Pretty much everyone knows what Summoning Sickness is, even though it’s not a technical game term. It’s a common phrase used to abbreviate a much more wordy rule: “A creature cannot attack or use activated abilities with the Tap or Untap symbol in the cost unless that object has been under the its controller’s control […]
Category: Abilities
When you sacrifice Solemn Simulacrum to Birthing Pod, you always draw BEFORE you search.
There is a common confusion that comes up when you activate an ability that requires a sacrifice as a payment, and the sacrificed creature has an ability that triggers when it dies. Many people (mistakenly) think you can stack the order of the abilities so the activated ability resolves before the triggered ability. This is […]
You can use Zealous Conscripts and Restoration Angel to a steal a creature permanently.
is a card that says, ʺExile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control.ʺ Normally, you will be both the controller (the player who currently controls the creature) and the owner (the player whose deck originally contained the creature). While the owner of a creature can’t change, its controller […]
How Sign in Blood (or any loss of life that isn’t damage) works vs. Elderscale Wurm.
Bart: I’d sell my soul for a formula one racing car. [Satan Ned appears with a race car] Ned: Heh heh heh, that can be arranged. Bart: Changed my mind. Sorry. [Ned vanishes] Cool! Marge: Bart! Stop pestering Satan! Some things in Magic–like drawing cards–are worth paying a few life points. Cards like and let […]
Thragtusk will give you a 3/3 if it leaves play for any reason (not just if it dies).
is one of the exciting new cards from M13 that everyone is talking about. Anyone who has been paying attention to Standard immediately sees that this guy is ‘s new best friend. What’s most interesting about this card is that it doesn’t have the word “dies” anywhere in its text box. Instead, it says “leaves […]
Rancor only returns to your hand if it went to the graveyard from the battlefield.
is a card I’m quite familiar with, because I play so much Commander. We’ve got a few green decks like Uril, the Miststalker and Jenara that tend to ‘go Voltron’, so I’ve had to learn how Rancor works. Mainly by telling my friends it’s not QUITE as unstoppable as they’d hope! Now, the normal ways […]
Roaring Primadox’s ability doesn’t target anything.
Probably one of the most-misused words in Magic has to be ʺtarget.ʺ Despite how often people seem to be confused, it’s actually quite simple: a spell or ability only has a target if the word ʺtargetʺ is included somewhere in its rules text (or in the comprehensive rules text for certain keyword abilities, such as […]
How Sublime Archangel works with Geist of Saint Traft.
Those of you who were playing Magic during Shards of Alara block may remember Exalted, the feature mechanic of the shard of Bant. For the rest of you, let’s break it down step by step. ʺWheneverʺ signifies a triggered ability, that goes on the stack when a condition is met. ʺa creature you control attacksʺ […]
Thundermaw Hellkite will tap your opponent’s flying creatures even if the damage is prevented.
is a creature that got me really excited when I first saw it, because it comes into play and takes all of your opponent’s flying blockers out of the way. This was before I saw that was being reprinted. 🙁 Anyway, there’s one thing that might be confusing about his third ability, and that’s ʺwhat […]