Published on 11/12/2012
An Arsenal of Goodies
(not the football kind)
By Eli Shiffrin, Carsten Haese, and James Bennett
This Article from: James Bennett
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 Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes.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.
And nothing can ever be the same
And remember that if you've got more questions, you always can send them to us by using the handy "Email Us" button, by sending an email to moko@cranialinsertion.com , or by tweeting at @CranialTweet, all of which will get you answers and possibly even get your question featured in a future article!
Q: If I control Cast Through Time and cast Temporal Mastery, will it rebound? Or does rebound require that it be exiled by the rebound ability?
A: Rebound involves a replacement effect; it replaces the event of putting the card into the graveyard as the last step of resolution with the event of exiling it and setting up a delayed trigger (which will go off in your next upkeep and let you cast the spell again). But Temporal Mastery never gets to the point of being put into the graveyard; it moves itself off the stack during its resolution. So when Temporal Mastery takes a jump to the left — err, to the exile zone — rebound won't get to kick in and say "let's do it again!"
Q: Suppose I have an Ethersworn Canonist, and on my opponent's turn he has a Rift Bolt come out of suspend. Later that turn, he wants to suspend another Rift Bolt; since he's already cast a non-artifact spell this turn, won't the Canonist stop that? Or does suspending not count as casting?
A: Suspending isn't casting (it's a special action), but in this case the Canonist will put a stop to it anyway. The rules for the suspend ability specifically state that a player can only suspend at a time when they could begin to cast the spell that has the suspend ability. Since this isn't one of those times — Ethersworn Canonist is getting in the way — it's not a legal time to suspend. So he'll have to wait for a moment when he's not getting canonized to suspend his next Bolt.
Q: I've got Skullbriar, the Walking Grave with three +1/+1 counters on it, and I control Doubling Season. If Skullbriar dies, will Doubling Season cause it to end up with six counters (when the original three get put back on in the graveyard)?
A: 'Tis the season... but not for this, unfortunately. Skullbriar doesn't lose and re-gain its counters when it moves between zones; it just keeps them the whole time. So it's not getting a new set of counters placed on it, and Doubling Season won't see anything to do.
Q: My opponent has Bridge from Below in his graveyard, and sacrifices a Narcomoeba to flash back Cabal Therapy. If, in response, I activate Scavenging Ooze to exile the Bridge, will he still get tokens?
A: Nope, he's just going to have a bridge to nowhere. Bridge from Below has what's called an "intervening if" clause: it's that bit that says "if Bridge from Below is in your graveyard". That gets checked when the ability triggers, and checked again when it tries to resolve; if Bridge from Below isn't in the graveyard anymore at that point, the ability will pop off the stack without doing anything.
Also artfully complex
A: Only if you want them to be exiled forever. Angel of Serenity's enters-the-battlefield ability has a slight wording quirk — it says "you may" exile. So you choose targets when putting the ability on the stack, and then when the ability resolves you choose whether you want them to get exiled. If you decide to exile them, and the leaves-the-battlefield ability has already resolved, then those cards are gone forever. But if you choose not to exile them, then nothing happens to them at all.
Q: If I name a card with scavenge — say, Dreg Mangler — with Pithing Needle, will its scavenge ability get shut down? Or does Pithing Needle only work on things that are on the battlefield?
A: No dregs will be mangled in the production of this answer, because Pithing Needle stops any activated ability of anything with the chosen name, regardless of what zone it happens to be in.
Q: If my opponent's creature that's enchanted with Rancor dies, can I Cremate to get rid of the Rancor? Or do I not get a chance to before the Rancor moves to the stack?
A: While I'm not really sure how you'd burn up an abstract concept, you can Cremate a Rancor just fine this way. Rancor (the card) itself doesn't get put on the stack; its triggered ability does, and Rancor stays in the graveyard until that ability resolves. So you can simply respond to the trigger with Cremate, and Rancor will be exiled. Then its own ability won't be able to return it to hand.
Q: If my opponent reveals a Leyline of Sanctity in his opening hand, can I use Stifle to keep it from coming into play?
A: There are a couple problems here. First of all, the effect that causes your opponent to start with the Leyline in play isn't an activated or triggered ability, which means it's not a legal target for Stifle. Second, it happens at a time when no player has permission to cast spells, so even if it were somehow a trigger, you still wouldn't be able to cast the Stifle (and you probably wouldn't be able to generate the mana to pay for it, either).
Q: I control Raking Canopy in a Two-Headed Giant game, and some flying creatures attack my teammate. Will my Canopy trigger?
A: It will, because those creatures aren't attacking your teammate; in 2HG, creatures attack a team, and so Raking Canopy sees them, shouts "they're coming right for us!" and does its thing.
Q: Could I use Nissa Revane's last ability to cast an Elf tribal like Elvish Promenade?
A: Nissa's ability specifies "Elf creature cards", which means just that: no non-creature Elf tribals. And she doesn't actually cast anything, she just puts the cards directly onto the battlefield. And just in case, rule 304.4 makes sure an instant can never enter the battlefield, and 307.4 does the same for sorceries; if an instant or sorcery ever would somehow be entering the battlefield, those rules make sure it just stays where it is instead.
Q: If I have a bunch of creatures with exalted, along with an Ulvenwald Tracker, can I declare an attack with only one creature, let all the exalted triggers pump it up, then use Tracker to have it fight something before blockers get declared?
