Hi everyone, and welcome back to another week filled with rules knowledge. I’m bursting with it this week, so I’m hoping to share some of that info with you this week. Today, we’re going to be talking about how Drown in Sorrow interacts with Mutavault.

Maybe you’ve seen this play at a local FNM. The monoblack untaps his four Swamps and Mutavault for the turn. He casts Drown in Sorrow to sweep away his opponent’s defenders, animated his Mutavault, and attacks. But wait: doesn’t Drown in Sorrow’s effect last until the end of the turn? Why doesn’t it affect Mutavault?

The answer is simple. Drown in Sorrow only affects creatures on the battlefield when the Sorrow resolves. It won’t affect a creature that enters the battlefield after it resolves (or, in the case of Mutavault, becomes a creature after the spell has resolved). The ‘until end of turn’ phrase is there to give a duration for the effect to end for the creatures that survived the Drown. It doesn’t mean it will affect creatures that entered the battlefield after it resolves. So keep this in mind next time you have a few Mutavaults sitting around on your side of the battlefield.

Today’s Rules Tip written by Nathan Long