Also, you are allowed to take notes during a tournament. These notes can be anything really, so don't shy away from just writing down a short reminder for yourself. Your note sheet must be empty at the beginning of a match, and must be visible during the game, but you can keep your notes hidden from other players.
From the tounament rules
Players are allowed to take written notes during a match and may refer to those notes while that match is in progress. At the beginning of a match, each player’s note sheet must be empty and must remain visible throughout the match. Players do not have to explain or reveal notes to other players. Judges may ask to see a player’s notes and/or request that the player explain his or her notes.
Yes. The Wargear left the battlefield and is obviously no longer attached to your opponent's creature, so its ability triggers.
From the Wargear's rulings:
12/1/2004 The "becomes unattached" ability triggers if (a) Grafted Wargear leaves the battlefield, (b) the equip ability moves it onto another creature, (c) another effect moves it onto another creature, (d) an effect causes it to become unattached, or (e) the creature leaves the battlefield.
All attackers are declared at the same time, during the declare attackers turn based action at the beginning of the declare attacker step. Any creature not present or unable to attack at that time cannot be declared as attacker in this combat phase. It is still the declare attacker step after the Captain's trigger resolved, but you don't get to declare additional attackers.
The Command is a modal spell, and modes are chosen when the spell is cast. The Mindbender's ability is just one trigger consisting of a series of instructions, it has no modes. You just follow the instructions as the abiliy resolves, and ignore any that are impossible to perform.
Also of note, Cryptic Command does not nessessarily get countered by the game rules if one of its targets become illegal. A targeted spell/ability "fizzles" if all its targets are illegal at the timeof resolution. So if a combination of modes was chosen that has a total of one target, if that target becomes illegal, the whole spell gets countered. But if there are several targets, making one target illegal doesn't casue the spell to be countered.
Yes, that works. You can get any amount of red and/or black mana with this. A copy of a spell will reference te original in terms of additional costs paid and sacrifices made, etc. to determine its effect. So the sacrifice of a 7+ CMC creature for the original will result in all the copies creating that much red and/or black mana.
Yes. Look up the rulings on the card. You first count your permanents, and then shuffle them back in. You reveal cards based on the number you've counted, it doesn't matter where the cards actually went.
You did specify in your example, that you cast Unsummon in response to his first GG. You are bound by that. If you didn't want to do this, then why didn't you just say "after your second GG" or "after all your pump spells" or similar. You do have the last word on when the game moves on to the next step. Because after an object on the stack resolves, the active player gets priority. If he wants to move the game forward, he has to pass and then you have to pass, but you can just as well play Unsummon instead.
Yes, you got the gist of it. When multiple blockers are declared for one attacker, the attacking player chooses a damage assignment order for it as part the blocker declaration. The attacking creature then has to go through all blocking creatures in that order, only being able to assign damage to one, if all creatures before it in the line have already lethal damage assigned to them. Choosing this order during blocker declaration is indeed meant to allow shenanigans like your example, which would lead to both 2/2s surving and one dead Maw.
This behavour is a shortcut proposal, which you shortened to the point where you have priority after the first GG was cast. Since it got interrupted, none of the things proposed for a later time in the shortcut happen, the casting of the second GG is undone, the card put back into the zone it came from and mana abilities activaved to cast is are reversed (lands get untapped etc.).
This is not a courtesy thing but an official take on tournament shortcuts. This shortcut is assumed unless the player specifically says otherwise.
Also, there is only ever one stack. It is a zone where cards can be, just like your hand or library, or the battlefield. The stack is empty at times, but it still exists, just like any other zone that doesn't contain cards (the graveyard at the beginning of the game, for example).
Rezzahan is saying that if you attack with a 2/2 Lifelink, it is blocked by a 3/3, and you cast Gideon's Reproach targeting the 3/3 before combat damage, your 2/2 will not deal damage and you will not gain life. If, however, your 2/2 had trample, it would deals its 2 damage to the defending player.
Isn't it that the 3/3 blocked the 2/2? So if i use GR there ahouldn't be any damage to the opponent. Even it has trample, because the 3/3 has blocked it
A blocked creature with trample, that has no creatures blocking it when the combat damage step begins, has to assign and deal all its combat damage to the player/planeswalker it is attacking. A blocked trampler has to assign lethal damage to all creatures blocking it before trampling over, which is zero, since there's nothing left that needs trampling over.
