has three abilities: flying; a characteristic-defining ability that sets its base power and toughness; and a triggered ability that makes you draw a card when it deals combat damage to a player. In the combat damage step, it is important to note that abilities that trigger from combat damage being dealt will go on the […]
Category: Static Abilities
Lifelink is not cumulative.
Giving a creature the lifelink ability more than once will not do anything more than if it had the ability once. The ability is not cumulative and creatures that have the ability more than once will not cause their controller to gain more life than the damage dealt. For example, gives a targeted creature +2/+2 […]
Rusted Sentinel’s ability applied as it enters the battlefield
has one ability which causes it to enter the battlefield tapped. This is a static ability that generates a replacement effect that is applied to the action of putting the Sentinel into play. (This will most often happen as the Rusted Sentinel spell resolves.) The Sentinel does not enter the battlefield and then become tapped. […]
You cannot respond to the choice of creature type with Adaptive Automaton’s ability.
Magic 2012 has introduced a new do-it-yourself lord that give +1/+1 to creatures of a chosen type that you control. The itself also becomes this type, but it does not gain the +1/+1 bonus from its own ability. It is important to note that the choice of creature type is made as the Automaton enters […]
Attacking and blocking requirements
This week for the rules tips we will be looking at attacking and blocking requirements and restrictions, how they work and how they interact. Today, we are going to focus on attacking and blocking requirements. When choosing an attacking of blocking creature sometimes there are effects that force you to attack or block where you […]
Melira, Sylvok Outcast does not remove counters
has three static abilities that do similar things, in that they all ‘shut down’ infect. The first ability prevents you from receiving poison counters. The second prevents creatures you control from receiving -1/-1 counters. The last ability removes infect from all creatures that your opponent’s control. While the first two abilities prevent counters from being […]
Phyrexian Ingester uses the printed values of the exiled card.
has an enters the battlefield ability that exiles a targeted nontoken creature. The Ingester then gets a ‘boost’ to its power and toughness based on the power and toughness of the removed card. It is important to note that the printed values on the card are what the Ingester looks at when calculating the increase […]
How Phyrexian Unlife works.
changes both how what having zero life does and what happens when damage is dealt to you. With the first ability, you don’t lose the game if you have a life total of zero or below. In most cases this is great and keeps you from losing, however Phyrexian Unlife’s second ability changes how damage […]
Choosing a color does not use the stack with Caged Sun’s ability.
has a static ability that gives creatures you control of the chosen color +1/+1. This is a static ability that applies as soon as the Caged Sun enters play. The choice of a color occurs as Caged Sun enters play. This is not something that uses the stack or that can specifically be responded to. […]