Published on 11/28/2016
Don't go chasing planar falls
By Carsten Haese, James Bennett, Callum Milne, and Nathan Long
This Article from: James Bennett
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
This wasn't the "plane chase"
we had in mind...
we had in mind...
In light of which, this week we'll be focusing on questions from the three Planechase products, but don't worry! If you've got a rules question (about Planechase or other sets) burning a hole in your brain, you can always get an answer to it by using the handy "Email Us" button, by sending an email to moko@cranialinsertion.com , or by tweeting at @CranialTweet.
Q: OK, so what formats are these cards legal in?
A: Vintage and Legacy, plus any other formats they were already legal in. Supplemental and reprint products like Planechase sets, Masters sets and so on don't add any new cards to Standard or Modern; only regular expansion sets do that. Any regular-sized black- or white-bordered card officially released by Wizards of the Coast, regardless of what kind of product it was released in, is legal for Vintage or Legacy play, though (unless, of course, it's on a banned or restricted list for those formats).
Q: If I control Warstorm Surge and cast a Menacing Ogre, how much damage will the Ogre deal?
A: It depends! The trigger from Warstorm Surge will cause damage to be dealt based on the Ogre's power at the time the Warstorm Surge trigger resolves. If you choose to have the Ogre's trigger resolve first (you control both triggers, so you can have them happen in the order of your choice), potentially 5 damage if the Ogre gets pumped up. Otherwise, just 3.
Q: If I control two Glen Elendra Lieges, do they each get +2/+2?
A: Yup! The Liege has two abilities: one pumps blue creatures and the other pumps black creatures. If a creature happens to be both blue and black, it gets both bonuses, so two Lieges will boost each other up to 4/5s.
Q: If I control Balefire Liege and cast a Lightning Helix, would I also get both bonuses?
A: Yup. Since Lightning Helix is both red and white it will cause both triggered abilities of Balefire Liege to happen. You'll get a total of 6 damage and 6 life out of that, which isn't bad for only two mana!
Q: I cast Fling and only have one creature; if my opponent kills it in response, what happens to Fling? Is it countered?
A: What you're describing isn't possible: sacrificing a creature is a cost to cast Fling, and no player can interrupt or respond to the payment of costs. So by the time your opponent could respond to Fling, it's already fully paid for and the creature you sacrificed is already in the graveyard.
Q: I have a creature enchanted with Felidar Umbra and my opponent just cast Akroma's Vengeance. Does my creature die?
A: Nope. Akroma's Vengeance tries to destroy everything simultaneously, but the Umbra's effect — even though it would get destroyed anyway — steps in to save the creature it's enchanting.
Q: If the current plane is Turri Island and I pay
for an Ivy Elemental, how big will the Elemental be?A: It'll enter with 6 counters. When casting a spell with
in its mana cost, first choose a value for X and plug it into the cost, then apply any cost-increasing or cost-reducing effects, then pay whatever the result is. So start with X=6, plug it into the mana cost to get 
, then subtract 
for Turri Island's cost-reducing effect and you get X=6 while paying only .Remember not to let your plane
cards go through the wash!
cards go through the wash!
A: Although a Swamp can produce black mana, not everything that can produce black mana is a Swamp. A land is only a Swamp if the subtype "Swamp" appears in its type line (that's the line below the art). Since the "Tainted" lands don't have that subtype printed on them, they're not Swamps and don't turn themselves on.
Q: I attack with a Tornado Elemental and it gets blocked by a 3/3. Can I deal 3 damage to the blocker and 3 to my opponent?
A: No. Although the Elemental's ability looks slightly like trample, it doesn't work the same way: trample lets you assign excess damage (whatever's left over after assigning lethal damage to all the blockers) to the defending player or planeswalker. Tornado Elemental doesn't give you that option, and is all-or-nothing. So you can either deal 6 damage to the blocker, or 6 damage to your opponent, but you can't split it up between them.
Q: I control a Hallowed Fountain, a Godless Shrine, a Sacred Foundry, a Temple Garden, a Watery Grave, a Steam Vents, a Breeding Pool, a Blood Crypt, an Overgrown Tomb and a Stomping Ground, and no other lands, and I cast Last Stand. What happens?
