Please keep the forum protocol in mind when posting.

Rules Q&A » Post: Power Play in 1vs1, best-of-3 matches

Power Play in 1vs1, best-of-3 matches

June 9, 2014 03:43:47 PM

Pedro Gonçalves
Judge (Uncertified)

Iberia

Power Play in 1vs1, best-of-3 matches

I know Power Play was designed for Conspiracy but how does it work in 1vs1 matches, best-of-3? (This is relavant for Cube, for instance.)

CR103.2c states “One card, Power Play, states that its controller is the starting player. This effect supersedes these methods.” The text seems slightly ambiguous to me, as it looks like it is referring to rules 103.2a and 103.2b.
However, CR103.2 itself states “The player chosen to take the first turn is the starting player.” and “In a match of several games, the loser of the previous game chooses who takes the first turn.”; I would say this implies that you play first in the first game, and in games 2 and 3 the player who lost the previous game gets to choose. Does this make sense to you?

edit: by request of the worldwide Cube community, it would be nice if the ruling is as official as possible. :)

Edited Pedro Gonçalves (June 9, 2014 04:11:11 PM)

June 10, 2014 01:15:22 PM

Nathan Long
Forum Moderator
Judge (Level 2 (Judge Foundry))

USA - Southwest

Power Play in 1vs1, best-of-3 matches

Remember, Conspiracy is a casual draft format, designed to be played in a single multiplayer game afterwards The conspiracies aren't really designed to be played in formats outside of that.

EDIT: After talking about it and reviewing the Comp Rules, Power Player will make you the starting player in every game, not just the first game of the match, due to 103.2:

103.2. After the decks have been shuffled, the players determine which one of them will choose who takes the first turn. In the first game of a match (including a single-game match), the players may use any mutually agreeable method (flipping a coin, rolling dice, etc.) to do so. In a match of several games, the loser of the previous game chooses who takes the first turn. If the previous game was a draw, the player who made the choice in that game makes the choice in this game. The player chosen to take the first turn is the starting player. The game’s default turn order begins with the starting player and proceeds clockwise.

Nathan Long
Wizards.Com Boards NetRep

Edited Nathan Long (June 11, 2014 01:26:46 PM)