[2019] Game breaking bug around the card Dead Man's Chest

Original Post — Direct link

Currently in MTGA Arena, part of Dead Man's Chest ability affects the mana cost of all cards in your hand and all future draws.

You may cast nonland cards from among them for as long as they remain exiled, and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any type to cast those spells.

That later half is the part that is bugged.

Before triggering Dead Man's Chest

After triggering

Effect Persists even after the taken cards have been played

Example of abuse, casting a red cost card using all swamps

I've repro'd this in back to back games. Once the effect is triggered, it affects the cost of all cards that you ever draw. This includes cards that were in your deck when the effect triggered.

External link →

almost 5 years ago - /u/WotC_BenFinkel - Direct link

Good old anaphora resolution, the blackest of linguistic magics. The parser asks "What are 'those spells'?" It walks back through the sentence, and sees "nonland cards", and didn't get the semantics of "from among them". Thanks for the report, I've got a fix ready. #wotc_staff.

almost 5 years ago - /u/WotC_BenFinkel - Direct link

Originally posted by freestorageaccount

I wonder, how(ish) are cards written? I would've expected Dead Man's Chest to look under the hood like 'you may cast {non-land cards from among them}' or maybe '{non-land cards exiled this way that haven't since changed zones}', and then it would seem hard for Arena to mistake. Maybe the program is given only the same English text we see, at least initially until a bug crops up (like happened with Cry of the Carnarium after some creatures had died)?

Virtually always the parser is given the exact Oracle text of the card (and we consider it a sad failing if we have to use se different text). For most bugs including this and the Cry of the Carnarium one, we fix how the parser interprets that text. #wotc_staff

almost 5 years ago - /u/WotC_BenFinkel - Direct link

Originally posted by Sponger1313

Can you give us an example of one where you had to change the text?

My favorite example was Amonkhet's [In Oketra's Name]:

Oracle: Zombies you control get +2/+1 until end of turn. Other creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.

Substitution: Zombies you control get +2/+1 until end of turn. Non-Zombie creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.

As I said above, anaphora resolution is hard. #wotc_staff

almost 5 years ago - /u/WotC_BenFinkel - Direct link

Originally posted by freestorageaccount

I bet it 'thought' In Oketra's Name was a creature and so the other-creatures part gave all creatures you control +1/+1 -- zombies getting +3/+2 in total? :D

Well, it doesn't matter whether or not the card is a creature, just that it's a card-like object (after all, maybe it's a permanent that was a creature and isn't any longer). But yeah, it thought that "other" was "other than this card." #wotc_staff

← More from Magic The Gathering: Arena

Recent Magic The Gathering: Arena Posts

2 days ago - /u/WotC_Jay

2 days ago -

3 days ago - /u/WotC_Jay

Recent Magic The Gathering: Arena Posts

[MH3] Winter Moon (via Wotc)

WotC - Can we please make cardstyles applicable to every card no matter what set it is from?

Store Maintenance

MTG Arena Announcements – April 29, 2024