The cycle of god weapons in Theros brings us a new combination of permanents: artifact enchantments. They have one static or triggered ability that would fit perfectly on an enchantment, but also have an activated ability that’s normally found on an artifact. The abilities are generally synergetic, with one generally helping the other out. We’re […]
Category: Triggered Abilities
Anthousa’s land warriors don’t gain color.
Many of you probably played with at the prerelease, since it was one of the prerelease promos that were given out. Being able to make a small army of your lands can be a strong play. But let’s take a closer look at those lands. What color are they when they become animated? Usually, a […]
You can’t ignore the trigger on that Akroan Horse your opponent so generously gave you.
If you control Akroan Horse, you control the upkeep triggers, and it's your job to point them out even though you didn't cast the card.
Devotion and Counterspells
By far the biggest chunk of questions I’ve gotten from my players and my threads the past week are all about the last mechanic we’re covering this week (sorry, Scry): Devotion. Devotion is more or less a reworking of Chroma, an ability word from back in Lorwyn block. Put simply, “Devotion to COLOR” is measured […]
Heroic Triggers Resolve Before the Spell
We’re continuing with the Theros mechanic theme this week, and today we’re covering Heroic (or at least one aspect of it!). The Heroic mechanic is a lot like Batallion, Landfall, Threshold, Morbid, etc. All of these things aren’t actually keywords like Flying and Trample; they have no actual inherent rules meaning. In fact, if you […]
Primeval Bounty and Disciple of Bolas
There's a neat trick if you control only Primeval Bounty... you can cast Disciple of Bolas, and get a 3/3 in time to sacrifice it and draw 3 cards/gain 3 life!
Trostani and Scavenging Ooze for value
Today’s tip submitted by reader Nicholas Brown loves to gain you life. Sometimes its good to get a nice big creature popping into play to get you a good life swing. If you find yourself mid-game with some creatures already in the graveyard, you can utilize the stack to your benefit to get the maximum […]
Elite Arcanist’s ability can trigger Young Pyromancer or Guttersnipe.
Today, for our Hump Day tip, we’re going to be looking at a Magic 2014 card with some potential: . The ability to repeatedly cast an instant is a powerful effect, and it has some synergy with some standard-legal cards, which brings us to today’s question. When you activate the Arcanist’s ability, you make a […]
Young Pyromancer will make a token even if your spell is countered.
Young Pyromancer has an ability that triggers "Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell." These kinds of abilities only care about the fact that you cast it, and don't pay any attention to whether the spell resolves.