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Ask A Judge: Eldritch Moon Edition!

When you have a mechanic that involves half a card being on the backside of another card? Yeah, there’s bound to be some confusion. Luckily, Paul Baranay is back to sort out the details of Eldritch Moon’s lunar lunacy!

SCG Regionals August 6!

Sorin,


I beseech you for aid. Strange and horrifying creatures are emerging all across Innistrad, and I know not what sense to make of them. But if anyone
could tell us what laws may govern these new abominations, it is you. Can you join me at the Star City, and speak to the masses?

— A humble traveler

Traveler,


There is none better equipped to prepare the masses for the fight against the horrors emerging on Innistrad than I. I would be honored to assist in
disseminating my knowledge to better defend my home.

— Sorin

New Mechanic: Emerge

I sacrifice a Warrior token for Wretched Gryff’s emerge ability. What discount do I get?

Summoning such a vile creature while sacrificing a noble Warrior in the process? If you must do this, the Gryff’s alternate cost would be used. You would
then look for the discount to that alternate cost. This would normally be the converted mana cost. However, your Warrior token has a converted mana cost of
zero. The final cost will be the full alternate cost of 5U.

What if I sacrifice a Hangbarback Walker with three +1/+1 counters for Wretched Gryff’s emerge ability?

There really is no escaping the destruction the Eldrazi are spreading across Innistrad. Once you decide to summon Wretched Gryff using the alternate cost,
we then look to the creature that is being sacrificed. While Hangarback Walker is on the field of battle, it does not matter to what size it has grown, it
will always have a converted mana cost of zero. Therefore you will receive no further discount toward the alternate cost.

New Mechanic: Meld

When Graf Rats and Midnight Scavengers meld into Chittering Host, does Chittering Host enter the battlefield?

Yes. While these monstrosities appear to behave in a similar fashion to Werewolves and other “transforming” creatures, in fact they meld together by
exiling themselves and re-entering the field of battle as a new creature.

I’ve melded Hanweir Garrison with Hanweir Battlements. What’s the converted mana cost of Hanweir, the Writhing Township?

Your once peaceful township has now melded into one writhing Eldrazi abomination. We examine the converted mana costs of their pre-melded selves and meld
those together. You mortals may know this operation as “adding.” Therefore your Writhing Township now has a converted mana cost of 3 (three plus zero).


I control Graf Rats. I use a Clone to copy my opponent’s Midnight Scavengers. When the Graf Rats’ ability triggers, what happens if I decide to exile
the two cards?

Your two creatures will indeed begin their journey to exile. Once there, your Rats will see that the Scavengers were merely an imposter. Because of this
the final transformation will not be able to occur, and both the Rats and the Clone will remain in exile.


Nahiri, the Harbinger is my ally — as is Bruna, the Fading Light. I use Nahiri’s ultimate to put Gisela, the Broken Blade into the battlefield. What
happens in my end step?

Ah yes, Nahiri. She temporarily summons a creature from beyond. Yet here when the end would come, we are faced with two options.

You may arrange these choices in such a way that the summoned Angel will return to your hand, and leave her sister unchanged on the field.

Or, if you are inclined to witness the devastation that is Brisela, you will need to choose in such a way that the Angels begin their melding process
first. (This means placing the meld trigger on the stack second, thus allowing it to resolve first.) When Nahiri tries to return the original Angel, she no
longer exists in the form in which Nahiri summoned her, and nothing further happens.


I’ve recruited Gisela, the Broken Blade as the commander of my EDH deck. Eventually she melds with her sister. Does Brisela, Voice of Nightmares still
deal commander damage?

First, congratulations on your ability to recruit the Angel Gisela as your commander. Now, if she happens to meld into the creature known as Brisela, this
new “Angel” will also deal damage as your commander. This is because the wretched abomination Brisela also contains what was once your glorious leader,
Gisela.


I own and control Hanweir Garrison and Hanweir Battlements. When I move to combat, my opponent casts Throttle on Hanweir Garrison. In response, I
activate Hanweir Battlements’ bottom ability. What happens?

Both the Garrison and the Battlements will enter exile and then return to the field melded into the single permanent, Hanweir, the Writhing Township.
Throttle will then be countered because the Garrison became a new object after its journey through exile. Since this monstrosity has haste, and we have yet
to enter the declaration of attackers, this Eldrazi abomination may also enter combat.


