I'm wondering if anyone -- particularly someone who is a Magic Judge -- would be interested in helping me edit an article I'm writing for no site in particular.
The focus of the article is to discuss "loops," the way that Magic deals with unbounded or infinite situations. While there are some other pieces out there that lightly touch on these issues, there is no good comprehensive resource for someone who wants to understand the precise way that the Magic rules handle these situations.
I see it come up most frequently in discussions about things you CANNOT do, like run the Four Horseman in a competitive tournament. This looks like one of the "third rails" in Magic discussions, and one that makes Judges run for the hills in particular. I've asked them. I sometimes feel like there was some major religious war in the past on the Judge forums and they've all taken an oath to never really explain the loop rules and the reasons behind them on a deep level because, if they do, they believe it will start a big argument.
I don't think just telling people "It does not work. Your question has been answered, Thread locked." is a good response, though. Far better to walk people through the Comprehensive Rules, the Tournament Rules, and the IPG to explain exactly what's going on and why it makes sense. That's what I've tried to do.
Nevertheless, I'm not a Magic Judge, and I'd like input from someone who is in case I'm missing something. I'm pretty sure my analysis of the written rules is correct. What I do not have, though, is access to the judge's forums and a history of the issues.
So, if anyone is interested, I've linked the article in draft form here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xrhayfa2q7nw98s/Loop Article DRAFT 7-28-16.pdf?dl=0
If you are a judge or have information relevant to the issues I'm discussing here, let me know. I'd love to make this a single, final (as of 2016 rules, anyway) exegesis on everything you need to know about loop rules.
In addition to other suggestions, or telling me if I'm just wrong, I'm keenly interested in the following:
- Is my understanding of how MTGO handles loops correct?
- What rule causes abilities like Grindstone to stop once they cannot do anything -- i.e. when the library is empty?
- Are there judge forum posts or rulings that are still applicable today and are relevant to the issues I'm discussing? Is there a place I can cite to them?
- It looks to me like "advancing the game state" as a concept actually has nothing to do with modern loop rules. Is that an older term? Or is it something that comes out of a judge's prior rulings?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.