Cards like Rite of Replication (with or without kicker) and Cackling Counterpart that make a token copy of a card seem to be fairly intuitive to most players. What is that token? Well, it’s exactly the card that it copied! If you copy a Runeclaw Bear with Cackling counterpart, the token created is still named Runeclaw Bear.

On the surface, creature cards like Phantasmal Image and Clone that have their own name–and sometimes some extra abilities–seem more confusing. Really, though, there isn’t a tremendous difference. If you ask a Phantasmal Image that copied a Runeclaw Bear what its name is, it will still say “Runeclaw Bear”! The only differences between the copy and the original are those differences explicitly noted in the copy effect. For example, Phantasmal Image adds that pesky “When this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it” ability and the Illusion creature type.

What this means is that if you use Sever the Bloodline on one of the copies created by Rite of Replication, it will affect ALL the copies AND the original–because they all have the same name!

Be careful about trying to use this on a Phantasmal Image directly, though. If you target the image, it will go *poof* thanks to that extra clause and your spell will be countered on resolution. But hey, at least you got rid of ONE of them… On the other hand, if you target the Sun Titan the Image is copying, you’ll also exile the Image-Titan because its name is also “Sun Titan”.

Today’s Rules Tip written by
David Hibbs, Level 3 judge from League City, TX