I’m a big fan of Simic, and I especially love one of the new cards from Gatecrash, Urban Evolution. For just five mana, I get to draw three new cards and play an extra land — not a bad deal! Now, Urban Evolution is a sorcery, so normally I can’t play it on my opponent’s turn. But there’s another fun card in Simic colors that gives my cards flash — Alchemist’s Refuge. What would happen if I used Alchemist’s Refuge to cast Urban Evolution on my opponent’s turn? I can normally play zero lands on my opponent’s turn, but zero plus “an additional land” should equal one land, right?

Unfortunately for Simic fans everywhere, the rules of Magic are as iron-clad as an Azorius Arrester’s handcuffs, and in this case they’re very straightforward: it’s impossible for me to play a land on my opponent’s turn. Guess I may as well cast that Urban Evolution on my own turn after all. (Of course, effects that let me put lands onto the battlefield directly are exceptions to this, so Alchemist’s Refuge + Farseek = happy times.)

Today’s Rules Tip written by Paul Baranay