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Published on 01/06/2025

Don't Copy Me Bro

By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, and Justin Hovdenes
This Article from: Justin Hovdenes

Cranial Translation
Deutsch Français

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I've helped many a player or storekeep become a judge. Guiding them through things they should know, having them help me run events, giving them needed feedback, and eventually giving them the old written judge test. Although tests have changed a lot over the years, I still have five areas of the Comprehensive Rules I like to make sure those looking to become judges know.

1) Layers (I did an article over this HERE.)
2) Triggers vs replacement effects (I did an article over this HERE.)
3) The steps to casting a spell (I did an article over this HERE.)
4) Alternative costs vs additional costs (I did an article over this HERE.)
5) Copying, casting copies, and copies becoming permanents. Oh look, this is today's article!

As a bonus sixth area, I have test taking skills, that can be found HERE.

If you have any Magic questions burning at the back of your brain, you can send them to us. We may even use them in a future article. If you have a short question, you can send it to us via our Twitter account at @CranialTweet, and you can send us longer questions at moko@cranialinsertion.com .

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Let's start with the oldest of these three, copying spells on the stack. This goes all the way back to Fork, but examples of this type of copying come in a huge variety of forms: Bonus Round, Chandra, the Firebrand's second loyalty ability, Dualcaster Mage, Finale of Promise if its X is 10 or more, etc.

Copying an instant or sorcery spell on the stack will almost always do the following:

• Have the same targets (but usually the spell or ability making the copy will allow you to change targets)
  
• Cost nothing additional to play (as it's not being cast)
  
• Copies any value for X
  
• Will have the same modes as those that are copied
  
• Not only do you not have to pay additional cost, you can't even if you want to, as the additional costs are also copied
  
• Alternative costs of the original spell are also copied
  
• These are not cast, so they don't trigger cast abilities nor do they count toward the number of spells cast this turn
  
• Choices made on resolution are not copied as they haven't happened yet (for example naming a card for Cranial Extraction)

Q: Nathaniel has responded to Alice's overloaded Cyclonic Rift with a Counterspell. Alice responds to that with Twincasting her own Cyclonic Rift. Will the copy made by Twincast be Overloaded?

A: The answer is...

A: Yes, but only if Alice pays .
B: Yes, but only if Alice pays .
C: Yes and she doesn't need to pay anything additional.
D: The copy won't be overloaded no matter how much she pays.
E: Overloaded Cyc-rift? Must be a game of Commander.

The answer is

C.

Overload is an alternative cost which gets copied by Twincast, no additional payment needed.

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Q: Alfred casts four Ornithopters one after another. Alfred follows that up with casting Brain Freeze. After Brain Freeze and all of its copies resolve, Alfred casts a second Brain Freeze. Assuming nothing else happens this turn and Alfred aimed all the Brain Freezes at Nancy, how many cards will Nancy have milled by the end of this turn?

A: The answer is...

A: 30
B: 33
C: 45
D: 48
E: Numbers too high, it's like eating ice cream too fast, Brain Freeze!

The answer is

B.

When the first Brain Freeze is cast, it copies itself four times, once for each Ornithopter. Nancy 15 mills cards, 3x4 copies plus 3 for the original spell. When the second Brain Freeze is cast, it copies itself five times, once for each Ornithopter and once for the first Brain Freeze that was cast. Nancy mills 18 more cards, 3x5 copies plus 3 for the second Brain Freeze. The copies are not cast, so they do not increase the "storm count".

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Q: Nigel casts Fling sacrificing a 5/5 Beast token and aims it at Arthur's 10/10 Eldrazi token. Nigel holds priority after casting the Fling, and casts Fork targeting the Fling. Will Nigel have to sacrifice a second 5/5 Beast token to it if he wants to kill the Eldrazi token?

A: The answer is...

A: No, he only has to sacrifice the token if he wants to.
B: No, he won't need to, and can't sacrifice the token to the Fling made by Fork.
C: Yes, he will need to sacrifice the token if he wants to cast the second Fling.
D: This won't work, Fork can't copy spells with required additional costs.
E: That is quite the catapult, throwing 5/5 Beasts.

The answer is

B.

The copy made by Fork copies the information of what was sacrificed to the original Fling. In total, Nigel will only need to sacrifice one creature to deal two bouts of 5 damage.

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Q: Amber casts Doublecast, then after it resolves she casts Blaze with X equal to 10, aiming at her opponent Natalie. She also aims the copy at Natalie. How much total damage will Natalie take this turn from Blaze and the copy of Blaze?

A: The answer is...

A: 20
B: 10 plus however much Amber pays into the X of the copy of Blaze
C: 10
D: 13 mana you say? Hope that's enough to win.

The answer is

A.

The copy of Blaze will have an X equal to 10, as it copies that value from the original. Amber can't choose a different value for X, and she can't add mana to it to increase its value. Natalie will take a total of 20 damage.

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Q: Amy casts Kolaghan's Command choosing to return the Tarmogoyf from her graveyard to her hand and to deal 2 damage to Noah's Llanowar Elves. While the Command is on the stack, Noah responds with Twincast on the Command. Noah currently has no creatures in his graveyard. Which of the following can he choose to do with his copy?

A: The answer is...

