Can I redirect a spell to another type of target in MTG?

You can't redirect Into The Maw of Hell to a player.

Redirect allows you to choose new legal targets for a spell.  As such, you must choose one valid target land and one valid target creature for Into The Maw of Hell to (newly) target.  If (for instance) there is only one creature in play - yours - you could Redirect Into The Maw of Hell such that it destroyed a different land, but you would still have to keep it targeting your creature, because there are no other available legal choices.

The relevant section of the Comprehensive Rules (and the most relevant paragraph highlighted by me):

  114.6. Some effects allow a player to change the target(s) of a spell or ability, and other effects allow a player to choose new targets for
  a spell or ability.

  114.6a If an effect allows a player to "change the target(s)" of a spell or ability, each target can be changed only to another legal
  target. If a target can't be changed to another legal target, the
  original target is unchanged, even if the original target is itself
  illegal by then. If all the targets aren't changed to other legal
  targets, none of them are changed.

  114.6b If an effect allows a player to "change a target" of a spell or ability, the process described in rule 114.6a is followed, except that
  only one of those targets may be changed (rather than all of them or
  none of them).

  114.6c If an effect allows a player to "change any targets" of a spell or ability, the process described in rule 114.6a is followed, except
  that any number of those targets may be changed (rather than all of
  them or none of them).

  114.6d If an effect allows a player to "choose new targets" for a spell or ability, the player may leave any number of the targets
  unchanged, even if those targets would be illegal. If the player
  chooses to change some or all of the targets, the new targets must be
  legal and must not cause any unchanged targets to become illegal.

  114.6e When changing targets or choosing new targets for a spell or ability, only the final set of targets is evaluated to determine
  whether the change is legal. Example: Arc Trail is a sorcery that
  reads "Arc Trail deals 2 damage to target creature or player and 1
  damage to another target creature or player." The current targets of
  Arc Trail are Runeclaw Bear and Llanowar Elves, in that order. You
  cast Redirect, an instant that reads "You may choose new targets for
  target spell," targeting Arc Trail. You can change the first target to
  Llanowar Elves and change the second target to Runeclaw Bear.


Does pocketing the Queen at the start of the game end the game immediately?

No.

For full rules look here.

Firstly, the Queen being pocketed doesn't end the game under normal circumstances anyway. It would only end the game if you pocketed the Queen and your last piece at the same time.

You can only pocket (and then cover) the Queen once you have at least one piece pocketed. If you pocket the Queen without this, it's returned to the board and your turn ends.

If you pocket your first piece at the same time as the Queen, you then play to cover the Queen normally.

If you already have pieces pocketed and you pocket a piece at the same time as the Queen, the Queen is covered.

If you pocket your first piece plus one more piece at the same time as the Queen, the Queen is covered.


What does Hallowed Moonlight actually exile?

This is a good response to, say, flicker effects. If a player wants to make creatures go to exile and come back to get enters-the-battlefield triggers again, you can cast this so that they don't get them at all! Hah! This also applies to tokens, of course, along with Put a...onto the battlefield effects, meld... The list goes on. This is a fantastic card.


If tests are voluntary, why does one lose a life point automatically?

Disclaimer: this answer is not well-sourced, but simply comes from my experience playing the game and my own understanding/reading of the rules.

For tests without a lock icon:

The "do nothing" text only applies if you have chosen to start the test. So you are allowed to simply stay in the space without being in the test. However, given that TU is your most precious resource in the game; it's hard to imagine a situation where you wouldn't be better off doing something with your TU rather than just standing still.

Each TU that is spent during a test can be spent in one of three ways:

Roll to attack/attempt the test.
Move to a new space.
Do nothing (this is when the blue box clarification applies).

In this situation, it is rare that this will matter; because you wouldn't have started the test if you were just going to do nothing during it. It could come up if 2 players were in the same space when a test is revealed, one of them doesn't have the required characteristic to roll, and they don't want to move somewhere else because they want to be in that space after the test ends.

For tests with a lock icon:

There is no option to start or not start the test. Simply by reading or revealing the card; you are now stuck in the test. The blue box text is more likely to apply in this situation, because you might find yourself stuck in a test where you don't have the required attribute needed to attempt a roll.


Does Laboratory Maniac's ability cause me to win before state-based actions are triggered?

You would win because the Maniac's ability replaces the drawing a card with winning the game, so you win before SBA are checked and you lose the game due to having 10 poison counters.

614.1. Some continuous effects are replacement effects. Like prevention effects (see rule 615), replacement effects apply continuously as events happen—they aren’t locked in ahead of time. Such effects watch for a particular event that would happen and completely or partially replace that event with a different event. They act like “shields” around whatever they’re affecting.
614.1a Effects that use the word “instead” are replacement effects. Most replacement effects use the word “instead” to indicate what events will be replaced with other events.

Since the card draw is getting replaced with winning the game during the resolution of the spell you will win as the spell is resolving. Since you won the game during the resolution of the spell you never get to the point where the game checks SBAs (including losing the game due to having 10 poison counters)


Kill a blocker with an instant - is it still blocking?

Your opponent was right. From the magic comprehensive rules (http://magic.wizards.com/en/gameinfo/gameplay/formats/comprehensiverules):

  509.1h An attacking creature with one or more creatures declared as blockers for it becomes a blocked creature; one with no creatures declared as blockers for it becomes an unblocked creature. This remains unchanged until the creature is removed from combat, an effect says that it becomes blocked or unblocked, or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. A creature remains blocked even if all the creatures blocking it are removed from combat.

I bolded the relevant part.


Can 0 or negative power creatures deal direct damage?

Magic: the Gathering cards usually mean exactly what they say, nothing more and nothing less.

The power of a creature is only relevant when

Dealing combat damage
An effect explicitly mentions the power of that creature (albeit maybe hidden behind keywords, like "fight")

The ability granted by Viridian Longbow doesn't mention the power of the equipped creature, so therefore it doesn't care. One damage is dealt regardless.


What Happens During the Consume Phase In Race for the Galaxy If you have no consume powers?

No, the goods remain. Goods are only discarded if they are used to invoke a Consume power (or Traded). If you do not have enough Consume powers to use all your goods (or none at all), the goods remain.

Furthermore, although you may not decline to invoke a Consume power, you get to choose what order your Consume powers are invoked in. This may allow you to avoid invoking certain powers by leaving the "wrong" goods left over. For instance, consider this situation: you have a Blue good, a Green good, a Consume power that consumes a Blue good for 1 VP, and a Consume power that consumes any good for 1 VP. If you wanted to, you could activate the first power using the Blue good and the second power using the Green good, and gain 2 VP. However, you could also choose to activate the second power using the Blue good. That leaves you with 1 VP, no remaining powers that can be used, and a Green good left over. As the rulebook puts it (p. 6):

  Consumption is mandatory. However, consume powers can be invoked in any desired order, even if this results in some unconsumed goods left over that could have been consumed with a different order (due to their kinds not matching the player’s remaining unused consume powers).


Your partner should ALWAYS lead trump to your call in third chair. The failure of so many online players to do this reflects a lack of understanding of the game.

If you called it with the Right, then their low trump effectively gives the maker the lead and control of the hand.

If you called without the Right, then your partner is helping flush the top trump cards out of your opponents' hands.

If your partner leads high trump then he's helpfully showing you where it is so you know your cards are boss.

*IF YOU CALL TRUMP IN THIRD CHAIR THEN YOU SHOULD BE LEADING IT, and you should probably be leading it in every other chair too. So many hands are misplayed for failure to do this, so many times you get euchred when you could have dropped both of your opponents' bauers on trick one with a small Trump lead.

For more, read this column by the respected Natty Bumppo.


Does a daikaiju kill off a player if it appears next to them?

The official rules are maybe a little vague on the matter, but extrapolating from the context of the other rules, the way I have always interpreted them as is that a player is only eliminated if they are forced to move off the board, into a loop, or onto the same tile as a daikaiju - or, if it's their turn to play a wake tile but they cannot because there's a daikaiju directly in front of them. So my interpretation is that placing a daikaiju adjacent to some who is not the active player is the same as moving them to that space, and they are not eliminated.


Is there a way to "game force" with the following hand?

I don't like 1C, because good players preempt strongly against it (and bad players preempt badly against it.  With this hand, it doesn't matter), and surely the opponents have lots of one of the majors.  I can see showing my suit for the first time at the 5 level, not knowing anything other than partner has some cards.  1C-X (majors)-1NT (GF BAL)-4S; your call?
After 1D-X (or 1M, or 2D), you'll get some more useful information from partner, and when they bid 4S, at least now when you bid 5D you're showing an incredibly offensive hand with limited defence and a self-suffcient suit.  1D-2D-X (interested in penalizing at least one major)-4S; 5D (not waiting to see if partner can double 4S) and you're much farther ahead.  And when they bid 5S, partner can make the decision with much more confidence than in the strong club auction.
Precision handles distributional hands very nicely; it's actually one of the strengths of the system that you can show a "strong, but not in high cards" hand much more easily than in standard.  So the only concern I have with opening 1D is that I'll get passed in it, and with 28 HCP out there, it's a pretty small concern.
Sure, if it goes 1C-p-1S-p, you're going to have all the time in the world to gadget out the cards you need to know about.  Call me a pessimist, but that won't happen.
Okay, looked at the story and they were able to introduce the diamonds at the 4 level.  Nice.  And the key to the hand - if it had gone 4H-5D-5H instead, are they cue-ing 6C?  Maybe - those names, anyway; but it's a lot less comfortable.  I also notice that we are at favourable - that means 7H can only go -6 to make a profit (and -4 if they want to beat the ones in 6).  Not surprised they didn't find it.


Why is Pandemic's Bio-terrorist Challenge not recommended with five players?

