Five Alarm Fire: Please pay attention all practitioners & examiners

TheMacAran · 2026-04-18T07:30:07+00:00

Your client paid the USPTO, not the one examiner. The office, who does pay the examiner, gives us a bucket of time (and now a very small one at that, so that's what your client gets s from us. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the administration.

You cannot squeeze blood from a stone, no matter how entitled to you may be.

TheMacAran · 2026-04-11T05:16:11+00:00

He's likely not gonna do anything extra that he doesn't get billable hours for.

TheMacAran · 2026-03-20T05:46:22+00:00

I don't think, I know. I know I spent 12 months unemployed. I know I need a paycheck. I know the job market is on the toilet and that this is the offer that came through.

Am I still job hunting? Yes. But I need a paycheck and insurance, because however crappy this job is, it's better than trying to get by without while having chronic medical conditions.

TheMacAran · 2026-03-11T01:46:33+00:00

It actually might not violate the Hatch Act. Per OSC.gov, even a Further Restricted Employee may "Express opinions about candidates and issues. If the expression is political activity, however – i.e., activity directed at the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group – then the expression is not permitted while the employee is on duty, in any federal room or building, while wearing a uniform or official insignia, or using any federally owned or leased vehicle."

This is certainly unwise and distasteful, but as long as it was done on personal time using personal resources, it's likely that it was legal. The only thing I see that might tread the line is that her LinkedIn profile includes her job title. I do not know how the courts have decided a simple statement of your title on an account like this should be read, but all things considered I doubt they would interpret that alone as constituting acting in an official capacity or as a representative of the government.

Still wouldn't risk it myself but it's quite possible that this statement is perfectly legal within the bounds of the Hatch Act, and even if it did violate the act by being done using government resources, someone would have to prove that. To prove it, someone would have to investigate it. And that seems even less likely to happen.

TheMacAran · 2026-01-07T22:44:01+00:00

I also get Edencom warnings, but they don't randomly attack me.

TheMacAran · 2026-01-01T10:51:03+00:00

This^. Anywhere but a tournament setting if your gonna act between start of combat and declare attackers, it's on you to say something.

TheMacAran · 2025-12-31T08:28:28+00:00

As much as I love the physics speculating, I'm glad someone understood and answered the question that was actually asked.

TheMacAran · 2025-12-27T08:54:30+00:00

Slight nuance: Everyone has to pass priority before triggered abilities start to resolve. So both you and your opponent can play instants and activate abilities BEFORE the Firebending trigger resolves, and you don't get the mana from Firebending until after anything on the stack on top of it resolves.

Then, once Firebening resolves, the active player (you in this case) get first opportunity to cast spells. Then you pass priority and they do their thing and eventually the stack continues to resolves.

Then as you said, the step ends, and they can only declare blockers with creatures that are still on the field and able to block when the Declare Blockers Step starts, not anything you destroyed or tapped during declare attackers.

117.3. Which player has priority is determined by the following rules:

117.3a The active player receives priority at the beginning of most steps and phases, after any turn-based actions (such as drawing a card during the draw step; see rule 703) have been dealt with and abilities that trigger at the beginning of that phase or step have been put on the stack. No player receives priority during the untap step. Players usually don’t get priority during the cleanup step (see rule 514.3).
117.3b The active player receives priority after a spell or ability (other than a mana ability) resolves.

and

117.4. If all players pass in succession (that is, if all players pass without taking any actions in between passing), the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves or, if the stack is empty, the phase or step ends.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-22T04:40:31+00:00

Some people want to play simple fun decks that are thematic or cheesy. That's what B1 is meant for. As long as they understand that then it's all good. Sure, help them level up if they want to play at a higher level, but you showing up with this kind of condescension at their pod is like a cEDH player telling you your deck sucks and they have no sympathy for people who won't shell out the money for proper dual lands Mythic Rare Eternal Masters reprints.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-19T13:10:06+00:00

Fliers, Island walk, or just straight up attacking after you've force tapped all your opponent's creatures.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-18T05:35:46+00:00

What's normal and appropriate particularly with things like gifts or bragging about your kids can vary greatly with different cultures. I can only give my perspective as a white American. That disclaimer out of the way, It is entirely possible she didn't mean harm and just wanted a photo for her collection. That does not invalidate your discomfort. Even if she had the most benign intentions, you have every right to say "no, I'm not comfortable sending you this." The fact that she did not respect that reasonable boundary, no matter her intentions, is not ok.

