Published on 05/02/2016
Solve My Mystery
By Carsten Haese, James Bennett, Callum Milne, and Nathan Long
This Article from: Nathan Long
Cranial Translation
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Note: This article is over two years old. Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes. Proceed with caution.
We have everyone on the case.
While I'm doing my investigation, don't forget we're also here to answer your rules questions. If you have a short question, you can tweet to use at @CranialTweet, and if you have a longer question, you can e-mail us at moko@cranialinsertion.com . We might even use your question in a future article!
Q: I control a Lambholt Pacifist, and I enchant it with Equestrian Skill. Can it attack?
A: Yes it can! The Pacifist can't attack unless you control a creature with a power of 4 or greater. Once the Skill is enchanting the Pacifist, the Pacifist is a 6/6 creature. Since you now control a creature with a power of 4 or greater, your Pacifist will be able to attack.
Q: My opponent casts Compelling Deterrence, while controlling a zombie, and targets my Stormrider Spirit. Can I recast my Spirit before I have to discard it?
A: Nope. You don't get priority while the Deterrence is resolving. You have to wait for the Deterrence to finish resolving completely before you get priority again to cast the Spirit. The Spirit will be bounced back to your hand, and (since they control a Zombie) you'll have to discard a card from your hand before you get priority again. If you had an empty hand, you'll end up discarding the Spirit before you can recast it.
Q: Will Bygone Bishop trigger off of itself being cast and give you a clue?
A: Nope. In order for the Bishop's ability to trigger, the Bishop has to be on the battlefield when the creature spell is cast. When you cast the Bishop, it's on the stack, not on the battlefield, so it will not trigger off of itself being cast.
Q: My opponent enchanted my Pious Evangel with Skin Invasion. Can I sacrifice the Invasion to activate my Evangel's ability and transform it?
A: Nope. While the Invasion is attached to a creature you control, your opponent still controls the Invasion. Since you can only sacrifice a permanent you control, you won't be able to sacrifice your opponent's Invasion that's attached to a creature you control.
Q: I have a Solitary Hunter on the battlefield, enchanted by my opponent's Dead Weight. Last turn, no one cast any spells, so my Hunter transforms into One of the Pack. Will it lose the Dead Weight when it transforms?
A: Your Pack is still going to be carrying around that dead weight. A permanent that transforms is still the same permanent, so any auras will remain attached to it after it transforms. The Dead Weight can still be attached to One of the Pack after it transforms, so it will remain attached.
Q: My opponent controls a Westvale Abbey and three creatures, including a Hangarback Walker with two +1/+1 counters on it. Can they activate the Abbey's last ability, sacrificing the Walker and the tokens they get from the Walker dying to activate the ability?
A: Nope, that doesn't work out for your opponent. You have to sacrifice all five creatures at the same time in order to activate the Abbey's ability. You can't sacrifice some creatures, put a trigger on the stack, let it resolve, then sacrifice more creatures to finish paying the cost. Your opponent only controls three creatures they can sacrifice, not five, and they won't be able to activate the Abbey's last ability.
Q: I have an Accursed Witch on the battlefield, and my opponent kills it. In response to the Witch's triggered ability, my opponent casts Grave Birthing, and I exile my Witch. What happens when the Witch's trigger resolves?
A: Your witch is gone and doesn't come back. In order for the Witch to return to the battlefield transformed, the Witch has to still be in the graveyard when the triggered ability resolves. Since the Witch is in exile, not the graveyard, the Witch will not return and your opponent will not be cursed by your Witch.
Q: I managed to get another Accursed Witch onto the battlefield, and transformed it into Infectious Curse, enchanting my opponent. My opponent is holding a Dromoka's Command in their hand. Who do they have to target with the second mode if they want to get rid of the Curse?
A: They have to target you. Even though the Curse is attached to your opponent, you still control the Curse. If your opponent wants to be free of your curse, they need to target you with the second mode of the Command, since you're the controller of the Curse.
We're going to keep digging for clues.
Q: I control Geralf's Masterpiece and seven tokens from my Westvale Abbey, with no cards in my hand. My opponent just removed their last counter from Thing in the Ice, transforming it into Awoken Horror. Will my Masterpiece die from having the seven tokens bounced back to my hand?
A: Your Masterpiece survives, and will continue to rule the skies. The tokens do go to your hand for a brief time before they cease to exist. But tokens aren't cards, and the Masterpiece is specifically looking for cards in your hand. While your tokens will spend a brief time in your hand before they disappear, since they aren't cards, your Masterpiece will not get -7/-7 from its ability and it will remain on the battlefield.
Q: I have a Geralf's Masterpiece and a Prized Amalgam in my graveyard. During my opponent's end step, I use the Masterpiece's ability and I put it onto the battlefield. When does my Amalgam return to the battlefield?
A: It returns during the end step on your turn. The Amalgam sets up a delayed trigger when the Masterpiece enters the battlefield to return the Amalgam to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step. If it's already the end step, it's too late for that trigger to go on the stack this turn, so it won't go on the stack until the following turn. If you wanted the Amalgam to return that turn, the last chance you have to activate the Masterpiece's ability is during the opponent's post-combat main phase.
Q: I have a Dragonlord Atarka on the battlefield, and two more in my graveyard. I return both of the Dragonlords in my graveyard to the battlefield with an Ever After. Assuming I choose to keep the first Dragonlord on the battlefield, do I still get the triggers from the other two Dragonlords?