Good question! Amazingly enough, there's a definitive answer. The reason is described in detail in this board game geek thread, where game designer Tom Lehmann explains that playtesting showed the game became too long and boring with 5 players. Basically the game becomes 50% longer, and there are large gaps where individual players don't get to do anything. The detailed analysis he provides is quite interesting.


Does Zombie link trigger when out of models?

The rules as written state: The Survivor plays an extra turn each time an
extra activation card is drawn in the Zombie pile. (source).

This explicitly states that the extra turn is only gained when an activation card is drawn (those that say "all X 1 extra turn").
Note: this ability would also trigger at blue threat level, even though the zombies do not get an activation.

As stated in the comments though, it is your Zombicide game, so you can adjust the rules as you please. If you do decide to allow gaining extra turns from extra activations from having run out of zombie miniatures, I would recommend limiting the number of extra turns a surviver can get to 1 per round.


When is the last time tribal decks were competitive?

If you consider "Tribal decks" as decks with

  core cards in the deck [that] care about a certain creature type,

there's plenty of examples out there.

This will be a very broad answer that'll brush over many specifics of the metagame and the differences between physical and digital plays, focusing only on information available from resources such as MTGTop8, which accounts mostly for MTGO tournaments.

In the current (as of 09/09/19) standard meta, Orzhov Vampires represent 11% of the (MTGO) field, while Jund Dinosaurs represent about ~5%.

Both of those decks focus on aggressively dishing out their creatures and hitting for as much damage as possible, using those same creatures to create card advantage (such as Champion of the Dusk and Ripjaw Raptor), or decrease the clock to end the match more swiftly (such as Legion Lieutenant, Sanctum Seeker, Marauding Raptor and Rampaging Ferocidon).

Both these decks are currently posting good results consistently in standard play, as you can see from the links provided.

When talking about Modern, the obvious examples are 5 Color Humans which focus on Human creatures, while some Eldrazi variants focus on Eldrazi creatures and fast mana. It's also worth mentioning the Spirits deck, which focuses on Spirits. All three of these currently post good results in the modern metagame, although they're not as dominant as they once were, especially the eldrazi decks.

Legacy has always had some tribal decks being represented, although not many with expressive results. The currently most represented tribal decks are Goblins, Humans and Slivers, although they're only about ~4% of the whole Legacy field, which favours more controlling and combo decks due to faster mana and cheaper countermagic.

As @Veskah noted, Elves has been very represented in Legacy at some point, but its power has dwindled lately due to the more controlling meta for the format. That said, Elves is one of the original tribal decks in Legacy, and it veers from the usual strategy by being something of a combo deck, relying on generating huge amounts of mana and putting many creatures on the board to finish the game with a Progenitus or a Craterhoof Behemoth.

Vintage has also has some tribal decks in the meta for a while, specifically Fish, which used to be Merfolk tribal decks, although today the term has been adapted to mean any kind of (mainly blue) deck with cheap creatures and lots of countermagic. Along with Fish comes the ever-present Eldrazi, although once again it's more of a hate/control deck than an actual tribal deck.


Can a double jump move backwards in Checkers/Draughts?

This depends on the variation you're playing. A lot of variations allow capturing backwards with regular pieces (called men). The English variation is probably the most common that doesn't allow backwards capturing. By the international rules, capturing backwards is allowed (and mandatory if it results in the largest capture group).

There's an extensive list on Wikipedia, describing which variations allow backwards capturing by men, and which don't.


If a player is stranded on a lone island piece, then they can still be moved using a Helicopter Lift card. Note these can be played by anyone, on anyone's turn, to fly a stranded player to safety (e.g. to Fool's Landing).

If no one has a Helicopter Lift card by the time the island piece needs to be removed from the board, then the player drowns (and everyone loses).  On page 7 of the rules under Pawns on Flooded Tiles:

  If a pawn is on a tile that must be removed, it must immediately "swim" to an adjacent tile (up, down, left, right) that is still part of the island (even flooded). If a pawn is on a tile that is removed and cannot move to an adjacent tile, it sinks into the abyss and everyone loses the game!

  Exception: The Diver may swim to the nearest tile. The Explorer may swim diagonally. the Pilot may fly to any tile.

One special case to note is if the tile has to be removed and you have a helicopter card.  In this case you can save the sinking player as clarified by Matt Leacock in this Board Game Geek thread.

Note however that you may not use a Sandbags card for this purpose, as specified in the rules:

  Note: You cannot play a Sandbag card to save a flooded tile once you've revealed the matching Flood card.

Remember that all players win or lose together, so if one player drowns but the others survive then it still counts as a loss.


Anyone can play a Nope card at any time (except for an Exploding Kitten or Defuse Card), from the rules:

Stop any action except for an Exploding Kitten or a Defuse Card. Imagine that any card beneath a Nope Card never existed.
You can also play a Nope on another Nope to negate it and create a Yup, and so on.
You can play a Nope Card at any time before an action has begun, even if it’s not your turn. Any cards that have been noped are lost. Leave them in the Discard Pile. You can even play a Nope on a SPECIAL COMBO

So yes, if player C wants to block an attack from player A on player B, they can.
See also how the attack rules explicitly use victim and someone:

(If the victim of an ATTACK CARD also plays an ATTACK CARD, their turns are immediately over, and the next player must take two turns.)
If you play an ATTACK CARD and someone plays a NOPE on top of it, this means that you still have to draw a card and the next player does NOT have to take two turns.


How should I teach someone new to spades how to bid?

Turn them loose with a computer simulation at first so they can get lots of hands in. Only after seeing the general structure of play will they understand what to even consider when bidding.

I suggest a computer simulation as it means you don't have to spend time playing with a completely clueless person and they can learn on their own. If you situation is amenable to new people and lots of hands, then just plain old playing a bunch is the answer.


What counts as an ability for the purposes of Muraganda Petroglyphs?

Gatherer has the following ruling:

  Animated basic lands have mana abilities, so they won't get the bonus.

So your assumption is correct: any land that has become a creature does not get the bonus from  Muraganda Petroglyphs (except in the rare case where the land has lost its mana ability -- and I'm not aware of any card that actually does this).


How does Spirit of the Labyrinth interact with Chains of Mephistopheles?

From the gatherer rulings on Spirit of the Labyrinth:

You can draw a maximum of one card on each player’s turn. Subsequent card draws are ignored.
If a replacement effect would try to replace a card that you can’t draw, that effect can’t apply.

Spirit of the Labyrinth completely shuts off Chains of Mephistopheles. So in your specific scenario, Blue Sun's Zenith is shuffled into your library and nothing else happens.

BrianS pointed out a big hole in my original explanation below. Given the exact situation in the OP, the above is correct. It works differently if it's your turn or before your opponent's draw step.
If your opponent has cards in hand, the first attempted draw gets replaced by Chains. In that situation, your opponent will draw one card, then discard a card. At that point, the opponent will have drawn a card that turn and Spirit of the Labyrinth will do nothing. From Chains' gatherer page:

If a spell or ability would cause a player to draw multiple cards, this is treated as a number of individual "draw one card" actions. Apply the effect of Chains of Mephistopheles to each one.

If the opponent has no hand and has drawn no cards this turn, then Chains can have the full effect. This is because while the opponent has multiple draws replaced, they never actually draw any cards:

Here's what happens when Chains of Mephistopheles replaces a player's draw: -- If that player has at least one card in his or her hand, he or she discards a card and then draws a card. -- If that player's hand is empty, he or she puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard. The player doesn't draw a card at all.

So, the lesson here is that if you have both Chains and Spirit in play at the same time, you should try to catch your opponent with an empty hand.


Can I use rewards from a just-bought building to pay the participation cost of a Great Project?

The language used to describe how to participate in Great Projects indicates when you need to pay the cost. Unlike monetary losses, which are "always resolved at the end of a turn, after players have played their cards, possibly having paid for trade and/or obtained money," participation is an additional cost at the time of playing your card. From the rule book on page 6 (emphasis mine):

  From now on, when a player constructs a building of the same color as the Great Project card in play (Brown, Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, or Purple), that player has the option to participate in its construction. To do that, the player must pay the participation cost in addition to the cost of their building. In return, the player takes a Participation token which they place on their Wonder board.

The decision to participate happens as you are paying costs, which must occur before gaining resources from your played card. If you don't have the resources at the time you are revealing your card, you can't participate in the Great Project.

Users on BoardGameGeek seem to agree here and here ("Participation requires the payment to be made upon constructing the building.")


Is it possible to position all chess pieces on the board such that all pieces defend at least one piece and attack at least one piece?

Yes, and it's not particularly hard to do. Here's one solution.

I found this by placing the pawns first (because they are much more limited in their attack/defence potential), and then adding the pieces one at a time. Using this simple manual approach, it took about 15 minutes to find a solution. As an added constraint, I avoided placing the kings in check.

There are undoubtedly many alternative arrangements that would also work. It would be quite straightforward to write a computer program to search for valid configurations. A simple brute-force backtracking algorithm would probably suffice.


How to craft multiple symbols cards as the Vagabond?

From Root FAQ:

  Can I craft cards with multiple-suit requirements?

  No. Your hammers match your current clearing, so you can only craft with one
  suit at a time. Good news: the multi-suit cards are useless to you
  anyway!

  Law: 9.2.1


I see two benefits to this:

First, it's helping you cycle through your deck quickly, which is almost always a good thing.  Theoretically, your discard pile should contain new cards that make your deck stronger, so you want to get to shuffling them in as soon as possible.

Second, though you don't mention it, Loan gives you the option of trashing the revealed treasure instead of just discarding it.  If the treasure is a Copper (especially likely early in the game), you will probably want to trash it instead of discarding it, since this can hone down your deck.  But since Loan itself is worth a coin, it always has some value, so it won't be clogging your deck with a useless card late in the game.

Whether this is worth more than a Silver probably depends on your strategy and the other cards available.  If this were the only trashing card available, I would be tempted to buy it.