I’ve melded some Innistrad citizens and their village into Hanweir, the Writhing Township, but my opponent insists it’s Just the Wind. What happens
when the Township is returned to my hand?

If your opponent successfully purges the monstrosity from the field of battle with a spell of unsummoning, the melded creature will be torn asunder. The
two halves will revert to their original forms as they return to your hand.

Miscellaneous

Can I use Unsubstantiate on Gaea’s Revenge?

If you are able to intercept this creature before it has been fully summoned to the battlefield, you may return it to your foe’s hand. However, if Gaea’s
Revenge has successfully entered the battlefield, you will no longer be able to target it with Unsubstantiate.

I cast Galvanic Bombardment while my graveyard is empty. Do I deal two damage or three?

While this geist-powered device may have a limitless supply of fuel, its devastating power must start somewhere. At the time it’s dealing its damage, it
has not yet entered the graveyard. Therefore, if there is nothing yet in the graveyard, this first one will only deal two damage.

What can I get using Coax from the Blind Eternities?

If one were a certain lithomancer with a taste for vengeance, it would be possible to reach into the void that is the exile zone or even as far as the
sideboard to obtain the tool needed for destruction…provided that tool has Eldrazi in its type line. This also includes noncreature Eldrazi tribal cards,
such as All is Dust.

—–

As it turns out, I don’t actually know a millennia-old vampire, but I do know someone who looks a lot like him. If you attended GP Charlotte last month,
you surely noticed the cosplayers dressed as iconic Magic characters. The Sorin cosplay was worn by none other than Justin Rix, who is also a judge! I’m
very happy he was willing to join me as this week’s special guest.

Questions for Justin

Where are you from?

I have lived in Florida most of my life, and moved to Gainesville for college. I really liked it here, so I stayed.

What’s your profession?

I’m a pharmacist for Walgreens.

When did you become a judge?

I tested for Level 1 during Gatecrash. Ben McDole tested me for Level 2 in September 2013.

Why did you become a judge?

I started to really focus on learning the rules of the game to help answer questions at my LGS. There was a lack of competitive events in the Gainesville
area, because the closest judge was almost two hours away. I mostly wanted to make sure there were well-run tournaments my son could play in.

What are your proudest achievements in Magic?

About a year after my son and I started playing, we attended our first GP. We were very intimidated, and just drafted a few times (we didn’t play the main
event). On Sunday, we played in the Premier Sealed event of about 200 players. We both did very well (I lost my win-and-in) and both of us finished in the
top 30. This was the turning point for me. I try to go out of my way to help and encourage newer players and make tournaments a safe place for them.

You’re often seen with your son at Magic events. What’s being a Magic parent like? Do you have any advice for other parents?

My son and I have enjoyed doing things as a family for most of his life. We started learning a martial art together, we scuba dive, we learned archery as a
family. When we decided to try Magic, it was naturally something we decided to play together. Spending quality time with my son is also a great excuse to
go traveling to a Grand Prix and being away from the rest of the family for days at a time. The hardest part of being a Magic parent is finding the right
balance between Magic time and focusing on the rest of my family (I have a wife and two daughters as well).

When asked for tips about parenting in general, my first answer is always to spend time with them. Be involved in their lives. It’s tough after a long day
at work, when you get home and are ready to watch Game of Thrones or play some Battlefront. Before you know it, they are teenagers, and
it will get even harder to stay involved.

What inspired you to cosplay as Sorin?

I really enjoy trying new things. I had seen some cool stuff done with foam crafting, so I wanted to try that. I hadn’t seen Sorin done yet, and I unveiled
the results at GP Charlotte.

Any plans for future cosplay?

I’m currently reworking the sword for Sorin, and I’m looking at Dack Fayden. But I promised my daughter I’d make her a Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye costume.

Awesome! Thanks for joining me, Justin. Looking forward to seeing more fantastic cosplays from you!

Eldritch Moon
is shaping up to be an awesome set, and I can’t wait to see the rest of it! If you have any questions about the Eldrazi abominations rampaging across
Innistrad, leave a comment here, or send me a message at [email protected]. I’ll take the best questions and
put them in a future column!

Until next time…

SCG Regionals August 6!