I had a situation in GP Paris where a player asked me "Can I target my Ghost Quarter with itself to fetch a Plains?

I chose to answer with a simple “No”. I submitted the situation to other judges, and I got answers that varied from "You can target Ghost Quarter with itself“ (So Feelbad) to ”You can target Ghost Quarter with itself, but as it will not be there on resolution, the ability will be countered and you will not get to search for a Plains“ (Much Coaching).

This peculiar case is only mildly interesting, and Personal Tutor offers many nicer discussions about coaching issues, but I wondered if there was a ”one-size fits all“ answer for questions of the type:

”Can I do <legal action> to get <not the result of the action>?"

This exact situation happened to me in a PTQ a few years ago. At the time
I worried immensely about the implications of coaching, but I figured that
the answer to the question was just No.

The player didn't ask “Can I target my Ghost Quarter with itself?” to which
the answer is “Yes.” (and hang around the table for the impending jusge
call).

I think the question actually asked is essentially the same as “If I target
my Ghost Quarter with itself, can I go fetch a Plains?” to which again the
answer is obviously no with no accompanying feelbads.

Paul Smith

paul@pollyandpaul.co.uk

It's a matter of semantics: if you only answer the first part of the question (Can I do <legal action>?), the answer would be yes, but you would not answer the question that the player asked you.

I don't see why the full answer would be coaching; rephrase the question to “Will I get <result> if I do <action>?”, and the answer is a very clear no.

I am always careful when I am asked hypothetical situations. In my opinion,
you want to try to provide rules information that will be helpful to the
player. Sometimes that requires followup questions from the judge. Asking
them to rephrase the question will often help get to the core of the issue.
We don't want to let the precise wording of the question prevent us from
helping the player. If you are going to provide a response other “No”, you
will be providing information that could be considered coaching. For
example, one answer listed in the OP was “”You can target Ghost Quarter with
itself“. Another example would be ”If all the targets of an ability are
illegal on resolution, the entire ability is countered.". Neither are the
answer to the question. Both provide correct rules information to the
player. Which of these will allow the player to determine the answer to
his question? Are either of them coaching? Sometimes the hardest part of
answering a player's question is figuring out what he is actually asking.

Shawn