Published on 11/21/2022
Autobots, Roll Out The New Cards
Rules Questions in Disguise
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, and Justin Hovdenes
This Article from: Justin Hovdenes
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
So apparently, Goldbug is the
reincarnated Bumblebee.
reincarnated Bumblebee.
With the release of The Brothers' War, we are getting fifteen Transformer cards to play in Commander or Legacy decks. I remember before I was old enough to go to school, I had the Bumblebee toy. Then later in elementary school, my best friend had all the Transformer toys. His parents spoiled him rotten. So in celebration of this crossover, lets do a half and half, normal Magic card questions and Transformer questions.
We are always looking for new material, so if you have a short question, you can send it to our Twitter account at @CranialTweet, and you can send us longer questions to our e-mail at moko@cranialinsertion.com . If you do so, we may use your question in an upcoming article.
Q: The only cards in my graveyard are Blaster, Combat DJ and Adarkar Sentinel. If I cast Living Death, will the Sentinel enter the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter from Blaster?
A: No, Adarkar Sentinel will not get the +1/+1 counter. To get the counter from the modular ability, other artifact creatures have to enter after Blaster, not simultaneously with him. It is worth noting however, if the Sentinel gains +1/+1 counters some other way and dies either before or simultaneously with Blaster, it can still move its +1/+1 counters to another artifact creature.
Q: If I Fork my Slaughter Games, do I have to name the same card for both?
A: Naming a card with Slaughter Games is done on resolution, so it is not a copiable value. You may name different cards as each one resolves.
Q: Earlier this turn I attacked with Blitzwing, Adaptive Assailant which gave itself indestructible at random and has Rune of Might attached to it. It was blocked by a 10/10 Eldrazi token. Before damage, I cast Poison the Blade targeting Blitzwing. When Blitzwing converts from dealing trample damage to my opponent, will it die from having 10 damage marked on it?
A: Blitzwing will still have indestructible and therefore survives converting. When a transformer converts from one side to the other, it is still the same object and will keep any until end of turn effects or bonuses between both forms. Blitzwing keeps the Aura through converting as well.
Q: My opponent controls Teferi, Time Raveler and I cast Bring to Light casting Vindicate from my library to kill Teferi. My opponent says this doesn't work, but I'm casting a sorcery during my main phase, so feels to me it should work. Who is right?
A: Your opponent is correct, Teferi prevents you from casting Vindicate this way. Bring to Light is still on the stack when you attempt to cast Vindicate and Teferi makes it so you can only cast spells during your own main phase AND when the stack is empty.
Having Optimus as a toy in the early 90's was as
cool as it got. The thing was huge.
cool as it got. The thing was huge.
Q: My Cyclonus, the Saboteur is currently attacking and has four +1/+1 counters on it. If I give it double strike before damage and it goes unblocked, will it convert twice in one combat? (The back face of Cyclonus is Cyclonus, Cybertronian Fighter.)
A: Cyclonus will convert once during first strike damage, then will convert a second time during the normal damage step.
Q: My play group is wondering, if 17 is rolled with Ancient Brass Dragon's triggered ability, do you grab all creatures with mana value 17 or less, or mana values adding up to 17?
A: A number of creatures adding up to a mana value of 17. So for example you could get back three Adarkar Sentinels, but only one Colossus of Sardia, not two of them.
Q: My commander is Flamewar, Brash Veteran and earlier in the game it exiled several cards with Flamewar, Streetwise Operative's triggered ability. Since then it has died, gone to the command zone, and been recast. May I still use Flamewar, Brash Veteran's last ability to get those cards exiled earlier into my hand?
A: You may. Flamewar's ability is looking for any cards you own in exile with intel counters on them. It's not limited to just ones this copy of Flamewar has put into exile with intel counters.
Q: While I control Library of Leng, if I discard a card to Yawgmoth, Thran Physician's last ability, can I put the discarded card on top of my library?
A: You may not. Library of Leng specifically is looking for cards discarded to effects, but Yawgmoth is discarding as part of a cost.
Q: I control Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist. I use his last ability to remove four +1/+1 counters from artifacts I control to make
for myself. My opponent says I can't because he controls Damping Matrix, but Jetfire's ability is making mana, so it's a mana ability, right?A: Jetfire's ability looks like a mana ability but is not one. If an ability has a target, it is not a mana ability.
Q: My opponent and I both control our own Liesa, Forgotten Archangel. My opponent then kills my Sheoldred, the Apocalypse with a Grisly Ritual. Does my Liesa return my Sheoldred or does my opponent's Liesa exile my Sheoldred?
A: Your Sheoldred is getting exiled. The exile is a replacement effect, which happens immediately, whereas the return to hand is a delayed trigger that happens later and only if your creature went to the graveyard, which it never did.
Q: I control Ratchet, Rescue Racer and Bottle Gnomes. Is this an infinite life combo? (The front face of Ratchet is Ratchet, Field Medic.)