A: Yep, you get your triggers. The two Dragonlords entered the battlefield, so their abilities will trigger. Before we put those triggers on the stack, we deal with state-based actions, and we get rid of those two extra Dragonlords. However, that won't stop the triggers from being put on the stack or from the triggers resolving, so you'll still get to deal damage to your opponent's creatures and/or planeswalkers with the triggers.
Q: I have a face down Den Protector on the battlefield, and I attach Neglected Heirloom to it. Later, I turn my Protector face up. Will my Heirloom transform?
A: Sorry, no dice. While turning a face down creature face up and transforming a card may have similar physical actions in the game (of turning the card over), they're not the same action within the game. Turning a face down creature face up is not transforming the card, and vice versa, so your Heirloom is going to be neglected for a little while longer.
Q: At the beginning of my upkeep, I use Starfield of Nyx's triggered ability to return Demonic Pact to the battlefield. Do I get the Pact trigger as well?
A: Nope, you won't reap any benefits until your next upkeep. The Pact has to be on the battlefield when your upkeep step begins in order for it to trigger. While the Pact did end up on the battlefield during your upkeep, it arrived too late for it to trigger. You'll have to wait for your next upkeep before your Pact will trigger.
Q: I control an Odric, Lunarch Marshal enchanted with an Aether Web. Even though the Web doesn't say my Odric has reach, will my creatures still get reach?
A: Yes they will. What's printed on the card doesn't matter. What matters is the Oracle text of the card, which is available in Gatherer. Aether Web gives the enchanted creature reach, so Odric's trigger will give all of your creatures reach.
Q: I have a Gloomwidow enchanted by a Gift of Immortality. My opponent kills it with Reduce to Ashes. Where does my creature end up?
A: Your spider ends up in exile, and there's no choice in the matter. The Gift is looking for the creature to die, while Reduce to Ashes replaces going to the graveyard with being exiled instead. Your Gloomwidow won't die, since it will go from the battlefield to exile, so the Gift's ability won't even trigger and your Gloomwidow won't be coming back any time soon.
Sorry,but the banana was not quite that big.
Q: I've been playtesting Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry in Modern, and my friend brought up how Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite stops my combo from working. Is that true?
A: Yep, I'm afraid it's true. If you activate the Foundry's ability, you'll put a 1/1 token onto the battlefield. But as soon as it's on the battlefield, Elesh Norn applies to it and makes it into a -1/-1 creature. At the point when we're checking to see if any abilities should trigger, the game sees the token is a -1/-1. Since it's not a 1/1 creature, the Sword will not trigger and the Sword will not return to the battlefield.
It doesn't even work if Elesh Norn is on your side of the battlefield. When the token enters, Elesh Norn makes it into a 3/3 creature, and once again, a 3/3 creature does not fit the trigger condition for the Sword, so the Sword will once again not trigger (but at least your token gets to hang around this time).
Q: My opponent is attacking me with an Ambush Viper enchanted by a Lure. I'm forced to block the Viper with all ten of my creatures. Will all ten of my creatures die?
A: Nope, at most, two of your creatures will die (but it will be the two creatures of your opponent's choice). When multiple creatures block the same attacking creature, the attacking player puts the creatures in a combat damage assignment order, so all players will know which creature will be assigned damage first. And the attacking creature will deal damage equal to its power among the creatures blocking it, not damage equal to its power to each creature blocking it. Since the Viper has a power of 2, it will only be able to assign 2 damage in combat, meaning that it will only be able to kill two creatures at the most (and in the meantime, the Viper probably gets smashed by all ten of your creatures dealing damage to it).
Q: My opponent controls a Freyalise's Winds, and I tapped my creature to attack with it. After combat, I untapped my creature with Fatestitcher. Will my untapped creature lose its wind counter during my next untap step?
A: Nope, it won't. The Winds will only remove the wind counter from the permanent if it's tapped during the untap step and it would untap. If the permanent is already untapped, it's not trying to untap, so the Winds won't replace the untapping with removing the wind counter instead. While your creature is untapped, it will still has the wind counter on it.
Q: I was watching coverage of the Pro Tour a couple of weekends ago, and when they were drafting Shadows Over Innistrad, all of the card in the packs were sleeved, so you couldn't tell when someone drafted a double faced card. Is this how we're supposed to draft now?
A: Nope, that was just something special for the Pro Tour. It's not something that's being used in other events, like your local FNM draft or at a Grand Prix. You'll still draft like normal (where you put your card your drafted on top of your draft picks, where other players can see if you've just drafted a double faced card).
Q: I was looking through Gatherer the other day, and I noticed a special set called "Welcome Deck 2016" listed. Gatherer said these cards, like Soul of the Harvest, are legal in standard. Is this right?
A: Yep, it's true! The Welcome Deck 2016 cards are found in special pre-constructed decks, used to introduce new players to Magic. The cards in this set are legal in standard, and will be legal in standard as long as Shadows Over Innistrad is legal in standard. If you managed to pick up one of these decks, you'll be able to use it in your local standard FNM.
So I've learned two things in my investigations. One, be careful of what you accuse Moko of, especially when it turns out that Moko didn't do it. Second, I need to keep track of what I eat late at night, because it turns out that *I* ate the moldy banana. Now, if you excuse me, I really need to go use the toilet. We'll see you all next week (if I survive this...).
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