A: Deal 2 damage to Amy.
B: Destroy target artifact instead of returning a creature from his graveyard to his hand.
C: Make Amy discard a card instead of dealing 2 damage to any target.
D: Put Amy's Tarmogoyf from her graveyard into her hand.
E: None of the above, because Noah doesn't have a legal target in his graveyard to return to his hand.

The answer is

A.

Noah can't change the modes when copying Kolaghan's Command this way. Even though he has no legal target for the first mode, he still makes the copy and it just keeps the illegal target. He can still change the target for fourth mode. The copy of Kolaghan's Command will still resolve doing as much as possible, because it still has at least one legal target.

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Next let's move onto making a copy of a card, and then casting that copy. The oldest example I can think of is Isochron Scepter, but examples of this type of copying also come in a huge variety of forms: God-Eternal Kefnet's second ability, Kaervek, the Punisher, Narset, Enlightened Exile, Spellbinder, etc.

Copying an instant or sorcery card and then casting it almost always do the following:

• Cost mana to cast unless the ability lets you cast the copy without paying its mana cost.
  
• Values for X will either be what you paid into them if you are not casting them without paying their mana cost, or X will be zero if casting them without paying their mana cost.
  
• You may choose modes as though casting them normally
  
• You may choose to pay optional additional costs and you must pay any required additional costs.
  
• Alternative costs may be paid, if the copy is NOT being cast without paying its mana cost.
  
• These ARE cast, so they trigger cast abilities and they do count toward the number of spells cast this turn.

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Q: Alberto controls Isochron Scepter with an Orim's Chant imprinted on it. If Alberto activates the Scepter to cast Orim's Chant, can he kick it?

A: The answer is...

A: Yes, but he must pay to do so.
B: Yes, but he must pay to do so.
C: Yes, and it costs him no additional mana to do so.
D: No, Orim's Chant can't be kicked when cast with Isochron Scepter.
E: Scepter lock? Sounds fun.

The answer is

A.

Optional additional costs like kicker may be paid when you copy a card and then cast it without paying its mana cost.

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Q: Norris controls God-Eternal Kefnet and drew his first card of the turn during his opponent's turn because he cast Consider. The card he drew was Blaze and he chose to reveal it. If Norris wants to cast the copy of Blaze to kill Allen's 5/5 Beast token, what's the minimum amount of mana it would cost Norris to do so?

A: The answer is...

A:
B:
C: It will cost no mana at all, it's free.
D: Norris can't cast a sorcery during Allen's turn.
E: Kefnet considers Blaze an answer to Beasts.

The answer is

B.

Kefnet's second ability doesn't cast the copy for free, but does reduce the cost by . Since Blaze needs to deal 5 damage at minimum to kill the Beast token, X needs to be 5, making the minimum amount of mana needed to kill the Beast. Kefnet's second ability makes you cast the copy immediately, which bypasses timing restrictions like sorcery speed.

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Q: Amber controls Kaervek, the Punisher and a Swamp. Her opponent Nicholas controls a Plains. If Amber triggers Kaervek's crime ability by casting Cruel Edict to exile the Massacre in her graveyard, can she cast the copy? And if so, how much mana will it cost her?

A: The answer is...

A: Yes she can, but only for as Massacre's free cast only works from hand.
B: Yes, she can cast it for or without paying its mana cost.
C: No.
D: Yes she can, but only for as Kaervek's ability is an alternative cost and you can't use two alternative costs at the same time.
E: Kaervek commits crimes, he is cruel, and is even guilty of massacres, one might call him merciless.

The answer is

B.

Massacre's free cast can work from any zone you're allowed to cast it from. Massacre's free cast is an alternative cost and you can't use two alternative costs with the same spell at the same time, but Kaervek's crime trigger isn't an alternative cost, so this works just fine.

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On rare occasions you can copy a permanent spell on the stack. A simple example is the last activated ability of Lithoform Engine, but examples of this type of copying also come in a huge variety of forms: Brass Knuckles, Echoes of Eternity's second ability, Double Major, See Double's first mode, etc.

Copying a permanent spell on the stack will almost always do everything that copying a instant or sorcery spell on the stack does, plus the following: As a permanent spell copy resolves, it ceases being a copy of a spell and becomes a token permanent. This isn't considered creating a token, so cards like Doubling Season won't notice or affect it.

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Q: Alice controls Reflections of Littjara naming Golem, and Parallel Lives. Alice casts Precursor Golem. After it and all triggers have resolved, how many of each type of Golem will Alice have?

A: The answer is...

A: Precursor Golem, Precursor Golem token, and eight 3/3 Golem tokens.
B: Precursor Golem and two 3/3 Golem tokens.
C: Precursor Golem, two Precursor Golem tokens, and twelve 3/3 Golem tokens.
D: Precursor Golem, two Precursor Golem Tokens, and eight 3/3 Golem tokens.
E: One Golem, 2 Golems, 3 Golems, getting drowsy, 4 Golems, 5 GolemZZZZZZzzzzz...

The answer is

A.

The copy of Precursor Golem is a spell that becomes a token as it resolves. It will not get doubled by Parallel Lives. The original Precursor Golem will make four 3/3 Golem tokens and the copy of Precursor Golem will make another four 3/3 Golem tokens for a total of eight 3/3 Golem tokens.

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Well, it took nearly four and half years and six articles, but we made it through my level 1 study guide. Hope you find it useful, and good luck!

- Justin Hovdenes AKA Hovey
Level 2 Magic Judge
Rapid City, SD

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