Published on 07/12/2021
Imagine Dungeons & Dragons
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, Justin Hovdenes, and Andrew Villarrubia
This Article from: Carsten Haese
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
Don't get too close; it's dark inside
It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide
If you have any rules questions about Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, or any other cards for that matter, please feel free to email them to moko@cranialinsertion.com , or tweet at @CranialTweet. One of our writers will reply to you, and your question might be in a future article as early as next week!
And now, without further ado, let's dive into today's selection of rules questions.
Q: I control a Dreadhorde Arcanist that has been Befuddled. Can I cast a card with mana value 0, say Ancestral Vision, from my graveyard?
A: Nope. The Arcanist's power is -3 due to Befuddle, because Magic actually does real math with power and toughness, even if the result is negative. In some cases, a negative result is treated as 0, but this is not one of those cases. Since Ancestral Vision's mana value of 0 is not less than or equal to -3, it's not a legal target for the Arcanist's ability.
Q: I control a Gideon Jura token that was created by Hofri Ghostforge's ability. I know it's not a Spirit while it's only a planeswalker, but if I animate it, is it a Spirit then?
A: First off, you're correct that the token is initially only a planeswalker, because it only copies the printed characteristics of Gideon Jura, as modified by Hofri's copy effect. The animation effect that must have been in effect while Hofri's ability made the token is not copied by the token. Now, when you animate Gideon, he becomes a creature (in addition to being a planeswalker), but that effect is applied in layer 4, where type-changing effects are applied. The effect that wants to make the token into a Spirit lives in layer 1, because it's part of the copy effect that created the token. Since the token is not a creature yet in layer 1, that part fails to apply, and it won't apply retroactively once Gideon becomes a creature in layer 4.
Q: My opponent cracks a Fabled Passage, and in response I flash in an Opposition Agent. While I'm searching my opponent's library, I see they have a Panglacial Wurm in there. Can I make them tap all their mana and force them to cast it? What if they don't have enough mana to cast it?
A: Yes, you can force them to cast the Wurm if they're legally able to do so. That's because you're not actually searching their library. Your opponent is still doing that, but you control them while they're searching their library, so you get to see all the hidden information they see, and you get to make all in-game decisions for them. One of those decisions is whether to cast the Wurm, which mana abilities to activate in the process, and how to pay for the Wurm. Note that if you make them add more mana than they need for the Wurm, the extra mana will be in their mana pool to use for the remainder of the current step or phase after the search effect is done. Finally, if they don't have enough mana to cast the Wurm in the first place, attempting to cast it is an illegal action, and any mana abilities you try to activate in the process would just get reversed anyway, so there's really nothing nefarious you can do to them in that case.
Q: I control Toralf, God of Fury that's equipped with Darksteel Plate, and my opponent controls three 1/1 creatures and a Circle of Protection: Red. If I cast Blasphemous Act and target my opponent with all Toralf triggers, how many times does my opponent have to activate the Circle of Protection in order not to take damage from Toralf?
A: Blasphemous Act deals 12 excess damage to each of the three 1/1 creatures, and each of those triggers Toralf's ability. This means that there are three separate triggers on the stack, and each of those would make Toralf deal 12 damage to your opponent. Each of those is a separate instance in which Toralf would deal damage, so your opponent needs to activate the Circle three times to prevent all of that damage.
Q: I control Kodama of the East Tree and play a land. Can I put another land from my hand onto the battlefield with Kodama of the East Tree's ability?
A: Absolutely! Kodama's ability sees that another permanent entered the battlefield, and it was not put there with its ability, so its ability triggers. The land has a mana value of 0, so you get to put a permanent card with mana value 0 from your hand onto the battlefield, and another land card is a perfectly legal choice. You already played a land for the turn, but Kodama's ability isn't playing a land; it's putting a land card from your hand onto the battlefield, which looks indistinguishable from playing a land, but it doesn't count as a land play.
Q: Does Rakdos, the Showstopper's ability interact with Chance Encounter?
A: Nope. While it may feel like winning to you when the coin flips for Rakdos come up tails, the coin flips for Rakdos aren't won by any player, so they won't trigger Chance Encounter's ability.
Q: If Expropriate gets countered, does it go to the graveyard or into exile?
A: It goes to the graveyard, since that's where countered spells go if nothing says otherwise, and nothing is saying otherwise here. Expropriate exiles itself only as it resolves, and it doesn't resolve if it's countered.
