Published on 07/29/2024
Rabbits and Squirrels and Birds, Oh My!
or, Where the Mild Things Are
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, and Justin Hovdenes
This Article from: Carsten Haese
Cranial Translation
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It's all a part of my
harebrained scheme.
harebrained scheme.
Of course, just because these creatures are cute doesn't mean that they are uncomplicated, so let's take a look at some of the rules questions that come out of Bloomburrow. As always, if you have questions for us, you can email them to moko@cranialinsertion.com or send short questions via X to @CranialTweet. One of our writers will send you an answer, and your question might even appear in a future article!
Q: I cast Thought-Stalker Warlock and my opponent has lost life this turn, so when its "enters" ability resolves they reveal their hand and I see they only have a land in their hand. Do they discard it?
A: No. You're instructed to choose a nonland card from your opponent's hand, which you can't do, so they don't discard a card. The "otherwise" clause doesn't come into it because it only applies if your opponent hasn't lost life this turn, which they did.
Q: Does Ygra, Eater of All only apply to creatures on the battlefield, or creatures in all zones?
A: "Creatures" without an additional qualifier only describes objects that are on the battlefield. In any other zone, they would be described as creature spells (to describe objects on the stack) or as creature cards (to describe objects in any other zone).
Q: If I control Ygra, Eater of All, do creatures entering the battlefield trigger "enters" abilities that look for artifacts or Foods entering?
A: Absolutely! A creature is affected by Ygra's ability as soon as it arrives on the battlefield, so when the game checks what just entered the battlefield it sees that an artifact creature with the subtype Food has entered, and any enters abilities that look for artifacts or Foods will trigger accordingly.
Q: I control Ygra, Eater of All and play Season of Gathering with the second and third mode, choosing artifact for the second mode. Do the +1/+1 counters from lots of Foods going to the graveyard go onto Ygra in time for the third mode to see them?
A: Unfortunately not. Season of Gathering has to finish resolving completely before any triggered abilities get put on the stack, so Ygra's triggers don't even go on the stack, let alone resolve, before the third mode of Season of Gathering determines what the greatest power among creatures you control is.
Q: I control Glarb, Calamity's Augur and there's a Polliwallop on top of my library. Can I cast it even though it'll only cost three mana?
A: You can! The mana value of a card is only determined by the mana symbols in its mana cost. It has almost nothing to do with how much you have spent, will spend, or might spend on casting that card. Polliwallop's mana cost is
, so its mana value is 4 regardless of how much you end up paying to cast it. Q: Can the cost reduction from Eluge, the Shoreless Sea apply to the
in Portent of Calamity? A: Yup! When you cast Portent of Calamity, you first choose the value of X you want, and then you calculate the resulting total cost, taking into account the cost reduction from Eluge. If you control enough lands with a flood counter on them, Portent of Calamity might even be entirely free since the cost reduction also applies to the
in Portent of Calamity's cost.Q: What happens if I cast Mockingbird to copy a creature and my opponent destroys that creature in response?
A: You still get to copy something as long as there is another choice available on the battlefield. First off, you don't need to announce which creature you intend to copy with Mockingbird as you cast it. You only have to make that choice when Mockingbird resolves and its replacement effect is applied. If you opt to announce your choice in advance, you have to stick with that choice if your opponent doesn't respond, but in this case your opponent responded, so you get to make a different choice. However, that choice still has to fit within the mana value limit you've set when you cast Mockingbird. If the remaining creatures on the battlefield have mana values that are too large, you can't pay more mana now to increase that limit.
Don't look a gift card in the mouth
A: You choose. For permanent spells, the gift is given as part of an enters ability. After Scrapshooter has entered the battlefield, there are two separate enters triggers that want to go on the stack, and you control both of them, so you choose the order in which they go on the stack.
Q: If I cast Sazacap's Brew and don't promise the gift, can I still target Seedglaive Mentor with the +2/+0 effect to trigger its valiant ability?
A: No. For instant and sorcery spells with gift, you only choose targets for the "if the gift was promised" part if you actually promised the gift.
