Critical Miss: Issue 2 [Playing Magic Badly & Still Having Fun]

Playing Magic Badly & Still Having Fun

NOT Pointing Out Accidental Rules Infringements

This can be a very powerful tool. Imagine a situation where you are starting to lose. Defeat is some way off, but is looking likely. Your opponent is beginning to get excited and then...

He makes a minor mistake. Perhaps he has cast a creature spell, then tapped it to use its special ability on that same turn. Conventional wisdom has it that you should immediately say something like: "Hey you can't do that!"

This is in fact a spectacularly stupid thing to do. All that will happen is that he will say sorry, take back the move, and then proceed to beat you.

A much better technique is to say nothing and let him finish his turn, including the illegal action. You then play out the next few turns. Basically you wait until loads more cards have been played, removed and so on.

Then just when his excitement is about to reach its peak (and this is the bastardly bit) you casually say, as though it has just occurred to you: "Hang on a minute it, didn't you tap that such-and-such on the same turn you cast it?"

It's a good touch if you can wrinkle your brow as though deep in thought.

Your opponent is well and truly shafted. He has three options:

Concede the game (you've won!)

Offer to declare the game null and void (you haven't lost!)

Say: "Well it's too late now" and continue (he wins, but at the cost of looking, and feeling, like a cunt).

So what are the basic principals we should follow...

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