Simple enough: Does increase the converted mana cost (“CMC”) of your spells because she makes them cost more? Easy answer: No! CMC -never- changes. The sum of all the symbols in the top right corner of a card is the CMC. The only time CMC can change is with X spells. Everywhere except the stack, […]
Author: bimmerbot
Snapcaster Mage doesn’t give a spell flashback until after its triggered ability resolves.
When your opponent casts a to give something flashback, you get a window of opportunity to do something before that spell can be flashed back. The targeted spell doesn’t immediately have flashback as soon as the Snapcaster hits the field. Once the Snapcaster resolves, its triggered ability goes on the stack and the controller chooses […]
You choose something new to copy when your Phantasmal Image comes back from undying.
When a copy of a creature with the undying ability dies, the undying ability will trigger and return it to play. This is due to the last known information when the card was in play, which is what leaves-the-battlefield abilities (like undying) look for to determine whether they should trigger. When it returns to the […]
Intentional draws are always recorded as 0-0-3.
When you and your opponent choose to intentionally draw (“ID”) a match during a tournament—say to make the top eight cut of your FNM event—the match result is reported as 0-0-3 (zero wins, zero losses and three draws), in accordance with tournament policy outlined in the Magic Tournament Rules. This will affect your second and […]
What Grafdigger’s Cage does and doesn’t stop.
prevents players from casting spells from the graveyard or library, as well as creatures from entering the battlefield from a graveyard or library. This is a static ability that changes the rules of the game for as long as the Cage is in play. This means that it stops a lot of things in standard, […]
What first strike and double strike mean for the combat phase.
First Strike and Double Strike: Fun abilities that make creatures scary good in combat. But what exactly ARE they? How do they work? How does my deal damage ‘first’? Normally, during the Combat Phase, there’s only one step where damage is dealt. Immediately after the Declare Blockers step, but before the End of Combat step, […]
You can cast Viridian Corrupter even with no artifacts in play.
When you cast a creature spell, you are never required to choose targets for it, because creature spells never target anything. Some creatures have enters-the-battlefield (“ETB”) abilities that require targets, and you must choose one only when the creature hits the board (even if the only legal target is your own permanent that you’d rather […]
One creature entering play can trigger two Blood Seekers.
A creature entering the battlefield can trigger multiple abilities, as long as they are all looking for a creature entering the battlefield. Say you control two s and your opponent casts . Each Blood Seeker would “see” two creatures enter the battlefield and trigger twice, for a total of four triggers. Those 1/1 Human tokens […]
You can’t ignore it when you notice your opponent violate a game rule.
Any time there is an error in a game that you notice and your opponent does not, you should always notify a tournament official in order to fix the problem. It can be as simple as tapping the wrong mana to cast a spell, or putting a card in the graveyard when it should’ve gone […]