Published on 09/20/2021
A Midnight Monster Mash
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, Justin Hovdenes, and Andrew Villarrubia
This Article from: Justin Hovdenes
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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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
I was working in the lab, late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my new magic set from his slab, began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise 20 new questions
If you'd like us to answer a question, please send it to us via email at moko@cranialinsertion.com or tweet it to us @CranialTweet. We do our best to answer every question we get, and your question may even show up in a future article!
Q: How does the new Daybound and Nightbound work?
A: Each game of Magic starts as neither Night or nor Day. An ability like Brimstone Vandal's 2nd ability may turn it into Day or Night. Any permanent with Daybound will make it become day if its not currently day or night.
Once its Day or Night, its the same condition for all players, not just the player who made it change. Once it becomes Day or Night in a game, it will be one condition or the other until this game ends, it can't go back to being neither condition. Once its become Night or Day in a game, it can swap back and forth even if there are no Daybound//Nightbound permanents on the battlefield.
If it's NOT currently Night, all permanents with Daybound enter the battlefield with their front face up. If it's currently night, Daybound permanents enter the battlefield with their back face up (i.e. Nightbound face up).
Each time the game changes from Day to Night, or Night to Day, each permanent on the battlefield with Daybound//Nightbound will transform to match Daybound side to Day and Nightbound side to Night.
Q: How does a card like Moonmist work with new werewolves like Tavern Ruffian?
A: The short answer is not at all. Permanents with Daybound//Nightbound can only transformed because of Night & Day. If you cast Moonmist while you control Tavern Ruffian, the Ruffian will ignore being transformed.
Q: I cast Defend the Celestus targeting three different 2/2 zombie tokens, intending to give each a +1/+1 counter. Before that spell can resolve, my opponent kill one of the zombies with Play with Fire. When Defend the Celestus resolves can I give one of the remaining zombies two +1/+1 counters since there are now only 2 targets?
A: You can not. As you cast Defend the Celestus you choose the number of targets and the distribution of counters. You must distribute at least one counter per target. The number of targets and the distribution can't be changed just because you lost a target. The missing creature means one +1/+1 counter is simply wasted.
Q: I control Dennick, Pious Apparition and I Murder my opponent's animated Mutavault. Does this cause me to investigate?
A: It does not. Dennick is looking for "creature cards are put into graveyards from anywhere". He checks to see if something is a creature card after it hits the graveyard and by then its no longer a creature.
Dennick is different from cards that check when a creature dies. Cards like Algae Gharial would use last known information to check if Mutavault was a creature when it died. The reason these are different, is Dennick is checking for "creature cards put into graveyards from anywhere" and Gharial is checking for "whenever another creature dies".
Q: Expanding on the last question, what happens if I control Dennick, Pious Apparition and a 2/2 zombie token dies?
A: You won't get to investigate. Dennick is looking for "creature cards". Zombie tokens are never cards, even if you represent them with with a zombie token card.
Q: I keep trying to figure out the ability Coven and it makes no sense to me. What are powers?
A: So this is going to feel really obvious when I explain it, but don't feel bad, I have heard this question asked even by some pro players. Powers means the plural of Power (aka power & toughness). In the case of Duelcraft Trainer if you control it, a 2/2 zombie token, and a 1/1 human token, you will have a "coven" and Duelcraft will pass out double strike at the start of each combat on your turn. Across all your creature if you have 3 different "Powers" you have a "coven". If you have 10 creatures all with 3 power, you don't have a "coven" because they all share the same power.
Q: I use Duel for Dominance to kill my opponent's 1/1 Human token with my Flame Channeler. Does the Flame Channeler transform?
A: It does not. Flame Channeler is looking for spells that deal damage. Although Duel for Dominance is causing creatures to be dealt damage, its actually the creatures dealing the damage to each other.
Q: I try to counter my opponent's spell by casting Flip the Switch, sadly the opponent can and does pay pay the
mana. Do I still get the zombie token?A: You do get a rotting friend! Flip the Switch doesn't care if it successfully counters the spell or not, you get the zombie either way.
Q: I currenlty have no cards in hand and control Moonveil Regent, if I flashback Abandon the Post from my graveyard, can I still discard my hand to Moonveil's trigger to draw a card?
