Can't play instants during the Upkeep Step.

[Meddle]

Just lost a game because I couldn't cast Psychic Spiral during my upkeep. This is why I hate video game Magic. I think I'm done here.

[Roz1281]

I totally agree, but what stopped you from casting during end step?

[Meddle]

I was tapped out. I had accounted for the loss of 4 cards instead of 2 from my library, but the AI got lucky and milled me 4, then played a draw spell for the rest. I would have won had I been able to cast after untap, during upkeep, before draw. In other words, if the video game was the same as the card game I'd have won just fine.

[Roz1281]

Oh yea .. I'm so tired I forgot untap,upkeep,draw.

[Meddle]

Or, for all of you Magic Duels players out there, that would be "untap & draw, ignoring upkeep and any chance of priority, and if there is an upkeep step it is only because a card was in play to force it to be checked because that step is irrelephant to you idiots who play magic on a computer ha ha ha ha ha p.s. buy our digital cards you plebians."

[Meddle]

Originally posted by From the Comprehensive Rules (Magic Origins (July 17, 2015)):

The upkeep step is the second step of the beginning phase. It is the first time during a turn when players gain priority.

At the beginning of the upkeep step, any abilities that trigger either during the untap step or at the beginning of upkeep go on the stack. Then the active player gains priority.

Unless you are playing the video game variants of Magic in which case screw the rules, we just want money & green hair.

[GarbageCollector]

Yes. And that the "before damage" keyphrase to play instants is part of the "block" step. Gotta get it in during that 1 second after they push confirm blockers.

Why do the game makers keep screwing these things up? How hard would it be to just have to push "next step" each time? Tedious? Maybe. Accurate and prevents BS like you mentioned from happening? Yes.

Also dear game, please stop telling my opponent whether or not I do in fact have things I can do with my untapped mana by lightning-speed skipping my second main phase altogether straight into the end step or not. Is there a way to turn this off?

[Meddle]

Next step? The game doesn't even offer to hold priority! Like you pointed out. So you're often playing with your cards revealed if they're unplayable on untapped mana. If they're playable on untapped mana and you pass, the enemy can guarentee you have some combat tricks in there or else you wouldn't have had priority for however many seconds it took you to hit the continue button. The only thing you can do is mash the continue button in the hopes of tricking your opponent into thinking you don't have any playable cards left. Digital Magic is stupid. Time is money and I want my money back.

[GarbageCollector]

They must have wanted that to be the "psychology" aspect of the game. How well you can manipulate your opponents thoughts by mashing (or omg... NOT mashing!) the continue button at near-computer speed!

Seriously you actually can ask steam for refunds. I hear they're pretty reasonable too, though I haven't done it myself... yet.

[Meddle]

I haven't lost any money. I'm not careless enough to spend money on A: a game that doesn't work or B: a digital card collection. I spent time and it was wasted

[Gryfn]

Everyone keeps talking about how MTGO is bad, but I find its system of being able to set "stops" at various phases and steps in the game, and then using hotkeys like F2/F4/F6 to speed through a turn, to be a lot better and more precise than the timer system used in Duels games.

http://wizards.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1356/~/setting-stops-in-magic-online
http://wizards.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/646/~/magic-online%3A-hotkeys

[Roz1281]

Yes, it's more robust as it has to be. I even prefer the newer MTGO interface to the old one, even though Stainless is working on it. It shows they can do decent work with magic products if they want to. I guess it could be a different subset of developers though.

[暁のヨナ]

Originally posted by griffin_230:

Everyone keeps talking about how MTGO is bad, but I find its system of being able to set "stops" at various phases and steps in the game, and then using hotkeys like F2/F4/F6 to speed through a turn, to be a lot better and more precise than the timer system used in Duels games.

http://wizards.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1356/~/setting-stops-in-magic-online
http://wizards.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/646/~/magic-online%3A-hotkeys

Same, I'm a huge fan of the stops and priority checks MTGO uses. The issue is Duels series is for teaching new people to play and those systems are too complex.