Time Spiral Limited Two-Headed Giant Rulings
Coming up soon in the world of Organized Play: the March 3 Champs event and the March 17 - May 20 PTQ season for Pro Tour San Diego. All of the events are Two-Headed Giant format with Time Spiral block limited. While this column (obviously) doesn't cover Future Sight, here are good things to keep in mind for anyone planning on playing or judging (but not both at once!) at these events.
If anyone wants a technical explanation of why any of these rulings are true, post in the forums about what is confusing you and I will be happy to reply. But I want to keep this article focused on the rulings themselves. I'll also be stealing the FAQ style of separating card notes
Breaking Very Important 2HG News That Is Very New
As of Thursday, February 22, 2007, Two-Headed Giant teams start each match with thirty life, instead of the previous forty life. If you're playing at Champs next week and anyone tells you otherwise, direct them to the Magic Floor Rules released yesterday.
General Notes
Beginning of Game
The team playing first takes any and all mulligans first. As long as both players haven't chosen to keep a hand yet, both players decide whether or not to mulligan, or keep their current hand. Once a player has chosen to keep, they can't go back and mulligan. Once the team playing first has finished taking its mulligans, the other team takes their turn. During the draw step of the first turn of the game, only the secondary player on the first team draws a card; the primary player does not draw.
You
"You" and "your" refer to just you, and not your teammate.
Combat
There is one large front. Attackers are declared together, blockers are declared together, and otherwise legal blocks can be declared no matter which player controls the creatures. Creatures who are assigning combat damage to a player (unblocked, trample, etc.) assign damage to one player or another
Landwalk
A creature with a landwalk ability is unblockable (for both defending players) as long as either defending player controls a land with the appropriate characteristic.
"Each player's upkeep" vs "Each upkeep"
The former wording triggers twice each upkeep, with each ability corresponding to an active player, while the latter ability only occurs once each upkeep.
Storm
Remember that Storm counts spells played by all 4 players on the current turn.
Card Specific Notes
Angel's Grace
You can't lose the game this turn and your opponents can't win the game this turn. Until end of turn, damage that would reduce your life total to less than 1 reduces it to 1 instead.
Your team can't lose and the opposing team can't win. Also, this also prevents the team's life total from dropping below 1.
Bog Serpent
Bog Serpent can't attack unless defending player controls a Swamp.
Bog Serpent can attack if either defending player controls a Swamp.
Brine Elemental
When Brine Elemental is turned face up, each opponent skips his or her next untap step.
The opposing team only skips one untap step, not two.
Children of Korlis
Sacrifice Children of Korlis: You gain life equal to the life you've lost this turn.
"The life you've lost this turn" is calculated based on how much life you have lost, including paying life as a cost, and life lost as a result of being dealt damage. Life your teammate has lost does not count toward this number.
Evangelize
Gain control of target creature of an opponent's choice that he or she controls.
During announcement, the controller of Evangelize chooses an opponent, and then that opponent chooses a creature he or she controls.
Fortune Thief
Damage that would reduce your life total to less than 1 reduces it to 1 instead.
Like Angel's Grace, this keeps your team from dropping below 1 life.
Gaea's Liege
As long as Gaea's Liege is attacking, its power and toughness are each equal to the number of Forests defending player controls.
The defending player whose Forests are counted is chosen as Gaea's Liege is declared as an attacking creature. Your choice for one attack doesn't affect your choice for the next one.
Magus of the Mirror
T, Sacrifice Magus of the Mirror: Exchange life totals with target opponent. Play this ability only during your upkeep.
To do this, calculate half your team's life and half the opposing team's life (rounding both up). Calculate the difference between these values. Between you and targeted opponent, the player on the team with the higher life total loses that much life and the other gains that much life. For example, if my team is at 17 life and the opposing team is at 29 life, then half of these rounded up is 9 and 15. This is a difference of 6. So I will gain 6 life, and my opponent will lose 6 life, bringing both teams to 23 life.
Pirate Ship
Pirate Ship can't attack unless defending player controls an Island.
Like Bog Serpent, Pirate Ship only needs one defending player to control an Island in order to attack.
Rolling Horror
Rolling Horror's power and toughness are each equal to your life total minus the life total of an opponent with the most life.
It's power and toughness is equal to half your team's life total (rounded up) minus half the opposing team's life total (rounded up). So if your team is at 31 life, and your opponents are at 20 life, Rolling Horror is a 6/6.
Slipstream Serpent
Slipstream Serpent can't attack unless defending player controls an Island.
In case Pirate Ship and Bog Serpent didn't spell it out clearly enough for you above, only one of the defending players needs an Island for Slipstream Serpent to attack, not both.
Smallpox
Each player loses 1 life, discards a card, sacrifices a creature, then sacrifices a land.
All four players lose 1 life simultaneously, resulting in each team life total going down by 2. Then, repeat the following for each of the three remaining actions: each of the other four players makes the appropriate choice in PAPSAPPNAPSNAP order, and then the appropriate action occurs for all four players simultaneously. (This means Primary Active Player, then Secondary Active Player, then Primary Non-Active Player, then Secondary Non-Active Player. Please use this acronym responsibly.)
Spectral Force
Whenever Spectral Force attacks, if defending player controls no black permanents, it doesn't untap during your next untap step.
Spectral Force doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step only if neither defending player controls a black permanent. If either defending player controls a black permanent, Spectral Force will untap as normal.
Temporal Extorion
When you play Temporal Extortion, any player may pay half his or her life, rounded up. If a player does, counter Temporal Extortion.
Take an extra turn after this one.
To calculate the amount of life a player must pay for this, you halve the life total rounding up twice. So if a player's team is at 21 life, he or she must pay 6 life in order to counter Temporal Isolation.
Also, your team gets an extra turn; one player doesn't take the turn alone.
Verdant Embrace
Enchanted creature gets +3/+3 and has "At the beginning of each upkeep, put a 1/1 green Saproling creature token into play under your control."
The triggered ability triggers only once each upkeep, not twice.
Walk the Aeons
Target player takes an extra turn after this one.
The team the targeted player is on gets an extra turn; the targeted player doesn't take it by himself or herself without a teammate.
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