Modern Masters 2015 is upon us. Modern can be a complicated place, especially when we have a new set that brings back a lot of old mechanics and cards back to the spotlight. I’m going to take the time here to go through some of those mechanics and cards and try to answer some of the more common questions that might come.


The focus of this article is mostly cards interacting with other cards printed in Modern Masters 2015. While I might go off on a tangent here or there, don’t be disappointed if I didn’t cover your favorite interaction. And I would recommend also reading the Release Notes for Modern Masters 2015, which goes into a lot more detail and will cover a lot more interactions than I’m going to cover here.

Returning Mechanics

+1/+1 and -1/-1 Counters

In recent history, blocks haven’t really used +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters at the same time, but Modern Masters 2015 uses both kind of counters. This seems like a good time to remind people that, if a creature has a +1/+1 and a -1/-1 counter on it when state-based actions are checked, both counters are removed (so a creature won’t have both counters on it for very long). Note this only happens when state-based actions are checked, so there are some tricks that could happen (that we’ll get into below).

Annihilator

Annihilator is a triggered ability that triggers when the creature attacks. When the trigger resolves, the defending player sacrifices X permanents. All of the permanents are chosen and sacrificed at the same time. For instance, if an opponent attacks you with a creature with Annihilator 2, you could not choose to sacrifice a Tukatongue Thallid and the token it makes, since you won’t get the token until after the annihilator trigger is done resolving.

Arcane

You might see some of the instants and sorceries in the set have the subtype “Arcane”. Outside of a few cards that trigger when you cast a Spirit or Arcane spell, or cards with splice (which there are none in Modern Masters 2015), arcane doesn’t really have any rules meaning.

Bloodthirst

Bloodthirst might be a familiar ability for some: it was featured in Magic 2012. Bloodthirst X means that if an opponent was dealt damage that turn, it enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it. The effect only counts damage: it won’t count if your opponent lost life that turn. For instance, if you cast Vapor Snag on their creature, then cast Blood Ogre, the Ogre won’t’ get a counter, since your opponent has not taken any damage. The counters are added as the creature enters the battlefield, not due to a trigger. If the opponent was dealt damage this turn, then the Ogre enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter: there’s never a point where it’s a 2/2 on the battlefield, waiting to get the counter.

Changeling

Changeling is an ability that some creatures (and noncreatures, thanks to the Tribal type) have. What changeling does is that it allows the card to have all creature types in every zone.

Convoke

Convoke should be familiar to many players: it was featured in Magic 2015. Convoke is an ability that helps you cast spells by tapping creatures to help pay for it. If you tap a colored creature, you can pay for part of the colored part of the cost. Otherwise, tapping the creature will help pay for the colorless part of the cost. For instance, if you want to cast Scatter the Seeds, you can tap two green creatures to help pay for the GG part of the cost, but you’re still on the hook for the remaining 3 colorless part of the cost.

One additional note with the Eldrazi Spawn tokens: you can’t tap the Spawn for mana and sacrifice it for mana. That’s because you tap the creatures for convoke when you pay for the spell, but the step before paying for the spell is being able to activate mana abilities to produce mana to cast the spell. Since you’d have to sacrifice the Spawn token before paying costs, you can’t sac the Spawn token for mana and tap it for convoke to help pay for the spell.

Evoke

Evoke is an alternate cost that some creatures have. If you cast the card for its evoke cost, when the creature enters the battlefield, you’ll sacrifice it. Sacrificing the creature is a triggered ability and can be responded to (so you could cast Otherworldly Journey after it enters, but before it’s sacrificed to save it).

Exalted

Exalted is another familiar ability for recent standard players, since it was featured in Magic 2013. Exalted is a triggered ability that triggers if you attack with exactly one creature. If you have three creatures with exalted and attack with one creature, exalted will trigger three times and the attacking creature will get a total of +3/+3. Although there are no cards in the set that can do it, if you put a creature onto the battlefield attacking, it will not interfere with exalted: if it’s the only creature attacking, exalted will not trigger for it, and if you attacked with one creature and a second was put onto the battlefield attacking, the first creature will still get the bonus from exalted.

