One pretty common question we see is about effects that let you cast a sorcery as though it had flash, and abilities that can only be activated “any time you could cast a sorcery.” The common English reading of that restriction might suggest that if you’re able to cast a sorcery on your opponent’s turn (perhaps due to Alchemist’s Refuge or Quicken), then you should also be able to activate Whip of Erebos or Birthing Pod at that time… right?

Unfortunately, in the quest to make cards say things that make sense to newer players, a bit of technical accuracy is lost. Even new players intuitively know what “any time you could cast a sorcery” means once they learn the difference between instants and sorcery cards. And in the super-majority of cases, this wording is totally accurate. The catch is that the true rules translation of “Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery” is “Activate this ability only during one of your main phases while the stack is empty and you have priority.”

An advanced player might think “Why don’t they just say that?? It’s so much clearer that way!!” It’s important to put yourself in the shoes of the average/new player, who aren’t as familiar with turn structure, priority, and the stack. Using that terminology would create more confusion than clarity, so they continue to use the simplified wording on cards, while keeping the complex wording in the comprehensive rules.

The other thing to remember is that, “You may cast sorcery cards as though they had flash” doesn’t say “You may activate abilities that can only be activated any time you could cast a sorcery as though they didn’t have that restriction.” 😉

Today’s Rules Tip written by Josh Stansfield