Read this blog post (and the comments) for a discussion of the statistics concerning Loan. The short version is this: If the Loan does not pull a Treasure you want to trash, it statistically does no harm to your deck, unless your deck is very small.


What's the cheapest way to buy a large number of Magic: the Gathering cards on Cardmarket?

There is no definitive answer to this. I've come across this problem myself and thought about it for quite a while to try to come up with a heuristic and/or reasoning.
In the end it depends how much time you want to spend. I believe I ended up using the 150 most expensive cards (or rather the cards above the ~0.10€ to 0.20€ threshold because below that everything is irrelevant) and sent those to the Shopping Wizard. Then I went through those five sellers and checked every one for the other missing cards (saved in a second Wants list of course). Here you have to cross-check etc but sorting by price and name worked for me.


What happens if I kill a creature enchanted with Murder Investigation by casting Flowstone Slide

You'll get 4 tokens, because that's the power of the enchanted creature as it last existed on the battlefield.

It doesn't die quite immediately upon having negative toughness; it exists on the battlefield for just a moment until state-based actions are checked. The overly detailed sequence of events is:

Flowstone Slide resolves, making it a 4/-2 creature, still on the battlefield.
As soon as it finishes resolving, state-based actions are checked, and since its toughness is 0 or less, it's put into its owner's graveyard.
The token has now died, so Murder Investigation's ability triggers.
State-based actions keep being checked; Murder Investigation is put into your graveyard and the token ceases to exist.
Murder Investigation's triggered ability resolves. Since the object it refers to ("enchanted creature") is no longer on the battlefield, it uses last known information to check its power - and the last known power of the creature was 4, so X is 4 and you get 4 tokens.


When does Battalion count the number of creatures that attacked?

Battalion is an ability word, and as such it only represents a regular triggered ability that triggers after attacking creatures have been declared. It triggers at the same time as Mardu Ascendancy (or would, if you were attacking with three or more creatures), and won't trigger again afterwards if you somehow managed to declare more attackers (which I don't think is possible, see next paragraph).

That said, Battalion specifically cares about creatures actively declared as attackers, not just attacking creatures. So other than the timing issue, a creature put onto the battlefield attacking will never count towards the amount of creatures required to trigger Battalion.

  508.3a An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] attacks, . . .” triggers if that creature is declared as an attacker. Similarly, “Whenever [a creature] attacks [a player or planeswalker], . . .” triggers if that creature is declared as an attacker attacking that player or planeswalker. Such abilities won’t trigger if a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking.


Yes, for basically any no-hidden-information co-op game, including Pandemic, you can play by yourself, acting as the appropriate number of players. I'd probably play as four, as you said, since I think the game is pretty good with four, but you could certainly try it with three or two if you prefer.

I don't think the open hands are really a big deal. You can already tell everyone all the cards in your hand all the time in the normal game, so it's not really a big leap to just play with open hands. A lot of people just play with open hands despite the rules, because they want to just play the game, not waste time constantly asking everyone what's in their hands. If you find that it makes it a little easier, just add an epidemic card.

If you have the In the Lab expansion, there's also an actual solo version of the game, using a single role and the CDC (which has its own special actions), which can be combined with whichever other variants you like (except the bio-terrorist, of course). Up to you whether you prefer that or playing as multiple roles, but if you're looking at only the base game, you don't have much choice.


Can Clockspinning from Time Spiral be used to remove infect or poison counters?

The Magic comprehensive rules state that:

  110.1. A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. A permanent remains on the battlefield indefinitely. A card or token becomes a permanent as it enters the battlefield and it stops being a permanent as it's moved to another zone by an effect or rule.

As a player is neither a card nor a token, and a player is certainly not on the battlefield, Clockspinning can not target a player and thus can not be used to remove poison counters. It can, of course, be used to remove -1/-1 counters on creatures that was caused by infect damage.


Can a Counterspell basically counter more than one spell?

This situation cannot happen as you have described it. In order to enchant a creature, the creature must already be on the battlefield. If your opponent wants to counter your creature, he must do so before it resolves.

In casual games of Magic, you have to settle the confusion with your opponent and decide whether he meant to allow the creature to resolve. There are two possible outcomes:

Your creature resolved, and your enchantment is on the stack waiting to resolve.
Your creature is countered, and you did not cast your enchantment (yet).

In tournament games, the two outcomes are the same, but this time the rules say that your opponent gets to choose.

Example

  Andy: I cast Grizzly Bears.
  Nathan: ...
  Andy: I cast Oakenform, targeting Grizzly Bears.
  Nathan: When I get priority after you cast Grizzly Bears, I'll cast Counterspell, targeting Grizzly Bears.

When you cast two spells in succession without asking your opponent if the first one resolves, you are actually suggesting a shortcut. Your opponent can choose to take priority after either spell. Silence cannot be used as an indicator that the game has moved forward.

In this example, Andy played sloppily by assuming that Grizzly Bears resolved. Nathan has the option to accept the shortcut, or deviate from it by responding to Grizzly Bears (which he did).

What can I do to prevent this from happening in the future?

Simply ask if your creature resolves.

  Andy: I cast Grizzly Bears. Does it resolve?

You'll learn to recognize when it is important to do this. It may be seen as an annoyance if you are constantly asking "Does my spell resolve?" when your opponent is completely tapped out with no cards in hand.


In order to capture a group, you need to deprive it of all "liberties," the empty spaces touching the stones. In this case, the southwest group has two liberties, on A1 and C2.
However, as the rules don't allow you to leave any of your own stones without liberties at the end of your turn, you can't play on A1 due to suicide, and the same goes for C2. In order to capture that group, you'd have to somehow play on A1 and C2 at the exact same time, but you only get to play one stone per turn.
So how do you capture the southwest group? The answer is, you can't! Welcome to an important fundamental part of Go strategy: "Life and Death."
The southwest group is in a state where it is invincible, and nothing you do can capture it, so we refer to this group as "alive." On the other hand, a group which can't save itself from being captured is "dead."
How does a group become alive? In the exact way shown on your board here. Inside the group are two separate liberties (empty spaces), and since you can't play inside both spaces at the same time, capturing the group is impossible. Liberties inside a group are called "eyes," and if a group is capable of making two eyes, it is alive.
A group that can't save itself is a group that has no way of making two eyes. These groups are considered dead. Typically Go players do not even go through the process of capturing groups that are clearly dead, and instead just capture the dead stones once the game is over.
Though, playing out the position to check if the stones are really dead does not affect the final score, as each additional stone added to the dead group is worth a point for the capturing player, but each additional stone played to complete the capture fills up one point's worth of the capturing player's territory, so it all balances out in the end.


Basic lands are not removed from the booster pack in booster draft. They are drafted as any other card in the booster pack. From official MTR (Magic Tournament Rules):

7.7 Booster Draft Procedures
All players must open and draft the same type of booster at the same time. Players open their first booster pack and count the cards face down, removing token cards, rules cards, and any other non-game cards.


MTG Gatherer Regular Expressions whitespace

It looks like the Gatherer search simply does not understand negated regular expressions. I tried, and it gives the exact same results with NOT <regular expression> as with AND <regular expression>.

Fortunately, your search does not require the use of regular expressions at all. You can find what you're looking for just by using NOT "until end of turn" instead.


Settlers of Catan
For adults, I would suggest Settlers of Catan, since it's a much better game to me and a lot more fun to play.  If your willing to play a full game of Monopoly, then Catan is a prefect fit since it's actually shorter.  There's also a much more nuanced trade mechanic, and a board to stack our your share of.  I see it as a great chance to introduce them to Euro games if they haven't played one before.
For young kids, if they want to play Monopoly, I wouldn't dare be a spoil sport and suggest something else.


What are the preconditions for a trump promotion in bridge?

The Bridge Encyclopedia identifies 4 situations in which trump promotions ("the creation of trump tricks by forcing the premature use of trump cards by the opposition").

Uppercuts - ruffing high to force opponent to overruff, thus promoting a trump trick in partner's hand.
Establishing long tricks in trumps by forcing opponent to ruff - as in a forcing defense.
Coup en passant to create a positional trump trick. Example:

      K
      -
      -
      2
A           Q
-           -
-           A
A           -

      J
      -
      2
      -

With spades as trumps and the lead in the south, if declarer (south) leads a trump, they lose both tricks. But if they lead a diamond, the spade King will be scored en passant - either west will trump and declarer will discard from dummy, or west will discard and declarer will ruff with the king.
A positional overruff threat. For example, if south holds KQx in trumps and west holds AJ, playing on trumps will lead to west taking a single trump trick. If instead east plays on a side suit in which south and west are both void, south must ruff high to prevent an overruff with the J, but this establishes the J as a second trump trick (as long as west does not overruff with the ace!).


In Catan Cities & Knights, can you use a Knight action before you roll the dice?

Here is a link to the Completely Annotated Rules & Almanac for Catan Cities and Knights by Derek Whaley on BGG.

I don't know how official this can be, but the turn overview on page 8 makes it quite clear that you can't use a Knight action before rolling the dice:

  The player who placed the last city takes the first turn. Each player,
  going clockwise around the table, performs the following actions, in
  the order listed:

  You must roll all 3 dice.
  The results of the event (symbol) die are resolved)
  Progress Cards may be drawn (depending on the result of the event die).
  All players produce the commodities indicated by the red and yellow dice.
  You may do any or all of the following in any order:

  Trade resources and/or commodities with the bank and/or players.
  Build roads, settlements, cities, knights, city walls, and/or city improvements.
  Activate, promote, and/or perform actions with your knights.
  Play any number of Progress Cards.

  Note: The “Alchemist” Progress Card can only be played before the dice are rolled. It is the only Progress Card that can be used before
  the dice are rolled and the results resolved


In Elder Sign, If I free a locked die by defeating a monster, can I use it in the same turn?

