Phone a Friend

Riku's Trigger Conditions

Hey Mark,I have a friend that loves turn spells and Riku. He wants to build the new Riku but the only modal turn spell is "Phone a Friend". However the new Riku says when You choose a mode.Two questions here,Would your friend choosing a mode count as you choosing for Riku's trigger.And/OrIf you have a friend that is named You, does that meet the conditions required for Riku's trigger. (Related question, what if my friend has the nickname You)

You means you, the player, not someone named or nicknamed You. Sorry.

Phone a Friend Spells

Phone a Friend Rule

Since Phone a Friend just says to call "someone", if you bring a second phone can you call yourself?

No. Outside assistance has to be with people outside the game.

Phone a Friend Rules

Unfinity Gameplay Mechanics

Suppose I'm playing Unfinity draft. I play Octo Opus, then use Exchange of Words to swap the token's text box with my opponent's Mind Goblin. I then cast Phone a Friend, and the friend chooses A, letting me take control of the Mind Goblin. On my next upkeep, can I fold Mind Goblin in half?

No. You can’t fold a card you do not own.

Draft Formats Exchange Exchange of Words Game Play Goblin Mechanics Octo Opus Phone a Friend

Hybrid Eternal/Acorn Cards

Did you ever consider making hybrid eternal/acorn cards? I think with some templating creativity you could have cards with a fun acorn condition and an eternal one, making players opt in or out. For example phone a friend could have something like this: "Call someone and ask them to choose one. If they don't answer or you can't, an opponent chooses one". Maybe with color letters or brackets or rules backing up.

That is very narrow design space, and has lots of messaging issues.

Colors Design Space Eternal Hybrid Phone a Friend Rules Templating Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Card Interaction Clarification

How does Phone A Friend work with Far Out? Does the person you call have to be the one controlling Far Out?

If you control Far Out and Phone a Friend, you can pick how many modes the phone friend chooses.

Far Out Phone a Friend

Rules on Phone a Friend

If I cast phone a friend, can I phone someone who happens to be following the game?

No, the phone a friend has to be unaware of the board state.

Phone a Friend Rules

Phone A Friend Mode

Hey Mark! I just cast Phone A Friend, which mode do I get?

B.

Phone a Friend

Phone a Friend Rules

If my opponent plays Phone a Friend, can I yell out suggestions in hopes they'll be heard over the phone?

None of the players are allowed to give information to the caller.

Phone a Friend Rules

Ruling on Phone a Friend

If I Phone a Friend who doesn't know anything about Magic, can I explain that in a vacuum D is the most powerful?

No.

Phone a Friend

Phone a Friend Context

Re: Phone a Friend, you said "They just can’t know your board state." Is that what the card means by "don't explain anything else?" I thought it meant that you had to read just the choices with no context, and if your friend says "What are you talking about" or "What did all of those words you just said mean," you have to say "I can't tell you, just pick one" as opposed to "This is for a MTG game, it's a silver-bordered card and you're picking what it does."

You can explain the context of why you’re calling. “I’m playing Magic and a card is making me call someone.” You can’t explain the state of the game to give them a reason to pick one choice over another.

Phone a Friend

Un-set Mechanics Feedback

As a Spike/Jenny who loves Un-sets, and wants to draft them and win games, I hate that approaching cards as puzzles and trying to set up advantages beforehand is considered "cheating". (For example, I'm scared to talk to my friends at all about Phone A Friend's existence, since that might end up influencing their decisions, meaning one less person available to call.) Next time around, can we instead get more practice-friendly challenge/minigame designs like Dart Throw, D00-DL, and The Big Top?

What the right choice is for Phone a Friend is super game dependent. You can talk with them about its existence. They just can’t know your board state. Having four friends that always give the same answer (one for each choice, so you call who you need) is cheating.

Competitive Play Dart Throw Draft Formats Johnny / Jenny Mechanics Phone a Friend Spike The Big Top Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Phone a Friend Strategy

I'm asking you as the Acorn Rules Manager: for Phone a Friend, are we supposed to tell that friend what each option does, or do we omit that and just ask them to choose A, B, C, or D?

You should read each option.

Phone a Friend Rules Manager Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Phone a Friend Order

Do you have to present the modes of Phone a Friend in the order they appear on the card?

Yes.

Phone a Friend

Phone a Friend Attempts

What do I do if I call someone with phone a friend and they don’t answer? Call someone new? How many calls do I get to make before it fizzles? Also, if they don’t know about the card, can I at least say “a magic card told me I had to call someone and ask them to pick one” or does that count as “explaining anything else”?

You get technically get one call, but in casual play, I assume you can try again. You are allowed to explain the context of what’s going on. You can’t explain anything about the state of the game. And you can read the four options.

Casual Play Phone a Friend

Contact Methods

With Phone a Friend, could you text a friend instead of calling them?

Yes.

Phone a Friend

Card Mode Communication

When phoning a friend while resolving phone a friend do you say exactly choose A,B,C or D or do you read the modes and say choose one?

Read the modes.

Phone a Friend

Phone a Friend Rules

I have two questions about Phone a Friend. First, does the person you "call" need to not physically be there, i.e. could you "call someone over" instead of calling someone on the phone? Second, even though you can't explain anything about the card during the call, would you be allowed to discuss the card with someone in advance so they know what option to pick when you call them later?

If you don’t have a phone, you can ask someone outside the game. They just can’t have knowledge of the game state.And no, you can’t tell people in advance what to choose.

Phone a Friend Rules

Phone a Friend: "Call someone and ask them to choose one / don't explain anything else." - Are you asking them to "Choose A, B, C, or D" with no context, or are you still reading out the line for each option?

You are allowed to read the rules text of each choice.

Phone a Friend Rules

Guidance on Phone A Friend

For Phone A Friend, what does "Don't explain anything else" really mean? I assume it means "don't explain the game state", but does it go further than that? Does it mean all you can say is "Choose one", "Choose one - A, B, C, or D?", "Choose one - A, I get their creature, B, I copy their creature twice, C, I take an extra turn, or D, I draw seven cards.", "I'm playing a game of Magic, choose one - A, B, C, or D."? What exactly are you and are you not allowed to say? That was really unclear.

You’re allowed to read what each thing does (aka read the rules text), but you can’t give any extra information which might do things like explain game state or hint what you want them to choose.

Creatures Phone a Friend Rules

Pre-game Friend Strategy

Unrules question: Is it legal for me to approach 4 different friends before I play a game of magic, assign each one a different letter between A-D, and then, when I play Phone A Friend, choose to call the person assigned to the letter I want picked?

You’re not allowed to influence their decision, which “always say A” does.

Phone a Friend Un-sets