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Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
Back in 2021 I wrote an article about rules changes, which can be found HERE.
I thought it might be fun to revisit this idea with another 10 questions of which each will have at least 2 correct answers. The answer that is currently correct, and then at least one answer that used to be correct.
And as usual, if you have any questions about magic cards don't hesitate to send us a tweet @CranialTweet, or for the more in-depth questions an email to moko@cranialinsertion.com .
A: Only the Onulet
B: Both Onulet & Darksteel Gargoyle
C: Only Darksteel Gargoyle
D: Both creatures will survive
The current answer is
B.
Because of Sudden Spoiling, both Onulet and the Gargoyle lose indestructible until end of turn and then get destroyed by Damnation.
The old answer was
C.
There were two words that appeared to be keyword abilities that really were not. These were Indestructible and Unblockable. These were differentiated by being written as "this creature IS Indestructible" instead of other abilities that would simply just be written "Indestructible". If a creature's own abilities made it indestructible, then those could be removed by things like Sudden Spoiling. However, if they were granted by another source, then the Indestructible couldn't be removed because it wasn't an ability given to the permanent, but instead a description of how the rules treated the permanent.
This was super subtle and even judges got it wrong all the time. This led to two changes. Indestructible became an ability that could be granted so it worked more intuitively, and unblockable was retired and now cards say "can't be blocked".
Q: How many copies of a Legendary creature like Ramses Overdark can I run in Legacy deck?
A: The answer is...
A: 1
B: 4
C: as many as you want
The current answer is
B.
Legendary creatures are like any other non-basic card, you can run up to 4 in a normal constructed format.
The old answer was
A.
For a short while, from the introduction of Legend creatures in the set Legends until around the set Ice Age, you were not allowed to have more than one copy of the same Legend in your deck. This was changed as many people didn't realize it at the time, plus it made for too much variance in game play.
Q: If I Reality Ripple my opponent's Reveillark will they get to reanimate two creatures with low power from their graveyard?
A: The answer is...
A: Yes, but only if it is the opponent's turn.
B: Yes, but only if it it not the opponent's turn.
C: Yes.
D: No.
The current answer is
D.
When a permanent phases out, it doesn't leave the battlefield, it instead is treated as though it currently doesn't exist.
The old answer was
C.
Phasing has gone through many changes and was rather unintuitive during most of its history.
For a while, when a permanent phased out it actually left the battlefield, though it had a restriction that when it re-entered the battlefield it would not trigger enter the battlefield effects. This restriction did not stop leaves-the-battlefield effects, so yes, for a short while phasing out Reveillark would trigger its ability.
Q: I control a Volrath's Laboratory and have chosen Wall for its ability, can the Wall creatures it makes attack normally?
A: The answer is...
A: Yes.
B: No.
C: You can't choose Wall as a creature type for Volrath's Laboratory.
The current answer is
A.
Although most Walls have defender, having the type Wall does not give a creature the defender ability, so these tokens may attack like a normal creature.
The old answer was
B.
For a good chunk of Magic's history, the ability defender didn't exist. Any creature with the type Wall couldn't attack normally. During this time, gaining the type Wall meant that the creature couldn't attack anymore. This is why many cards that let you change a creature type would not allow you to choose Wall[/c].
They decoupled the rules baggage from the type Wall and added defender. This made the rules a little simpler and allowed them to make defenders that aren't Walls.
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'
Q: How many copies of Plague Rats can I run in my Legacy deck?
A: The answer is...
A: 1
B: 4
C: As many as you want.
The current answer is
B.
Unless banned, you may run up to 4 copies of any non-basic card in your Legacy deck.
The old answer was
C.
When Magic was first released you could run as many copies of any card as you wanted, and Plague Rats was designed with this in mind. Very quickly as tournaments started up, Tournament Organizers added a four-of rule to non-basic cards, and not long after that, Wizards of the Coast made it an official rule.
Q: My opponent blocks my attacking Bear Cub with their Gray Ogre, but before damage I tap their Ogre with Icy Manipulator. Which will still deal combat damage?
A: The answer is...
A: Only the Bear Cub deals combat damage
B: Only the Gray Ogre deals combat damage
C: Neither deals combat damage
D: Both still deal combat damage to each other
The current answer is
D.
A blocking creature that becomes tapped before combat damage will still deal combat damage.
The answer is
A.
From Alpha until Sixth Edition, if a blocking creature became tapped it wouldn't deal combat damage this turn. They even designed a few cards with this rule in mind, such as Master of Arms.
I've even seen a few people think this is how it still works, that tapped blockers can't deal damage, but for most people this is unintuitive. I think this rule got removed mostly because of how rare it was for this to happen.
Q: My commander is Sen Triplets and is currently on the battlefield. When Sen Triplets triggered during my upkeep I chose my only opponent as its target. The opponent revealed the only card in their hand, Lightning Bolt. Can I use the City of Brass I control to cast the Lightning Bolt?
A: The answer is...
A: Yes.
B: No.
C: Only if the City of Brass came from your opponent's deck.
D: You can't have City of Brass in a commander deck whose commander doesn't have all five colors.
The current answer is
A.
City of Brass can be in any Commander deck, even a colorless Commander deck like Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and can make any of the five colors independent of the colors of your commander, so yes you can make red with it to cast Lightning Bolt.
