Alchemist’s Refuge has a nifty ability that changes the timing restrictions on when you can cast spells. For example, it lets you cast sorcery spells on your opponent’s turn, or in response to another spell. However, Alchemist’s Refuge doesn’t change the timing restrictions on when you can activate abilities. This can get confusing if you have a card like Birthing Pod, which says “Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.” This restriction doesn’t care about whether you actually have a sorcery spell you could cast at a given time – what it means is that you can only activate Birthing Pod at a time when the game rules would normally allow you to cast a sorcery spell. In other words, it’s just a shorter way of saying “Activate this ability only any time you have priority, the stack is empty, and it’s a main phase of your turn.” Quite a mouthful, isn’t it? No wonder why you may have heard people informally call it “sorcery speed.”

Today’s Rules Tip written by
Jen Wong, Level 1 judge from Irvine, CA