All right, the dust from Theros has more or less settled, and everyone’s got a pretty good feel for the mechanics. But there are some nitpicky things that might not come up often, that you’re unsure how to handle. For example, when does a spell cast for its Bestow cost ‘count’ as the appropriate kind of spell? Will you have to pay extra for it under a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, or less under a Heartless Summoning? When does it stop being a creature? Does it get shut down by Aurelia’s Fury, or Gaddock Teeg?

Well, the answer to that is simple! Bestow applies after you announce the spell, but before you pay the actual costs. I won’t go into excessive detail on the various steps to casting a spell; just know that “I’m using this alternate cost for this here spell” comes fairly early in the steps, and “I’m gonna add up the costs/additions/reductions for this here spell” is near the end of the steps. You’ll have decided whether or not you’re using Bestow a good while before you add up costs. So, by the time you get to applying Thalia, it’s a noncreature spell and will cost you 1 more. By the time you get to applying Heartless Summoning, it’s not a creature so you won’t get the discount.

But what about things like Aurelia’s Fury? Are you allowed to throw down your Celestial Archon as an Aura after getting hit by Fury, or while there’s a Gaddock Teeg on board? The answer is yes! As I said before, you decide whether or not you’re using Bestow early on. However, before that step you announce the spell in the first place, and that’s when you’re checking to see if you can. At that moment, Celestial Archon is still a creature, so the game nods and lets that happen. It can’t look far enough forward to see that it’ll STOP being a creature spell very soon.

Today’s Rules Tip written by Trevor Nunez