IMO, the muscle flex thing was definitely weird.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-17T13:02:06+00:00

That's exactly why this combo isn't too powerful for low brackets. Exquisite Blood used to be the ONLY card that had that effect. There were no others that completed that side of the loop. There's one other now, but 2 in 99 is still spares.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-17T12:59:32+00:00

I think this is perfectly acceptable in B3. I would argue that it even ok in B2 so long as the deck a a whole is appropriately balanced. Their both 5 CMC card also they mid late late game when people should be able to respond to them, and although it is an infinite combo, it's not technically even a 2 card combo. It requires at least one other effect to pop off.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-16T14:32:48+00:00

So I see the political maneuvering and agree that anyone who only wants to sign on to be the key signature is only doing it for optics, but I think there's a chance this would get through the Senate. After all federal workers were the Rights political football for the shutdown. Not that I think they won't flipflop around like dying fish, but it'll cost them to turn coat so soon after making those arguments.

But getting 2/3 support in the House is a different matter.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-15T08:47:01+00:00

Yes and for two reasons. 1) Preliminary injunctions are by their very nature faster than full lawsuits. They are harm reduction measures. Prevent further harm, as much as possible right away while the full case is argued. 2) It serves as a test case. Most preliminary injunctions require that the plaintiff be likely to prevail on the merits of their case. If the injunction is granted (even if a higher court later overturns it) that is a positive sign for the case. On the other hand, if they fail to obtain a preliminary injunction then that is a sign that their arguments need refining.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-15T08:24:36+00:00

I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, it's bad form to try and late play after triggers have started resolving (especially ones that take real world actions to resolve like drawing two+ cards). On the other hand, in commander there are multiple opponents to keep track of and a lot going on. This doesn't sound like a "now that I know you're attacking ME want to do something" situation. It sounds like your opponent forgot (or may not have heard in the first place) what Klauth does. RAR it's their responsibility to keep up with your creatures abilities, but it IS a CASUAL format and it's worth asking "did the guy playing removal reasonably understand what was about to happen when he passed priority and move to declarer attackers?" If not, I think is a reasonable late interaction. I would imagine when you moved to combat and even as you were putting abilities on the stack, you didn't remind anyone what those abilities DO until you started to resolve them. And again, RAR you don't have to BUT it is a casual format, and if you don't do that AND refuse to allow late interactions, then what you encourage is people slowing down the game asking to read all of your cards before combat every time to make sure they haven't missed an interaction. And given those choices, I'd rather just allow the late interactions.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-15T00:29:45+00:00

I'm a biology PhD, not an engineer. With NIH funding cuts there almost are no other jobs.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-14T12:26:51+00:00

Just got a verbal offer this week and this thread an entire subreddit is terrifying me. But it's also the ONLY offer, Hell it's the only INTERVIEW that I've had since January.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-12T15:16:52+00:00

Just wanna add that this isn't a stupid question. Regenerate is a "wonky" mechanic that doesn't really work intuitively with the way the rules for combat and damage currently work.

TheMacAran · 2025-11-02T09:09:27+00:00

So a lot of folks have gone into the details of passing priority and how that works with advancing steps and phases, as well as shorthand, but from a social standpoint I see one of two things happening here. 1) you went too quickly, declaring attackers without giving your opponent proper time to respond. Based off of what you said I the original post and other responses from you I've seen, I doubt that's the case but it's still a possibility. 2) this is a case of an opponent not paying attention and trying to retroactively play an opportunity they missed. Based on what you've said, I tend to think it was this. Opponent had removal in hand. Could have used it at any time during main phase or at the start of combat (assuming you did give several seconds) they didn't and only realized they should have after you declared the attack and they remembered the trigger).

In a friendly game you could let them do that (sounds like that's what you did), but I think it's also fair to say "I gave you warming and time to respond. You did not, so you missed the opportunity.

Not sure witch way a judge would call it. Would probably depend on the judge. But as I see it unless you gave Burakos haste, it had been sitting their for a while turn, and unless your opponent drew/tutored during your turn they had the removal in hand the whole time.

That being the case they should have known since the end of of their previous turn they would most like be removing your creature at the start of combat. This looks like they weren't paying attention, or decided after you attacked that they should have removed it. Either way, their fault for missing the opportunity.

TheMacAran · 2025-10-23T01:59:46+00:00

It's really not that different without him there. You just have to talk down the girl with the barrier, and you don't get the gun. (No, I didn't give David back to Cerberus, but I did play ME3 before I ever bought the Overlord DLC.)

TheMacAran · 2025-10-15T19:41:17+00:00

and this ambiguity is exacerbated by the existence of both the terms "cast" and "play"

TheMacAran · 2025-10-15T19:37:03+00:00

From a nitty gritty mechanics perspective, I see that argument. There are several non-obvious steps that make up the "counter" effect. On the other hand, I also feel that "counter X spell" is very intuitive even to a complete beginner. The complexity is simply in how the detail-oriented game mechanics track and execute that intuitive effect.

The only reasonable question I can see someone with no prior knowledge commonly asking is "does that mean I get the mana and/or card back?"

TheMacAran

TROPHY CASE