Graft

Graft is both a static ability and a triggered ability. The creature enters the battlefield with the stated number of +1/+1 counters, and when another creature enters the battlefield, an ability triggers and when that trigger resolves, you can move a +1/+1 counter from the creature with graft to the new creature. If the creature with graft has no +1/+1 counters on it, you can’t move one to the new creature. If the creature with graft is not on the battlefield when the trigger resolves, you also cannot move a counter onto the new creature.

Living Weapon

Living Weapon is a triggered ability that some equipment have. When the equipment enters the battlefield, you put a 0/0 Germ token onto the battlefield, and then attach that equipment to the token. If you move the equipment to another creature, then the Germ token will die since it is a 0/0.

Persist

Persist is a triggered ability. When a creature with persist dies, if it didn’t have a -1/-1 counter on it, persist will trigger and will return the creature to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it. If it had a -1/-1 counter on it when it died, then persist will not trigger. A 1/1 creature with a +1/+1 counter given two -1/-1 counters during the resolution of a spell like Grim Affliction will not persist because the +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters negate each other at the same time the creature dies for having 0 or less toughness.

Phyrexian Mana

Phyrexian represents a cost that can be paid one of two ways: by paying one mana of that color, or by paying 2 life. Even if you play the card by paying 2 life, that doesn’t change what color the card is or the converted mana cost of the card.

Proliferate

Proliferate is an ability that lets you choose any number of permanents or players and add one additional counter to that permanent or player. You can choose any permanent, including permanents your opponents control. The ability doesn’t target, so you could choose a permanent with shroud or protection, and you don’t choose what permanents or players to get the counters until the spell or ability tells you to proliferate. You cannot choose a permanent or player if it doesn’t have a counter on it. If the permanent has multiple counters on it, you choose one counter to add, not all counters on the permanent.

Soulshift

Soulshift X is a triggered ability. When the creature with soulshift dies, you may return a spirit card with a converted mana cost of X or less from your graveyard to your hand. A card with changeling counts as a spirit, so if a creature with soulshift 2 dies, you could target and return a Nameless Inversion to your hand.

Wither

Wither is a static ability. If a creature is dealt damage by a source with wither, that creature gets that many -1/-1 counters put on it, instead of having damage marked on it. These counters will remain on the creature even after the turn ends – they don’t go away when damage is removed during the cleanup step.

Card-Specific Notes

Agony Warp
The Warp has two targets. You can choose to target two different creatures, or you can target the same creature multiple times with the Warp.

If the Warp has two different targets, it will only be countered if both targets are illegal when it resolves. If at least one target is still legal, the Warp will resolve as best as it can with the remaining legal target. You can’t change which effects affects which creature: if you target Creature A with the -3/-0 effect and Creature B with the -0/-3 effect, you can’t change how the Warp affects the targets later on.

All is Dust
Lands are colorless, and will not be affected by All is Dust.

Banefire
While Banefire with an X of 5 or greater can’t be countered by spells or abilities, it can be countered by the rules of the game. If you target an opponent’s creature with Banefire and the opponent uses something like Apostle’s Blessing to give the creature protection from red, Banefire will be countered when it resolves since it’s being countered by the rules of the game (since a creature with protection from red can’t be targeted by a red spell).

Blinkmoth Nexus
You can animate the turn you play it. However, if you do, since it’s now a creature, it is affected by “summoning sickness” and can’t attack or use abilities with the tap symbol.

Once the Nexus is a creature, it obeys all of the rules that apply to creatures, artifacts, and land. That means if the Nexus takes lethal damage, the Nexus is destroyed and goes to the graveyard. It does not get to remain on the battlefield as a land.

Bloodshot Trainee
The Trainee only requires a power of 4 or greater to activate the ability. Using something like Agony Warp to drop its power to 3 or less before the ability resolve won’t do anything to the ability – the targeted creature will still take 4 damage.

Cathodion
The mana added by the dies trigger will remain in your mana pool until you spend it or the current step or phase ends. For instance, if it attacks and dies in combat, you have to spend that mana during the combat damage step or the mana is lost.

Chimeric Mass
You can animate the Mass the turn you play it. However, if you do, since it’s now a creature, it is affected by “summoning sickness” and can’t attack or use abilities with the tap symbol.

