Published on 12/05/2022
"Who" Are You?
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, and Justin Hovdenes
This Article from: Nathan Long
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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 looks like an unhappy owl.
But if you have a rules question you'd like to send to us, feel free to do so. We'll send you an answer back, and we may even use your question in a future article. If you have a short question, you can send it to our Twitter account at @CranialTweet, and if you have a longer question, you can send it to our e-mail at moko@cranialinsertion.com .
Q: If I Ghostly Flicker my Urza's Sylex, can I search for a planeswalker card with the Sylex's trigger?
A: Yep, you can. The Sylex's triggered ability will trigger any time it's exiled from the battlefield, not only if it's exiled to its own activated ability. Since the Sylex was exiled by the Flicker, its last ability will trigger and you'll be able to pay
to search for a planeswalker card to put into your hand.Q: If I attack with Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia, can I pick the same mode three times?
A: You cannot. Mishra doesn't say you can pick the same mode three times (compare Mishra to Fiery Confluence, which lets you pick the same mode multiple times), so you can only pick each mode one time each time it triggers, not the same mode multiple times.
Q: My opponent cast Blitz Automaton for its prototype cost. I exile it with the triggered ability of Skyclave Apparition. If my opponent removed the Apparition, will my opponent create a 3/3 token or a 7/7 token?
A: They'll have a 7/7 token. The Apparition cares about the mana value of the card in exile, not what its mana value was when it was last on the battlefield. Once the Automaton leaves the battlefield, it has its normal characteristics back (instead of its prototype stats), and when the Apparition leaves the battlefield, since the Automaton's mana value is 7, your opponent gets a 7/7 token.
Q: I control a Psychosis Crawler enchanted with a Curiosity. Will the Crawler's triggered ability cause Curiosity to trigger, and then loop and let me kill my opponent?
A: Nope, there's no combo here. The Crawler's trigger causes the opponent to lose life, not deal damage. Curiosity only triggers if the creature deals damage, so Curiosity will not trigger from the Crawler's triggered ability.
Q: I have a Titania, Voice of Gaea and an Ashaya, Soul of the Wild in play, and another one of my creatures dies. I think I should get a Titania trigger, but my opponent says I don't get a trigger. Who's correct?
A: Your opponent is correct. Titania will only trigger if a land card is put into your graveyard "from anywhere", which means that it needs to be a land card in the graveyard for Titania to trigger, not the zone it was in before it went to the graveyard. Ashaya doesn't affect the creature cards in your graveyard, so when the creature reaches the graveyard, it's no longer a land, which that means Titania will not trigger and you won't gain any life.
Q: I have an Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist on the battlefield and a Bloodsoaked Champion in my graveyard. If I attack with Ashnod, can I return the Champion with its activated ability and sacrifice it to Ashnod's triggered ability?
A: You sure can. Ashnod has a triggered ability, and you won't choose what creature to sacrifice (if anything) until that trigger is resolving. And as soon as you've declared Ashnod as an attacker, the raid ability of the Champion is enabled. You'll be able to respond to Ashnod's attack trigger by returning the Champion from your graveyard to the battlefield, then sacrifice the Champion when the trigger resolves to create a Powerstone token.
Q: I cast Elite Spellbinder, and I choose to exile my opponent's Colossal Badger from their hand. If my opponent wants to cast Dig Deep, then Colossal Badger, will they have to pay an additional
each time or just when they cast Dig Deep?A: Once the card leaves exile, it becomes a different object. Even if the card returns to exile later on, it's a different object and no longer affected by the Spellbinder's effect. So your opponent can cast Dig Deep from exile by paying an extra
to cast it, then when the Badger is on an adventure, it can be paid for like normal without being taxed by the Spellbinder.Just don't pet that owl.
Q: If I activate Castle Garenbrig's last ability, can I use that mana to turn Lair of the Hydra into a creature?
A: Only if the Lair is already a creature. The mana from the last ability can only be used to cast a creature spell or activate an ability of a creature. If you want to use the mana from the Castle's ability, you'd have to first turn the Lair into a creature (for example, by activating the ability with X=1), and once it's a creature, you'll be able to use the mana from the Castle to make the Lair into a bigger creature by activating its ability again.
Q: If I cast Hullbreaker Horror, will it trigger off of itself being cast and let me bounce one of my opponent's permanents?
A: It will not trigger. The Horror must be on the battlefield when you cast the spell in order for the Horror to trigger. Since the Horror is on the stack when you cast it, the Horror will not trigger off of itself being cast.
Q: If I cast Grief and target my opponent with its enter the battlefield trigger, but the only nonland card in their hand is Obstinate Baloth. Do I have to make them discard the Baloth, or can I choose for them to discard nothing?
A: Grief's trigger is not optional. If the opponent has a nonland card in their hand, you must choose for them to discard it, even if it's something you'd rather they didn't discard, like the Baloth.
