MTG Puzzle 1
While playing some constructed MTG with my friend, we came across an interesting situation where he had a possible win, though neither of us noticed until the end of the game which occurred quite a few turns later.
We decided others might enjoy a chance to figure this out, albeit in a different form to possibly obfuscate and hopefully enrich the situation. Also, the actual game was a bit more complicated as there was no immediate pressure to win within a couple of turns - unlike in the puzzle presented below:
Difficulty Rating: Hard.
Figure 1.1: Play area and both player’s hands.
As the text in the image (even the larger version) is nigh impossible to read, I will describe the situation in detail.
It is currently your turn and you have 5 lands including a Keldon Megaliths which will allow you to do 1 damage to a creature or player if the Hellbent mechanic (hand is empty!) is active. You have Mogg Fanatic, and two Mudbutton Torchrunners in play and able to attack. The Urborg Siphon-Mage is unable to attack or block due to a Pacifism, however you can still use his ability to discard a card and gain 2 life while stripping your opponent of 2 life. Your hand consists of a Thoughtseize and a Damnation, but due to mana restrictions, only Thoughtseize or Siphon-Mage’s abilities can be used this turn. The top two cards on your deck are a Swamp and an Incinerate, drawn in that order.
Your opponent has tapped out completely, having played some spells the previous turn, and one can assume you know the contents of their hand through a previous Thoughtseize and keeping track of what they have played. Currently the opponent has two Juggernauts, which are 5/3 artifact creatures who must attack every turn, but cannot be blocked by walls. Their hand consists of an Incinerate, and the top of their deck consists of an Oblivion Ring and an Incinerate, being drawn in that order.
The fact that you know what cards are on the top of both player’s decks is simply to allow the puzzle solver the ability to plan ahead, although one could consider this knowledge to be inessential but important in ascertaining immediacy. Or you’re psychic.
Regardless, the player must win within a couple of turns or face defeat.
Oh, and ties aren’t good enough.
The solution will be posted tomorrow.
Edit: Solution posted!
Cool puzzle Sam. Though I am not sure if you are actually in any danger given the cards presented. What happens if you just drain and pass?
I really liked the way you presented the board position what program did you use for that?
Comment by Lucas — March 13, 2008 @ 5:15 am
If you just drain and pass:
- life totals update to 7 and 5
- Opponent incinerates Mogg Fanatic and Oblivion Rings a Mudbutton, then swings for 5 damage as there is only 1 Mudbutton left to block. The Siphon-Mage is pacified. Key point being that Oblivion Ring will always prevent either all three goblins from nuking you, or from allowing you to block both Juggernauts.
Good point though, I should address such possibilities in the Solution post.
The board position was done in Illustrator manually. Le found packs of Magic card images (I don’t know if they’re from MTGO or just scans) online, and I downscaled them for use with this. I was thinking of taking screencaps of Magic Workstation or something similar instead, but the resolution generally made the cards illegible.
Edit: I forgot to take into account the fact that you can attack with the Mogg Fanatic, keeping both Mudbuttons for blocking:
- The opponent can still incinerate the Fanatic, and regardless of response, once the second Mudbutton is Oblivion Ringed, even if you block you still won’t do enough damage to get a tie.
Incinerating the Mogg Fanatic first is the decisive action, as it prevents the opponent from killing the Mudbutton which is being targeted by the Oblivion Ring.
Comment by hikago — March 13, 2008 @ 10:11 am