Once the Mass is a creature, it obeys all of the rules that apply to creatures and artifacts. That means if the Mass takes lethal damage, the Mass is destroyed and goes to the graveyard. It does not get to remain on the battlefield as a land.

Activating the ability doesn’t cause it to lose any charge counters.

Comet Storm
You can’t target the same creature or player multiples. If you cast the Storm with X=5 and kicked 3 times, you have to choose four different target creatures and/or players. You could not target the player four times.

Cranial Plating
The equip ability can only be played during one of your main phases when the stack is empty, but the attach ability can be played any time you have priority (including during combat).

Creakwood Liege
The Liege has two abilities that pump up your creatures: one that affects black creatures, and one that affect green creatures. A black and green creature will get +2/+2.

Cryptic Command
You don’t get to choose the order the modes resolve in – you’ll follow the instructions in the order they’re listed on the card. For instance, the targeted spell will always be countered first, and draw a card will always happen last.

Let’s say you choose the second (return target permanent to its owner’s hand) and third (tap all creatures you don’t control) modes. In this case, the Command has one target. If that target is illegal when the Command resolves, then the entire spell is countered and none of its effects will happen. In this example, creatures would not become tapped.

Daybreak Coronet
The Coronet can only be attached to a creature that has another aura besides the Coronet attached to it. You can’t cast it targeting a creature with no auras attached to it, and if all of the other auras attached to it leave the battlefield, then the Coronet will unattach and will go to the graveyard since it’s no longer attached to a legal creature.

Dispatch
The number of artifacts is checked once: when Dispatch resolves. If you control three artifacts when you cast Dispatch and your opponent respond by removing one of them, when Dispatch resolves, you don’t control three or more artifacts and the creature will be tapped, not exiled.

Electrolyze
Targets and how the damage is divided are chosen when you announce the spell. By the time players get to respond, everyone will know what is being targeted. If you choose two targets, then you have to choose two different target creatures and/or players: you can’t target the same thing multiple times, since it only uses the word ‘target’ once.

If Electrolyze has two targets and one of them becomes illegal when it goes, Electrolyze will resolve as best as it can with the remaining legal target. The remaining legal target will be dealt 1 damage.

If you choose two targets for Electrolyze, it has to have two different targets. So you could not choose two targets, and then target the same creature or player multiple times. With Spellskite, you could only change one of the targets of Electrolyze to Spellskite, not both targets.

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
If you control two Elesh Norns at the same time, for a brief time, your opponent’s creatures will get -4/-4, causing creatures that now have a toughness of 0 or less to go to the graveyard (and, at the same time, the legendary rule makes you pick one Norn to keep and the others to go to the graveyard).

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Emrakul has a trigger that triggers when you cast it. This is not an enters the battlefield trigger, so putting Emrakul onto the battlefield without casting it will not get you the trigger. Preventing Emrakul from resolving won’t stop the trigger from resolving. Even if Emrakul is removed from the stack, the trigger will still resolve and you’ll still get an extra turn.

In addition, Emrakul also has an ability that triggers when it goes to the graveyard from anywhere that will shuffle their owner’s graveyard into the library. Even if you remove Emrakul from the graveyard before the trigger resolves, the graveyard will still be shuffled in when the trigger resolves.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn has protection from colored spells. It does not have protection from abilities from colored sources. For instance, you could use Oblivion Ring to exile Emrakul. Oblivion Ring (the spell) has no targets. Oblivion Ring has an enter the battlefield ability that targets, but the Ring is not a spell at that point and its ability can target and exile Emrakul.

Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
As soon as you control seven or more Thrulls, Endrek Sahr’s second ability will trigger. Even if you get rid of some of those tokens before the ability resolves, Endrek Sahr will still be sacrificed.

Etched Champion
Protection from all colors means that we prevent all damage that would be dealt to it by colored sources, it can’t have colored permanents attached to it, it can’t be blocked by colored creatures, and it can’t be targeted by colored spells or abilities from colored sources.

Fortify
You choose the mode when you announce the spell, not when the spell resolves.