A: This is not a infinite life combo. You can sacrifice the Bottle Gnomes to itself. This allows Ratchet to convert to the Field Medic side, before you gain the life from the Gnomes. Then you gain 3 life, forcing Ratchet to convert again (this time to Rescue Racer) and can reanimate the Bottle Gnomes when he converts. You may sacrifice the Bottle Gnomes again to gain 3 life, but because Rescue Racer's last ability has already triggered once this turn, it can't trigger again. So no infinite loop.
Though if you do it correctly, you can gain 3 life on each player's turn.
Q: I currently control Concordant Crossroads and then cast Revelation. If I choose to put Revelation into the graveyard from the legend rule, do all hands get revealed for a moment or two?
A: The world rule is not the same as the legend rule. When a second world permanent enters the battlefield, the older one goes to the graveyard, not the one of your choice.
However, if two or more world permanents enter the battlefield at the same time, all of them go to the graveyard. So if you were to Replenish both of these world enchantments onto the battlefield from the graveyard at the same time, both would go away almost immediately, giving all players a short window to view each other's hands.
Q: I control Soundwave, Superior Captain and cast Ornithopter, do I get a token? Is zero even, odd, or neither?
A: There seems to be some debate about the evenness of zero because you can't divide by zero, but that's not really relevant. The Magic rules follow the rules of Math, and in Math zero is even because it is a multiple of two, namely two times zero. Therefore, casting Ornithopter creates a Laserbeak token.
A Saturday morning cartoon
was only as good as its villain.
was only as good as its villain.
Q: I control Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Void Mirror. During my turn my opponent casts Force of Vigor by discarding a green card and paying
to pay Thalia's tax. Does my Void Mirror still trigger?A: Thalia and Void Mirror are what we call a nonbo, the opposite of a combo. The Thalia tax allows free spells to add colored mana to their cost, which prevents Void Mirror from triggering.
Q: My opponent controls Ghostly Prison. If I attack them with Ultra Magnus, Tactician and the Darksteel Colossus I put onto the battlefield with Magnus's attack trigger, how much mana will it cost me to attack with both creatures?
A: You only need to pay
for the Magnus. Since the Colossus it put onto the battlefield already attacking, it gets around Ghostly Prison for this combat. Next turn you would need to pay for Magnus and another for Colossus if you wanted to attack that same player with both. However, if Magnus dropped in another creature attacking, it can get around paying for Ghostly Prison for that turn like the Colossus did in the previous turn.Q: My opponent's Valki, God of Lies is currently copying the Tarmogoyf it exiled from my hand. If I Murder the Valki-goyf, do I get my Tarmogoyf back to my hand? Or does it stay exiled as the Valki no longer has any of its original abilities?
A: Valki's enter the battlefield trigger sets up an effect that has a duration that ends when Valki leaves the battlefield. It doesn't care if Valki has lost all its abilities or if it's no longer a copy of Valki. Once this object leaves the battlefield, the exiled card gets returned to its owner's hand.
Q: If I give Megatron, Destructive Force deathtouch with a spell like Poison the Blade, is 1 damage now considered lethal, or do I still need to deal damage equal to blocking creatures toughness to deal excess damage?
A: Deathtouch is considered when determining excess damage. Megatron with Deathtouch only needs to deal 2 damage no matter a creature's toughness to have the ability to deal excess damage: 1 to the creature and 1 excess damage.
Q: I cast Dauntless Bodyguard choosing the Brutal Cathar that is already on the battlefield. Later the Cathar transforms into Moonrage Brute, can I sacrifice the Bodyguard to give indestructible to the Moonrage Brute?
A: As far as the game is concerned, the chosen creature is still the same object regardless of which face is up, and it can be given indestructible by the Bodyguard.
Q: I control Optimus Prime, Hero, ten 1/1 Squirrel tokens, and no other creatures. At the end of the turn do I get to bolster all ten squirrels?
A: You do not. If multiple creatures are tied for lowest toughness, only one creature gains the +1/+1 counters from bolster, but you do get to choose which one benefits.
Q: I have five 2/2 Zombie tokens and my opponent controls Defense of the Heart. When Defense of the Heart triggers during my opponent's upkeep, I flash out Overcharged Amalgam sacrificing a token and targeting the Defense of the Heart Trigger. I know I stopped my opponent from getting two creatures from their library this turn, but does the opponent still have to sacrifice the Defense of the Heart, or did I only delay my doom by one turn?
A: You are still doomed. Sacrificing the Defense of the Heart is in the middle of the trigger and you countered the whole trigger. If you still have lots of creatures, the Defense of the Heart will just trigger again during your opponent's next upkeep.
May the late 80s to early 90s nostalgia be as good for you,
- Justin Hovdenes AKA Hovey
Level 2 Magic Judge
Rapid City, SD
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