Magic is an amazing game. It takes us away from our computers for a bit and puts us in front of other people. It allows you to meet people from all walks of life. If you want, it gives you an excuse to travel to new places. Somehow though during this surge of esports people have forgotten that it’s still a card game designed for people to have fun.
This past weekend we observed some top level rules lawyering. At the SCG Milwaukee Open, Kent Ketter seemed to willfully trick his opponent. You can click here to watch the clip if you haven’t seen it. In summary, Frank Vanderwall, Kent’s opponent, casts Rest in Peace. After he already marked his life total (he used a pain land), you’ll see Kent move his graveyard off the screen as if to exile it, however he quickly (while his opponent isn’t paying attention) brings it right back and hides it behind his library. Kent claimed he realized his opponent had to announce the Rest in Peace trigger so he moved graveyard back to wait, then fussed with his library making it even harder to see that Kent had moved his graveyard back.
Personally I find this a load of bullshit. If I watched my opponent move my graveyard after casting a RIP I would assume, fairly, that they have acknowledged the trigger and we’re all set. Not all communication is verbal. According to random internet sources nearly two thirds of communication is nonverbal. I understand why the judge ruled the way he did, I guess. Technically Kent is correct, however, I strongly believe that by moving his graveyard Kent acknowledged the trigger in a way that made any other communication about it unnecessary. It also has been suggested that the Judge was not aware that Kent had moved his graveyard and would have ruled differently if he had that information. Lying to a judge is cheating, of course.
I don’t want to play a game like this, losing based off ridiculous technicalities. I don’t want to have to monitor every single little thing my opponents do. It’s ridiculous and unrealistic. I want to sit down and be able to trust one thing: that my opponent is here to play a fair game of Magic. Rules lawyering shouldn’t be a thing; people should try to play a fair game of Magic to the best of their abilities and should help each other do that.
I play at Competitive REL fairly regularly and I can happily say I’ve never come across this issue. Most of the time when people make a mistake I see them calling the judges on themselves; I know I’ve done it a couple times because it’s about treating your opponent with the same level of respect you want from them. Kent’s team has stood by him (with a long statement that contradicts itself), which disappointments me. I hope that as a team they can agree that this form of conduct for professional Magic players is unacceptable, as it sounds like they are struggling to grasp that concept. Team Cardhoarder does a lot for the community and it would be unfortunate if a few sharks ruined their reputation and they were no longer around to try and help our community grow, rather than poison it with this kind of misconduct and trickery.
Respect has been an issue I’ve written about a lot. As a woman playing the game it’s an important issue for me, and its my overall message. This is really just another face of the beast that has been terrorizing our community: disrespect. It’s important that we confront this issue whenever possible, together and head on. The beast is only strong if we let it be, and I hope we can all come together to eventually beat it once and for all.
Kate hails from Worcester MA and also does a bit of Card Altering. Check her Stuff out on Facebook! She mainly plays legacy and modern though will occasionally find herself playing EDH.