Q: I control an Innkeeper's Talent at level 2 and my opponent casts Fell targeting my Tender Wildguide that doesn't have a +1/+1 counter on it yet. If I respond by tapping Tender Wildguide to put a +1/+1 counter on it, does my opponent have to pay the ward cost for Fell now?
A: No. Gaining ward after a spell has been cast does nothing to that spell. Ward is a triggered ability that triggers at the moment the spell is cast. Fell was already cast, so the time for ward to trigger has come and gone.
Q: Does Innkeeper's Talent at level 3 help with loyalty counters on planeswalkers?
A: It does, both when the planeswalker enters the battlefield and when you activate a loyalty ability whose cost involves adding loyalty counters to the planeswalker. In both cases, you're putting counters on a permanent, so you put twice that many counters on it instead.
Q: If I use Season of Weaving's second mode twice to make two copies of Heartfire Hero, does its valiant ability trigger once or twice?
A: I have bad news for you: The valiant ability doesn't trigger at all here. Season of Weaving doesn't target at all. You simply choose an artifact or creature you control when the spell resolves. Since Heartfire Hero is not being targeted by Season of Weaving at all, its valiant ability doesn't trigger.
Q: For spells like Season of Weaving, do I choose the modes when I cast the spell or when it resolves?
A: Except for the fact that there's a budget for how you choose the modes, these spells behave like any modal spell. As such, you choose the modes at the time you cast the spell.
Q: My opponent exiled five cards with Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest, and those cards are still exiled at the beginning of the next end step. Does Dragonhawk deal 10 damage to me at once, or 2 damage five times? My Circle of Protection: Red wants to know.
A: It's 10 damage in a single event, so you'll only need to activate your Circle of Protection once to prevent all that damage.
This is otterly ridiculous!
A: Yup! Alania's "whenever you cast a spell" ability has three different conditions that can be fulfilled by three different spells. Note that the adjective "first" is attached to each of the three types of spells that the condition looks for, so it describes three different "firsts" rather than describing one "first" that can be achieved in one of three ways.
Q: When The Infamous Cruelclaw exiles a nonland card, can I cast it by paying its mana cost, or do I have to discard a card to cast it?
A: If you want to cast that card, you'll have to discard a card. You're casting the exiled card in the middle of the resolution of Cruelclaw's ability. The only thing that's giving you permission to do that is Cruelclaw's ability, and that permission comes with the alternative cost of discarding a card instead of paying the card's mana cost.
Q: If The Infamous Cruelclaw exiles a card with offspring, for example Iridescent Vinelasher, can I pay the offspring cost when I cast Iridescent Vinelasher by discarding a card?
A: Absolutely. Offspring is an additional cost, and additional costs can be combined with alternative costs. Note that the alternative cost doesn't automatically pay for the additional cost. To get the Vinelasher with the offspring token, your total cost is "discard a card,
". Q: If I cast Mind Spiral and promise the gift, but then I flash in Crafty Cutpurse so I get the token instead of my opponent, do I still get the extra tap/stun effect from Mind Spiral?
A: Sure. Mind Spiral's extra effect only checks whether the gift was promised. It doesn't check whether your opponent actually received the gift.
Q: If my opponent has hexproof or protection from a relevant color, can I still promise a gift to them?
A: Absolutely. To promise a gift, you simply choose an opponent who will eventually receive that gift. The opponent is not a target of the spell, so hexproof or protection doesn't interfere with this choice. For the same reason, having hexproof or protection doesn't stop that opponent from actually receiving the gift, either.
Q: If I control Scavenger's Talent at level 2 and I sacrifice it to satisfy my opponent's Thornplate Intimidator, does the level 2 ability still trigger?
A: Yes. A triggered ability that triggers when you sacrifice a permanent is a special case of a leaves-the-battlefield trigger. Such an ability looks back in time, so it triggers based on the game state that existed immediately prior to the event that triggered it. In that game state you controlled a level 2 Scavenger's Talent, so its ability triggers.
And that's it for our first look at Bloomburrow. Thanks for reading, and please come back next week for more Magic rules Q&A!
- Carsten Haese
About the Author:
Carsten Haese is a former Level 2 judge based in Toledo, OH. He is retired from active judging, but he still writes for Cranial Insertion and helps organize an annual charity Magic tournament that benefits the National MS Society.
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