Category Archives: Casting / playing a spell or ability

Responding to Deathrite Shaman with Snapcaster Mage

Posted on June 17, 2013 by bimmerbot

Ahhh, the classic “Me firs- NO ME FIRST!” scenario in Magic. Remember folks, those who respond last, get to resolve first; a concept that NONE of the people in busy lines seem to grasp at my local amusement park. Following … Continue reading →

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Understanding Possibility Storm

Posted on June 5, 2013 by tnunez

Oh, the possibilities! Possibility Storm is already a favorite of mine because of the sheer hilarity and chaos it can cause. It’s also seeing play in several EDH decks for that same reason, and even made an appearance at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abilities, Casting / playing a spell or ability, Resolving spells and abilities, Triggered Abilities, Type & Subtypes | Tagged | Comments Off

Scavenge can’t target creatures with Protection.

Posted on May 27, 2013 by bimmerbot

Scavenge is a fairly flavorful ability for green and black, since they love dead creatures. Having the ability to turn your dead creatures into counters for your living creatures seems like a pretty good trade off. However, protection won’t help … Continue reading →

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You can’t tap a Cluestone for mana to activate its own “draw a card” ability.

Posted on May 17, 2013 by bimmerbot

There’s a small caveat in Magic: you can only pay any given cost for one ability or spell; you can’t use the same cost to pay for two separate abilities. That’s just not how life (or Magic) works. Very simple … Continue reading →

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Goblin Test Pilot only chooses randomly among legal targets.

Posted on May 16, 2013 by bimmerbot

Because of this card, I’m going to have to start carrying a random number generator (I also suggest all judges do so as well!). Goblin Test Pilot‘s ability says that it deals damage to “target creature or player chosen at … Continue reading →

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Melek doesn’t let you cast spells for free.

Posted on May 15, 2013 by bimmerbot

Melek, Izzet Paragon can do many things. One of the things that you might not realize is that it doesn’t let you play the top card of the deck for free. In Magic, we often combine “You may cast this … Continue reading →

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Plasm Capture vs. X spells

Posted on May 13, 2013 by bimmerbot

Let me tell you a little secret. X, if it’s not on the stack, is treated as 0. While an X spell is ON the stack, X stops being a variable and starts being a number (Note: the quality of … Continue reading →

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Rot Farm Skeleton’s ability can only be activated from the graveyard.

Posted on April 25, 2013 by bimmerbot

Generally, a permanent’s abilities only work while the card is on the battlefield, not in any other zone. There are some exceptions. One is if the ability only makes sense in another zone. For instance, Loxodon Smiter has an ability … Continue reading →

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Thalia and Omniscience

Posted on April 1, 2013 by tnunez

Omniscience is a scary thing to have sitting across the table from you no matter what the format. I cringe when I see it in Commander because it usually means there’s a whole freight train of hurt about to come … Continue reading →

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Cipher vs. Thalia (yes, you have to pay 1)

Posted on March 6, 2013 by bimmerbot

Did you know there’s a proper set of steps for casting a spell? Most people just tap mana, throw the spell on stack and ask for permission to resolve it (darn those blue mages!). Just a very simple breakdown, below … Continue reading →

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