Published on 05/30/2016
School's Out
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
No more pencils! No more books!
No more teacher's dirty looks!
No more teacher's dirty looks!
Remember: if you have a rules question you'd like to answer, there's two ways of contacting us: you can send us short questions via Twitter @CranialTweet, or you can e-mail longer questions to us at moko@cranialinsertion.com . You might even see your questions used in a future article!
Q: My opponent controls an Orbs of Warding. I cast Sorin, Grim Nemesis and activate its first ability, revealing Angel of Deliverance. My opponent claims that they won't lose any life, because they have hexproof and that means Sorin's ability can't affect them. Are they right?
A: They are very, very wrong. A spell or ability only targets if it uses the word 'target' or is an aura on the stack. Sorin's +1 ability does not use the word 'target', so it will affect an opponent with hexproof. Just because they're being affected by Sorin's ability does not mean they're being targeted by it, so their Orbs will not prevent them from losing life to Sorin's ability.
Q: I have no cards in my hand, and I activate Reckless Scholar targeting myself. I draw Jace's Scrutiny. Can I cast the Scrutiny before I have to discard it?
A: Nope. You don't get priority while a spell or ability is resolving to cast a spell. You have to fully resolve the Scholar's ability before you get priority again. You'll draw the Scrutiny, but before you get a chance to cast it, you'll have to finish resolving the Scholar's ability, and that means discarding the Scrutiny.
Q: I attacked with a 3/3. My opponent responds by flashing in Archangel Avacyn, giving their creatures indestructible and blocking my 3/3. After combat, I cast Tooth Collector and target my opponent's Avacyn with its trigger. Does their Archangel Avacyn die?
A: Nope, it survives! Damage does not reduce a creature's toughness: dealing three damage to a 4/4 makes it a 4/4 with three damage marked on it, not a 4/1. After the Collector's ability resolves, Avacyn is a 3/3 with 3 damage marked on it. Since Avacyn is indestructible, Avacyn will live to fight another day.
Q: I cast Compelling Deterrence on my opponent's devil token, while controlling a zombie. My opponent claims they can discard the devil token instead of another card, since the token won't go away until after the Deterrence resolves. Are they right?
A: They cannot discard the token. It is true that the token will hang around in their hand for a brief time until state-based actions are checked after the Deterrence is done resolving. However, the Deterrence says that they have to discard a card from their hand, and token is not a card. While the devil token is in their hand, it's not a card, and can't be discarded to the Deterrence.
Q: Can I have multiples of the same emblem? I want to -4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, then play a second Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and activate its -4 ability as well, to give my creatures +2/+2.
A: Sure, there's nothing preventing that. There's nothing preventing you from having multiples of the same emblem. Not all emblems work very well in multiples (for instance, if you have two emblems from Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, both emblems would trigger off of the opponent's first spell each turn, which isn't much different than having one emblem). But if you have two of Gideon's emblems, your creatures will get a total of +2/+2.
Q: I have the emblem from Liliana, Defiant Necromancer, while my opponent controls Ormendahl, Profane Prince. I cast To the Slaughter, making them sacrifice Ormendahl. When the emblem returns it at the end of the turn, will it return as Ormendahl, or will it return as Westvale Abbey?
A: It will always return as Westvale Abbey. When Ormendahl died and went to the graveyard, it went back to its front face, which is Westvale Abbey. When the emblem's trigger resolves during the end step, it returns that card to the battlefield under your control. Since nothing is telling it to return transformed, it's going to return front face up, and it will return to the battlefield as the Abbey, not as Ormendahl.
Q: I control The Gitrog Monster and Mina and Denn, Wildborn. How many lands can I play each turn?
A: You can play three lands per turn. We start with your normal land drop for the turn. The Gitrog Monster gives you one additional land drop (bringing you up to two), and Mina and Denn give you an additional land drop as well (bringing you up to three). With those two cards on the battlefield, you can play up to three lands each turn.
That's it! Final bell! Let's get out of here!
Q: Using mana from my Pyromancer's Goggles, I cast Touch of the Void. Do I get a copy of the Touch?
A: No, you do not. The Goggle's ability will only trigger if you use that mana to cast a red instant or sorcery spell. While the Touch of the Void does have the red mana symbol in its cost, since it has devoid, it's colorless. And since it's colorless, that means the Goggle's delayed triggered ability will not trigger and you will not get a copy of Touch of the Void.
Q: I have a Cavern of Souls set to "Satyr". Can I use the second ability of the Cavern to cast Boon Satyr for its bestow cost?
A: No you cannot. Once you've chosen to cast the Satyr for its bestow cost, it stops being a creature (and a Satyr) and becomes an Enchantment - Aura spell. You're no longer casting a creature spell. The Cavern's second ability specifies that the mana can only be used to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and since you're not casting a creature spell anymore, you won't be able to use that mana to make Boon Satyr uncounterable.
Q: I attack with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, and with the trigger, I return a Razorgrass Screen to the battlefield. Is my Screen attacking?
