Originally posted by Marc Shotter:

I leave specific land untapped, tap then untap different land, point at some creatures then appear to be counting, tank when I'm hellbent and have drawn a land and countless other things all in an attempt to mislead my opponent to gain an advantage - but as far as I knew this wasn't a problem?

Those all sound like actions taken by a player who is guilty of Stalling… :/

Originally posted by Marc Shotter:

It not nice, but what rules are being broken?

Do you really want to tiptoe along the (rather fuzzy) line between “not illegal” and “very wrong”? More importantly, do you - as a judge - want players to push and poke at those edges in such a manner?

If I believe that NAP knew the spell didn't target, but asked about targets in order to confuse / mislead AP, or to imply that the known shortcut would apply but didn't thanks to their carefully worded “technicality”? I'm not likely to DQ, because - as you say - they haven't technically crossed that line … but it's still not going to be a pleasant conversation. After all, at the beginning of that chat, they don't know they haven't crossed the line.

Eli Meyer
Does this go both ways? If AP knows that the spell has no targets, but chooses intentionally to interpret NAP's question as a shortcut to resolution anyway?

I've tried, and simply can't imagine a (realistic) discussion where this would be discovered.

I think we're wandering off into over-analysis land, here. Keep in mind that, even if NAP “tricks” AP into naming choices that happen during resolution, and then responds based on that information? AP gets to make new choices. Further, the choices are almost always obvious, to both players, so the advantage gained is negligible. It's only those rare (*cough* corner *cough*) cases, where AP has a further surprise in store that means he or she will make unexpected choices, where this could really matter.

d:^D

Originally posted by Scott Marshall:

Marc Shotter
I leave specific land untapped, tap then untap different land, point at some creatures then appear to be counting, tank when I'm hellbent and have drawn a land and countless other things all in an attempt to mislead my opponent to gain an advantage - but as far as I knew this wasn't a problem?

Those all sound like actions taken by a player who is guilty of Stalling… :/

Am I reading this correctly? We are to interpret any attempt at a bluff via telegraphed game actions, or a player stopping to think about their options when we can see they have no immediate out, as Stalling??

Edited Rebecca Lawrence (Oct. 21, 2015 11:48:28 AM)

This medium of communication has a fatal flaw - it's difficult, if not impossible, to convey a sense of humor. I am reminded - almost daily - that any (every?) thing I post will probably be misunderstood, misquoted, misapplied, and blown out of proportion…

Originally posted by Nathaniel Lawrence:

Am I reading this correctly?

Probably not. If you're also making light of the whole situation, then … maybe? But still, probably not.

I attempted to point out that the actions described by Marc were, in fact, actions taken by someone when they are Stalling. That's a far cry from saying that anyone who does any of the similar things Nathaniel listed is absolutely guilty of Stalling…

d:^D