Not normally - monsters defeated within adventures are not destroyed and removed until the end of the adventure.  Theoretically, this would work if you could destroy a monster instantly with some sort of monster-destroying special effect in the middle of the adventure; however, I believe that all such effects have timing windows that intentionally exclude the ability to do it at that time.


The face down morph cards don't have an ability whose effect turns the card face-up. Instead, the rules allow you to turn them face-up.

  702.36d If you have priority, you may turn a face-down permanent you control face up. This is a special action; it doesn’t use the stack (see rule 115). To do this, show all players what the permanent’s morph cost would be if it were face up, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. (If the permanent wouldn’t have a morph cost if it were face up, it can’t be turned face up this way.) The morph effect on it ends, and it regains its normal characteristics. Any abilities relating to the permanent entering the battlefield don’t trigger when it’s turned face up and don’t have any effect, because the permanent has already entered the battlefield.


Play the text on the card to the letter. If the card says infested, it means infested.

Thematically the Vector Control Technician helps control the vectors that transmit diseases, such as rodents, birds, other animals, insects etc. They're like a specific pest exterminator, that only target the species that carry the disease. If you keep that in mind, it makes sense that they're so useful when the disease is being carried by humans.

If you can't find official errata that supports a widening of scope for a card, just play the card as is.


Does Curse of Opulence give its controller tokens when someone else attacks?

You are correct, players A and C each create a Gold token.

The ability "Whenever enchanted player is attacked, create a colorless artifact token named Gold" applies to the player that controls Curse of Opulence, which is player A in this case.

The other part of the ability, "Each opponent attacking that player does the same" makes it so that player C also gets a token.

  303.4e An Aura’s controller is separate from the enchanted object’s controller or the enchanted player; the two need not be the same.

The player who controls Curse of Opulence is also the controller of the triggered ability:

  112.8. The controller of an activated ability on the stack is the player who activated it. The controller of a triggered ability on the stack (other than a delayed triggered ability) is the player who controlled the ability’s source when it triggered [...]

And the controller of the ability is the one that carries out the instructions, including to create the token:

  608.2c The controller of the spell or ability follows its instructions in the order written.


Are you able to build a settlement from a separate ship?

Boats are like roads with a few exceptions:

they must border at least on one side to water.
they require wood and sheep to build.
you can pivot the last ship in a row of ships (but it needs to stay connected).
they are affected by pirates

You can only change from road to ship (or ship to road) through a settlement (or city).

In order to build a settlement on an Island where you have no settlement yet, you need to build a row of ships starting from a settlement at the first island until you get to the second island. You can now continue building ships along the coast, or you can build a settlement. And if you are the first to build on an island, some scenario's reward you with an extra victorypoint.


Trick Joseki? Shoulder hit after keima to 3-4-stone

Black's pincer is too close to White's stone (it should be at least one space lower). (This variation is not in the joseki books because it is not joseki.) That means that White can "lean on it while indirectly attacking Black's corner stone.

White should play Q15,Black plays p15, White cuts with P14, threatening to make a ladder to capture stone 3, Black extends from this stone, White ataris with P16, and quashes the corner stone with P17.

$$B
$$ ---------------------
$$ |..................|
$$ |..................|
$$ |..............1...|
$$ |.............8....|
$$ |.............542..|
$$ |.............637..|
$$ |..................|
$$ |..................|


The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm; can it activate more than once?

Each time

The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm you mention reads in its text:

  If a Phantom Knights card(s) is sent to your Graveyard: [gains 500 atk]

So that means the effect will trigger each time something sends one or more of such cards to the GY.

Worth noting the "card(s)" part: that means that if you send more than one card to the GY simultaneously, the monster will only gain 500 ATK (not 500 per card)


Parasite + Wyrm combo - is it an insta-killer?

Yes, this combo works.

Parasite will trash any ice as soon as it has zero (or lower) strength, regardless of how that strength was lowered (i.e. it doesn't only trigger from Parasite's counters).

Other cards that combo with Parasite include Datasucker:

  Whenever you make a successful run on a central server, place 1 virus counter on Datasucker.
  Hosted virus counter: Rezzed piece of ice currently being encountered has -1 strength until the end of the encounter.

or Ice Carver:

  All ice is encountered with its strength lowered by 1.


How many unique outcomes can be made from the 12 river tiles in Carcassonne?

As mentioned in the comments, I think the U-turns of the river in your example board are invalid; see (this version of) the rules. If, as you say "We must also exclude possibilities that become unplayable when the river curves in onto itself.", the Java program at the bottom will calculate all possible boards, with the caveat that it distinguishes between the two straights with two grass borders and between the two bends with two grass borders (we can correct for those later). Here's an example board it generates:

The total is a whopping 1,715,761,152 boards, where I've already assumed the source always flows to the right (otherwise, you'd just get a rotated version of the full board). But some of those are equivalent according to your definition:

We can always swap the two bends with two grass borders
We can always swap the two straights with two grass borders
We can always rotate the first of those straights 180 degrees
We can always rotate the second of those straights 180 degrees
We can always rotate the straight with two town borders 180 degrees
We can always rotate the straight with two road borders 180 degrees

This means that we have to divide the total by 26, so there are 1,715,761,152 / 64 = 26,808,768, almost 27 million different (full) boards according to your definition.

The Java program is as follows:

package com.stackexchange.boardgames;

public class CarcassonneRiverSimulator {
    private static Tile endTile;
    private static Tile[] tiles;
    private static int numberOfBoards;

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // as shown in https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/q/43479, North -> East -> South -> West
        Tile startTile = new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Grass, Border.River, Border.Grass, Border.Grass }, false);
        tiles = new Tile[] { startTile,
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Town, Border.River, Border.Town, Border.River }, false),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Grass, Border.River, Border.Grass, Border.River }, false),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Road, Border.Road, Border.River, Border.River }, true),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.River, Border.Grass, Border.Grass, Border.River }, true),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Grass, Border.River, Border.Grass, Border.River }, false),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Town, Border.River, Border.Road, Border.River }, false),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Grass, Border.River, Border.River, Border.Grass }, true),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.River, Border.River, Border.Town, Border.Town }, true),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Road, Border.River, Border.Road, Border.River }, false),
                new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Grass, Border.River, Border.Road, Border.River }, false) };
        endTile = new Tile(new Border[] { Border.Grass, Border.Grass, Border.Grass, Border.River }, false);

        // Start with the start tile @ 0,0 in the indicated direction
        // x increases to the East, y increases to the South
        startTile.position = new Position(0, 0, North);
        Position nextRiver = new Position(1, 0, West); // i.e. the next tile needs to be at (1, 0) and needs to have a
                                                        // river in
        // the West position

        // Check next tile (recursively)
        nextTile(nextRiver, null);

        System.out.println(numberOfBoards + " valid boards found.");
    }

    private static void nextTile(Position nextRiver, Integer invalidNextRiverDirection) {
        boolean nonPositionedTileFound = false;
        for (Tile tile : tiles) {
            if (tile.position != null)
                continue;
            nonPositionedTileFound = true;
            tryToPlaceTile(nextRiver, tile, invalidNextRiverDirection);
        }
        if (nonPositionedTileFound)
            return;
        // Place end tile (this can fail because one of its grass borders blocks a town or road)
        tryToPlaceTile(nextRiver, endTile, invalidNextRiverDirection);
    }

    private static void tryToPlaceTile(Position nextRiver, Tile tile, Integer invalidNextRiverDirection) {
        // Try to add this tile to the mouth of the river in any of the directions
        // (North = don't rotate, East = rotate 90 degrees clockwise, etc.)
        for (int rotate = North; rotate <= West; rotate++) {
            int riverDirection = (4 + nextRiver.direction - rotate) % 4;
            if (tile.borders[riverDirection] != Border.River)
                continue;

            // Check other borders
            boolean valid = true;
            for (int border = 0; border < 4; border++) {
                if (border == riverDirection)
                    continue;
                int direction = (border + rotate) % 4;
                int x = nextRiver.x + getDx(direction);
                int y = nextRiver.y + getDy(direction);
                for (Tile otherTile : tiles) {
                    if (otherTile.position == null || otherTile.position.x != x || otherTile.position.y != y)
                        continue;
                    if (otherTile.borders[(6 + direction - otherTile.position.direction) % 4] == tile.borders[border])
                        continue;
                    valid = false;
                    break;
                }
                if (!valid)
                    break;
            }
            if (!valid)
                continue;

            // Find next river position
            Position nextNextRiver = null;
            for (int border = 0; border < 4; border++) {
                if (border == riverDirection)
                    continue;
                if (tile.borders[border] != Border.River)
                    continue;
                int nextRiverDirection = (border + rotate + 2) % 4;
                if (invalidNextRiverDirection != null && invalidNextRiverDirection == nextRiverDirection)
                    break;
                tile.position = new Position(nextRiver.x, nextRiver.y, rotate);
                nextNextRiver = new Position(tile.position.x - getDx(nextRiverDirection),
                        tile.position.y - getDy(nextRiverDirection), nextRiverDirection);
                break;
            }

            if (tile == endTile) {
                // Valid board found
                numberOfBoards++;
            } else if (tile.position != null) {
                // Check next tile (recursively)
                nextTile(nextNextRiver, tile.isBend ? (nextRiver.direction + 2) % 4 : null);
            }

            // Reset position
            tile.position = null;
        }
    }

    private static enum Border {
        Grass, River, Road, Town
    }

    private static final int North = 0, East = 1, South = 2, West = 3;

    private static int getDx(int direction) {
        return direction == West ? -1 : direction == East ? 1 : 0;
    }

    private static int getDy(int direction) {
        return direction == North ? -1 : direction == South ? 1 : 0;
    }

    private static class Position {
        public Position(int x, int y, int direction) {
            this.x = x;
            this.y = y;
            this.direction = direction;
        }

        public final int x, y, direction;
    }

    private static class Tile {
        public Tile(Border[] borders, boolean isBend) {
            this.borders = borders;
            this.isBend = isBend;
        }

        public final Border[] borders;
        public final boolean isBend;
        public Position position;

        @Override
        public String toString() {
            StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
            int direction = position == null ? 0 : position.direction;
            for (int border = 0; border < 4; border++) {
                if (builder.length() > 0)
                    builder.append(", ");
                builder.append(borders[(4 + border - direction) % 4].toString());
            }
            builder.insert(0, "[");
            builder.append("]");
            return builder.toString() + (position == null ? "" : " @ (" + position.x + ", " + position.y + ")");
        }
    }
}


Returning tokens for the 10 token limit: which ones?

