Ah. It's been a while since I've used a forum. I forgot about stickies and didn't think about whether this thread was one or not.  Thanks for mentioning. It looked like that's where the discussion had gone. I was just trying to make sure that if the list was still updated that those cards were removed so new edh players didn't go out to buy cards they couldn't use.

A few more notes here:

One:

Because of things like Player Priority, there is a chance someone could send a creature to the graveyard, stack the Vat ability, and then stack an ability that would destroy the Vat. (Perhaps that would be useful if they had gained control of an opponent's creature and feared the Vat may be taken control of in a subsequent turn)

Two:

Since it is a "May" ability:
603.5. Some triggered abilities’ effects are optional (they contain “may,” as in “At the beginning of your upkeep, you may draw a card”). These abilities go on the stack when they trigger, regardless of whether their controller intends to exercise the ability’s option or not. The choice is made when the ability resolves. Likewise, triggered abilities that have an effect “unless” something is true or a player chooses to do something will go on the stack normally; the “unless” part of the ability is dealt with when the ability resolves.
114.1. Some spells and abilities require their controller to choose one or more targets for them. The targets are object(s), player(s), and/or zone(s) the spell or ability will affect. These targets are declared as part of the process of putting the spell or ability on the stack. The targets can’t be changed except by another spell or ability that explicitly says it can do so.

This means that the player does not have to choose whether or not to imprint a dying creature until all players have passed up responding to the trigger.


Three:

Since cards that get "exiled this way" or "exiled by card X" are put in exile in their own pile, even though the Vat may have been destroyed at the top of the stack, each exile effects resolving later still have the linked "If you do," rule and the ability will recognize they were exiled by an effect from the same source and dumps the previously exiled cards back into the graveyard. 

Essentially, If there was an exiled card, and multiple creatures die, you pick which one remains in exile and the rest go to the graveyard regardless of when in the stack the Vat is destroyed.

If the Vat re-enters play, or another Vat is played, a new pile is started in exile and the previously exiled card cannot have a token made out of it.

I know I'm bumping an old thread, but I'm curious to know how this played out.
I recall one of my friends getting 2 and even 3 rares in a few packs back from Time Spiral, and naturally he had no complaints about his back having an "extra" damnation. How did WotC handle the situation?

4

(1 replies, posted in General Discussion)

No, you may not pay 0. The 0 specifically replaces the mana cost, not "any cost to cast". Since a flashback cost is a separate type of alternate cost, it cannot be replaced by the "trap" cost this way.

Similarly to this, you cannot choose to Overload a card you've targeted with Snapcaster.

In a tournament environment, I tend to try my very best to not need a translation of the card.  Since it is a competitive environment, players are expected to recognize the cards by the art.  On the other hand, I still usually bring translations with me (folded text-in inside sleeves with my sideboard) for Opponents who find the alternate language distracting or confusing, such as new players or individuals with obvious problems maintaining focus/attention. I have even offered to supply my opponents with the applicable translation to my Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, only to have them decline and then 2 turns later act dismayed that he was able to drain them for their last 10 life.

I choose not to put the translations in the sleeve with the card, as I've had terrible luck with frequent deck checks that I can only imagine were triggered by the number of foil cards I was fielding that day. I'd hate to lose a game due to providing my opponent with a courtesy.

6

(2 replies, posted in General Discussion)

No, that would mean that you could not play additional lands for turn after you played Cultivate or other similar spells.

Just going to throw this out there, Gifts Ungiven and Tinker have been banned from EDH longer than most of the posts on this page.

8

(4 replies, posted in General Discussion)

The Duel boxes in my experience tend to be more fun, especially when they are matched against each other as intended. (they usually have one or two cards that are just devastating to each other, and not many other decks)

On the other hand, the Event Decks have a sideboard and all, so you can even tweak it a little right out of the box without digging into your collection. One of my favorite things about these is that the strategies are pretty accessible to new players, so you can have them get an event deck, and maybe a half dozen other powerful cards to swap in, and they can go to a tournament with you without feeling like they brought a deck that let them down.

9

(8 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Thanks for the heads up on that combo!
I currently run Dark Depths in a RUG EDH deck simply because I can often power through the counters in just a couple turns, but looks like I better pick up a copy of the stage before word gets out!

10

(3 replies, posted in General Discussion)

I'm not a judge, but I would say yes. The last part of the ability, "If you do, return each other card...", is not a separate triggered ability, but a conditional statement regarding how you handle the resolution of the imprint trigger.

11

(2 replies, posted in General Discussion)

You look to be correct on your assessment in languages.

As far as foreign cards go, the value depends almost solely on the market they are sold or traded in.

