Published on 08/26/2024
A Few of My Favorite Cards
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, and Justin Hovdenes
This Article from: Nathan Long
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Plainswalk? PLAINSWALK?
But enough personal anecdotes for now - let's move on to the rules questions. Remember, you can send in your questions, and we'll send you an answer back. We may even use your questions in a future article. If you have a short question, you can find us at @CranialTweet, but if you have a longer question, you can send us an e-mail at moko@cranialinsertion.com .
Q: I cast Wildfire Howl, choose to gift a card and targeting my opponent's Harvestrite Host. In response, my opponent casts Salvation Swan and exiles their Host. What happens when my Howl resolves?
A: The Howl doesn't resolve and no damage is dealt. If you cast Wildfire Howl without a gift, then the spell doesn't have a target. But if you choose to cast it with a gift, that makes it a targeted spell. Since the gifted Howl's only target is illegal when it goes to resolve, the entire spell does nothing. No damage is dealt, and your opponent won't draw a card.
Q: I have The Infamous Cruelclaw in play. I attack, deal combat damage to my opponent, and exile a Duress. Can I just cast it by paying one black mana, or do I have to discard a card?
A: You must discard a card to cast it. The Cruelclaw's trigger gives you permission to cast the exiled card, but only by using its alternative cost of discarding a card instead of paying its mana cost. You can't choose to cast it normally, so even if you have the black mana available, if you want to cast the exiled Duress, you'll have to discard a card.
Q: My opponent is attacking with Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor. I have a Notion Thief in my hand. Can I wait to see if they'll pay 1 life to draw a card, then flash in my Notion Thief to steal their draw?
A: No, that won't work. The choice of whether or not to pay 1 life to draw a card happens while Gix's triggered ability is resolving. No one can do anything in between your opponent choosing to pay 1 life and your opponent drawing the card. If you want your Thief to have a chance at stealing the draw, you have to flash in the Thief before the trigger resolves - but if you do that, your opponent will likely choose not to pay 1 life when the trigger resolves so you won't steal their card draw.
Q: I cast Season of the Burrow, choosing the third mode to return Solemnity to the battlefield. Will Solemnity's ability prevent the indestructible counter from being added, or will it enter with the indestructible counter?
A: It still gets the indestructible counter. Solemnity has to be on the battlefield for its ability to work. It won't apply if Solemnity itself is entering with a counter, so Solemnity will return with an indestructible counter on it.
Q: Would the combination of Djeru, With Eyes Open and the emblem from Ajani Steadfast protect my planeswalkers from damage?
A: Yep, those two cards will effectively prevent all damage that would be dealt to your planeswalkers. If your planeswalker would be dealt damage, you choose the order the two prevention effects are applied in. You can apply the effect from the emblem first, preventing all but one damage, then apply the effect from Djeru to prevent that last point of damage and your planeswalkers won't take any damage.
Q: I control Ocelot Pride. Earlier in the turn, I cast Royal Treatment targeting the Pride to give it a Royal Role token. Assuming I've gained life this turn and I have the city's blessing, during my end step, do I get a second Royal Role token?
A: Yes you do. The Pride will make a copy of all of the tokens that entered the battlefield this turn, not just creature tokens. The Royal Role token was created by you this turn, so you get a copy of it, and you can attach it to whatever creature you want. Just remember that you can't control two or more Role tokens attached to the same creature at a time, so attaching a second Royal Role token to the Pride means you will lose one of them.
Q: My opponent controls Chalice of the Void with one counter on it. If I want to cast Three Steps Ahead, will the Chalice counter my spell?
A: Yep, your spell is going to end up countered no matter how many modes you choose. While you have to cast Three Steps Ahead with one or more modes chosen, the mana value of the spell is still derived from the base mana cost, which is
. Even when you cast it with one or more modes, the mana value of Three Steps Ahead stays at 1, so your opponent's Chalice of the Void will trigger and will counter Three Steps Ahead.Not only story relevant, but a repeatable
combat trick that makes combat annoying
for your opponent.
combat trick that makes combat annoying
for your opponent.
Q: Do I have to exile a card from a graveyard to make a Food token with Hazel's Brewmaster's triggered ability?
A: The ability says to exile "up to one" target card from a graveyard, so you're free to target zero cards. If you do, while nothing is exiled when the trigger resolves, you will create a Food token.
If you do choose a target for the triggered ability, but that target is illegal when it goes to resolve (for example, it was exiled with Keen-Eyed Curator's ability in response), since the only target is illegal when it goes to resolve, none of the effects happen and no Food token is created. If you want to ensure that you'll make the Food token, don't target a card in the graveyard with the Brewmaster's triggered ability.
Q: If I have Bello, Bard of the Brambles in play and I cast Warstorm Surge on my turn, will the Surge trigger when it enters the battlefield?
A: Yep, the Surge will trigger off of itself entering the battlefield. There's never a point where Warstorm Surge is on the battlefield and not being affected by Bello's ability, so Warstorm Surge is going to enter as a creature. And since Warstorm Surge entered as a creature, its ability will trigger and you'll be able to deal 4 damage to any target.
Q: If I have Xenagos, God of Revels and Bello, Bard of the Brambles in play, is Xenagos a creature or not?