Q: I cast Vexing Devil. If my opponent chooses to take the damage when the Devil's trigger resolves, can I respond by casting Village Rites and sacrificing the Devil?
A: You cannot. When the Devil's trigger resolves, it asks if any of your opponents want to take 4 damage. If one of them does, then the Devil is sacrificed. This is part of the Devil's enter the battlefield trigger resolving, not a reflexive trigger, so you can't do anything in between the opponent choosing to take the damage and the Devil being sacrificed. If you wanted the cards, you'd have to cast the Rites before the Devil's trigger resolves (and before knowing if anyone will take the damage or not).
Q: What happens if I put a flying counter on Gideon Blackblade while he's a creature?
A: During your turn, since Gideon is a creature, he'll have flying, so it will restrict what can block it when it attacks. When it's not your turn, Gideon won't be a creature, but it keeps the flying counter. But while the planeswalker Gideon will have flying from the flying counter, since Gideon isn't a creature, having flying won't mean very much. It can still be targeted and damaged like normal, and Gideon can still be attacked and damaged by nonflying creatures in combat.
In short - having the flying counter will be useful when Gideon is a creature on your turn, but not very useful on defense when he's not a creature on your opponent's turn.
Q: I cast a Genesis Wave, and among the cards I reveal, I reveal a Yavimaya Elder and a Pattern of Rebirth. Can I choose to attach the Pattern to the Elder, or do I have to choose another creature?
A: You'll have to choose another creature to attach it to. When you're choosing a creature to attach the Pattern to, you have to choose a creature that's already on the battlefield. The Elder is entering at the same time as the Pattern, so it's not on the battlefield yet and can't be chosen, so you'll have to choose a creature that's already on the battlefield to attach the Pattern to.
Ok, I think an owl statue is going to work out better.
Q: If I cast Glorious End on my previous turn, can I save myself by casting Teferi's Protection?
A: Nope, the Protection will not save you from losing the game here. The End's trigger isn't doing anything that protection helps against, so you having protection from everything won't be very useful. You'll still lose the game when the End's delayed trigger resolves at the end of turn.
Q: How does Teferi's Protection work in a game of Two-Headed Giant? Are me and my teammate completely protected?
A: Kind of. Only the player resolving the Protection will phase out their permanents and will have protection from everything. Their teammate's permanents are not affected, so the teammate's permanents will not phase out, nor will their teammate have protection from everything. However, Teferi's Protection also says your life total can't change, and that will apply to your team's life total. So while your teammate can be dealt damage, your team's life total won't be affected by that damage and will stay at the same number.
Q: If I cast Hurl Through Hell targeting my opponent's commander Evelyn, the Covetous, can I cast it before my opponent can move it to the command zone?
A: You may not. Immediately after Hurl Through Hell resolves, before you get priority, we check state-based actions. Since your opponent's commander was just put into exile, your opponent gets the chance to move it to the command zone. If they do, since Evelyn is no longer in exile, the Hurl's effect loses track of it and you're not able to cast their commander.
Q: I control Gluntch, the Bestower and a Generous Patron. If I choose for an opponent to put two +1/+1 counters on a creature they control, will my Patron trigger?
A: Nope, the Patron won't trigger. While you do control Gluntch's triggered ability, the chosen player is putting the counters on the creature, not you. Since you're not putting the counters on the opponent's creature, the Patron will not trigger and you won't get to draw a card.
Q: I have my commander Karona, False God and Veteran Soldier in play. If my opponent gains control of Karona and attacks, who gets the token?
A: Your opponent does. You control Veteran Soldier, but the Soldier gives the triggered ability to commanders you own. Even if you don't currently control Karona, you still own it, so it still gets the trigger from your Soldier. That means the player who attacked with Karona will get the tokens, not you.
Q: I made a copy of Wishclaw Talisman with Mishra, Eminent One's triggered ability, then activated the Talisman's ability and gave it to my opponent. Will the token still be sacrificed at the end of turn?
A: No, the token will stay on the battlefield. You can only sacrifice a permanent you control. When the trigger resolves during your end step, since you don't control the Talisman, you can't sacrifice it, and the token will remain on the battlefield under your opponent's control.
Q: I control Mishra, Eminent One and a Mindslaver. Can I make a copy of Mindslaver with Mishra's trigger, then sacrifice the token to activate its ability?
A: Yep, you can do that (and keep the original Mindslaver around for future turns). You might think that Mindslaver being legendary would be a problem, and normally, it would be. But Mishra's trigger gives the token a different name than the original artifact - it's named "Mishra's Warform". Since the token has a different name than the original Mindslaver, the legend rule won't apply, and you'll be able to activate the ability of the token to control your opponent during their next turn, but also keep the original Mindslaver around to be copied on your next turn.
That's all I have for you this week. We'll see you all again next week!
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