Published on 06/27/2016
Feeling Hot Hot Hot
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
It's getting hot in here!
It's summertime, and that means things are starting to heat up! (Editor's Note: if you're in the southern hemisphere, pretend it's six months from now) Every day, you're probably doing one of two things: spending as much time outside as you can to soak up those rays and work on your tan, or you're spending your time instead, as close to the fan or air conditioner as you can. Or, you're like me, whose air condition doesn't really work, and thus everywhere is hot. Well, I might as well go outside and work on that tan...
But before I head out into the daylight, let's answer a few rules questions. Remember, if you have a rules question of your own, you can send them in to us. You can tweet short questions at @CranialTweet, or, if you question is a bit longer than 140 characters, you can e-mail us at moko@cranialinsertion.com . You might even see your question used in a future article!
Q: Can I redirect the loss of life from Zulaport Cutthroat's trigger to my opponent's planeswalker?
A: Negative. You can only redirect damage that would be dealt to an opponent. The Cutthroat's trigger is a loss of life, not damage, and it can't be redirected to your opponent's planeswalker.
Q: I control a Cryptolith Rite, and I just cast a Byway Courier. Can I tap the Courier for mana this turn?
A: No you cannot. The Courier is affected by "summoning sickness", and that means (in part) that it can't use abilities that use the tap symbol. The Rite will give the Courier the ability to tap for mana, but since that ability uses the tap symbol, the Courier won't be able to use that ability until your next turn.
Q: Last turn, my opponent attached Bound by Moonsilver to my Jace, Vryn's Prodigy. On my turn, I activate Jace's ability, discarding my fifth card. What happens to Jace?
A: Jace will become Jace, Telepath Unbound. Bound by Moonsilver prevents the enchanted creature from transforming, but unlike most double-faced card, Jace doesn't remain on the battlefield when he transforms. Jace exiles himself, and then he returns to the battlefield transformed. Jace isn't on the battlefield when he would transform, so the Moonsilver isn't attached to Jace and won't prevent him from transforming.
Q: I use Gideon, Ally of Zendikar's +1 ability to make him into a creature, and then I cast Gryff's Boon targeting him. What happens to the Boon at the end of the turn?
A: During the cleanup step, Gideon stops being a creature. Then, we check state-based actions, and the game sees an aura that can only be attached to a creature that's not attached to a creature, and the Boon goes to graveyard. It won't stay attached to Gideon, since the Boon can only be attached to a creature (although if you animate Gideon on your next turn, you can use the Boon's ability to reattach it to Gideon).
Q: I have a Virulent Plague on the battlefield, and my opponent puts a 2/2 Wolf token on the battlefield. Will they get an opportunity to sacrifice it to Evolutionary Leap before it dies?
A: Nope. Right after the token enters the battlefield, before anyone gets priority, we check state-based actions. The Wolf token is a 0/0 creature, and it dies before they get priority and a chance to sacrifice it to activate the Leap's ability.
Q: I have Read the Bones in my graveyard, and I cast Bring to Light. When Bring to Light resolves, I search for and cast Dark Petition. Will I get the spell mastery bonus from the Petition?
A: Yes you will. When Bring to Light resolves, you search your library for Dark Petition, exile it, and then you can cast it. Once you're done casting the Petition, Bring to Light goes to the graveyard, and the Petition is on the stack, and players can respond. When the Petition resolves, it sees that you have at least two instant and/or sorcery cards in your graveyard, so you'll get the spell mastery bonus and you'll get three black mana.
Q: I cast Fiery Impulse, and activate Mirrorpool's ability to make a copy of it. In response to Mirrorpool's ability, my opponent counters my Impulse with Cancel. Do I still get a copy of the Impulse?
A: No you do not. When Mirrorpool's ability goes to resolve, it checks to make sure its target is still legal. But the Impulse is no longer a legal target, since it's no longer on the stack. Since the ability's only target is illegal, the ability is countered and you will not get a copy of the Impulse.
Q: I use Nahiri, the Harbinger's ultimate to put an Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger onto the battlefield. After attacking with it, I blink it using Eldrazi Displacer. What happens to Ulamog at the end of the turn?
A: Ulamog is going to hang around on the battlefield. Nahiri's delayed trigger tries to return the creature she put onto the battlefield to your hand at the beginning of the end step. But since you exiled and returned Ulamog to the battlefield, the Ulamog that's on the battlefield now is a different permanent that the one Nahiri's trigger is looking for. Since it's not the same Ulamog, Ulamog will remain on the battlefield and will not be returned to your hand.
Five suns means I get tanned five times faster, right?
Q: It's the end of my opponent's turn, and I control Talrand, Sky Summoner. Can I cast Aetherize just to get a token?
A: You sure can. Aetherize doesn't target anything, it just returns all attacking creatures to their owner's hand when it resolves. There's no attacking creatures during the end of turn step (they stopped attacking when the combat phase ended), but that doesn't mean you can't cast Aetherize. Aetherize just won't do very much when it resolves. If you just want the 2/2 token, however, you can cast Aetherize, even if it won't do anything when it resolves.
Q: I just cast Diabolic Tutor, going to fetch the last part of my nefarious combo. However, in response, my opponent casts Aven Mindcensor. Will I be able to cast a Lightning Bolt after the Mindcensor resolves, but before my Tutor resolves?
A: Yes you can. The stack resolves one spell or ability at a time. After a spell or ability has resolved, everyone gets another chance to respond before the next spell or ability resolves. After your opponent's Mindcensor resolves, but before your Tutor resolves, you'll get priority again, and you'll able to cast Lightning Bolt to kill the Mindcensor and be able to search your entire library.
