Then I target it with 4 Giant Growths and 4 Titanic Growths. Then I put a +1/+1 counter on it and turn it blue somehow. You know, for good measure.
Now I use Pack Rat’s ability (don’t ask me how I cast 8 spells and still had another card to discard along with the mana for all this… I swear I wasn’t cheating), and my 30/30 performs an act of magnificent mitosis! Mwahahaha…
…why is my token a 2/2?
First off, when a token enters the battlefield via a spell or ability, that spell or ability defines the values for all the characteristics of the token. Pack Rat’s ability sets the values for the token as: “A copy of Pack Rat.” This leads us to what a “copy” of Pack Rat is.
When an object is copied, it acquires the “copiable characteristics” of the original object. Copiable values include: “Name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, expansion symbol, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty.” Other continuous effects are not copied. Those effects include things that change type, change text, change status, or bonuses from counters. In Pack Rat’s case, the token is a black Pack Rat creature token. Treat it like a photocopy of the card named “Pack Rat,” except that it’s not a card (since it’s a token). It is a black rat with the mana cost 1B, and it sports the original Pack Rat’s two abilities. Nothing more, nothing less.
Today’s Rules Tip written by Billy San Juan, L1 from San Diego, CA