A question that many judges hear nonstop is “Will X save my ?”. The answer to that is almost always no; countering the spell that was aimed at it, trying to bounce/blink your Image in response, giving it Hexproof in response, etc.; none of these things will save it from its own sacrifice trigger [or […]
Category: Abilities
Torpor Orb has no interaction with undying.
I hate zombies. Kill them once and they never seem to stay dead. One Zombie card that has been seeing some Standard play is , a 3/2 with undying that deals out 2 points of life loss every time it enters the battlefield. Luckily, there’s a rather unique card in Standard, , that can stop […]
You can pair a Phantasmal Image via Soulbond without sacrificing it.
So, seems like it’d be fun with Soulbond, right? Copy their best guy for 2 mana, and on top of that you get to give it Flying, or Deathtouch, or other assorted goodness. Some of you may be thinking the Image would die in this situation, since Soulbond targeted it… but you would be incorrect. […]
How Soulbond and Moonsilver Spear’s angel interact.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Cathars’ Crusade triggers multiple times if multiple creatures enter at the same time.
has an ability that triggers “whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control.” Normally, this will be one creature entering the battlefield as a result of the creature spell resolving – “a creature.” However, some spells and abilities can cause multiple creatures to enter the battlefield at the same time. In this case, “a […]
Once two creatures are paired via Soulbond, they’re stuck that way until one of them leaves the battlefield.
Soulbond is a fun new mechanic from Avacyn Restored that lets you pair 2 creatures together, and both get fun new effects. Soulbond says that when the Soulbond guy enters the battlefield under your control, or a different guy enters the battlefield under your control, you can pair the two together if they aren’t paired. […]