A: You can. Even though you have no cards in hand, you can still discard your hand to make the regent happy.
Q: I control a Siege Zombie and two 2/2 zombie tokens, all of which enter the battlefield this turn. Can I tap all three to use Siege Zombies activated ability even though they don't have haste?
A: You can Monster Mash. Siege Zombie's ability doesn't have a tap symbol in it, so you can use any untapped creatures whether its suffering from summoning sickness or not.
Q: It's currently my turn, and so far my opponent was dealt 4 damage in combat, and then gained 10 life from an instant they cast. When I move into my end step, will my Stromkirk Bloodthief be able to put a +1/+1 counter on itself?
A: Yes it can. I can see two possible reasons why you might be confused about this.
1) Damage an opponent takes, does count as life lost.
2) The Bloodthief cares if the opponent lost life, not if their life total is lower than what it started at this turn. So even though they gained more life then they lost this turn, they still did lose life.
Q: Earlier you said only Day and Night can transform Daybound//Nightbound permanents, so this makes me wonder why Tovolar, Dire Overlord's upkeep trigger both makes it Night and transforms human werewolves?
A: Doing both means Tovolar works great with werewolves from this set (the daybound ones) and with all human werewolves from previous Innistrad sets.
Q: I want to Fling my Vadrik, Astral Archmage(which currently has only one +1/+1 counters on it) at my opponent's face. How much mana does the Fling cost me?
A: It costs only one
mana. Costs are locked in, before you begin to pay those costs. By the time you sacrifice Vadrik, he has already reduced the cost by 
, but since this reduction can't reduce the colored portion of Fling's cost, it still cost at least the one mana.
Q: I control Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth and sacrifice a clue. Do I draw a card first or surveil 1 first? Or do I get to choose?
A: You must surveil first, then you draw the card from sacrificing the clue.
Q: Gorex, the Tombshell is my commander and he already died once this game. If I cast him from the command zone for the 2nd time this game, and exile 4 creatures from my graveyard, have I effectively already paid the commander tax?
A: Yes, you have. When you are dealing with both cost increases and cost reductions, add on all cost increases first, then apply all cost reductions.
Q: I have three Gravecrawlers in my graveyard. If I activate Tomb Tyrant's ability by sacrificing Grizzly Ghoul, can I get back the zombie bear? And if I do, will it get a +1/+1 from it being sacrificed just a second ago?
A: Yes, and yes. You pay costs first, then when the ability resolves you have three crawlers and a zombie bear in your graveyard. There is a 1/4 chance you will get your bear back into play. If you happen to randomly get the bear, it will enter the battlefield with at least one +1/+1 counter (maybe more if other creatures had died).
Q: My Old Stickfingers which is wearing Mask of Griselbrand dies in combat. Before it died I had 4 creatures in my graveyard and now I have 5 including Stickfingers. When Mask of Griselbrand trigger how much life can I pay, and if I do how many cards do I draw?
A: Four and Four. Stickfinger's power and toughness ability is a Characteristic Defining Ability (CDA), and so works while in the graveyard and sees himself in there, but the Masks trigger uses last known information to determine Stickfinger's power the last time he was on the battlefield, which was 4 at the time.
Q: I sacrifice Moonsilver Key to its own ability, can I grab Gauntlet of Power with it?
A: You can. Gauntlet of Power has whats called a triggered mana ability.
Q: If I flashback Rite of Oblivion from my graveyard, do I still have to sacrifice a permanent?
A: You do. Additional costs still have to be paid when you flashback a spell from the graveyard.
Q: I control a 2/2 zombie token and Unnatural Growth. Just before going to combat on my turn, my opponent give that zombie -4/-0 until end of turn. What happens to my zombie when Unnatural Growth finishes "buffing" it?
A: Your zombie will be a -4/4. The zombie will be a -2/2 as Unnatural Growth triggers. When it resolves it tries to double -2 power, which means add -2 more power. It also doubles its 2 toughness, which means add +2 more toughness. The end total being a -4/4.
Easy Igor, you impetuous young boy that's all the questions we have left, and until next time you can Monster Mash.
- Justin Hovdenes AKA Hovey
Level 2 Magic Judge
Rapid City, SD
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