A: Sure. Players always get priority after a spell or ability resolves, and a step or phase of the turn doesn't end until everyone passes with the stack empty. So after all the exalted triggers resolve, you'll get priority at least one more time before the game moves on to the the declare blockers step, and you can use that opportunity to have your Tracker do its "let's you and him fight" routine.
Q: If my opponent uses Jiwari, the Earth Aflame's channel ability, will it deal damage to a creature enchanted with Spirit Mantle?
A: The damage will be prevented. Normally, the word "creatures" would refer only to creature permanents on the battlefield, but protection uses a broader definition: having protection from a card type (or a subtype, like Elite Inquisitor's protection from Vampires, Werewolves and Zombies) will apply to any card of that type, regardless of what zone it's in.
Q: Suppose I control a Lotus Bloom, and five other artifacts, but nothing else that produces mana. Could I still cast Furnace Dragon?
A: Yup! During the process of casting a spell, you calculate what you'll have to pay for it (including any increases or reductions due to effects like affinity) only once. You don't continuously go back and recalculate if things change later in the process. And that part comes before the part where you activate mana abilities, so at the time you determine Furnace Dragon's cost you have six artifacts, meaning the Dragon's cost will be RRR. Then you can sacrifice the Lotus Bloom to generate that mana and pay the cost.
May or may not be studying
John Rhys-Davies' acting career
John Rhys-Davies' acting career
A: Flash is a pretty broken card, but not quite that broken. Everything in its text box happens during the resolution of Flash, which is a time when you can't cast any other spells or activate any other abilities. So by the time you'd even have a chance to Cloudshift or do something else, the creature would already be gone.
Q: My opponent has Silverblade Paladin paired with another creature, and he attacks with both. If I use Divine Deflection to kill the Paladin in the first combat damage step, will the creature it was paired with still get to deal damage again in the second combat damage step?
A: Nope! Once the Paladin's dead, the creature it was paired with loses double strike. And when a creature loses double strike between the two combat damage steps, it won't deal any damage in the second combat damage step.
Q: Can I use Havengul Lich's ability to get a Dryad Arbor out of the graveyard?
A: Nope. Dryad Arbor is both a land and a creature, and when something is a land and some other type, you can never cast it, only play it as a land. So Havengul Lich's permission to cast doesn't do anything. And it doesn't give any permission to play lands, so you can't play the Dryad Arbor as a land.
Q: If there's already a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben on the battlefield, and I cast another one, will my Champion of the Parish still get a counter? Or does the legend rule kick in before the Champion can trigger?
A: The Champion's ability triggers as soon as the second Thalia enters the battlefield, though it doesn't go on the stack just yet. In general, whenever a player would get priority, first any state-based actions (like the legend rule) are applied, then any abilities that have triggered are put on the stack. And since the Champion only cares that a Human entered the battlefield (it doesn't care if that Human sticks around), it'll end up getting a counter.
Q: If Phyrexian Revoker or Pithing Needle is naming Manriki-Gusari, can it still destroy an Equipment?
A: Manriki-Gusari can't ever destroy an Equipment. But the creature it's equipped to can — Manriki-Gusari grants an activated ability to the creature. So as long as it's equipped to a creature, that creature can tap to destroy an Equipment (but the Manriki-Gusari can't be moved to another creature with its equip ability, or equip to a creature if it's unattached, since equip is an ability of Manriki-Gusari itself).
Q: In a Commander game, if my opponent casts his commander and I Desertion it, can he choose to send it to the command zone to keep me from getting it?
A: You are going to gain a commanding advantage here. Desertion's effect, and the command-zone effect, are both replacement effects, and the rules define what happens when multiple replacement effects can apply. Specifically, self-replacement effects — ones that involve a spell or ability replacing part or all of its own effect — always get applied first, before any other replacement effects. And Desertion has a self-replacement effect: it replaces the normal event of countering the spell with putting the card onto the battlefield under your control. At which point the command-zone replacement effect is no longer applicable, since the commander isn't being put into a graveyard or the exile zone.
Q: If I control both Contamination and Chromatic Lantern, what kind of mana can my lands produce?
A: Only black. Chromatic Lantern gives your lands an ability to tap for any color, but if you choose a color other than black, Contamination's replacement effect jumps in and says "paint it black".
That's all for this week, but be sure to tune in next Monday for yet another issue of Cranial Insertion!
- James Bennett
About the Author:
James Bennett is a Level 3 judge based out of Lawrence, Kansas. He pops up at events around Kansas City and all over the midwest, and has a car he can talk to.
Rhadamanthus
The counters on Skullbriar, the Walking Grave do affect his P/T when he's in zones other than the battlefield. In your example, he'll be 11/11 in the graveyard and Desecrator Hag will grab him over Griselbrand. Note that Skullbriar won't retain the counters when he moves to your hand, as specified by his ability.
#2
• Date: 2012-11-13 • Time: 08:32:06 •
I thought it might be interesting to point out that although lotus bloom can cast furnace dragon w/ 5 other artifacts LED can't.
#3
• Date: 2012-12-09 • Time: 14:22:16 •
Very nice article :D
I have a question regarding the creature: Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
having it in my graveyard, with 10 +1/+1 counters, along with a Griselbrand, will be relevant when I cast, say, Desecrator Hag. Thus I get the Walking Grave?
(I guess yes... but you know... asking wise men...)