You’re so tired right now that you’re starting to miss the obvious plays. Considering that you’ve been playing for a couple of hours, and that you’re one of the last two standing at the end of an eight-man multiplayer Conspiracy draft, you aren’t surprised.
That said, you’re really missing the obvious plays. Just last turn, you tapped six mana to cast a Gnarlid Pack with two +1/+1 counters on it, only for Takaharu to sacrifice his Vampire Hexmage and get rid of said counters. Feeling more than a little bummed about the misplay, you attached an Explorer’s Scope to your Cogwork Spy and sent it searching for an eighth land for the Scaled Wurm in your hand, but all that the Spy found was the Boldwyr Intimidator on top of your library.
Takaharu, on the other hand, has a Grudge Keeper in play, and has not been shy about using it to his advantage. During his turn, after using his Jetting Glasskite to knock you down to a mere three life, you see him tap his last four mana to cast the last card in his hand: Bite of the Black Rose. You see his game immediately.
“You’re going to vote for ‘sickness’, right? The -2/-2 choice?”
Takaharu nods. You have to admit that it’s a good move: Either you vote the same way as he does, or Grudge Keeper takes another two life off your life total. It’s bad news for you either way.
“Any responses before the spell resolves?” Takaharu asks.
You try to think things through. It’s obvious as to what option Takaharu will vote for; what’s not obvious is what you can do in this situation. Maybe you can still win this game, and maybe you should just pack up and take your cards home.
“Wait,” you say. “In response, I’ll…”
It is the middle of Takaharu’s second main phase, and he has just cast Bite of the Black Rose. Do you do anything in response to the spell? How do you vote when the spell resolves? And can you win the game before the end of your next turn?
Takaharu is at 14 life, has no cards in his hand, and has no untapped lands. He has the following cards in play:
- Typhoid Rats
- Grudge Keeper
- Minamo Scrollkeeper
- Crookclaw Transmuter
- Zombie Goliath
- Jetting Glasskite (tapped)
- Favorable Winds
- 3 islands (all tapped)
- 3 swamps (all tapped)
You are at 3 life. You have the following cards in play:
- Cogwork Spy (tapped, with Explorer’s Scope attached)
- Enraged Revolutionary
- Gnarlid Pack
- Runed Servitor (with Deathrender attached)
- Cinder Wall (with Power of Fire attached)
- Pitchburn Devils
- Fires of Yavimaya
- 4 mountains (all tapped)
- 2 forests (both tapped)
- Reflecting Pool (tapped)
Your cards in hand:
The top card of your library (which you know due to Explorer’s Scope) is a Boldwyr Intimidator.
You have 10 other lands remaining somewhere in your library.
Takaharu has just announced his casting of Bite of the Black Rose. You may choose to cast spells or activate abilities in response.
Once Bite of the Black Rose is cast, Takaharu will vote for its ‘sickness’ option. You must then choose one of the card’s options to vote for.