You may return any of the tokens currently in your possession.

When you collect gems and/or gold, you may collect fewer tokens than you are entitled to collect. It would be a little weird to collect tokens and immediately return them, but that addendum indicates it's perfectly valid to do so.

It doesn't mean you can only return those you've drawn.

It doesn't mean you can return more than would be necessary to avoid exceeding the limit.

The Splendor rules are quite poorly written. What follows is the complete rules (except the setup instructions) rewritten in much clearer language.

Rules of Splendor

[These rules are found here as text and as images suitable for printing on 3.5" x 2.5" cards.]

Setup:

 Players     Gems       Gold     Dev Cards   Nobles
---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    2      4 of each      5      4 of each      3
    3      5 of each      5      4 of each      4
    4      7 of each      5      4 of each      5

On your turn, perform the following steps:

Take one of the following actions:

Collect up to three different gems.
Collect two gems of a type of which at least four gems are available.
Reserve a face-up or face-down development card and take up to one gold,
but only if you have fewer than three development cards currently reserved.
Reserved cards are kept private.
Purchase an available or previously-reserved development card.

Replace any missing development cards if possible.
Discard down to ten gems and/or gold.
Form a permanent alliance with an unallied noble whose requirements
you meet (if possible). Nobles are not replaced.
The game ends if any player has 15 or more points, and if all of the players
have had the same number of turns. Those with the fewest development cards
win ties.


From the rulebook (source), under optional rules (page 15):

  Monster and Treasure Tokens
  Some Adventures use Monster or Treasure tokens to add an element of surprise or risk to a particular scenario. The Adventure explains how to use the tokens and when they are needed.

If an adventure gives no explanation for their use, then yes, they simply give the players bragging rights.


Does Spark Double on Muldrotha allow for additional plays from the graveyard?

Yes, You may play additional cards for each Muldrotha you control.
From the Card specific rulings in Gatherer:

If you play a card from your graveyard and then have a new Muldrotha
come under your control in the same turn, you may play another card of
that type from your graveyard that turn.
If multiple effects allow you to play a card from your graveyard, such
as those of Gisa and Geralf and Karador, Ghost Chieftain, you must
announce which permission you’re using as you begin to play the card.

This is written under the assumption that you can only control one Muldrotha at a time, but it remains true if you control multiple Muldrothas. Each instance of Muldrotha only checks if you already played a permanent of the same type with the permisssion of that specific Muldrotha.
You may still only play one land per turn unless another effect states otherwise.
To be precise the rulings mention multiple effects, this includes other effects as well as multiple instances of the same effect. You will still have to announce which Muldrotha you are using for each card played.


Can I use the Idol during other player's turns?

No. Idol is an item, and may only be used on your own turn.
From the FAQ at wizards

Can you use an item card outside of your turn (for instance, when you were attacked)?
The only items you could use outside your own turn are the Angel Feather, the Lucky Stone, and the omen Skull.


Can boats move through sea monsters in Survival: Escape from Atlantis?

The boat is destroyed if it's occupied.

  If you move a Ship containing one or more Explorers into a sea space containing a Sea Serpent or a Whale, the Ship is immediately removed from the game, it's passengers become Swimmers (don't forget that if the sea space contains a Shark or Sea Serpent, these Swimmers are immediately removed from the game).

A similar rules exists for Swimmers.

  If you move a Swimmer into a sea space containing a Sea Serpent or a Shark, the Swimmer is immediately removed from the game. Consequently, Swimmers cannot cross that kind of sea spaces.


Do conditional triggered abilities check their condition again before resolving?

Once an ability has been triggered, that's it: it's on the stack and you don't have to worry about the triggering condition anymore.

You can see this in the Gatherer rulings for Grenzo's Cutthroat itself:

  5/29/2014     Once dethrone triggers, it doesn’t matter what happens to the players’ life totals before the ability resolves. You’ll put a +1/+1 counter on the creature even if the defending player doesn’t have the most life as the ability resolves.

The exception to this is the "intervening if" clause, which is specialized rules text in the form "When/Whenever/At [trigger event], if [condition], [effect]."


Can a worker leave a territory controlled by an enemy mech?

No. The worker cannot leave a territory controlled by an enemy Mech. The rulebook says:

If your character or mech move into a territory
controlled by an opponent’s character and/or mechs,
its movement ends (even if you have a mech ability
that would allow it to move further). The opponent
still temporarily controls that territory. After you’ve
completed all Move actions, if any of your mechs or
your character share a territory with an opponent’s
character or mechs, combat happens (see Combat
section, pages 22-23).

Your workers cannot move by themselves into or out
of territories controlled by opponent characters and/
or mechs.


Where can I sell my Magic: The Gathering cards?

To get the most money for your cards, I recommend that you do the following:

Separate out any valuable rares -- anything worth more than a few dollars -- and sell them individually.
Sell the rest of them in bulk. Generally speaking, commons and uncommons only go for about $.01, unless they're especially valuable in one of the non-Standard formats.

As for where to sell them, you have basically three options.

Sell them to your local game store. This is probably the most convenient option, but be aware that the local store is likely to offer you less than you could get in other venues, and they're usually flooded with commons and may not agree to buy your old commons and uncommons at all.
Sell them yourself on eBay. This is what I did when I needed to get rid of a few thousand old commons, which I sold in a great big unsorted box. You'll probably get a higher average price per card this way, but you'll have to handle the hassle of shipping yourself. And be aware that big boxes of cards can be heavy, and therefore expensive to ship.
Sell them to an online game store that buys cards. This is probably the least attractive option, since they will usually only offer prices similar to those you get selling to a local store, but you still have to ship them.


Interesting boardgames to play with children

Legendary Uno. Its card game. Description from BGG:

  Players race to empty their hands and
  catch opposing players with cards left
  in theirs, which score points. In
  turns, players attempt to play a card
  by matching its color, number, or word
  to the topmost card on the discard
  pile. If unable to play, players draw
  a card from the draw pile, and if
  still unable to play, they pass their
  turn. Wild and special cards spice
  things up a bit.


What is the converted mana cost of land cards?

It's 0†, so Sun Titan can bring them back.
This is also noted in the rulings below the card in Gatherer:

If a card in your graveyard has no mana symbols in its upper right corner (because it’s a land card, for example), its converted mana cost is 0.

†: with the exception of transformed lands, as noted in @NeilMeyer's answer. This situation doesn't happen in the graveyard, though.


Gomoku, is it possible to not be able to make a legal move?

Yes, it is possible for such a condition to happen, though I'm not sure what you mean by "force." It is possible because it is possible to create a board-state in which neither player has won the game, but the entire board is filled. A simple example of such a state is the following: imagine a filled 11x12 which follows the pattern:

WWBBWWBBWWBB

BBWWBBWWBBWW

WWBBWWBBWWBB

BBWWBBWWBBWW

Obviously, neither player has won the game, and since white and black each have an equal number of stones on the board, it is not impossible to reach such a board state. I have therefore shown that it is possible to reach a board-state in which one player cannot make a legal move. You can also show this for non-full boards by applying the rule of three and three and the rule of four and four.


I contacted Ludically and here is the designer answer:

  You need to count the number of visible regions (hexes) that you have discovered and legally placed on the archipelago containing some mountains.
  If it has some textured mountains on the tile then it's counted as one, no matter how much mountain there is on the tile. Some islands for example also have mountains, such an island tile would be then worth 1 point towards your ranking.


What kind of power grid plant deck would be nice for newer players?

If you're interested in the direct answer and not in the reasoning behind it, scroll to the bottom of the post!

A simple option is to just only use the new plants. Their internal balance is somewhat improved. That being said, it does change the game dynamic from the regular game. Early plants are more effective, so a game can be shorter. That can actually be detrimental; it's easier to exploit an early lead.

A second option is to play more of a 'teacher' role: just explain why you're interested in a plant openly and fairly, or answer a question like "Why do you think I should bid on plant X?". The problem is that it can take away agency and that you're not really playing to win. It's hard to do this well.

Rather, I would suggest this preferred (if somewhat complicated) solution instead. Take the old deck, and remove all the plants that are bought almost 100% of the time they are in the game, as well as the plants that are bought almost 0% of the time. Replace these with the new plants, shuffling a few plants around so we have as few double numbers as possible.

These things are 'harsh' about the game's regular plant deck:

1> Bad early plants. These "traps" are just something you learn to avoid. They're bad enough that they'll cripple you in 99% of games, only serving to 'block' the market. Instead, it would be better if the worst plants are at worst mediocre, allowing you to at least make a bit of money, instead of just costing you.

2> Really good plants new players won't immediately realize the value of. The experienced player can oftentimes get a steal for an amazing power plant like the 21, 25, 26, or 30. This problem is somewhat less of a concern if you take the time to explain that 5 or bigger plants are really good, because you don't have to replace them later on, even if they use up a lot of resources, i.e. go through a few example evaluations of the plant market.

3> Low capacity late-game plants. Again there's another trap here. If these are bought at the start of phase 3, you could simply get into a situation where you don't power enough stuff.

