joel krebs backups
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Backups
Outline
• What backups mean
• The theory on paper
• The practice on the floor
WHAT BACKUPS MEAN
Why they are considered delicate
Recently at dinner…
• Backups usually affect players more than
penalties do
• Players relate stronger to backups than to
other parts of the IPG
• Backups are considered to tricky as they
have to be done in a certain way
Consequences
• At GPs backups have to be discussed with
a L3+
• At other tournaments it should go through
the HJ
THE GREY THEORY
What the documents tell us to do
What do we backup?
• GPE – Game Rule Violation
• TE – Communication Policy Violation
• Player Miscommunication
When do we backup?
If the error was discovered within a time frame in which a player could reasonably be expected to notice the error and the situation is simple enough to safely back up without too much disruption to the course of the game, the judge may get permission from the Head Judge to back up the game to the point of the error. (MIPG, p. 11)
«
Decision factors
YOU SHOULD CONSIDER
• Hidden information
revealed
• Time frame
• Number of decisions
made by the players
• Assumptions the players
based their decisions on
• Complexity of the backup
DO NOT CONSIDER
• Who benefits the backup
• Who had a benefit from
the original error
• Is it fair?
The Golden Rule
• No partial fix
• It is very hard to foresee all consequences
– Consistency
– Protection from being biased
– No forcing players to stick to decisions done
based on wrong assumptions
Exceptions for GRV
• Illegal or no choice
• Turn-based action of drawing a card
• Discard or return cards from hand
• Object in wrong zone
(if within turn and identity is known)
Example Game Actions
• Simple Game Actions
– Mana Tapped
– Damage to a player
– Resolving most spells
– Destroying
permanents
– Looking at additional
cards
• Trickier Game Actions
– Draw one single card
– Passing the turn
• Difficult Game Actions
– Drawing multiple cards
– Passing more than just
one turn
– Shuffling cards known
to only one player
THE THEORY IN ACTION
On the wild floor
Disclaimer
• No cheating assumed.
• Stick to the example and don‘t add stuff.
Counting is hard
Player A casts
Thoughtcast for U. He
should have paid 1U.
He can not afford
paying that, unless he
hits a mana source with
the two cards.
Cavern of Colorless
Player A casts a
Flinthoof Boar of two
Cavern of Souls which
both a named on
human. He attacks and
then passes the turn.
The opponent attacks
and passes the turn.
Player A draws a card.
Furious Holy Battle
Player A attacks with a
3/1 Creature enchanted
with Holy Mantle. Player
B blocks with a 5/4.
Before damage he
casts Furious
Resistance. Player A
responds with Aerial
Maneuver on the
attacking creature.
Don’t daze me bro!
A player casts Repeal
for X = 0 on the
opponent’s Dryad Arbor.
The opponent responds
with a Daze, returning a
Island. Then they
realize the mistake.
Izzet Experiments
A player taps a fetch
land and a regular land
to cast Izzet charm in
the draw/discard-mode.
After completely
resolving the spell, the
players notice that a
fetchland has been
tapped for mana.
The Concept of a Stack
• Player A casts
Ponder. Doesn‘t
shuffle. Then casts
Kozilek and draws
two cards. The
opponent stops him:
„Hey, I wanted to
counter Kozilek!“