Generally speaking, a non-English card is worth about 10% more, though this is affected by which language, what card etc.  For instance, A lot of my friends and local players go crazy for Japanese or Korean cards, sometimes valuing them at close to double.

On the other hand, in places like Europe where so many languages are spoken so close to one another, alternate language cards don't usually fetch much more.

Bottom line: In the case of a very playable common like yours, those would probably go for an extra dollar over regular price here in New England.

12

(3 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Not just to bump the thread, but I agree that MTG should have a compassionate playerbase.  It's the sort of game that' is as relaxed or competitive as you want to make it.

I remember a few years ago going down to my local comic shop to buy a few singles on a friday night and seeing a new face asking around if he could get in a few practice rounds with his new deck.  Next thing I know, one of our local "pro" players is sitting next to him, walloping him with a turn 4 win with his elf-ball deck. I was flabbergasted that anyone would think this was OK to do with a new player. I subsequently told the new kid that I was sorry that happened, told him not everyone who plays there is a jerk and asked if he wanted to play a slow relaxed game.  I took an awful mana-screwed hand that started to turn around on turn 6, but we had to call it short in order to make way for the evening's draft event.  I'm sure it helped make him feel better about his own abilities and the environment he was playing in. 

On the other hand, competition is a healthy motivator, and I do keep a few decks together, that while they would never win a vintage/legacy tournament, have a healthy handful of old faithfuls (dual lands, and powerful things like demonic tutor, balance etc) Just to troll around and show new arrogant players that there are more ways to win than they think, and if they learn to play a better game/build a better deck, then maybe one of these days they'll beat the kid who doesn't use creatures while they still have a deck left to draw from.

I guess in conclusion, there's a lot more to it than who has what cards, and most of what keeps players wanting to sit down to duel together is sportsmanship. Unfortunately, some people just never get around to learning that aspect of the game. If you sent the kid to school with power 9 in his deck, I'd bet the gloating winner would just be a sore loser, and no one really learned anything.

In any case, I'm glad you took the initiative to get involved with your nephew on common ground. It's good to see family coming together over such a classic game.

13

(1 replies, posted in General Discussion)

This is a hard one to figure.  The value of alters, given that they are just visually modified versions of the original card, are all in the eye of the beholder.

I've collected a fair number of alters, several from a specific artist in Greece (cannot recall his name) as well as from Card Kitty (I'm sure you've heard of them). Personally, I prefer full art/extended art alters that just bring the art out of the rectangle box and help make the cards feel more real and less like a bunch of text on paper.

On the other hand, an altered, or even just a signed card is no longer mint and can be viewed as a damaged card since it's no longer mint.

While some people might go crazy for the cool look you can get from erasing sections of the card printing over the original foil paper, I don't value it very highly, since I don't perceive it to take as much skill as hand painting art onto the cardboard.

To account for the preference of the collector, I say the value is the price of the original with a +/- 15%

To my knowledge, this one hasn't been going up, and probably won't for some time.

As I understand the only Duel box to have shot up in value was the Divine vs Demonic. While the overall power of the cards in that box were lower than Jace VS Chandra, it had a demonic tutor in it, and a really sweet new art on Akroma.

Even though the anime style art on the planeswalkers is pretty sweet, most people are content with the english versions they already have.

Maybe you want to hang onto it the way it is for now, but I wouldn't expect the price to go up until another couple years when supply of sealed boxes runs dry.

Personally, I've begun buying 2 of each box to either A) combine the best cards into one supercharged deck of each theme B) have the original decks that are well matched to teach people to play, and still have the cool alt arts to put in my edh decks, or C) use one while the other collects dust, and hopefully value.

15

(2 replies, posted in General Discussion)

That's too bad. It would be really nice if they could implement the magiccards.info DB instead of Gatherer. Frankly I've never understood people's obsession with Gatherer over .info.  Gatherer is slower, and has less useful data, and to my knowledge no fun art game that goes with it.

I suppose when I'm cataloging, I'll just have to leave those cards out, and put them in a separate spreadsheet like you suggested so I can tack them onto the file that DeckBox exports. 

Thanks for clearing that up!

One of the reasons I started entering my collection on DeckBox was to get a rough estimate of what my collection is worth. I own a good handful of interesting specimens that DeckBox doesn't know what to do with, and I was hoping someone had and idea about how to remedy this.

Example:
I own about a DOZEN Jace Beleren, however, 2 of them are from the Dual box, 1 of them is from the Japanese Dual Box, and one of them is from the Book Promo.

Deckbox values all the Duel Box Jaces the same, though I know the Japanese one has different art, and is valued about double.

The Media Insert one from the book is worth 150, but Deckbox thinks it's no different than a regular Lorrwyn Jace.

Is there any way to point Deckbox to the correct cards on TCG trader, or manually edit the price listed for those cards my collection?