OK what do you think about THIS play?

[Hipster Genocide]

I was playing a four-man a couple of weeks ago. One guy was running Nekusar, the Mindrazer and had Price of Knowledge in play.

Due to some Howling Mine type effects, we all had quite a few cards in hand. Everyone had been attacking the Nekusar player, so he was at low life. However, the Price of Knowledge was about to kill everyone, thus leaving the Nekusar player as the winner. I decided to wait until the Price of Knowledge killed everyone else, then hit it with True Love's Kiss. Then I could easily kill off the Nekusar player in combat.

The two other players had asked me if I could deal with Price of Knowledge since I was playing Green/White and I said "maybe eventually." I guess they were a bit irritated with me because of that. The Anje Falkenrath player to my left takes his turn and dies on upkeep. The Nekusar player takes his turn and plays Underworld Dreams. A little painful, but I still survive once Price of Knowledge is gone. The player to my right looks around the table and asks, "Any effects at the end of (Nekusar player)'s turn? We shake our heads - I'm planning on allowing the Price of Knowledge effect to go on the stack in his upkeep before exiling it. Then he says "OK I scoop."

I say "wait a sec...then I will exile Price of Knowledge at the end of (Nekusar player)'s turn." He says nope, you already declared no effects at EOT. I say "fine, then during your upkeep-" He says "Nope, I conceded, I don't have a turn. We're in your upkeep now. Price of Knowledge trigger is on the stack."

So anyway, they all agree with him and they say I have to die.

[pokken]

800.4g. If a player leaves the game during his or her turn, that turn continues to its completion without an active player. If the active player would receive priority, instead the next player in turn order receives priority, or the top object on the stack resolves, or the phase or step ends, whichever is appropriate.

So you would get priority if they scooped on their turn, which it would be because you passed through the other player's turn (therefore it is the scooping player's beginning phase). The shortcut of "any effects at end step" generally means it moves past cleanup when no one gets priority (regularly) and right to the next player's beginning phase.

If the player tried to scoop specifically during the other person's turn after you have passed priority I would argue that's an extreme form of angle shooting and would insist that we go back to the active player receiving priority during their end step and go from there.

[Hipster Genocide]

OK thanks. I see people use the term "angle shooting" here too, that's cool. Seems like a good way to describe how people play at my local shop.

[TheGildedGoose]

Maximum manbaby scoop. Punishing someone for intelligent play is Weenie Hut Jr. tier.

[darrenhabib]

On Magic Online a common manbaby scoop would happen during attacks, and effects like if you had a Sword of Feast and Famine, which states "Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card and you untap all lands you control." then you wouldn't get the untap and obviously this completely changed how you would sequence your turn.

However they have made it now so that these effects carry through combat, so if you attack a player and they concede before damage happens, you still get the effects.
I'm bringing this up because at least WotC recognized these types of problems and have made room to fix them, even if they are not actually in the rules.

I think the next step in eliminating purposeful concessions for bad use, is to have concession as a trigger to the game, so that priority can be passed around again.
Sure it would be a bit weird Stifling a persons concession trigger, but they could always concede again.

The other typical types of concessions comes when a Mana Drain is cast on a spell, and player concedes and so the player doesn't get mana. Not the worst, "uu Target player loses the game" is a fine trade off for not getting mana.

[toctheyounger]

On Magic Online a common manbaby scoop would happen during attacks, and effects like if you had a Sword of Feast and Famine, which states "Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card and you untap all lands you control." then you wouldn't get the untap and obviously this completely changed how you would sequence your turn.

However they have made it now so that these effects carry through combat, so if you attack a player and they concede before damage happens, you still get the effects.
I'm bringing this up because at least WotC recognized these types of problems and have made room to fix them, even if they are not actually in the rules.

I think the next step in eliminating purposeful concessions for bad use, is to have concession as a trigger to the game, so that priority can be passed around again.
Sure it would be a bit weird Stifling a persons concession trigger, but they could always concede again.

The other typical types of concessions comes when a Mana Drain is cast on a spell, and player concedes and so the player doesn't get mana. Not the worst, "uu Target player loses the game" is a fine trade off for not getting mana.

I'd be down with this. I mostly play online (untap.in because I'm poor and I'm not paying for online cards as well as RL), and it can be super toxic playing with randos who just wanna be 100% a-holes. There's more scoops than an ice-cream parlour, and it's incredibly frustrating.

I think if you're playing with a mostly good group of folk they'll recognise the spite in the action and just go 'you know what, let's act like that didn't happen because it was a dick move' and carry on regardless, but there's no guarantee.

At any rate, the scenario suggested by OP sounds unequivocally like a tantrum, and that's just lame.

[Mookie]

Ruleswise, I'd point to 500.2 and 800.4i for this.

500.2. A phase or step in which players receive priority ends when the stack is empty and all players pass in succession.
Simply having the stack become empty doesn't cause such a phase or step to end; all players have to pass in succession with the stack empty.
Because of this, each player gets a chance to add new things to the stack before that phase or step ends.

800.4i. If a player leaves the game during their turn, that turn continues to its completion without an active player.
If the active player would receive priority, instead the next player in turn order receives priority, or the top object on the stack resolves, or the phase or step ends, whichever is appropriate.

I'd argue that either the player concedes as an action during the end step (in which case priority should pass around again, because not all players passed in succession), or they conceded on their turn (in which case you should get time to respond during the phases on their turn).

I can see some arguments for it not being a game action and thus not causing priority to pass around again though. If the turn order is Nekusar - Person #2 - you - Person #4, and Person #2 concedes after you and #4 have passed priority, you may be out of luck. I can't find anything in my brief search of the comprehensive rules suggesting that priority would or would not be passed around again though.

One situation in which you definitely would be out of luck would be if they were to concede during the cleanup step - for example, if they were to concede while Nekusar was discarding (ignoring that the Price of Knowledge is on the field). Very strange timing for that though.

Still though, this is why I'm generally a fan of limiting concessions to sorcery speed*.

*with obvious exceptions for actually needing to physically leave, or if you don't expect to get another turn in a reasonable amount of time due to extra turns or particularly convoluted stacks

[BOVINE]

Looking at it from a more fantasy point of view has always helped me understand that scooping at will is in fact a valid strategy. Number 1, it's legal. Number 2, putting the game-state back to how it was before the scoop is illegal. Now, with that remember each of us is a Planeswalker fighting to the death. Not many folks in a fight wouldn't take a last opportunity to destabilize their opponents. Resetting the game-state is the manbaby thing to do actually... If the scoop ruins the fun the scooper will know why they're not invited to play next game lol

[Dunharrow]

Seems like the rules were on your side, and you technically won the game.

I think your strategy was valid too. Why would you need to save other players?
Using a scoop to strategically thwart someone is definitely not in the spirit of the game. Sore loser.

[MeowZeDung]

Unless there was some sort of prize support I wouldn't worry about it. You won, or at least didn't lose then and there, in the eyes of anyone not being spiteful.