Published on 06/14/2010
A Momentary Diversion on the Road to the Graveyard
By Eli Shiffrin, Brian Paskoff, and Carsten Haese
This Article from: Brian Paskoff
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
Hey everyone! Now that GP DC is truly over this time, there's no real big major events for me to get confused about whether my article comes out before/after/during. What we do have to look forward to is Archenemy, and since Eli will be fielding the bulk of the incoming questions on that himself next week, this week I'll be be covering a whole host of questions from the inbox.If you've got any questions you want answered (and maybe posted here), send them in to cranial.insertion@gmail.com !
Q: During a Vintage tournament, I was playing Oath of Druids for the first time in a while and someone boarded a True Believer against me and said it stopped me from going off with Oath. Doesn't it trigger no matter what?
A: It used to be an intervening if trigger, but that's not how the card's originally worded. Now it's a triggered ability with a target, which works nearly the same way in most cases where one player doesn't have shroud. So it does trigger, but it'll fall off the stack if it can't find a legal target, and be countered on resolution if its target becomes illegal sometime between it triggering and it trying to resolve.
Q: I have a Raid Bombardment and Beastmaster Ascension (with zero counters) out, and want to attack with twelve of my Eldrazi Spawn tokens. Which will trigger first?
A: They both trigger at the same time. Like all triggers you control that trigger at the same time, they go on the stack in any order you wish. But this time, the order they go on and resolve doesn't matter! Raid Bombardment already triggered, and it doesn't matter how big your Spawn are when the trigger goes to resolve.
Q: Can I Stifle Final Fortune so I don't lose at the end of that turn?
A: Sure! Final Fortune sets up a delayed triggered ability that'll trigger at the end of the turn it creates. If the trigger resolves, you're doomed.
Q: Can I name (insert card here) with Pithing Needle?
A: As a judge, I hate this question more than almost any other. Luckily I'm good at keeping a straight face when I say "Yes", but the truth is... yes, you can name any card in the game with Pithing Needle. It won't do a thing though if the card in question doesn't have an activated ability, which is written as "cost: effect".
Q: How are multiple Memory Jar triggers handled if more than one is activated in a turn?
A: One at a time! Each sets up a delayed trigger, but they all trigger at the beginning of the next end step in the order their controller chooses. First one set of cards will come back, then the next trigger will make you discard them and return that set to your hand. If that's not the last one, you'll be ditching those too and returning another set. Make sure to separate the face-down exiled piles so each player knows which Jar goes to which one.
Q: In a multiplayer game, I'm attacking one opponent's Gideon Jura, and someone else with a Vedalken Orrery steals Gideon with a Confiscate. Are my creatures still attacking that Gideon?
A: Nope - something that changes controllers leaves combat. Your creatures will still be attacking, but not much will happen if they're not blocked.
Q: I control a Gibbering Descent and the last card in my hand is a Consuming Vapors. I cast it, but I skip my upkeep, so it'll just never rebound?
A: It will rebound, provided you get another upkeep. Rebound triggers at the beginning of your next upkeep, whenever the next time that happens to be.
Q: In a 2HG game, my teammate controls an Ajani Vengeant with one counter on it, which isn't enough to deal a lethal 3 damage to the opposing team. Can I ping Ajani with my Cunning Sparkmage so he can cast the other Ajani Vengeant in his hand and win the game?
A: No such luck. The rule that lets players redirect non-combat damage to a planeswalker is specially reserved only for opponents of the player who controls that planeswalker.
Q: I cast a Vengevine, and it gets Canceled. So I cast another Vengevine, and that gets Canceled too! But that's two creature spells - do both Vengevines come back?
A: Just the original one. Since Vengevine specifies which zone it triggers from, it only triggers from that zone. Vengevine #2 is that second creature spell, so it's on the stack, not the graveyard.
Q: Can I respond to my opponent's Braid of Fire cumulative upkeep, or is it a mana ability?
A: It's not a mana ability, so you can respond to it! Triggered abilities aren't mana abilities even if they're going to add mana, unless they trigger off an activated mana ability and add mana to a player's mana pool and don't target.
Yes, Emrakul is one of
my EDH generals.
my EDH generals.
A: No, because it's not exiled! The command zone acts a lot like the exile zone in that the cards in it aren't easily interacted with, but it's not actually exiled, so Oblivion Ring can't bring it back.
Q: Can I respond to the ability of an Eland Umbra by Aura Finesse-ing it to another creature, thereby saving the Umbra and the creature?
A: Totem armor doesn't trigger, so it can't be responded to. It's a replacement effect that replaces the creature being destroyed.
Q: If I cast a Twincast through Cast Through Time and then another spell, next turn can I stack the rebound triggers so I Twincast whatever other spell that was?
A: Nope. Twincast and any other rebound spells will never be on the stack at the same time, and because the rebound triggers are still on the stack, there's no way to time it so Twincast ever has a legal target.
Q: My Puppeteer Clique steals a Bogardan Hellkite, but when I go to swing with the dragon, it gets Terminated. At the end of the turn, is it exiled, or does it stay in the graveyard for me to possible re-take later?
A: It'll stay in the graveyard. Once the creature changes zones, Puppeteer Clique's triggered ability loses track of it because the creature card is now a new object.
Q: My Vesuvan Doppelganger copies a Nezumi Graverobber, activates the grave-robbin' ability, and flips. Does it still have the ability that lets it copy another creature?
A: Yup! Flipped/unflipped is a status, and it'll still keep any abilities granted to it by the copy effect.
Q: My opponent plays Clone and wants to copy my Apocalypse Hydra, which has 10 +1/+1 counters on it. Does Clone copy the number of counters, or is the copy just a 10/10? Or a 0/0?
A: That seems like a bad move. Clone doesn't copy the number of counters, or the original value of X, so it'll come in as a 0/0 without any counters and be sent to the graveyard.
Accept no substitutes
(unless he was damaged during play
or damaged in the pack.)
(unless he was damaged during play
or damaged in the pack.)
A: Noooo. You'll have to risk shuffling it if you want to play with it. Proxies are only created by the head judge if a card is damaged through the course of play or if it's opened damaged, but none of that's the case here.
Q: There's some cool M11 preview cards in the upcoming Archenemy sets - when are they legal in EDH?
A: As soon as you open them! Officially released cards are legal in EDH as soon as they're publically available.
Q: Is it true that suspended cards, mainly creatures and sorceries can not resolve on an opponent's turn? Let's say for example I was able to remove all time counters on the suspended card on an opponent's turn.
A: Suspended cards can be cast on your opponent's turn if their time counters are all removed. After all, you're casting creatures and sorceries with suspend during your upkeep, and normally you can't cast those things then either, but suspend specifically tells you to.
Q: I activate Gideon Jura to turn him into a creature, then Ajani Goldmane's second ability to put a +1/+1 counter on him. What happens to that counter when the turn ends?
A: There's no rule that says +1/+1 counters (or any other type of counters that can be on a creature) fall off if the object they're on stops being a creature, which is why Llanowar Reborn doesn't come in and have its counter immediately fall off.. It'll continue to pump Gideon if he becomes a creature again, but it'll have no effect if he's not one. Just make sure to differentiate between the +1/+1 counter(s) and the loyalty counter(s), because those definitely don't do the same thing!
That's all for me this week! Keep sending in those questions!
About the Author:
Brian Paskoff is a Level 2 judge based in Long Island, NY, and frequently judges in NY, NJ, and PA. You can often find him at Brothers Grim in Selden or Friendly Neighborhood Comics in West Islip. He runs a newsletter for Long Island Magic players called Islandhome, which can be signed up for by contacting him.
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