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Look at the following situation:

  1. Both me and my opponents are on 20 life
  2. I have both Platinum Angel and Abyssal Persecutor in play
  3. We both have zero cards in play, hand and in our libraries (all were removed)

Now:

  1. I can't win, since I control Abyssal Persecutor
  2. I can't lose, since I control Platinum Angel
  3. Nothing can happen to change this state, since no other cards are in any applicable zone (assume neither of us have any cards that work from outside the game).

Is this state automatically a draw? According to what rule?

[[Platinum Angel]] [[Abyssal Persecutor]]

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+1 Great question! – CodeSavvyGeek♦ Jan 21 at 21:28
yes, building a deck that breaks magic itself is fun. – rif-raf♦ May 20 at 8:09

1 Answer

7

I like this one, +1 favorited :-D

104.4b If the game somehow enters a “loop” of mandatory actions, repeating a sequence of events with no way to stop, the game is a draw. Loops that contain an optional action don’t result in a draw.

In this case, the 'loop' would be "I end my turn. I end my turn. I end my turn..." but you have the option to attack!

The only solution seems to be that you continue playing until someone concedes!

BUT!

While I previously thought that the state of 'playing' was a mandatory loop and therefore tied the game, I was correct and wrong!!

The state of 'playing' is optional!!!

714.3. Sometimes a loop can be fragmented, meaning that each player involved in the loop performs an independent action that results in the same game state being reached multiple times. If that happens, the active player (or, if the active player is not involved in the loop, the first player in turn order who is involved) must then make a different game choice so the loop does not continue.

In other words, the loop created by continuing to play must be broken by choosing not to play!!

Neither player wants to lose, so the result will be one of the following:

1.) An agreement on a draw

2.) A ruling by a judge or by a timer

3.) One of the players, for some reason, concedes. This option is very unlikely except when both players refuse to the first possibility and are not bound to the second. When either player disconnects from an application like MTGO, or picks up their cards and leaves, the game is over.

Congratulations, you've pinpointed a fundamental rule of real life that supersedes the rules to MTG.

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Addendum: the player controlling the creatures doesn't have to attack. If he wishes to, he doesn't have to draw the game immediately. I wonder if a judge could force the players to draw. – ripper234♦ Jan 21 at 14:11
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 1. Rule 104.4b is not really relevant, because the game does not enter a loop of mandatory actions. Player 1 always have options in this case. 2. Rule 713.1b is also, in the mathematical sense, not sufficient, because I can choose a sequence of integers: I attack once, then skip a turn, then attack twice, then skip a turn, then three times... It's not a loop of actions that can be identically repeated, and rule 713.1b is optional anyway. – ripper234♦ Jan 22 at 6:34
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 A judge would never make the players flip. – fryguy Mar 20 at 18:34
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 I would have to agree that the game is not automatically a draw. Rule 104.4b is not invoked because there is not a loop of mandatory actions. You would have to either agree that the game is a draw (either mutually or by a judge decision) or, in a tournament environment, continue playing until time expires, which draws the game anyway. I don't see how either player could be considered the winner of such a game, so a coin flip to determine this doesn't make sense to me. – CodeSavvyGeek♦ May 5 at 2:07
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 As the answer stated in a rather round about way is that there is no direct ruling about it. Suffice to say I think it would most likely be a stalemate. Which is essentially a draw but forced, yes I'm borrowing a chess term. Essentially since no one can win and no one can loose, there is no other feesable way to conclude the game except for as a draw. In a tournament sit and wait while the timer runs out, in a casual game both players should just admit a draw. – DarkMantle Sep 5 at 1:31
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