Hello, puzzle fans. Welcome to the first installment of Magic Puzzles. This series will bring you a new Magic brainteaser each week, ranging from trivia, to “win this game” type dilemmas, to Magic crossword puzzles, or whatever other baffling things I can devise. To make the games a little more interesting, there’s a point-scoring system. Each puzzle is worth points, and the person with the most points every five weeks is declared the winner. There are no prizes… only prestige.
I’ll post the answers tomorrow in the forums.
Competition Rules
Each week’s puzzles will be worth a number of points. If you are the first person to solve a puzzle in the forums, you will be awarded points for the puzzle. The person with the highest points total at the end of five weeks will be the winner. Points will then be reset.
Additional Rules
If a puzzle has multiple parts, each is scored individually. You can submit answers to one part even if you do not have the answers to the other parts.
If part of a puzzle is worth more than one point, there is no partial credit within that part.
Answers are due midnight Monday night, EST.
My decisions are final.
Rules specific to “win this game” type puzzles:
Always assume that each player plays perfectly.
Any information not provided to you is not relevant.
All answers must be explained. “Yes” or “No” answers are not acceptable.
You can revise you answer, but you must make a new post. I will be awarding points to the first unedited posts with correct answers.
…
The Puzzle (25 points total)
Difficulty: 1/5
Your opponent Dave’s counter-burn deck was working great until last turn, when you finally managed to turn things around. You cast Haunting Echoes and removed most of his library from the game, and your Giant Solifuge looks like it will go the distance. You know you’re not out of the woods yet, though, since Dave’s deck still contains the following:
2 Chrome Mox
2 Demonfire
2 Island
Gaea’s Blessing
Fact or Fiction
Mental Note
Psychic Purge
As you pass the turn, Dave taps four mana and plays the last card in his hand: Fact or Fiction. He reveals:
Demonfire
Gaea’s Blessing
Island
Fact or Fiction
Mental Note
Does Dave stand a chance of winning this game?
You: (9 life)
In Play:
4 Forest (tapped)
5 Swamp (tapped)
Giant Solifuge (tapped)
You have several irrelevant cards in your deck, and no relevant cards in any other zones.
Dave: (3 life)
In Play:
1 Forest (tapped)
3 Island (tapped)
1 Mountain
3 Steam Vents
Dave has no cards in his hand or graveyard, and Fact or Fiction is on the stack.
Scoring Breakdown:
Part 1 (10 points): Can Dave win this game?
Part 2 (5 points): Can Dave win this game if the Fact or Fiction in his hand was instead a Gifts Ungiven?
Part 3 (5 points): Can Dave win this game if the Fact or Fiction revealed in his top 5 cards was instead a Gifts Ungiven?
Part 4 (5 points): Are there a different five cards that Dave could have revealed with Fact or Fiction that would allow him to win the game?
I hope you all enjoy the puzzles, whether you choose to compete or not. If you have any suggestions for specific types of puzzles you would like to see, please let me know in the forums.
Good luck!