A: You control four lands of each basic land type, so the targeted opponent loses 8 life, 4 damage is dealt to the targeted creature, you get 4 Saproling tokens, you gain 8 life, and you draw 4 cards, then discard 4 cards.
Q: If I have a Fractured Powerstone in my deck in a Legacy tournament, and I activate its second ability, what happens?
A: Nothing. In a non-Planechase game, it's not possible to roll the planar die, so you ignore all impossible actions in the ability's effect and just do... nothing. If that was your goal, may I suggest a Null Rod instead?
Q: If I have Darksteel Forge and enough mana to activate my Door to Nothingness, does this mean I can just kill one player a turn?
A: Only if you also have a way to get the Door back out of your graveyard. Indestructible only stops two things: being destroyed by damage, and being destroyed by effects which use the exact word "destroy". A permanent with indestructible can still be sacrificed, exiled, die to the "legend rule", die due to having zero toughness, or any of the other ways permanents leave the battlefield, so the Door will still be sacrificed as a cost of activating its ability, just the same as if you didn't have the Forge.
Q: If I just really want to take 5 damage for some reason, (say, to cause my Captain's Maneuver to hit something for me), can I cast Browbeat and choose to have it damage me?
A: Sure! Browbeat says "any player" may have it deal the damage, and you're a player, so even though it's weird, you can make that choice.
Q: Does Undead Warchief pump itself?
A: It does. Although many "lords" (creatures which give a bonus to all creatures of a certain type) either avoid having the type they affect, or specify that they only affect other creatures of that type, Undead Warchief doesn't. So it'll make itself into a 3/2.
Q: I cast Hull Breach choosing to destroy only an enchantment, but the current plane is Izzet Steam Maze. Can I use the copy to destroy an artifact?
A: Izzet Steam Maze lets you choose a new target for the copy, but not a new mode. So you can only destroy another enchantment.
It doesn't charge a baggage fee,
but it does complain about the
extra weight.
but it does complain about the
extra weight.
any time I want to make two Saprolings?A: Not quite. If the Umbra isn't already on the Elemental, and you pay to move the Umbra, then Bramble Elemental will trigger and make tokens. But if the Umbra is already on the Elemental, you'll need to move it to some other creature and back again — it doesn't become attached over and over again if it's just staying in the same place.
Q: If my opponent's graveyard is empty, can I still activate Nullmage Advocate and just not return anything?
A: No. To cast a spell or activate an ability, you must be able to choose all required targets up-front. So if your opponent's graveyard doesn't have at least two cards in it that you can target, you can't activate the Advocate's ability.
Q: When I attack with Nefashu, since it says "up to five" targets, could I choose the same creature 5 times to give it -5/-5?
A: A single creature (or player, or game object) can only be chosen as a target once for each instance of the word "target" in a spell or ability's text. Since Nefashu's ability only uses the word "target" once, a single creature can only be chosen as a target once per trigger of the ability, so you can't give a single creature more than -1/-1.
Q: Does Astral Arena stop me from using ninjutsu abilities?
A: Astral Arena only lets you declare one attacking creature; it doesn't stop other creatures from being put onto the battlefield attacking after the initial declaration. So you can ninja your opponent as much as you like, so long as your opponent never blocks!
Q: What are the rules around using my phone during a tournament? I've heard different things and now I'm not sure what I can do.
A: If you're playing in a tournament run at Competitive or Professional enforcement level, your phone and all other electronic devices capable of storing notes, communicating with others, or accessing the internet need to be put away and not used whenever you're playing your match, drafting, or building a draft or sealed deck. At Regular enforcement you can't use a device to access any "substantial strategic advice or information".
But if you're worried, ask the Head Judge of your tournament before you bring your phone out during a match; the Head Judge is permitted to issue further restrictions, or outright forbid the use of electronic devices, at his or her discretion.
That's all for this week, but be sure to check in again next week when we'll be back with another issue of Cranial Insertion!
- James Bennett
About the Author:
James Bennett is a Level 3 judge based out of Lawrence, Kansas. He pops up at events around Kansas City and all over the midwest, and has a car he can talk to.
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