Here we are, don't turn away now
We are the warriors that built this town
We are the warriors that built this town
A: I'm afraid not. The resolution of Kashi-Tribe Warriors' ability created a continuous effect that changes the rules for your next untap step. This effect exists independently from its source, so removing the Warriors from the battlefield doesn't remove the effect.
Q: Does Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch have to survive combat in order to return the attacker to its owner's hand?
A: No. The ability triggers and resolves in the declare blockers step, which happens before the combat damage step. The resolution of this ability creates a delayed triggered ability that triggers at the end of combat. Similar to the continuous effect from the previous question, delayed triggered abilities exist independently from their source, so the delayed trigger still happens at end of combat even if Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch is no longer on the battlefield by then.
Q: My commander is Valki, God of Lies. Can I use the Hellkite Courser ability to put Valki onto the battlefield as Tibalt?
A: No. Hellkite Courser doesn't allow you to cast the card from the command zone; it allows you to put Valki onto the battlefield. Since the effect doesn't specify which face should be up, the card defaults to entering the battlefield with its front face up.
Q: Infernal Tribute says "sacrifice a card in play." Can I sacrifice a token to activate it?
A: No. To determine what a card does, refer to its Oracle text instead of looking at what's printed on the card. The Oracle text says "sacrifice a nontoken permanent," which makes it quite clear that you can't sacrifice a token for the activation cost.
Q: Can I use Verdant Catacombs in a green/white Commander deck?
A: Sure, go for it! Verdant Catacombs doesn't have a color, color indicator, or any colored mana symbols in its mana cost or rules text. Its color identity is therefore colorless and it can go into any Commander deck. You can't include any Swamps in your green/white deck, but that needn't stop you from including Verdant Catacombs in your deck.
Q: I control Halls of Mist and my opponent controls Teferi's Veil. If they attack me and their creatures phase out, can they attack again on my opponent's next turn after they phase back in?
A: No. After they phase in, they are the same creatures they were before they phased out. The game remembers that the creatures attacked during their controller's last turn, so they can't attack this turn.
I'm a Vampire, Vampire
Now you know, you're free to go
Now you know, you're free to go
A: It gets two counters. Each creature with lifelink dealing damage causes its own life-gain event, even though the two events happen at the same time. The Vampire's trigger event happened twice, so it gets two counters.
Q: Can I use Muldrotha, the Gravetide's ability to evoke a Shriekmaw out of my graveyard?
A: Certainly. Muldrotha's ability allows you to cast a creature spell from your graveyard, and it doesn't demand that you pay a particular cost to do so, so you may choose to pay the evoke cost to cast it.
Q: I control Tiana, Ship's Caretaker and Bludgeon Brawl. If a non-Equipment artifact is destroyed, does Tiana's ability return it to my hand at the beginning of the next end step?
A: Yup. At the time it left the battlefield, the artifact was an Equipment, so Tiana's ability triggers. The delayed triggered ability tracks the card in the graveyard and it'll return it to your hand even if it's no longer an Equipment (or Aura) in the graveyard.
Q: I control a Runeclaw Bear with three +1/+1 counters on it, and my opponent plays Show and Tell. If both my opponent and I choose to put Thief of Blood onto the battlefield, which one gets the counters?
A: Your opponent's Thief of Blood gets the counters because your opponent is the active player. There are two replacement effects that want to modify how Show and Tell's resolution affects the Thieves of Blood. Since both effects are applicable at the same time, they're applied in APNAP order, so the active player's effect is applied first. Once that effect is applied, your Thief of Blood has no counters to steal, so it enters without +1/+1 counters.
Q: Suppose we're in a timed Swiss round of a tournament, and time has been called, so we're in extra turns. One of the players activates Karn Liberated to restart the game. What happens?
A: While you're in extra turns, no new game can begin, which means that the game can't be restarted. The main reason for this is that the procedure for starting the game is quite time-consuming, and time is the one thing you don't have at the end of the round. The current game simply ends in a draw, and then you report whatever the match result is including that drawn game.
Speaking of being out of time, that's it for this week's episode. Thanks for reading, and please come back next week for our first look at Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms!
- Carsten Haese
About the Author:
Carsten Haese is a former Level 2 judge based in Toledo, OH. He is retired from active judging, but he still writes for Cranial Insertion and helps organize an annual charity Magic tournament that benefits the National MS Society.
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