Published on 09/27/2021
A werewolf is steering a submarine
The thrilling tale of Captain Harry McHowls
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, Justin Hovdenes, and Andrew Villarrubia
This Article from: Andrew Villarrubia
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
That's a sword. But he's also happy to see you.
Wait. I mean. Their mechanics are cool.
Werewolves also have to be one of the most ingrained pop culture monsters, right? Do you know anybody over the age of about 10 who doesn't know that silver can kill werewolves? Do you realize how many songs and movies are about werewolves? It's wild!
Anyway, there's nothing I like more than questions, especially Cranial Insertion questions, the symbol of our website. So let's get to it.
As a friendly reminder, if you'd like the CI team to answer your question, please send it to us via email at moko@cranialinsertion.com or tweet it to us @CranialTweet. We answer every question we get, and your question could show up in a future article.
Q: How does Immerwolf work with the Daybound/Nightbound werewolves from Innistrad Midnight Hunt?
A: As a rule, if something says something can't happen, that beats something saying it should happen. As much as the werewolves might want to transform, Immerwolf says they can't, so they don't. Any non-Human Werewolves will be stuck on whatever side they're on until Immerwolf leaves the battlefield.
However, once Immerwolf is gone, the non-Human Werewolves will immediately transform if they need to. For example, if it's day when Immerwolf goes away, a Nightbound non-Human Werewolf will heed the day's call and transform right away.
Q: I'm playing a game right now and it's neither night nor day. I cast Bird Admirer, and my opponent flashes in Dress Down. Does it become day, or what?
A: No, it doesn't. Since Bird Admirer has no abilities, the game doesn't see any Daybound permanents so it has no reason to become day. However! As soon as Dress Down is gone, there's a Daybound permanent on the battlefield and the game will become day.
Q: What happens if I exile Enduring Angel with Ludevic, Necrogenius's ability and make Olag a copy of the Angel?
A: Well, first, the basic stuff. Olag will be a copy of Enduring Angel with all the listed exceptions. It's a 4/4 legendary blue black and white Zombie Angel, and it has some number of +1/+1 counters.
But, what happens if your life total would be reduced to 0 or less? That's the interesting part! Your Olag-Angel will transform — that is, you'll physically turn over the card — but it's still a copy of Enduring Angel! Since it technically transformed, you won't lose the game, and you still have the Angel's replacement effect to keep you alive.
Q: While we're talking about it... Let's say I'm at 2 life and control Enduring Angel. My opponent casts Burn the Accursed targeting my Angel. What happens?
A: When Burn the Accursed starts resolving, it wants to deal 5 damage to the Angel and 2 damage to you. The Angel sees that you're about to be reduced to 0 or less life and applies its replacement effect. Unfortunately, your Angel still has 5 damage marked on it after it transforms into Angelic Enforcer, so the end result is that you'll be at 3 life and your Angel will be exiled thanks to Burn the Accursed's effect.
Q: I control Lier, Disciple of the Drowned. Can I cast Crashing Footfalls from my graveyard?
A: Unfortunately not. Lier lets you cast something with flashback for the same cost as the card's regular mana cost. Since Crashing Footfalls doesn't have a mana cost at all, there's no way to cast it this way.
A: They are! Divine Visitation only replaces what the token looks like. Any "other stuff" that would apply to the token, like if it enters tapped, it's attacking, or if you have to sacrifice that token at the end of the turn, still applies.
Q: What happens if I cast Momentary Blink on a Disturbed creature like Benevolent Geist?
A: As a rule, permanents enter the battlefield with their front face up unless something says otherwise. In this case, you'll Blink your Geist and it'll come back as Malevolent Hermit. On the plus side, this means it can die and go to your graveyard so you can cast it for its Disturb cost again!
Q: My opponent controls Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and I cast Memory Deluge from my hand. How many cards do I get to look at?
A: You'll get to look at five cards since Thalia made you pay
more mana to cast the spell. It's one of those rare situations where an opponent's tax effect helps you.This also means that if you cast Memory Deluge from your graveyard you'll look at seven cards (or eight if Thalia is still in play).
Q: It's day and I control a couple Bird Admirers. An opponent plays Ixidron. Do my Admirers turn into Wing Shredders?
A: They do not. Double-faced permanents can't be turned face-down, so your Admirers will stick around to appreciate Ixidron's weirdness.
Q: If I have twelve cards in my hand at the beginning of up keep, can I activate Triskaidekaphile's ability and win the game when the trigger resolves?
A: Unfortunately not. Triskaidekaphile's trigger has one of those pesky intervening if clauses. This means that if you don't have exactly 13 cards in your hand at the beginning of your upkeep, the ability won't trigger at all. The trigger condition has to be true when it would trigger and when it would resolve, otherwise the trigger doesn't do anything at all.
Q: If I attack my opponent's Wrenn and Seven with Tovolar, Dire Overlord do I get to draw a card?
A: Nope. Planeswalkers aren't players, so Tovolar won't trigger.
Q: It is night. I control Guardian Project and have a Bird Admirer in my graveyard. If I cast another Bird Admirer, does Guardian Project trigger?
A: Yes, it does. Bird Admirer will enter the battle as Wing Shredder. Since the card in your graveyard only has the name Bird Admirer, Wing Shredder has a different name and triggers Guardian Project.
Q: I have an artifact card, an enchantment card, and a creature card in my graveyard. I cast Unholy Heat. Does it deal 2 or 6 damage?
A: It will deal 2 damage. The spell is still on the stack while it's resolving, so it only sees three card types in your graveyard. Unholy Heat won't be in your graveyard until after it has dealt its damage and finished resolving.
Wherever I go, I still see your face
So little time, there's no time to waste
So little time, there's no time to waste
A: Yes, you do. Since it doesn't leave the battlefield to transform like some cards do, it's the same object and it still has the effect from Can't Stay Away.
That's all for this week, friends. I'm off to London. I hear I can find American werewolves there, for some reason.
- Andrew
About the Author:
Andrew is a Level 2 judge from Dallas, TX who spends too much time on his computer.
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