4> The '3' and '4' capacity plant trap: new players will often buy too many of these, leaving them strapped for cash in phase 3. Adding a few 7 and 8 capacity plants allow players to keep one 3- or 4-capacity plant and still get 17 total capacity (3-6-8 or 3-7-7 or 4-5-8 or 4-6-7).

What we do NOT want to do is alter the game's resource balance. The default deck is well tuned with respect to the resources available, so we want our new deck to have roughly the same number of 'resource symbols' total on the cards, as well as keep the amount of symbols in each phase of the game similar.

In order to make the deck somewhat more forgiving, I suggest the following:

Gentle Deck

Start out with the regular Power Grid deck.

1) Replace the [3] plant with the new [2*] plant. In our new configuration the old [3] would not be good enough. Here having it be 1 cheaper means it is comparable to the [4] in value.

2) Add the new [5*] plant, leaving the old [5] in as well. (The new [5] counts as higher). The new [5*] offers an interesting capacity option, much like the [8].

3) Replace the [6] plant. The new [6*] is a great efficiency plant, though it suffers in turn order. The old [6] is essentially bought only on non-standard maps with cheap starting trash, or to break a stall.

4) Replace the [7] plant. The new [7*] has good efficiency. The old [7] is a mediocre plant bought only very rarely, it tends to not make enough money.

The starting market ends up as 2* 4 5 5*, 6* 7* 8 9, 13.

Phase 1 and 2 plants:

5) Replace the [14] plant. The old [14] is quite literally a garbage plant, and is basically never bought.

6) Replace the [15] plant. This adds an extra windmill early on. The [15] is usually a mistake when bought, but is quite insidious: it seems good at first glance but turns out not to be great.

7) Remove the [17] plant. The worst plant in the game.

8) Replace the [19] plant. The [19] is mediocre at best at this point in the game.

9) Replace the [21] plant. This gives back another Trash option, and the default [21] is arguably a bit strong. The new [21*] is also a 3-resource plant, keeping the resource use the same for Trash.

10) Replace the [25] plant. The default [25] is the second-best plant in the game. The new [25*] is a worse version of the old [26], the best plant. Removing the [25] also removes a bit of mid-game coal, allowing plants like the [20] and the new [14] to be less risky.

11) Replace the [26] plant. This gives us a 3-power wind plant.

12) Replace the [27] plant. Trading the wind plant for another decent Trash plant.

The midgame deck is thus 10 11 12 14* 15* 16 18 19* 20 21* 22 23 24 25* 26* 27* 28 29 30 31 32 33

Endgame plants:

13) Remove the [37] plant. A wind plant with only 4 cities and this high of a number is a trap.

14) Replace the [44] plant. Again, only 5 cities is not really good enough. With 6 cities the new plant is generally a great pickup.

15) Add the new [46] plant. (It ranks above the old [46]). This adds a good high-capacity hybrid plant.

16) Replace the [50] plant. This 8-capacity plant makes 3- and 4-capacity plants less bad. We already replaced the [44] so the equivalent of the old [50] is still in the game.

The endgame deck becomes 34 35 36 38 39 40 42 44* 46 46* 50*

Then follow the standard game rules with this new deck.


How does targeting limitation work for Wild Ricochet?

The original instance of Dynacharge is controlled by your opponent, so the only valid targets are creatures that that player controls. You must target a creature they control; you cannot choose an invalid target or target nothing.

You control the copy of Dynacharge, so you may choose one of your creatures as a target for the copy. If there are no valid targets or if you choose not to change the target, the copy will be countered as it would resolve for having an illegal target. Rule 706.2 says:

  When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object’s characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether it was kicked, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on).

And rule 706.10c says:

  Some effects copy a spell or ability and state that its controller may choose new targets for the copy. The player may leave any number of the targets unchanged, even if those targets would be illegal. If the player chooses to change some or all of the targets, the new targets must be legal. Once the player has decided what the copy’s targets will be, the copy is put onto the stack with those targets.


Can the Dispatcher spend actions to allow others to knowledge transfer?

No. This is not a legal action.
The Dispatcher's two abilities are:

Move your fellow players' pawns on your turn as if they were your own

Move any pawn to another city containing a pawn for 1 action

The rule book has a very specific wording for each action. The actions Drive (or Ferry), Direct Flight, Charter Flight, and Shuttle Flight all use the word "move" to explain what you do during that action. All of the others, including Share Knowledge, do not. These actions do not deal with moving, which is all the Dispatcher is allowed to do to other pawns.
Or more simplistically, the rules state specifically:

The Dispatcher may move other player’s pawns on his turn (using any of the available Basic actions) as if they were his own pawn. He may also spend an action to move a pawn to any city that contains another pawn. He may only move other players’ pawns if they permit him to do so. Note: For the Charter Flight action, the Dispatcher must play the card corresponding to the current location of the pawn he wishes to move.

The Basic actions only include the four I mentioned above, plus Pass. You cannot spend an action to allow other players to trade cards using the Dispatcher; Share Knowledge is a Special action and outside of the Dispatcher's abilities.


What is this stacking game with rotating coloured sides?

This is from Chameleon

  Its the 3-D building game with a colorful twist! As players race to
  build towers using their Chameleon' blocks, there's a surprise with
  every move - the Chameleon blocks magically change their colors!

  Place one red block on a tower and the block below turns green. Choose
  another red block, add it to the tower, and the block below changes to
  red. You'll need skill and luck to correctly "predict" what colors
  will appear. Matching colors earns you another turn. If block colors
  don't match, dismantle the tower, block by block, and start from the
  ground up!


Can Ink Treader Nephilim's Electrolyze copies target players?

No, you cannot, because the card specifically states that each copy targets "one of those creatures." So the target for the copy is specified in the rules of the card itself, there is no option to choose a different target.

Arc Lightning is the same, but Liquid Fire works a little differently. With liquid fire, there is only one target, the creature. How much damage is done to the creature vs the creature's controller is chosen as you cast the original Liquid Fire, and that same chosen number will be applied to the copies. (By rule Rule 706.10). So if you chose "x = 0", thus dealing 0 damage to  Ink-Treader Nephilim, and 5 to  Ink-Treader Nephilim's controller, then 0 damage will be dealt to each creature, and 5 to each creature's controller. (So players who control multiple creatures will take 5 damage for each creature they control, not just 5 damage total).


Is it legal to continue building a route after it has been cut off by an opponent's settlement?

Yes.
The rules state that that you must build connected to your own buildings/roads, which you still are in the situation in question.
From the rules:

A new road must always connect to 1 of your existing roads, settlesments, or cities. Only 1 road can be build on any given path.

And

You must meet 2 conditions when building a settlement:

(1) Your settlement must always connect to 1 or more of your
own roads

(2) You must observe the Distance Rule


You can always finish your turn. Whether you picked up that last Province in the action phase or the buy phase, you'll be able to keep playing until you're done with your turn, possibly picking up another victory card or two. Note that the only cards you can possibly find useful at this point are cards that give you victory points. (If you have Gardens, then you might buy any old cards just to make your deck bigger. Similarly, you might pick up Silvers if you have a Feodum.)


Identify this standard-deck solitaire with a 7x7 tableau

It sounds like a variation of Scorpion.

Scorpion also uses 7x7 layout, but with a sub rectangle of face-down cards (the exact size varies) rather than a triangular arrangement like you describe.

And it builds King-to-Ace in place (in the tableau) rather than moving Aces up and stacking Ace-to-King above the tableau.


Does excess Planeswalker damage hit the player?

No.

An creature only deals damage to the player or planeswalker it is attacking. In this scenario, it must assign 5 damage to the planeswalker.

  510.1b An unblocked creature assigns its combat damage to the player or planeswalker it’s attacking. If it isn’t currently attacking anything (if, for example, it was attacking a planeswalker that has left the battlefield), it assigns no combat damage.

Remember, when a creature is declared as an attacker, you must explicitly choose which player or planeswalker that creature is attacking.

  508.1b If the defending player controls any planeswalkers, or the game allows the active player to attack multiple other players, the active player announces which player or planeswalker each of the chosen creatures is attacking.

Trample doesn't help deal damage to a player or planeswalker the creature isn't attacking. Trampling has no effect if there are no blockers, so this scenario is identical to the previous one.

  702.19b The controller of an attacking creature with trample first assigns damage to the creature(s) blocking it. Once all those blocking creatures are assigned lethal damage, any remaining damage is assigned as its controller chooses among those blocking creatures and the player or planeswalker the creature is attacking. [...]

The damage source's controller either redirects the damage or they don't. (If there were multiple sources dealing damage simultaneously, or if a source dealt damage multiple times, each could be redirected or not independently.)

  306.7. If noncombat damage would be dealt to a player by a source controlled by an opponent, that opponent may have that source deal that damage to a planeswalker the first player controls instead. This is a redirection effect (see rule 614.9) and is subject to the normal rules for ordering replacement effects (see rule 616). The opponent chooses whether to redirect the damage as the redirection effect is applied.

  that doesn't mention excess damage

Damage to a planeswalker results in loss of loyalty counters. Dealing an amount of damage to a planeswalker that's larger than the number of loyalty counters is has is simply waste. (You can't remove a counter it doesn't have.)

  306.8. Damage dealt to a planeswalker results in that many loyalty counters being removed from it.


If Rayami, First of The Fallen is in the command zone, does his ability still activate?

Creatures will only be exiled by that ability if Rayami is on the battlefield.

In general, abilities on permanent cards only function while the card is on the battlefield. There are some exceptions, but they mostly boil down to "Does the ability only make sense in another zone, or specifically say that it works in another zone?" The details are in rule 113.6.


Does the wording "each land" also include Basic Lands?

A Basic Land is still a land. Any card with "Land" in the type line is a land.

205.1. The type line is printed directly below the illustration. It contains the card's card type(s). It also contains the card's subtype(s) and supertype(s), if applicable.
205.2a The card types are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, plane, planeswalker, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard. See section 3,"Card Types."
305.5. Land subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash. Land subtypes are also called land types. Lands may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3i for the complete list of land types.
Example: "Basic Land — Mountain"means the card is a land with the subtype Mountain.


