Handling Infinite Instances of Scry 2
>
> As for the actual mechanism though, I suspect I'm not the only one who
> doesn't get it (or I'm just having a case of the Mondays). Can anyone
> describe the “trick”?
Assume 50 cards in the library at this point. We know it will probably be
less, but if we can do it for 50, it's easier to do it for less. For the
first 25 scry 2 uses, the player records what the cards are and puts them
on the bottom, not changing the order. Then the player, knowing the exact
contents of the library, can decide what order he wants it in. He does more
scry 2 actions, keeping a card on top only if it's going to be one of the
top 2 cards at the end.
When both of the top 2 cards are in the scry, he then puts both on the
bottom and searches for the next card. When he finds it, he then keeps it,
cycling through the remainder of the deck to get the initial two cards to
the top again, then throws them back on the bottom and adds the third card
to the chain. Repeat the process until all cards are sorted, and then do up
to 24 more to reset the deck to the desired order.
We know the maximum number of repetitions it takes to make this happen for
an N card library: N x N. And if you get it earlier, you can simply leave
the cards on top for the remaining iterations. So we have a definite number
of iterations and a definite end state.
Dominick Riesland, aka Rabbitball
Creator of the Cosmversal Grimoire
“As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then
their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to
destroy.”
- Christopher Dawson