Ghost Council of Orzhova
You can choose to sacrifice the Ghost Council to its own ability. However, it’s only exiled if it’s on the battlefield when the trigger resolves. Since it’s in the graveyard, it will not be exiled and will not return at the beginning of the next end step.

If you activate this ability during the end step, the Ghost Council will not return until the following turn’s end of turn step.

Glint Hawk Idol
There are two ways that the Idol can become a creature: either by an artifact entering the battlefield, causing the triggered ability to trigger, or by paying W to activate the second ability. If it’s a creature because of the first ability, you do not need to activate the second ability as well.

If you play the Idol and it becomes a creature that same turn, it will be affected by “summoning sickness” and can’t attack. If you play the Idol and then it becomes a creature on your next turn, it will be able to attack.

Grim Affliction
State-based actions aren’t checked while a spell or ability is resolving. If you target a creature with a +1/+1 counter on it, you add a -1/-1 counter to the creature, then you can proliferate and put a second -1/-1 counter on it. State-based actions aren’t checked in between the counter being added and you proliferating, so you can get a second -1/-1 counter on the creature before state-based actions get rid of an equal number of +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters from the creature.

Guile
If you would counter an opponent’s spell and Guile exiles it, you have to cast it immediately or not at all. If you choose not to cast it, then it remains exiled and you’re no longer allowed to cast it.

If you control Guile and cast Remand, Guile will exile the spell, it will not be returned to it’s owner’s hand. Guile replaces countering the spell with exiling it and letting you cast it instead. It wasn’t countered by Remand, so the second part of Remand won’t try to return it to its owner’s hand.

Horde of Notions
You cast the spell while the Horde’s activated ability is resolving. This lets you bypass normal timing restrictions, so you could use the Horde’s ability to cast an Elemental creature spell at the end of an opponent’s turn.

A card with changeling is (among other types) an Elemental, so it can be targeted and cast with the Horde’s ability

Hurkyl’s Recall
The Recall only affects artifacts on the battlefield the targeted player owns. It won’t affect artifact in other zones, like the graveyard.

Inexorable Tide
The Tide’s trigger will resolve before the spell that triggered it. For instance, if you cast a creature that will enter the battlefield with counters, you will proliferate before that card enters the battlefield and it gets the counters.

Iona, Shield of Emeria
The color is chosen as Iona enters the battlefield, and the ability starts working as soon as Iona is on the battlefield. It’s not a triggered ability, does not use the stack, and cannot be responded to. If your opponent casts Iona and names “blue”, there’s never a point where you’re going to be able to cast Vapor Snag on Iona before Iona locks you out of blue spells.

Karn Liberated
Karn’s first ability can target any player, even if they have no cards in their hand.

Karn’s third ability will look at any non-Auras exiled by the first or second ability.

Karn’s third ability will only look at cards that Karn exiled. It won’t have access to any cards exiled by another Karn.

Restarting the game ends the current game, and players begin a new game, except the non-Auras that were exiled by Karn remain exiled. Each player shuffles their deck, and players begin pregame procedures like normal (doing things like resolving mulligans). Once that is done, we finish resolving Karn’s third ability, and those exiled cards are put onto the battlefield under the player who activated the ability control. The player who activated the ability will be the starting player.

Creatures that start the restarted game on the battlefield due to Karn’s ability will not be affected by “summoning sickness”. They’re starting your first turn under your control, so they will not be affected and can attack on the first turn.

Restarting the game will get rid of any planeswalker emblems that were made in the previous game.

Kavu Primarch
Kicker is an additional cost. It increases the cost to cast the spell. Since it’s added to the cost, you can tap creatures because of convoke to cast it. For instance, if you have eight green creatures on the battlefield, you can cast the Primarch kicked and tap all eight creatures to cast it.

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
When you copy a creature, you get a copy of the creature as printed (and as modified by other copy effects). You will not copy the effects of any auras or equipment attached to the creature, and you won’t copy the bonus given by any counters on the creature.

If you activate Kiki-Jiki’s ability during the end step, the token will not be sacrificed until the following turn’s end of turn step.