How many Magic The Gathering cards have been printed?

Duelist Magazine released the size of the print runs for Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark, and Fallen Empires. Between those five sets, there were approximately 429 million individual cards printed. (Those may just be the numbers for English cards, though, I'm not certain.) The print run sizes for those sets increased dramatically going forward from Arabian Nights at 5M to Fallen Empires at 312M.

To my knowledge, no other Magic set has had the print run size explicitly revealed.

Edit – Some searching around has revealed some estimates at the print run sizes for other sets:

Alpha: 2.6M
Beta: 7.3M
Unlimited: 35M
Revised: 500M
4th: 500M
Ice Age: 500M
Chronicles: 180M
Mirage: 400M

(I'm also going to speculate that Renaissance had approximately the the same numbers as Chronicles, since Renaissance was essentially the German/French/Italian version of the English/Japanese Chronicles.)


Are (un)tapped permanents still legal targets for "(un)tap target permanent" effects?

If it's a permanent, it's a valid target for "target permanent". Period[1].

You cannot untap a permanent that's not tapped.

  701.17b To untap a permanent, rotate it back to the upright position from a sideways position. Only tapped permanents can be untapped.

This has consequences[2], but not for Tamiyo.

  609.3. If an effect attempts to do something impossible, it does only as much as possible.

The confusion stems from the fact that players intuitively know they cannot choose to do something impossible. This is indeed a rule.

  608.2d [...] The player can’t choose an option that’s illegal or impossible, with the exception that having a library with no cards in it doesn’t make drawing a card an impossible action [...]

However, while you are forbidden from choosing to do something impossible, there's nothing impossible about activating Tamiyo's ability. It's of no consequence that the ability involves actions that cannot be performed if the ability were to resolve immediately after being activated.

As usual, cards can override the rules. For example, abilities such as Shroud, Hexproof and Protection can prevent a permanent from being targeted.
You are required to pay a cost completely[CR 117.3], so a cost that requires you to untap something that isn't tapped can't be payed.

For example, the untap symbol means "Untap this permanent". Because you can't untap a permanent that isn't tapped, you can't pay the cost of Puresight Merrow's ability when Puresight Merrow isn't tapped.

For example, If you want to untap a tapped permanent so it can attack, and you use an instant that reads "Tap or untap target permanent.", and someone untaps it in response, you would be force to tap it when your ability resolves (because you can't chose to do something impossible.) That's why that type of ability is phrased "You may tap or untap target permanent."

For example, If you have an ability whose effect reads "You may untap an opponent's land. If you do, do X.", you can't do X if the opponent has no tapped lands.


Uno Flip - What color do you play when a person flips?

https://service.mattel.com/instruction_sheets/GDR44-English.pdf

  Whether playing the Light Side or the Dark Side, on your turn, you must match a card from your hand to the card on the top of the DISCARD pile, either by number, color or symbol (symbols represent Action Cards; see FUNCTIONS OF ACTION CARDS).

The teal 5 is on top of the DISCARD pile, therefore the next play should be on the teal 5.


Multiple "Security Testing" within a single server?

You can choose same server for multiple Security Testings, but you still would get credits from only 1 of them. Security Testing effect is a replacement effect which replaces access step. You have one access step per run and it can be replaced with any one applicable effect of your choice. So they all would trigger same time, but only 1 will get to resolve.

Moreover, other Security Testings wouldn't work on subsequent runs on the same server this turn, because it woudn't be a first successful run anymore and they can't meet their trigger.


In Hive, can Beetle hop over to another lane?

No, the one hive rule is continuous, even during a move.  At least in the version of the rules that I have, the second example under the One Hive rule states

  Moving the black Queen Bee to a position where it re-links the Hive is
  also an illegal move as the Hive is left unlinked while the piece is
  in transit.

This would apply to your beetle move as well, since while it was in transit, it would not be connected to the hive at all.


If the ancient one awakens after an investigator dies in the mythos phase, does the player draw a new investigator?

The player draws a new investigator and continues play.
From the FAQ (emphasis mine):

If an investigator is defeated, the player controlling that investigator chooses a new investigator at the end of the Mythos Phase.
...
After the Ancient One has awakened, when an investigator is defeated or devoured, the player controlling that investigator is eliminated.

Resource guide says the same thing.
This isn't MtG, there isn't a stack.  My understanding of the "wait til the end of the mythos phase to start new guy" rule is to prevent any/all confusion about what actions (and interactions) that person can take.


What happens to Kajia's insect tokens on death?

It seems to me your interpretation is broadly correct.  I guess with a game like this its impossible to write a rules that account for every little situation.

If you read the 'first aid' section of rules they state :-

  When a player reaches zero life, he continues playing throughout the
  recycle step of the current beat.

So any Insect counters gained the turn a player took damage that took them to Zero or less would go into the discard pile and any that were due to be returned would be.  Obviously the 'life loss' effect wouldn't apply as life loss effects can never take remaining health below 1.

The card for Kajia states :-

  When an opponent would cycle a discard pile with Insect Counters on it
  back into his hand.....

and First aid states :-

  He does not play any future beats while at zero life.

As the player is not taking future beats the the discard pile is not cycled.  Similar to if a player use a 'finishing move' which also doesn't rotate the discard pile.  So if a player attacking Kajia in 2 v 1 mode if knocked out the tokens would still remain on the discard piles and count for the effect the 'Burrowing Style'   However what you said about that bonus being 'per insect counters' is wrong.  The card says :-

  This attack has +1 Power and +1 Priority for each discard pile with
  insect counters on it.

So if 3 insect are on one player all on one there discard piles but not the other they only gain +1 Power and +1 Priority for the pile.  Not the number of insect counters on it.


Can you Rez an upgrade during a run? And when?

You can rez an upgrade anytime the "Rez" symbol appears on the timing chart for the structure of a run.

This is mostly the same as when paid-abilities can be used, there are a couple of paid ability windows where you cannot rez cards, the most notable being the "Encounter" window with ICE.

From the rules, this is timing sections 2.3 and 4.3. Also before and after every action.

1. Runner starts, names server.
2. Approach outermost ICE.
2.1. Paid ability
2.2. Jack out (goto 6) or not
2.3. Approached ICE can be rezzed
     Paid ability can be used
     Cards can be rezzed.
2.4. Check if ICE is rezzed.
3. Runner Encounters Ice if rezzed.
3.1. Icebreakers can interact
     Paid abilities can be used
3.2. Resolve all unbroken subroutines
     If run hasn't ended, and there's another piece of ICE, goto 2.
     If run ended, goto 6.
4. Runner approaches attacked server
4.1. Paid abilities can be used.
4.2. Jack out (goto 6) or continue.
4.3. Paid abilities may be used
     Cards may be rezzed.
4.4. Run is successful. Trigger abilities if any.
4.5. Access cards. Trigger abilities if any.
5. Run ends. Trigger abilities if any.
6. Run is unsuccessful. Trigger abilities if any.

If there isn't any ice, you won't have the 2.3 timing window, and so you can only rez your upgrade at the 4.3 timing window.


Will Aegis of the Gods negate my opponent's Erebos, God of the Dead for me?

Aegis of the Gods will have no effect. You still won't be able to gain life, for the exact reason you suspect. From the definition of Hexproof:

  702.11c "Hexproof" on a player means "You can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control."

Since Erebos' ability doesn't say 'target' anywhere, it doesn't target you, and Hexproof has no effect.

Alternately, you can find a way to remove Erebos from the battlefield. Exiling is one way. Erebos can't be destroyed, since Gods have Indestructible. Have you considered cars such as Deicide or Banishing Light?


Is Magic: The Gathering a consistent game?

The game can never end up in an undefined state.

There are rules for every situation, and they don't contradict each other. It is possible for the game to go into an infinite loop because of card/rule interactions, but the players have to either break the loop by doing something else, or the game ends in a draw, depending on the exact circumstances. In competitive settings such as a tournament (from world championships down to local prerelease events), there are also official judges present who can resolve any rules dispute.


Are spells mostly a dubious strategy in Quarriors?

The original Quarriors rules do indeed discourage buying anything except creatures. You've put your finger on the problem: the game is too short for spells to be in the same range of usefulness as creatures.

The solution is in an optional rule in the back of the Quarmageddon rulebook: to score glory, you must cull the creature that scored. (If you want to keep the creature, you can opt to not score it.) This has three effects:

The game is slower.
An early lucky buy of a powerful creature no longer nigh-guarantees victory (though it still helps).
Spells are more worthwhile: buying a spell once means you can use it several times, but buying a creature once means you can only score it once.


Do the sides reveal their goals when the haunt begins?

When the haunt starts the new rules are only known by the side that they are for and not everyone.

The traitor generally leaves the room to read the rules that apply to them and it will give them some idea of what they need to do to win and what their former friends are going to do. At the same time the rest of the group will read their rules and it will give them some idea of what they need to do to win and what the traitor is doing.

The only time this changes is when a haunt lets a traitor convert other players then that player will also get to read the traitor rules and they will now know both sets of rules.


Indestructible means the permanent cannot be destroyed. Something would be destroyed if something says to destroy it, or if it takes lethal damage (e.g. a 3/3 takes 3 damage, or is dealt damage by something with deathtouch).

Terror and Wrath of God don't do anything to it. An indestructible creature isn't regenerating from destruction, it just isn't destroyed in the first place.

The common ways we remove an indestructible permanent are:

Put it into any other zone:

Exile it. This means Swords to Plowshares works.
Return it to its owner's hand (known as "bouncing" it): Drag Under, Peel from Reality, and others.
Put it back into its owner's library (known as "tucking" it): Condemn, Chronostutter, and others.

Make its controller sacrifice it.
If it's a creature, reduce its toughness below 0, such as with Tragic Slip.

