Monocle of Clarity (& questions about the deck contents)

Monocle of Clarity
Unique equipment.
During your untap phase, if bearer is ready, you can ask any Methuselah a yes-or-no question pertaining to the game. He or she must answer yes or no truthfully. If the question pertains to the future, the answer is not binding

How should questions about deck contents using Monocle of Clarity be handled?

Such as "Do you have one or more copies of card X in your deck?"


Question was based on this discussion.

Lönkka wrote:

How should questions about deck contents using Monocle of Clarity be handled?

The same discussion in which LSJ says "Best to stick to things that can be known" (linked in the forum post) also provides the answer:

[LSJ 20021122]

LSJ wrote:

> So, anyway, if you 'honestly' don't know the answer to the yes or no
> question, what happens? Does it involve spontaneous combustion? That
> would be cool.

Per previous post, answer to the best of your knowledge.

I feel honour-bound to point out that spontaneous combustion is hot, not cool.

jamesatzephyr wrote:

Lönkka wrote:

How should questions about deck contents using Monocle of Clarity be handled?

The same discussion in which LSJ says "Best to stick to things that can be known" (linked in the forum post) also provides the answer:

[LSJ 20021122]

LSJ wrote:

> So, anyway, if you 'honestly' don't know the answer to the yes or no
> question, what happens? Does it involve spontaneous combustion? That
> would be cool.

Per previous post, answer to the best of your knowledge.

I feel honour-bound to point out that spontaneous combustion is hot, not cool.

And I'm adding: A judge can't be called to check if the answer matches the decklist (or to count the copies of the card in the deck).

Is it required for a player to know what cards are in his deck?

Am I required to write, or just read a deck list myself?

And really, shouldent we just get rid of that card soon?

Jesper wrote:

Is it required for a player to know what cards are in his deck?

No, why would it be? You might have borrowed the deck. You might have drafted the deck. You might not remember whether you decided on 5 Mind Rapes or 6. (Do you feel lucky, punk?)

Jesper wrote:

Am I required to write, or just read a deck list myself?

No. Decklists aren't required (in general terms). In situations where a tournament organiser/judge has asked for them, it's arguable that your best knowledge might include looking at the copy of it in your pocket. But if the judge has the only copy, not so much.

Jesper wrote:

And really, shouldent we just get rid of that card soon?

It's not adding any overhead, so I'm not sure why you'd need to get rid of it.

"Do you have any reaction cards in your hand that could change the targe of a bleed? Yes/No."
"Do you have a Delaying Tactics in hand? Yes/No."
"Is that vampire with 9 blood on them in yuor uncontrolled region Arika? Yes/No."
"Is the card on that Storage Annex a copy of Minion Tap? Yes/No."
"Do you have any master cards in your hand that would allow you to move blood off your vampires into your pool or uncontrolled region on your next turn? Yes/No."

None of these questions cause any problems.

If a player chooses to ask questions like:

"Looking at your hand, and the game state now, do you currently think you can oust me next turn? Yes/No."
"Do you have any more Villeins in your deck? Yes/No."

then the player will get a hazy answer.