And welcome back! Amonkhet gave us back an old favorite ability in Cycling, letting you discard cards you don’t currently need to dig for cards you do. On top of that, there’s cards that synergize well with it, like New Perspectives letting you cycle for free if you have a hand of 7 cards, or Drake Haven letting you pay a little extra for a 2/2 Drake on top of your cycling. But, you may notice that Drake Haven triggers whenever you cycle OR discard a card- so does it trigger twice, once for the activation of Cycling, and once for the cost-payment of discarding a card? Same with Archfiend of Ifnir? The answer to both, somewhat disappointingly, is “no”. The act of cycling INVOLVES discarding a card- basically, it’s worded a little oddly so that players understand Cycling will trigger it. It would work exactly the same if it just said “Whenever you discard a card”- it’d work with Cycling, and also with discarding for any other reason (such as getting hit with an Unburden). In the past, cards like Astral Slide ONLY worked with Cycling, but the ‘new’ kinds like Drake Haven and Archfiend are a little more flexible, is all. So you don’t get to double your fun, but you can trigger them much easier!

Today’s Rules Tip was written by Trevor Nunez