The old answer was
B.
When Commander first started (and was called Elder Dragon Highlander), the format had two rules that limited colors in your deck.
The first rule is still around today, no colored mana symbols can be on cards in your deck that aren't also on your commander.
The second rule was if you would make a color not of your commander, you make that much colorless mana instead.
It was slightly redundant to have two rules that limit color, but what really made the second rule go away was the introduction of the colorless mana symbol . If this rule still existed, cards like Thought-Knot Seer could have its cost paid with a City of Brass in Commander but in no other format. This would be weird, so the second rule was removed from Commander.
Q: During a Competitive tournament, Nathan offers his opponent Alice half of all the prizes he will win for the rest of the tournament if she concedes to him now, so he can make top 8. Alice declines the offer, saying she would rather see the winner be determined by play, not money. The two players then agree to play out the match. A spectator overhears this conversation and goes to get the Head Judge. The Head Judge comes to the table and confirms the story from both players. Which penalties should the Head Judge hand out?
A: The answer is...
A: Disqualify only Nathan
B: Disqualify only Alice
C: Disqualify both players
D: Game loss only for Nathan.
E: Match loss only for Nathan.
The current answer is
Either A. or E.
The normal penalty for Bribery is a Match Loss and only for players who make the offer or accept the offer. A player who refuses the offer is safe.
However, if the Head Judge believes the players who participate in a Bribe knew it was against the rules, the penalty is upgraded to Disqualification as its now Unsporting Conduct - Cheating.
The old answer was
C.
For a long time, if an opponent bribed you, the only safe response was to immediately call for a judge. Yes, clearly if you accepted a Bribe, you are guilty of accepting one and should be penalized. But if you said no to a bribe, it meant you may have considered the bribe, which was harmful to the integrity of the tournament (and you might say yes to a different or better bribe now or in the future).
The general feeling was that this was too harsh a punishment, especially because it's easy to think you were doing the right thing by refusing the bribe. Though this was clearly written out in the Infraction Procedure Guide, not everyone at a Competitive event would have read and/or remembered this rule.
Q: My opponent controls Trinisphere and I want to cast Death Rattle by delving 5 cards from my graveyard. How much mana will I have to pay to do so?
A: The answer is...
A:
B:
C: You can't delve more than 3 cards from your graveyard against Trinisphere.
The current answer is
A.
Delve is paying the mana symbols in the cost by exiling cards from your graveyard and therefore counts for Trinisphere.
The old answer was
B.
Delve used to be an ability that reduced the cost to cast a spell. You can see the old reminder text on Death Rattle from either Future Sight or from Modern Masters. With the M14 rules change, to prepare for the reprinting of those abilities in M15 and Khans of Tarkir, delve and convoke were changed so that both moved from cost-reducing abilities to mana-paying abilities.
Trinisphere is always applied after all cost reducers, so delve couldn't sneak around Trinisphere before this rules change.
Bookmark this image.
(Click for B/W version)
Q: Fair warning, you can skip this question if you like. This is a super corner case question about rules that don't apply anymore.
A: 1/1 green Snake with no abilities
B: 2/2 green Snake with no abilities
C: 1/1 green Snake with trample
D: 2/2 green Snake with trample
E: 2/2 green Snake with trample & swampwalk
The current answer is
B.
This is a layers question. In layer 4, Wraith gets overridden to Snake. In layer 5, black gets overridden to green. In layer 6, the creature gains trample for being green (older time stamp first on Deus), then it loses all abilities to Snakeform. In layer 7b, its power/toughness goes from 3/3 to 1/1. In layer 7c, it gets +1/+1, ending at 2/2. In the end, its a 2/2 green Snake with no abilities.
The old answer was
D.
This was also a layers question in the past, however, before M10, layer 5 was a combination of today's layers 5 and 6, and the old layer 6 was our current layer 7 (with a few of its sublayers in a different order with slightly different definitions).
In layer 4, Wraith gets overridden into Snake. In layer 5 (which includes color changing, adding abilities, and removing abilities), we end up with a dependency, because Runes of Deus is able to affect more permanents if Snakeform is applied first (which means Runes is dependent on Snakeform). Instead of applying them in timestamp order, we do Snakeform first and then do Runes of Deus. Bog Wraith loses swampwalk and becomes green, then Runes of Deus adds Trample. In Layer 6 (our current Layer 7), we end up with 1/1 base followed by getting +1/+1, for an end size of 2/2. In the end, its a 2/2 green Snake with trample.
Splitting the old layer 5 into a color-changing layer and an ability-adding/removing layer ended up reducing the number of unintuitive dependencies like these.
Well, that's all the rules changes I have for today.
I'm pretty sure the "Old Answer" for Question one is C instead of A. The Onulet is indestructible due to Shield of Kaldra, so Damnation can't destroy it. But the Darksteel Gargoyle loses its ability making it indestructible, so it will get destroyed just fine.
I'm pretty sure the "Old Answer" for Question one is C instead of A. The Onulet is indestructible due to Shield of Kaldra, so Damnation can't destroy it. But the Darksteel Gargoyle loses its ability making it indestructible, so it will get destroyed just fine.
I had meant to write down C, but accidentally wrote down A, good catch. (I fixed the answer in the article).
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