It’s the end of another week here at the Rules Tips Blog, and we’re going out with a bang! It’s the hope that no heads will explode from adding this extra bit of knowledge about how works. This card is one of only a few in the entire game that cause creatures to actually gain […]
Author: bimmerbot
Scavenging Jace’s Phantasm with Varolz only gets you 1 counter (but Boneyard Wurm is different).
As a general rule, abilities of a creature only work when that creature’s on the battlefield, unless the rules text or common sense suggests that it works in another zone. , for example, has an ability that gives all creature cards in your graveyard scavenge. Scavenge wouldn’t make very much sense if it applied while […]
Duskmantle Seer is extra painful when revealing Fuse cards.
Split cards are great; it’s like getting two cards in one! You get two names, two (or three) colors, and two sets of rules text… and when you use the Fuse ability, you can even get both at the same time! Of course, one of the downsides of Fuse is that since your spell has […]
Don’t put up with insults or threats from your opponent.
First things first: Don’t insult, demean, bully, harass, or threaten your opponent, or anyone else at an event. Really, just don’t. Unfortunately, not everyone you meet at a tournament is going to have an understanding of basic respect and courtesy. However, this doesn’t mean you have to put up with it. If telling the offender […]
Turn // Burn vs. Aetherling
Those of you who have been playing Magic for much, much longer than I have may remember a little creature called . Today we’ll be looking at his latest incarnation, . While he has a lot of abilities, the only ones we care about right now are the last two (the only ones that have […]
You can’t tap a Cluestone for mana to activate its own “draw a card” ability.
There’s a small caveat in Magic: you can only pay any given cost for one ability or spell; you can’t use the same cost to pay for two separate abilities. That’s just not how life (or Magic) works. Very simple here with the Cluestones. Since the Cluestone’s abilities require it to tap for both the […]
Goblin Test Pilot only chooses randomly among legal targets.
Because of this card, I’m going to have to start carrying a random number generator (I also suggest all judges do so as well!). ‘s ability says that it deals damage to “target creature or player chosen at random”. A target creature, while activating this ability, can only be chosen if it can be legally […]
Melek doesn’t let you cast spells for free.
can do many things. One of the things that you might not realize is that it doesn’t let you play the top card of the deck for free. In Magic, we often combine “You may cast this card” with the second sweetest phrase, “without paying its mana cost” (the first sweetest phrase being “Draw a […]
Know the policy on trading and buying/selling cards at your venue.
Trading cards is something many collectors enjoy. The excitement of trading off something you don’t need for something you’ve been looking for is a great feeling. It’s a win-win for both traders, generally! This social activity is something the most stores and tournament venues allow or even encourage. However, you should be aware of the […]