Today we’ll be taking a look at Rakdos Charm’s third mode, or specifically, what it means for a creature to deal damage to its controller. While it’s unusual for a source you control to deal damage to yourself, it does happen, and in most respects it’ll be treated like any other source of damage; a […]
Author: bimmerbot
Corpsejack Menace and Master Biomancer.
From the research notes of Gulistan, Master Biomancer: A strange, filth-covered creature crawled up from the plumbing today. Our laboratory assistants noted a strange aura about it, which responded well to many forms of magic and was especially noted to accelerate the pace of evolution. Naturally, I had to summon one for myself. Imagine my […]
Extort resolves BEFORE the spell that triggered it.
Slow and controlling as they may be, those greedy Orzhov just can’t wait to dig their spectral claws into your opponent’s life points. In fact, when you cast a spell to trigger extort, they don’t even wait for that spell to resolve! When you cast a spell, each permanent with extort you control will toss […]
How naming choices too early for creatures with targeted triggers or copy effects works.
“My Clone targets your Huntmaster.” “I’ll play Wolfir Silverheart soulbonding the token.” “Exile all your creatures with my Angel of Serenity.” Statements like this, technically speaking, aren’t correct. When you cast a creature spell, it doesn’t have a target, even if it has an ability that would require you to make a choice as it […]
Boros Reckoner can’t kill a beast token from the Thragtusk it blocked.
“Judge, I blocked my opponent’s Thragtusk with Boros Reckoner. After they kill each other, is there a way I can use Reckoner’s trigger to kill the Beast token, too?” Your opponent may be protesting at this point “judges can’t give strategic advice!” but it turns out that according to the rules, there’s only one legal […]
Pithing Needle stops all of Deathrite Shaman’s abilities.
Before we go any further, we must ask ourselves… what is a mana ability? Well, that was semi-rhetorical, for those who didn’t snap answer the previous question. A Mana ability can exist as either an activated or triggered ability. For the activated ability form: 1) Does not have a target 2) It could put mana […]
Leyline Phantom can block Armored Transport without bouncing.
does funny things in combat. Well, funny as in if it’s blocked by a creature, that creature does nothing at all! Preventing the damage dealt to it in combat means things such as lifelink and deathtouch won’t apply for the blocking creature (Note that prevention effects are a kind of replacement effect, it’s not that […]
Cipher vs. Thalia (yes, you have to pay 1)
Did you know there’s a proper set of steps for casting a spell? Most people just tap mana, throw the spell on stack and ask for permission to resolve it (darn those blue mages!). Just a very simple breakdown, below are the steps to casting a spell in case you ever wanted to know: Announce […]
You can’t show or tell your draft picks during a draft, ever.
All tournaments are governed by the all knowing Magic Tournament Rules, no matter what type of tournament you’re in. As long as they are DCI sanctioned, they are bound by the rules laid out there. The 55-page document might be a long one, but if you’re into any type of sanctioned Magic (even FNM is […]