There are some oddball other methods, such as making it a non-issue (Song of the Dryads) or unable to participate meaningfully (Claustrophobia, Arrest), or making it lose its abilities (Snakeform, Gift of Tusks), or just lose indestructible specifically.


In Haunt #43 - The Star Sickness, does any use of the serum on a traitor kill them?

Yes, the best way to determine if someone is a traitor is to (attempt to) inject them with the serum.

If they are a traitor they are killed by agreeing to the serum, and if they are not a traitor it completely absolves them of any current or future suspicion, plus heals them back to their starting values and stops them potentially taking damage each turn from the physical attack that occurs on the haunt revealer's turn (this is not directly stated, but is implied by the rules).

If they refuse, you then have a fairly good idea that they are a traitor, after which they can then do their best to infect you, or die by other means and become an alien.

As for your confusion over the serum, any explorer can use it, but it would mostly be pointless for a traitor to (the only good case I can think of for a traitor using the serum on another explorer is to redirect suspicion).

Note that on becoming an alien the explorer drops all items and that aliens cannot trade items. This seems to indicate a general intent in the rules for aliens to not be able to use items, but it also specifically says that aliens are treated as monsters only for the purposes of movement and taking damage, thus rules-as-read they are not technically prevented from later picking up or stealing items.


Penalties for Thursday theatre slot in Trickerion

From the rulebook, page 17:

  When having at least one Character on a Thursday slot, the player subtracts 1 from the Fame and Coin yields of all of his or her Performed Tricks, while when having one on any Sunday slot, he or she adds 1 to the Fame and Coin yields of all of his or her Performed Tricks. This also applies when the player’s Tricks are part of another player’s Performance, and when the player’s Magician is not present in the Theater. If the player has no Characters at all in the Theater when his Tricks are Performed, he receives the same Yield modifiers as the performer.

Seems pretty clear to me: as long as any of your characters are in a Thursday slot, any of your tricks performed that week get the adjusted Fame and Coin, regardless of whether your Magician is present.


Officially play does not begin until the dealer has discarded.

(take the following quote with a grain of salt, there are tons of euchre variants and home rules that may contradict this).

http://www.euchrelinks.com/rules.html

  XIII. If the eldest-hand leads before the dealer has discarded, he
  cannot withdraw his card and change his lead, nor can the dealer be
  deprived of his right to play alone. The discard is not completed
  until the dealer places his card under the kitty, or on the table, and
  has quitted it; and when the dealer has once quitted the discarded
  card, he cannot change it.

  XVIII. If any player plays with six or more cards, or, if the dealer
  plays and omits to discard and fails to announce the fact before three
  tricks have been turned, such player or dealer cannot count the point,
  or points, made on their side in the hand, and they lose the deal. But
  if the adverse party win under such circumstances, they are entitled
  to count all they make.

If you had stopped play and discarded after the first card(s) were played, they cannot be un-play their card once you discard (and you can use that information to choose a discard).

Since you did not discard and played the hand with 6 cards, you cannot score points this hand.


Where can I find an exhaustive inventory of cards in Ticket to Ride?

The card distribution for train cars is in the rulebook, it is 8 colors 12 of each, and 14 locomotive wilds.

There are 30 destination tickets, they can be read here in high resolution with a BGG account. They are listed here

Denver to El Paso (4)
Kansas City to Houston (5)
New York to Atlanta (6)
Chicago to New Orleans (7), Calgary to Salt Lake City (7)
Helena to Los Angeles (8), Duluth to Houston (8), Sault Ste Marie to Nashville (8)
Montreal to Atlanta (9), Sault Ste. Marie to Oklahoma City (9), Seattle to Los Angeles (9), Chicago to Santa Fe (9)
Duluth to El Paso (10), Toronto to Miami (10)
Portland to Phoenix(11), Dallas to New York City (11), Denver to Pittsburgh (11), Winnipeg to Little Rock (11)
Winnipeg to Houston (12), Boston to Miami (12)
Vancouver to Santa Fe (13), Calgary to Phoenix(13), Montreal to New Orleans (13)
Los Angeles to Chicago (16)
San Francisco to Atlanta (17), Portland to Nashville (17)
Vancouver to Montréal (20), Los Angeles to Miami (20)
Los Angeles to New York City (21)
Seattle to New York (22)


Certainly you can.  Per the rules:

  no player can ever have two identical
  cards face up in front of him.

There is no restriction on an identical card being face up in front of another person!


What happens to Element cards spent when acquiring a new Element card?

You place the cards used in the discard pile as stated in the action phase section of the rules.

  During the Action phase, you may use your Element and
  Spell cards to try to vanquish the Monster and keep it in the
  Grimoire. Five actions are possible:
  • Activate a Spell
  • Learn a new Spell
  • Acquire an Element card
  • Destroy a Curse
  • Cure one of your Madness cards
  You may take as many actions as you wish, in any order, as many
  times as you like, as long as you have the Element cards to pay for
  them. Each action costs a number of Elements, which you must pay
  by discarding Element cards from your hand or from the support
  pool or a combination of both.
  Whenever you pay an Activation Cost, you must discard enough
  Element cards to produce at least as many Elements as required
  for the action. Excess Elements spent on an Action are lost. They
  cannot be used for another Action.
  A single Element card cannot be used for multiple Actions.


How to identify miniature parts that correspond to in-game enhancements?

I recommend you check out the Modelling Section of the Advanced Tau Tactica forums. This will probably be more helpful for their great magnetization guides, but there are a TON of other guides linked there... if you stick with Tau it will be an invaluable resource.

If you can find a copy of some of the older codexs they often have better pictures of what counts as what, but to some extent, even in a WYSIWYG tournament no one is going to check whether or not your squad has Grenades (or give you a hard time for not buying grenades even though they're modeled with them).


You can buy chocolate Russian roulette sets, the guns has 7 chocolate bullets filled with liquid chocolate and 1 chocolate bullets filled with hot sauce, these can be great fun.

http://www.treasureislandsweets.co.uk/acatalog/chocolate_russian_roulette.html

heres a link to a set :)


There's not a lot you can do to screw over a player for being vague. Because the rules-provided answer is basically "Force them to be less vague."

Really what players are doing when they say they make "a bunch" of tokens is telling their opponent "Look, I have my combo. Gonna scoop now?" If you do anything other than scoop, of course they're gonna play more tightly — since now they're actually playing it out.

Get in the habit of always asking for clarification. Then you're not giving away any information about your own plan.

About the most "underhanded" things you can legitimately do are:

Ask really casually and hope they say something a little more definite.

  "So, that's what, a million damage heading my way?"
  "Yup."
  "After blockers, I'll Rakdos Charm."

I think most competitive players would call a judge on you and you'd end up in an annoying argument about who exactly said what when. You might also develop a reputation for pettiness of poor sportsmanship.
Ask someone to slow it down and show you the combo steps. As they do so, they'll probably announce a specific number as part of a shortcut. (This works better with Rakdos Charm than Batwing Brume, because you can do it while they execute the combo instead of having to wait for them to declare attackers.) This is a trick that may actually get you some wins against the more complex combo decks, when they just straight-up botch their combo.


Does having one or two tap effects change anything for MtG dual lands?

Lands having one combined or several separate mana abilities has no direct gameplay effect, but is due to templating reasons. Lands with basic land types get their mana abilities inherently from the rules, rather than from the textbox, and other lands can get more compact, more readable explicit abilities. In Arena, lands with basic land types are handled subtly differently because of the advantages of a digital adaptation.
In terms of interaction with other cards, there is interaction due to the number or ordering of abilities on an object. The game rules also make no mention of a hypothetical ordering of abilities on objects, so there is no relevant distinction between a first, second, third etc. ability.
Whenever cards such as Humility and Experiment Kraj interact with abilities that fulfill certain criteria, it's always all of those abilities, so their number and/or ordering does not matter either.
However, there are practical reasons why e.g. Breeding Pool has 2 mana abilities, and Simic Guildgate has one.
First of all, the card Breeding Pool technically does not have any mana abilities, contrary to what you suggest. The text printed on paper Breeding Pool and what you see in Gatherer would imply one combined mana ability, but it is only reminder text that has no relevance to gameplay.

Reminder Text: Parenthetical text in italics in the text box of a card that summarizes a rule that applies to that card, but is not actually rules text and has no effect on play. See rule 207.2.

In-game, it has two mana abilities, which are granted (through the rules) only to the object the card represents:

305.6. The basic land types are Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. If an object uses the words “basic land type,” it’s referring to one of these subtypes. An object with the land card type and a basic land type has the intrinsic ability “{T}: Add [mana symbol],” even if the text box doesn’t actually contain that text or the object has no text box. For Plains, [mana symbol] is {W}; for Islands, {U}; for Swamps, {B}; for Mountains, {R}; and for Forests, {G}. See rule 107.4a. See also rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”

Second, the two mana abilities printed on MTGA Breeding Pool are two explicit mana abilities, as can be seen from their non-italics font. It appears that they are explicit abilities, not inherent as in paper Magic, to simplify the rules implementation and type-changing effects in Arena. In other words, Arena does not implement the rule 305.6, but simulates it through templating and modification of effects that change land types. This is possible because in paper Magic, the text is (mostly) the rule, but in a digital game, you can have an arbitrarily large disconnect between card text and effect, because the computer does all the bookkeeping in the background.
In summary:
Whatever the source (rule or explicit), Breeding Pool needs 2 mana abilities because other cards can take away one basic land type (and thus mana ability) while leaving the other intact - 305.6 simplifies the templating necessary to add and especially take away mana abilities based on the basic land types a land gains or loses. Arena does not have to implement 305.6 because a computer can hide the bookkeeping from the player while showing readable text. Guildgates cannot lose a basic land type, so there are no templating problems in the first place, so it can have a single, compact ability for readability.