#letsphysics

[magicjudge]

I'm confused as to how moving from the first main phase to the combat phase works. From what I've read, if I ask my opponent "Move to combat" or something to that effect, I have already passed priority to my opponent in the beginning of combat and do not receive priority again until they act or we move to declare attackers. How do I move to combat yet maintain priority before the declare attackers step? Say "move to end of Main"? Say that we're moving to combat but I'm holding priority?

Say that you want to go to the beginning of combat step with you having priority. If they agree, then you’re there.

[magicjudge]

I was playing a match at a GPT and the judge made a call that I'm hoping you can confirm for me: opponent casts Cryptic Command choosing to bounce my Pyromancer's Ascension and draw. He taps a Flooded Strand for the cost - I don't notice and he thought it was a Hallowed Fountain. After he draws, he notices the issue. He fetches, and shuffles. We call a judge because it changes the card he drew. The judge ruled that he should just fetch and take damage, putting no card back. Is this correct?

This is fine. We don’t know the identity of the card that was on top of the deck, so the player got a random card. Putting a card back onto the library, shuffling, then drawing again doesn’t make enough of a difference to here to justify the disruption to the game.

[magicjudge]

With respect to triggers and when they are "checked": Mizzix of the Izmagus is in play and a spell is cast that has CMC 3. Mizzix's controller has 2 experience counters. They put the trigger on the stack, and cast another spell with CMC 3. Because the first trigger hasn't resolved, another is put on the stack. It resolves, they now have 3 experience counters. Does the first trigger still resolve? Or are experience counters only checked to put it on the stack? How can you tell whena spell checks

Mizzix only triggers at all if the spell has the right CMC. She checks when you cast the spell. Once the trigger is on the stack, it will resolve unless it’s countered. You don’t check again to see if the condition is still true since Mizzix’s ability isn’t templated with an intervening if clause. 

In the example you describe, both triggers resolve and you get two more counters.

[magicjudge]

A friend asked earlier and I didn't know how to answer: at an event like FNM, if you know the matchup, can you sideboard before it begins? Does this change for things like GPs?

No.

You must play the same deck for game 1 of all of your matches.

[magicjudge]

Say I have a Glimmervoid and a Blinkmoth Nexus. I animate the Nexus and attack. It is now the only artifact I control. At end of turn, can I make the delayed trigger from the Glimmervoid resolve first so that I can keep both lands?

Blinkmoth Nexus doesn’t stop being a creature until the cleanup step, which comes after the end step. Your Glimmervoid is safe for now.

[magicjudge]

Regarding Brilliant Spectrum: it's 3U. Can X be five? "Converge - Draw X cards where X is the number of colors of mana spent to cast Brilliant Spectrum."

Only if you find some way to increase the spell’s cost. Generally, converge spells are naturally limited by whatever their converted mana cost is.

[magicjudge]

If I have an Arcbound Ravager, an animated Inkmoth Nexus, and a Signal Pest on the battlefield, and then I move to combat, declaring all three as attackers The opponent declares his blockers and as a response, I sack the Pest to the Ravager and then sack the Ravager to the Moth, does the Moth still get the Battle Cry buff?

Yes.

The Battle Cry trigger exists independent of the Signal Pest once it goes on the stack.