Originally posted by Jason Flatford:

What infraction would you say the player committed here?

Well, I think there's two points here.

The first is that there is a policy that makes clear the player can't advance the game state in order to cause the opponent's triggers to be missed. It's part of the Missed Trigger policy, and makes clear that in order for the trigger to be missed, the controller of the trigger has to actually miss the trigger. I feel that runs contrary to your earlier point: The policy is pretty specific that the player can't cause the opponent's trigger to be missed.

The second is whether or not an infraction has taken place. Clearly if this is accidental, especially if the player isn't aware of the trigger, there is no infraction. Nothing in policy states the player accidentally missing the opponent's trigger has committed any kind of infraction; quite the opposite, as the player has no responsibility there. But, if the player is aware of the trigger, is knowledgeable about the policy, and deliberately and with intent tries to cause the trigger to be missed… I don't see how the infraction can be anything other than UC–Cheating.

Perhaps I am mistaken, or you feel otherwise, but I certainly see a pretty serious issue here that merits further investigation. If the opponent is trying to angle shoot that significantly, then at a minimum, he or she is due for some serious education.

From IPG 2.1 Definition:
“For example, if a player draws a card during his or her draw step without allowing an opponent to demonstrate awareness of a triggered ability, the controller still has an opportunity to fulfill the appropriate obligation by doing so at that point.”

It seems to me that we now have very explicit rules on when a player must demonstrate awareness of a trigger. Policy says the controller can fulfill the appropriate obligation after the rushed action, so the trigger should be handled at the point of obligation (i.e., where the player is required to demonstrate awareness). Skirmisher and Vortex will resolve immediately, but an Abyss trigger would be put on the Stack.

This allows for relatively minimal exploitation of rushing in most situations, e.g. to draw a Stifle before the Vortex trigger resolves. I like this feature because I am unlikely to DQ a player for a first “rushing” issue. (That feels super harsh, since knowing that “rushing” is explicitly forbidden requires pretty deep policy knowledge. And the definition of rushing is fuzzy and subjective.) I'll give the rusher a stern Caution, and he likely won't get any benefit from his problematic action. That makes him pretty unlikely to repeat the offense in hopes of exploiting it, and I can always Game Loss or DQ him later in the day if it does become a recurring problem.

Edited Joshua Feingold (March 17, 2013 10:09:18 AM)