is an interesting card that lets you trade a creature card in your graveyard for a temporary creature on the battlefield. The only caveat is that your new best friend (or rather your returned best friend) will only remain on the battlefield until “the beginning of the next end step.” So what does that mean? […]
Category: Abilities
Deathtouch only works if a creature actually deals damage.
When a attacks and is blocked by , the Crusader will not die. As we discussed a few weeks ago, protection does several things, such as preventing all damage from any source it has protection from. That means that deathtouch will not apply, as damage that is prevented is not considered dealt. Now let’s say […]
When you copy a double-faced card, you get the side that is showing at that moment.
When you copy a double-faced card with a clone effect, you get an exact copy of the currently showing side. Anything that isn’t a double-faced card can’t transform. So if you copy a with a , you end up with an exact copy of the Chalice of Death. The game doesn’t acknowledge or care that […]
How you handle two Knowledge Pools.
If both players control a (“KP1” for active player and “KP2” for non-active player), you must keep track of which cards have been exiled by which Knowledge Pool, since the exiled cards are linked to that specific KP. For example, if I cast a spell from my hand on my turn, KP1 and KP2 will […]
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 […]
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 […]