Combat phase / steps

[Sinister]

What I think Swap is asking is the following:

Am I saying the same thing with:

"I would like to go to my combat phase"
and
"I would like to end my pre combat main phase"

And am I doing something illegal if I ask either, my opponent responds to it, and I follow this up with a mainphase action. (i.e. equipping something)

[jurgenb]

Bottom line, the answer to "How can I bait my opponent into playing his Cryptic Command in my main phase?" is "You can't."

If you want to pass priority in your main phase, you should say that, and exactly that. Any tricks you try to pull with careful word plays will not work.

If you want to go down the path of "but better rules knowledge should give me an advantage", then this is the answer: the game should reward people for seeing what plays the rules will allow them to do, what options they have to go from one game state to a more desired one. It should not reward tricks with communication, which this clearly is. As soon as you misuse communication, you're no longer talking about superior rules understanding, but about rules lawyering. This is not desirable.

[Sinister]

I wasn't so much interested in tricking people to misusing their cryptic command. What I'd like to know is:

I have a 3/3 exalted creature in play, a generic 1/1, finest hour in play, 3 mana untapped and Loxodon Warhammer out. I say "I would like to go to my combat phase" and my opponent Terminates my 3/3 exalted guy. Can I now equip my 1/1 with the warhammer?

Same situation, different wording:


I have a 3/3 exalted creature in play, a generic 1/1, finest hour in play, 3 mana untapped and Loxodon Warhammer out. I say "End of main phase?" and my opponent Terminates my 3/3 exalted guy. Can I now equip my 1/1 with the warhammer?

[Peter]

Obviously that's exactly the same but you're trying to make him misuse a Terminate instead of a Cryptic Command. All you're trying to do is misleading your opponent by using ambiguous communication. This is, pretty much by definiton, not the intent of communication. Imo you should always be clear about what you're doing. Outplay your opponent strategically instead of experimenting with shady wordings to trick him.

The point is pretty simple imo. There is very rarely a reason to do something at the end of your opponent's precombat main phase, while frequently, you want to interfere in his beginning of combat step. Therefore, people going to the combat phase often inform whether their opponent has any effects at this point, by saying any number of things ranging from "declare attack?" to "combat?" or whatever. Because your opponent is very unlikely to want to do something at the end of your first main phase, any sort of phrasing that you'd want to use to ask him if he has any effects at this point is unnecessary, and probably your only goal is to make him believe you are in the beginning of combat step. So you're just doing some attempt at abusing unclear communication which should not be tolerated.

So the whole discussion about "what wording should you use for this" is pointless. The answer is, none. When you go to combat, you shortcut to the beginning of combat step. In the very rare case that your opponent wants to do something at the end of your first main phase, it's him that will back-up to that point.

[jurgenb]

As Peter said.

Whether you're trying to bait a Terminate or a Cryptic Command, or anything else is irrelevant.

[Sinister]

I'm not baiting, but just nevermind ...