So if after blockers are declared a creature blocking a lifelink creature dies, the lifelink creature is no longer attacking a player or has a valid source to deal damage to.
How did the blocking creature die? Is it through Gideon's Reproach or because the attacking creatures power is greater than the blocker's toughness. If it is the latter, isn't it that the attacking creature's controller should gain life?
The whole scenario is about the blocker dying before combat damage, for example due to Gideon's Reproach.
A simple +2/+2 is a continous effect. It can come from a permanent or other object, and remains for as long as that object stays in the appropriate zone (usually the battlefield, the command zone for emblems, etc.). Such effects can also come from resolving spells or abilities and last as long as stated (usually until end of turn). Counters are used as markers and/or for more permanent modifications and have their effects (if any) for as long as they remain on the object and the object remains in its zone (a zone change will remove all counters).
No. Damage to a creature from a source without wither or infect will just get marked on it, and that marked damage is compared to the creature's toughness to determine if it gets destroyed by state based actions. Such a creature dies with its full toughness.
Damage to a creature from a source with wither or infect will, however, result in that many -1/-1 counters being placed on the creature, which does reduce the toughness.
In your example, the Tree is still a 0/13 creature, i just has 2 damage marked on it. A life total exchange through its ability will result in the opponent being set to 13 life. If the 2/2 has wither or infect, then the Tree would be a -2/11 creature afterwards, and the life total exchange would set the opponent to 11 life.
Also, is there ever a reason you wouldn't wait for a spell to resolve before casting the other in this situation?
There are some spells, like Twincast, that you simply have to cast in response to your own spell, if you want to copy it. Because once your spell has resolved, it no longer exists as a spell and cannot be targeted. Another example would be, that you suspect your opponent to have a spell with split second in hand, and you simply cannot risk him casting it before you've put another spell on the stack (like if that spell needs a sacrifice, and the only viable sacrifice could be taken out with Sudden Death, never giving you a chance to cast your spell and make that sacrifce).
Also, the forum rules say you should link [cards] but it doesn't say what the code is. I've tried [ and [[ but neither work.
Just [c ] and [/c ] around the card name suffice (without the spaces).
From the tounament rules
From the Wargear's rulings:
Also of note, Cryptic Command does not nessessarily get countered by the game rules if one of its targets become illegal. A targeted spell/ability "fizzles" if all its targets are illegal at the timeof resolution. So if a combination of modes was chosen that has a total of one target, if that target becomes illegal, the whole spell gets countered. But if there are several targets, making one target illegal doesn't casue the spell to be countered.
This is not a courtesy thing but an official take on tournament shortcuts. This shortcut is assumed unless the player specifically says otherwise.
Also, there is only ever one stack. It is a zone where cards can be, just like your hand or library, or the battlefield. The stack is empty at times, but it still exists, just like any other zone that doesn't contain cards (the graveyard at the beginning of the game, for example).
A blocked creature with trample, that has no creatures blocking it when the combat damage step begins, has to assign and deal all its combat damage to the player/planeswalker it is attacking. A blocked trampler has to assign lethal damage to all creatures blocking it before trampling over, which is zero, since there's nothing left that needs trampling over.
The whole scenario is about the blocker dying before combat damage, for example due to Gideon's Reproach.
Damage to a creature from a source with wither or infect will, however, result in that many -1/-1 counters being placed on the creature, which does reduce the toughness.
In your example, the Tree is still a 0/13 creature, i just has 2 damage marked on it. A life total exchange through its ability will result in the opponent being set to 13 life. If the 2/2 has wither or infect, then the Tree would be a -2/11 creature afterwards, and the life total exchange would set the opponent to 11 life.
There are some spells, like Twincast, that you simply have to cast in response to your own spell, if you want to copy it. Because once your spell has resolved, it no longer exists as a spell and cannot be targeted. Another example would be, that you suspect your opponent to have a spell with split second in hand, and you simply cannot risk him casting it before you've put another spell on the stack (like if that spell needs a sacrifice, and the only viable sacrifice could be taken out with Sudden Death, never giving you a chance to cast your spell and make that sacrifce).
Just [c ] and [/c ] around the card name suffice (without the spaces).