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Kozilek has a trigger that triggers when you cast it. This is not an enters the battlefield trigger, so putting Kozilek onto the battlefield without casting it will not get you the trigger. Countering Kozilek won’t do anything to the triggers that’s already on the stack, For instance, if Kozilek is countered by a Stoic Rebuttal, the trigger will still resolve and you’ll still draw four cards.

In addition, Kozilek also has an ability that triggers when it goes to the graveyard from anywhere that will shuffle their owner’s graveyard into the library. Even if you remove Kozilek from the graveyard before the trigger resolves, the graveyard will still be shuffled in when the trigger resolves.

Lodestone Golem
Since the Golem adds a cost onto the spell, if the spell has convoke, you can tap a creature to help pay the extra {1}.

The Golem applies to nonartifact spells. If a spell is an artifact and another type (like an artifact creature), then the Golem will not increase the cost of the spell. Having other types doesn’t make it a nonartifact spell.

Lorescale Coatl
If you draw multiple cards at the same time, the Coatl’s ability will trigger that many times. For instance, if an ability causes you to draw two cards, the Coatl’s ability will trigger two times and it will get a total of two +1/+1 counters.

Mirror Entity
Due to the way layers work, we apply effect that set a creature’s base power and toughness first (which is Mirror Entity’s effect), then we apply effects that raise or lower the power and toughness without setting it to a specific number (like Mighty Leap), bonuses from counters, and effects that switch a creature’s power and toughness.

For example, if you cast Mighty Leap on a creature, then activate the Entity’s ability with X=2, the creature ends up as a 4/4. If a creature has two -1/-1 counters on it and you activate the Entity’s ability with X=2, the creature ends up as a 0/0 and dies.

You can choose to activate the ability with X=0. If you do, and nothing else is affecting their toughness, they will end up as 0/0s and will die.

Mox Opal
If you have a Mox Opal and one other artifact on the battlefield, and then play a second Mox Opal, after the second Mox resolves, before anyone gets priority, state-based actions are checked and the legendary rule kicks in. You have to get rid of one of the Moxes before you get a chance to tap either Mox for mana.

Myrsmith
When the trigger resolves, you can pay {1} once to get a token. You cannot choose to pay more to get more tokens.

Necroskitter
If Necroskitter dies at the same time as an opponent’s creature with a -1/-1 counter on it dies, Necroskitter’s ability will see that creature dying and its ability will trigger.

Nobilis of War
The Nobilis has a static ability that works as long as a creature is attacking. It’s not a triggered ability. If the Nobilis leaves the battlefield before the combat damage step, then the attacking creatures will lose their bonus.

Unless first or double strike is involved, all combat damage is dealt at the same time. If the Nobilis is attacking along with some other creature, and the Nobilis is blocked by a creature that will kill it in combat, the other attacking creatures will still have their bonus when they deal their combat damage.

Oblivion Ring
If the Ring leaves the battlefield before its enter the battlefield trigger resolves, the leave the battlefield trigger goes on top of the stack. The leaves the battlefield trigger resolves first, but does nothing since nothing has been exiled yet. Then the Ring’s enter the battlefield trigger resolves and the targeted permanent will be permanently exiled.

Overwhelming Stampede
The Stampede looks at the highest power among your creatures when the Stampede resolves. Once the bonus is applied, that bonus is locked in and altering the creature’s power after that won’t affect the bonus that was given by the Stampede.

Pillory of the Sleepless
The Pillory gives the life loss ability to the creature. That means the controller of the creature will be the one that loses the life, not the controller of the Pillory.

Precursor Golem
In order for Precursor Golem’s ability to trigger, all of the spell’s targets have to target one Golem. If you cast Agony Warp targeting two Golems, Precursor Golem’s ability will not trigger, since two Golems are being targeted, not one. But if you cast the Warp with both targeting being the same Golem, Precursor Golem’s ability will trigger.

The copies will have the same number of targets and modes chosen as the original spell. If you cast an Electrolyze with one target and targeting a Golem, then the copies will also only have one target: you can’t choose for it to have multiple targets.

Puppeteer Clique
The creature will remain under your control until the end of your next turn. If the Clique returns a creature on your opponent’s turn, that creature remains under your control until the end of your turn.