A: Yep, you have one attacking creature with defender. Defender just means that you can't declare the creature as an attacker. However, there's nothing preventing it from being put onto the battlefield attacking. You can use Alesha's ability to return the Screen to the battlefield tapped and attacking, even though it has defender. It's rare that a Wall gets a chance to smack the opponent in the face, but with Alesha, you can help you Walls live their dreams!
Q: I attack with a Geist of Saint Traft and its token buddy. After combat damage is dealt, is there a chance I can Condemn the angel token before its exiled?
A: That seems mean to that poor angel, but it's a perfectly legal play. The angel token made by the Geist is exiled during the end of combat step. You get priority during the combat damage step (after combat damage has been dealt) and during the end of combat step (with the Geist's trigger on the stack) to cast Condemn on the still attacking token to put it on the bottom of your library and gain a little life before it would be exiled.
Q: My opponent uses their Ghost Quarter on my Mutavault. In response, I turn my Mutavault into a creature and regenerate it with Crypt Sliver. Do I still get to search for a land?
A: You do! Searching for a land is not dependent on the Quarter actually destroying the land and having it go to the graveyard. As long as the ability resolves, you'll get to search for your land. The Quarter' ability will try to destroy the land, but it will regenerate instead, and you'll still get to search for a basic land to put onto the battlefield.
Q: I have a Nath of the Gilt-Leaf on the battlefield, and my opponent has five cards in their hand. If I cast Death Cloud with X=5, will I get the elf tokens?
A: Yes you will! You follow the instructions in the order they're printed on the card. Each player will discard cards before they sacrifice creatures, so Nath will trigger from the cards your opponent discarded before you have to sacrifice Nath. The tokens won't even enter the battlefield until Death Cloud is done resolving, so you won't have to sacrifice them either.
Everyone run to the buses!
Q: My opponent controls a Ghostly Prison. I'm not interested in attacking them, but I would like to attack their planeswalker. Do I have to pay the Prison's tax to attack their planeswalker?
A: No, you do not. The Prison only applies its tax if you attack the opponent. If you're attacking their planeswalker, you won't have to pay a thing. More recent taxing effects (like Norn's Annex) would make you pay to attack the planeswalker, but Ghostly Prison does not, so feel free to attack their planeswalker tax-free!
Q: I have an Aven Farseer manifested, and I turn it face up. Will my Farseer get a counter?
A: Yes it will. Right after we turn the Farseer face up, we check to see if anything should trigger. The Farseer is face up, and it has an ability that triggers when a permanent is turned face up. Since a permanent was just turned face up (the Farseer itself), the Farseer's ability will trigger and it will get a +1/+1 counter.
Q: During my first main phase, I played a land from my hand. Then I attack with Intet, the Dreamer and exiled a second land. Can I play that land this turn?
A: Nope. You've already played one land this turn, and you don't have any more land drops available to you. If you want to play the land you just exiled, you'll have to wait for your next turn.
Q: My opponent has 20 cards in their graveyard, and they cast Psychic Spiral, targeting me. Can I choose the order the cards end up in my graveyard, so I have a steady stream of spells I can cast with my Bosium Strip?
A: Yep, that works really well for you! All 20 cards are put into your graveyard at the same time, so you get to choose the order they end up in your graveyard. You can choose to put all of the instants and sorceries on top of your graveyard, making them castable the next time you activate your Bosium Strip.
Q: How does Zulaport Cutthroat work in two-headed giant?
A: It works pretty well. When the Cutthroat's trigger resolves, each of your opponents will lose 1 life. You have two opponents (even if they are on the same team), so each of them will lose one life, meaning the opposing team just lose two life. Do keep in mind two things though before things get too crazy: one, the Cutthroat only triggers when a creature you control dies, so it won't trigger off of your teammate's creatures dying; and second, no matter how many opponent lose life, you're only going to gain one life. In this case, while the opposing team will lose a total of two life, you'll only gain one life.
Q: Alfred, Bryan, and Chris are in a multiplayer game. On Alfred's last turn, they cast and activated Mindslaver, targeting Bryan. While controlling Bryan's next turn, Alfred makes Bryan cast their own Mindslaver and activates it targeting Chris. Who is controlling Chris on Chris' next turn?
A: Bryan is in control. While Alfred was controlling Bryan and telling them what spells to cast and what abilities to activate, Bryan is still the one performing those actions. Bryan was the player that activated the Mindslaver, so Bryan will control Chris' next turn, not Alfred.
Q: I'm in a multiplayer game, and one of my opponents stole one of my creatures, attacked with it, and then phased it out due to their Teferi's Veil. On my next turn, I retaliated and killed them. When does my creature phase back in?
A: I have a bit of bad news: your creature is never going to phase back in. When a permanent phases out, it will phase back in during the next untap step of the player who controlled it when it phased out. In this case, that would be the opponent...that you just killed. And they will never have another untap step since they're no longer in the game. Even though you regained control of it since they're no longer in the game, your creature is still waiting for your opponent's next untap step to come around, and that isn't going to happen any time soon, and it's stuck phased out.
That's the last lesson for today. We'll see you all next week!
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