A: That depends on the timestamp between Xenagos and Bello. Both cards have effects that apply in the same layer (layer 4, for those who are curious), and since there's no dependency, we just apply them in the order they entered. If Xenagos entered, then Bello, as long as it's your turn, Xenagos will be a 4/4 creature no matter what your devotion is.
Things become more interesting if Xenagos entered after Bello entered, because now Xenagos has a later timestamp. If your devotion is high enough, then Xenagos is still just a 4/4 creature. But if your devotion is low enough that Xenagos isn't a creature, then your Xenagos is not a creature due to its own effect, and Xenagos is just a legendary enchantment with its normal abilities, plus haste and the trigger from Bello (which won't be too useful since Xenagos isn't a creature).
Q: What happens if I cast Warp World and one of the cards I reveal is a battle?
A: It stays in your library. Warp World will only let you put artifacts, lands, creatures, and enchantments onto the battlefield. A battle is none of those types, so it won't be put onto the battlefield when Warp World resolves and it will end up on the bottom of your library.
Q: I activate the last ability of Leonardo da Vinci, discarding a Beast of Burden. Is the token a 0/2 or is its power and toughness equal to the number of creatures in play?
A: It's a base 0/2. Since Leonardo's ability sets the power and toughness of the token it creates, the Beast of Burden token doesn't have the ability that the original card has that sets its power and toughness. The token is a 0/2 creature and won't care about how many creatures are in play.
Q: I'm in a multiplayer game, and I cast Consumed by Greed. If I want to gift a card, do I have to choose the same opponent that I'm targeting with the Greed's effect, or can I choose a different opponent?
A: You're free to choose a different opponent. As part of choosing to gift a card when you cast Consumed by Greed, you'll choose one of your opponents to draw a card when the spell resolves. That doesn't have to be the same opponent that the Greed is targeting, so if two of you are teaming up on one player, you can choose one opponent to draw a card, but target a different opponent to sacrifice the creature.
One of my original commanders.
I still have this deck.
I still have this deck.
Q: My opponent owns a Thought Vessel. I enchant it with Frenzied Fugue. If I end my turn with nine cards in hand, will I have to discard, or will the Vessel prevent me from discarding?
A: You're actually safe from discarding down to your maximum hand size. During your cleanup step, the first thing that happens is that you discard down to your maximum hand size, but you still control Thought Vessel, so you have no maximum hand size. After that, "until end of turn" and "this turn" effect wear off, and you lose control of Thought Vessel. But we're past the point where your maximum hand size matters, so you won't have to discard down to seven cards.
Q: I control Veyran, Voice of Duality and just resolved Gandalf the Grey. If I cast an instant spell, will I get two of the same trigger from Gandalf or do I have to pick two different modes?
A: You have to pick two different modes. Veyran isn't copying Gandalf's triggered ability, it's causing the ability to trigger an additional time. Since they're two separate triggers, you have to choose two different modes (since Gandalf says you have to choose a mode that hasn't been chosen) and you won't get the same mode twice.
Q: I control Donal, Herald of Wings and a Levitation. Does this mean that Donal will trigger off of any nonlegendary creature spell I cast?
A: No it doesn't. Levitation only affects creatures you control on the battlefield, not spells you control on the stack. Donal needs the creature spell on the stack to have flying, so having a Levitation in play won't affect Donal's trigger, since Levitation won't give flying to your creature spells on the stack.
Q: I control Blind Obedience and a Charismatic Conqueror. If my opponent casts a creature spell, will I get the Vampire token since they can't tap the creature when the Conqueror's trigger resolves?
A: No, you don't get the token, since Charismatic Conqueror doesn't trigger at all. The Conqueror requires the creature to enter the battlefield untapped under an opponent's control. Because of Blind Obedience, your opponent's creature is entering the battlefield tapped, which means the trigger condition for the Conqueror is not fulfilled and won't trigger at all.
Q: My opponent controls a Shard of the Nightbringer. If I cast Clone from my hand and copy the Shard, do I get its enter the battlefield trigger?
A: Yes you do. The Clone spell was cast, so if you Clone your opponent's Shard, the enter the battlefield trigger will trigger. It doesn't matter that it wasn't a Shard when you cast it, what matters is that the object was cast. Since Clone was cast, entering as the Shard means you get its enter the battlefield trigger.
Q: If I target my opponent's Sol Ring with the chapter I trigger of Welcome to . . ., will Sol Ring also lose the ability to tap for mana?
A: No it will not. The chapter I trigger just makes the targeted artifact into a 0/4 creature with defender. It doesn't say to remove any abilities from the artifact, so the artifact still has its normal abilities and their Sol Ring can still tap for mana (just be careful - since it's now a creature, it is affected by "summoning sickness").
Q: I control Shelob, Dread Weaver and Shelob, Child of Ungoliant. If I activate the first ability of Shelob, Dread Weaver, since it just says to put the counters on "Shelob", can I put the counters on Child of Ungoliant?
A: You cannot. Sometimes, a legendary creature will refer to a shortened version of its name. If that happens, you treat the shortened instance of the name as the full instance of the name. While the ability says to put the counters on "Shelob", since it's referring to a shortened version of its own name, it can only puts the counters on itself, Shelob, Dread Weaver, and not your other card with "Shelob" in the name.
That's it for this week. See you all again next week!
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