Tuesday, 21 April 2015

calculation puzzle - Magic: the Gathering Challenge: Getting Stuffy In Here


first time posting a puzzle in a while, thought I'd bring back some MtG related puzzles. Enjoy!


BACKGROUND:


The usual magic rules apply here. Please be explicit in mana usage in your solution where relevant.


If you're fuzzy on a rule/interaction, here is the comprehensive rulebook and here is the mtg judge chat where you can ask rulings questions that you can't find on the web.


All permanents in the given setup below are owned by their controllers


Your solution may not assume that an opponent will cooperate with you in some way (e.g. choose no to a may ability that would be bad for you). Your solution must be able to win regardless of any potential choices made by your opponents; it must be able to beat the optimal plays from them.



PUZZLE SETUP:


It's your main phase 1 and you have just cast the card Master Warcraft. Both you and your opponent are nigh dead, but your opponent has a seemingly unbeatable board. Find a way to win before they get to their main phase 1 and kill you with the burn on top of their deck.


Opponent's Hand
Empty


Opponent's Mana
15 tapped mountains


Opponent's Graveyard
Empty


Opponent's Library (top to bottom)
Lava Axe

Lava Axe
Urza's Rage
Lightning Bolt


Opponent's Board (all untapped and summoning sick)
Vicious Shadows
Avatar of Slaughter
Farbog Revenant
Stuffy Doll (you are the chosen player) enchanted with
Pariah (also controlled by your opponent)


Opponent's Exile

Ancestral Vision with one time counter left.


Opponent's Life Total
2


Your Hand
Lightning Bolt
Shock
Remand
Appeal // Authority


Your Mana (all untapped)
2 Mountain

1 Forest
1 Island


Your Graveyard
Storm Crow


Your Library
15 Relentless Rats


Your Board (all untapped, none summoning sick)
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Gang of Devils
Kederekt Parasite



Your Exile
15 Relentless Rats


Your Life Total
8



Answer



With Master Warcraft, we choose that our opponent will block Sheoldred with Avatar of Slaughter, Gang of Devils with Farbog Revenant, and will not block Kederekt Parasite.


We tap our Forest to cast Appeal on Sheoldred, buffing her to a 9/9 trampler.


We go to combat. Once blockers have been declared (in the fashion we specified) we use our first Mountain to cast Lightning Bolt on their Revenant. It dies, and we take 2 from Vicious Shadows, bringing us to 6. In first strike damage, Sheoldred kills their Avatar and tramples over for 1 point, that ends up going to our face, bringing us to 5. Gang of Devils is still treated as blocked, so does no damage. Kederekt gets through for 1, which goes to our face, bringing us to 4. We lose 2 more from Shadows triggering for the Avatar dying, bringing us to 2.


Since the Avatar is gone, our creatures lose doublestrike, and so deal no damage in the second combat damage step.




702.4c Removing double strike from a creature during the first combat damage step will stop it from assigning combat damage in the second combat damage step.



In their upkeep, Sheoldred triggers, as does their Ancestral Vision. Since they are the active player, their trigger goes on the stack first, so ours resolves first.


As soon as Sheoldred's trigger resolves, their only creature is Stuffy Doll, which they must sacrifice (They can choose to tap it to deal one to itself first, bringing us to 2). We then use our second mountain to Shock them for 2, bringing them to 0, before their Ancestral Vision or Vicious Shadows resolves.


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