Ravnica Bounce Lands
There’s a cycle of these cards that tell you to return a land you control to its owner’s hand when it enters the battlefield. If you play one on your first turn, when the trigger resolves, you control a land: the bounce land itself. So you’ll have to return the bounce land to your hand (and waste your land drop).

Remand
If Remand can’t counter the spell (for instance, you target a Combust), Remand won’t counter the spell and it won’t return the spell to its owner’s hand. You will still draw a card, since drawing a card is not reliant upon the spell actually being countered by the Remand: Remand just needs to resolve in order to draw a card.

Root-Kin Ally
The Ally can be one of the two untapped creatures tapped to activate its activated ability. If it’s a blocking creature, tapping it will not remove it from combat or prevent any damage it would deal.

Rusted Relic
If the Relic is attacking or blocking and the number of artifacts you control goes below three, the Relic stops being a creature and is removed from combat. If the Relic was blocking, the attacking creature the Relic blocked is still considered blocked.

If you control three or more artifacts (including the Relic) as it enters play, then the Relic will enter as a creature and anything that triggers when a creature enters the battlefield will trigger

Shrewd Hatchling
The Hatchling has two abilities that remove -1/-1 counters: one that triggers when you cast a red spell, and one that triggers when you cast a blue spell. If you cast a red and blue spell, both abilities will trigger and you’ll remove a total of two -1/-1 counters.

If you don’t want a creature to be able to block the Hatchling, you need to activate its ability before blockers are declared. If you activate it after blockers are declared, that won’t undo the block or make the Hatchling unblocked.

Sigil Blessing
The Blessing has a single target: a target creature you control. If that target is illegal when the Blessing resolves, the entire spell is countered and none of its effects will happen (and your other creatures will not get +1/+1).

Smash to Smithereens
The Smash has one target: a target artifact. If that target is illegal when the Smash resolves, the entire spell is countered and none of its effects will happen (so the artifact’s controller will not take any damage).

Smokebraider
Smokerbraider’s ability can be used to cast a spell with changeling, since a spell with changeling is all creature types, including Elemental.

Soulbright Flamekin
You only get the mana the third time the ability resolves. You don’t get mana the sixth, ninth, etc time it resolves.

Spectral Procession
The Procession can be played by paying 6, 4W, 2WW, or WWW. No matter how you choose to cast it, the converted mana cost of the Procession will always be 6.

Spellskite
Spellskite’s ability can target any spell or ability, not just a spell or ability that could target Spellskite. If the spell or ability can’t target Spellskite, then nothing happens when the ability resolves.

If Spellskite isn’t on the battlefield when Spellskite’s ability resolves, the target cannot be changed.

If a spell or ability uses the word ‘target’ multiple times, then you can change each target to Spellskite. If it uses the word ‘target’ once, then only one target can be changed to Spellskite. For instance, Electrolyze with two targets only uses the word ‘target’ once, so only one of the targets can be changed to Spellskite. However, Agony Warp uses the word “target” twice, so you can activate Spellskite’s ability twice and change both targets to Spellskite.

For more information about Spellskite, please read my earlier article about Spellskite.

Spikeshot Elder
The ability looks at the power of the Elder at one time: when the ability resolves. Players can respond to the ability by increasing or decreasing the Elder’s power to increase or decrease the damage that would be dealt when the ability resolves.

Splinter Twin
The token copies will be a copy of the original creature as printed. You won’t copy the bonuses of any auras or equipment attached to it, and you won’t copy any counters on the creature.

If you activate the ability and the creature the Twin was attached to leaves the battlefield, you’ll still get a copy of the creature.

If you copy a legendary creature, after the ability is done resolving, the legendary rule will apply and you’ll have to choose one to keep and the other will go to the graveyard.

Stoic Rebuttal
You just need to control three or more artifacts while you’re announcing the Rebuttal to get the cost reduction. If you cast the Rebuttal and an opponent responds by removing your third artifact from the battlefield, nothing happens to the Rebuttal since it has already been cast and costs have already been paid.

Sunforger
You can only activate the ability that lets you search for a spell if Sunforger is attached to a creature.

If the spell has an X in the cost, since you’re casting it without paying its mana cost, the only value you can choose for X is 0.

