Let's say Player A is entering a Competitive tournament with a deck that contains a lot of triggered abilities. According to the new Missed Trigger Rules, that player is responsible for acknowledging their triggers in order for them not to be “missed”. Let's say Player A's deck has A LOT of triggers. No, more than that. Whatever you're thinking, it has more triggers than that. It has, let us say, an “unreasonable” amount of triggers (but the deck is built within the constraints of the format's Deck Construction rules, which does not mandate things like this). Let's also say that, because Player B believes Magic to be a game of skill and that remembering one's triggers is part of the skill of Magic (as per the philosophy behind the new trigger rules), Player B does not allow Player A to shortcut his triggers.

Assume Player A is playing at a “reasonable” pace and nothing sketchy is occurring, but his deck simply contains so many triggers that announcing each one takes a meaningful toll on the clock. Can Player A be DQ'd for Cheating - Stalling? If so, why, and if not, why not? If so, an additional question: How is the philosophy here different from decks which simply take a long time to end the game, such as High Tide, Enchantress, Eggs, etc?

For reference, I've asked 3 L2+ judges offline about this, and so far I have a “yes”, a “no”, and a “maybe”.

Thanks.

No. Stalling requires acting with the intent to take advantage of the time limit–you just said that wasn't the case (acting with that kind of intent is sketchy by definition) and the player's deck simply happens to eat up time naturally. So it can't be stalling.

Its really hard to take a long time saying triggers if you are being brief.

Its relatively quick to tap each card that triggers, say “Trigger” or "X Triggers “ with zero ambiguity.

Additionally, its acceptable to state what will be the final result. ”In order of resolution, when all the triggers resolve, each of your dudes take X damage, those permanents will be tapped, I'll draw 7 cards, you will discard 2 cards at random, and I'll exile those 4 cards." (with subsequent pointing at cards that cause it if needed).

tldr: if its clear, its clear.

And if the opponent is trying to waste time by demanding addition information when there is no ambiguity in order to take advantage of the round clock… its time to talk with the head judge.

If your question is “can he be DQ'd for Stalling based solely on how he built his deck?”, then No.

However, regardless of how the deck is built, if he's intentionally taking advantage of the time limit, Stalling applies.

Thanks! – Scott Marshall, DCIJUDGE-L NetRep, L5, Denver
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