Soulbond is one of the coolest mechanics we’ve seen in a long time. Any ability or instant spell that puts creatures onto the battlefield is now a powerful combat trick. There are even some triggered abilities that can take advantage of the soulbond goodness, such as the ones on and . Let’s say that you […]
Author: bimmerbot
Alchemist’s Refuge has no interaction with Birthing Pod.
has a nifty ability that changes the timing restrictions on when you can cast spells. For example, it lets you cast sorcery spells on your opponent’s turn, or in response to another spell. However, Alchemist’s Refuge doesn’t change the timing restrictions on when you can activate abilities. This can get confusing if you have a […]
How to avoid Deck/Decklist Problems.
One of the most frustrating penalties you can get in a tournament is a Game Loss for Deck/Decklist Problem. Today I’m gonna give some tips on how to avoid these penalties, so you can enjoy even more the tournaments you play in. First, let’s talk about decklists. Here are a few good practices you can […]
Divine Deflection only has one target: where the damage will be dealt.
is a card that suffers from “wall of text” syndrome. It does a few different things all at the same time, so it’s easy to get confused. The most important thing to remember is that Divine Deflection requires you to choose only one target. Don’t choose your own creature! (Unless you want it to die). […]
Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond end the game once your opponent loses life (or you gain any).
A few of you may remember the card from Magic 2010. It has a very interesting interaction with a new card from Avacyn Restored. Exquisite Blood triggers whenever your opponent loses life, and it gains you that much life. Sanguine Bond is the other half of that; whenever you gain life, your opponent loses that […]
Second Guess can counter the second spell cast in a turn, no matter who cast the first spell.
At first glance, doesn’t seem too exciting, but it is not as narrow as you might think. It only needs you to use it correctly, and maybe some shenanigans involving other spells. As you may know, Second Guess can counter a spell if it was the second spell cast this turn, but it doesn’t care […]
When you flicker a double-faced card with Cloudshift, it will always return with the day side up.
When a double-faced card (“DFC”) isn’t on the battlefield, it only has the characteristics of its front (sun) side. This means that barring odd circumstances (i.e., ‘s triggered ability), a DFC always enters the battlefield sunny-side up. This rule creates an interesting interaction when you transform a DFC and then flicker it with something like […]
Match results aren’t final until the result slip is filled out.
For those players who go to large tournaments, you’ll notice that there are many more tables than there are judges to watch them, and it can be hard to tell when a match has concluded. For this reason, the Magic Tournament Rules include a simple way to tell: The match is over when both players […]
How Silverblade Paladin and first strike blockers/attackers interact.
‘s ability allows it to pair with another creature, and for as long as the two are paired, they both have double strike. In order for creatures to un-pair, one of the three things must happen: One of the creatures leaves the battlefield; one of the creatures changes control; or one of the creatures stops […]