgorger Dragon, you must do so after as many iterations of this loop as you’d like. If you can’t choose a different card, and no player chooses to break the loop, the game ends in a draw.
The important part being that it only ends if a player chooses to end it.
At first, if a combo loops and contains a choice, you have to say how many times you loop till you make a "different" choice, even if that choice might literally lose you the game, you have to make it, if that is the only choice that stops the loop.
If there is no choice involved and neither player can stop the loop, the game ends in a draw (and often people agree to a draw if they cannot "see" the choice they might have).
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In your given example you would keep looping 2 damage with the dragon combo and you literally state you keep doing that till the end of days (as a dead opponent will stop the loop, a defined moment, i do that X times and your life total will be something with times 2 damage, but its below 0 and that is enough to stop it).
Your opponent can gain as much life as they want, but it doesnt matter, as they have to say how much life they want , a defined state to end a loop they are doing, and then they have to make a different choice (either do nothing, or kill the spike feeder by removing counters in response) , either way they have a defined life total then. Of course they argue that after they take a bunch of damage they will just keep repeating gaining life ; but that just repeats the loop, no matter what, the only choice they can and have to make will end the loop of gaining life and the loop that deals damage will win over it.
Even if the spike feeder ends up dead and the dragon combo has now the choice to target the spike feeder, you do not have to, as the damage loop will end itself with a dead opponent.
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A concept of "infinited" does not exist in magic, the big point is that you have to define very clearly how often you do something to archive a defined end goal and a game state that is also defined (so no randomness is involved).
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In magic online theres no loops like this and time would simply run out ... at which point a player loses in that manner.
I was playing with a friend and a really messed up situation happened. I cast Purphoros, god of the forge and then cast Entomb grabbing worldgorger dragon and preceded to cast animate dead. The only creature card in both of our graveyards was worldgorger dragon. My opponent had a vedalken orrery in play and cast spike feeder then enchanted it with sunbond (before gorger triggered), which would give him as much life as he wanted. Now the ruling above states that because i am the active player i would have to take an action that does not result in the same board state, but i can't because my combo is mandatory. So does the game just stalemate?
The loop does not contain only mandatory actions my opponent is choosing to gain life.
So then is my opponent forced to stop gaining life because they are next in turn order and lose?
What happens?
Worldgorger Oracle ruling:6/8/2016 If Animate Dead is put onto the battlefield enchanting Worldgorger Dragon, Worldgorger Dragon’s enters-the-battlefield trigger will exile Animate Dead, which causes you to sacrifice Worldgorger Dragon, which causes Animate Dead to return to the battlefield attached to a creature card in a graveyard of your choice. If you can choose a creature card other than Worldgorger Dragon, you must do so after as many iterations of this loop as you’d like. If you can’t choose a different card, and no player chooses to break the loop, the game ends in a draw.
The important part being that it only ends if a player chooses to end it.
WUBRGReaper King - Superfriends
WUBRGChild of Alara - The Nauseating Aurora
WUBSharuum the Hegemon - Christmas In Prison
WUBZur the Enchanter - Ow My Face
WRJor Kadeen, the Prevailer - Snow Goats
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden - International Goblin All Purpose Recycling Facility Number 12
WGSaffi Eriksdotter - Saffi Combosdotter
UPatron of the Moon - The Age of Aquarius
BHorobi, Death's Wail - Bring Out Your Dead
GSachi, Daughter of Seshiro - Sneks
If there is no choice involved and neither player can stop the loop, the game ends in a draw (and often people agree to a draw if they cannot "see" the choice they might have).
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In your given example you would keep looping 2 damage with the dragon combo and you literally state you keep doing that till the end of days (as a dead opponent will stop the loop, a defined moment, i do that X times and your life total will be something with times 2 damage, but its below 0 and that is enough to stop it).
Your opponent can gain as much life as they want, but it doesnt matter, as they have to say how much life they want , a defined state to end a loop they are doing, and then they have to make a different choice (either do nothing, or kill the spike feeder by removing counters in response) , either way they have a defined life total then. Of course they argue that after they take a bunch of damage they will just keep repeating gaining life ; but that just repeats the loop, no matter what, the only choice they can and have to make will end the loop of gaining life and the loop that deals damage will win over it.
Even if the spike feeder ends up dead and the dragon combo has now the choice to target the spike feeder, you do not have to, as the damage loop will end itself with a dead opponent.
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A concept of "infinited" does not exist in magic, the big point is that you have to define very clearly how often you do something to archive a defined end goal and a game state that is also defined (so no randomness is involved).
----
In magic online theres no loops like this and time would simply run out ... at which point a player loses in that manner.
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