Q: I have a bunch of white Soldier creature tokens, and my opponent attacked me with a Legion Loyalist and a couple of other creatures, causing its battalion ability to trigger. Can I cast Brave the Elements, naming red, and block with my tokens?
A: You can cast Brave the Elements, but it won't help. The Loyalist's trigger changes the rules of the game for the rest of the turn so their creatures can't be blocked by token creatures. Even if you give your creatures protection from red, they still won't be able to block the Loyalist or any of the other attacking creatures.
Q: I cast Iona, Shield of Emeria and named "blue". On my opponent's turn, they casts Path to Exile and exiled Iona. Can they cast blue spells again?
A: Yes they can! Iona's ability, like most abilities, only works as long as the creature is on the battlefield. Once Iona leaves the battlefield, its effect ends, and your opponents can cast spells of the chosen color again. Since your opponent got rid of Iona, your opponents can cast blue spells again. Apparently, you should have picked "white" with your Iona.
Q: My opponent targets their Soldier token with their Conjurer's Closet trigger. If they choose to use the ability, what happens to their token?
A: It's going to make your opponent rather unhappy. If they choose to use the Closet's trigger, the Soldier token is exiled. Then, the Closet tries to return it to the battlefield. But a token that's left the battlefield can't move to another zone, so the token doesn't return to the battlefield. Then, once the Closet's trigger is done resolving, state-based actions are checked and the game sees the Soldier token is no longer on the battlefield, and the token ceases to exist.
So yeah, your opponent probably shouldn't do that.
Q: My opponent controls a Sulfuric Vortex. I want to cast Invigorate for its alternate cost. Can I do that?
A: Yes you can! Unlike other cards (like Leyline of Punishment), which prevent players from gaining life, the Vortex doesn't prevent players from gaining life, but it replaces gaining life with gaining no life instead. You're free to cast Invigorate via its alternate cost, and because of your opponent's Sulfuric Vortex, instead of them gaining three life, they won't gain any life.
Q: Using something like March of the Machines and Mycosynth Lattice, I make my Nissa, Voice of Zendikar into a creature. On my opponent's turn, my opponent attacks Nissa. What happens? If Nissa is untapped, could she also block?
A: Yep, this is a little weird. Since Nissa is a creature, if she's dealt damage, she has that much damage marked on her. But since she's also a planeswalker, if she's dealt damage, she also loses that many loyalty counters. For instance, if the creature Nissa has 3 loyalty counters and she's dealt 2 damage, she will have two damage marked on her (making her a 3/3 with two damage marked on her), and she will lose 2 loyalty counters, reducing her to 1 loyalty.
What about if she's attacked? Well, if she's untapped, she can block a creature that's attacking her. It will be handled like normal combat, except (as stated above), she'll lose loyalty and have damage marked on her. But at least she gets to fight back, since she's a creature, and can deal a little punishment to the attacking creature.
Ok, that's a little bit too hot.
Q: My opponent is at 1 life, and cast Angel's Grace. Can I tap my Zhur-Taa Druid for mana in response, and kill them before the Grace resolves?
A: Oddly enough, you can. Split second prevents players from casting spells and activated abilities besides mana abilities. Split second doesn't stop players from activating mana abilities, and it doesn't stop triggered abilities from going on the stack. In response to you opponent's Grace, you can tap the Druid for mana, since it's a mana ability. That will cause the Druid's ability to trigger, and that trigger will go on the stack above the Grace and will resolve first, dealing them one damage and killing them before the Grace resolves.
Q: I have a Darkblast in my graveyard. Can I dredge it back when Dark Confidant's trigger resolves?
A: No you cannot. While putting a card from your library into your hand may seem like a draw, unless it uses the word 'draw', it's not actually drawing a card. Dredge only works if you would draw a card, and since you're not drawing a card with the Confidant's trigger, you won't be able to dredge Darkbalst back with the Confidant's trigger.
Q: My opponent controls a True-Name Nemesis, with protection from me. I cast Council's Judgment. Can I vote for my opponent's Nemesis?
A: You sure can. The Judgment doesn't target, attach to, block, or damage anything. Same thing with voting. You can vote for your opponent's Nemesis, and if it gets the most votes, it will be exiled by the Judgment.
Q: I don't understand how Goblin Cannon works. How can it ever deal more than one damage?
A: Goblin Cannon is a tricky card. By paying two mana, you get to deal 1 damage to a target, but then Goblin Cannon is sacrificed. But Goblin Cannon is not sacrificed when you activate the ability, it's sacrificed when the activated ability resolves. If you activate the Cannon's ability multiple times before passing priority to the opponent, you can get multiple activations out of it. And since the Cannon doesn't need to be on the battlefield to deal its damage, you'll still deal the damage, even if the Cannon was sacrificed when the first activation resolves.
For example, if you have 10 mana, you could activate the Cannon's ability five times, making sure not to let any of the activations resolve before activating it again, and you'll be able to deal five damage with your Cannon.
Q: How does Spawnsire of Ulamog work in commander? Could I get a banned creature, like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn? How about an eldrazi outside of my commander's colors?
A: When something instructs you to get something from outside the game, in a tournament, that means your sideboard. Most commander games don't use a sideboard (there is an optional 10 card sideboard rule), so the ability won't really do anything. If you are using a sideboard, then the cards in your sideboard have to obey the same rules as the rest of your deck (so you could not include a banned card like Emrakul or cards from outside of your commander's color identity).
Keep in mind that Commander is a casual format, and if your casual playgroup wants to play differently, that's fine. But you should bring that up before you start playing, and not while you're trying to resolve the Spawnsire's ability.
Well, drats. I spent all afternoon answering questions, and now it's evening and the sun has set. Ah well, I guess I'll get some sun tomorrow.
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