Sunlance
A nonwhite creature is a creature that is not white. For instance, Sunlance could not target Boros Swiftblade. The Swiftblade is a red and white creature. It’s a white creature, so it can’t be targeted by Sunlance. It’s also a red creature, but that doesn’t make it a nonwhite creature.

Surgical Extraction
If, for some reason, you don’t want to exile the cards, you don’t have to. You can leave them in the zone they’re in, since the Extraction says “any number”.

Swans of Bryn Argoll
The controller of the source of damage will be the one that draws the cards. For instance, if the Swans blocks an attacking creature, the controller of the attacking creature draws the cards.

Tarmogoyf
Tarmogoyf’s power and toughness ability works in all zones, not just the battlefield.

Let’s say that there is a land and a creature in the graveyard (making Tarmogoyf a 2/3), and you cast Lightning Bolt on Tarmogoyf. When the Bolt resolves, it deals 3 damage to the Tarmogoyf. The Bolt goes to the graveyard, and Tarmogoyf immediately becomes a 3/4. Then we check state-based actions, and Tarmogoyf survives since it is a 3/4 with 3 damage marked on it.

Tezzeret the Seeker
The +1 ability can target zero, one, or two artifacts.

The -5 ability affects all artifacts you control, including artifact creature. Artifact creatures will become base 5/5s (plus any bonuses from other effects that raise or lower its power without setting it to a specific number, bonuses from counters, and effects that switch its power and toughness).

With the -5 ability, if you play an artifact and then it becomes a 5/5 creature that same turn, it will be affected by “summoning sickness” and won’t be able to attack.

Thrive
You have to target X different creatures. You can’t target the same creature multiple times.

Tribal Flames
The basic land types are Forest, Mountain, Plains, Swamp, and Island. It has to have one of those types to count. For instance, a land that taps for one red mana is not a Mountain unless it also has “Mountain” on its type line.

Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Ulamog has a trigger that triggers when you cast it. This is not an enters the battlefield trigger, so putting Ulamog onto the battlefield without casting it will not get you the trigger. Countering Ulamog won’t do anything to the trigger that’s already on the stack, For instance, if Ulamog is countered by a Stoic Rebuttal, the trigger will still resolve and you’ll still destroy the targeted permanent.

In addition, Ulamog also has an ability that triggers when it goes to the graveyard from anywhere that will shuffle their owner’s graveyard into the library. Even if you remove Ulamog from the graveyard before the trigger resolves, the graveyard will still be shuffled in when the trigger resolves.

Vengeful Rebirth
In order for the damage to be dealt, the Rebirth has to return a card from your graveyard to your hand. If the target card is not returned (for example, it was exiled with the Rebirth on the stack), then no damage will be dealt to the target.

Vines of Vastwood
If you cast this on an opponent’s creature, it means your opponent cannot cast spells targeting it, but your spells can still target it.

If you cast this on an opponent’s Spellskite, your opponent’s Spellskite can still change the targets of your spells and abilities to Spellskite.

Wilt-Leaf Liege
The Liege has two abilities that pump up your creatures: one that affects white creatures, and one that affect green creatures. A white and green creature will get +2/+2.

The last ability is a replacement effect, not a trigger. It replaces going to the graveyard with being put onto the battlefield instead. This doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.

For the last ability, all that matters is that your opponent controls the spell or ability that’s making you discard. If your opponent casts Waking Nightmare targeting you, you can still put the Liege onto the battlefield, since it’s their spell that’s making you discard.

Wrap in Flames
If the damage is prevented, the creature will still be unable to block

If the creature is not a legal target for the Flames when it resolves (for instance, you gave it protection from red in response), then none of its effects will affect it. The creature will not be dealt any damage, and it will be able to block.

Hopefully, this helps you out with your release events or other Modern Masters 2015 events that you have planned for this summer. If you see an interaction that you think I missed and would be helpful for others to know (keeping in mind this article is focusing on just cards within Modern Masters 2015 itself), feel free to reply in the forums. And thanks to the people of #mtgjudge and people on Facebook for proofreading and providing comments on this article.

 

Nathan Long
DCI Level 2 Judge