When casting a spell or playing an ability all costs associated with playing it are paid at that time. When you announce a spell or ability, you announce it, make all necessary choices associated with the playing the spell and then pay all costs. This means that when you play , you must exile cards […]
Category: Costs
Phyrexian mana in a Flashback cost can be paid with life.
has the ability to give an instant and sorcery card in your graveyard Flashback. When it does, the Flashback cost will be equal to the mana cost of the targeted card. If Snapcaster Mage’s ability is used on a card with a Phyrexian mana symbol in its mana cost, then the Flashback cost will also […]
Sacrificing a creature to Birthing Pod is a cost.
, an artifact from New Phyrexia, has an activated ability that allows you to search your library for creature cards. This ability has an additional cost of sacrificing a creature you control. The creature card you end up finding must have a converted mana cost equal to one plus the converted mana cost of the […]
Exiling a creature card with Makeshift Mauler or Stitched Drake is an additional cost.
One mechanical theme for some of the blue creatures in Innistrad is that you need to exile one or more creature cards from your graveyard as an additional cost. Examples of cards with this ability are , and . As this is an additional cost, it is paid when you pay all costs when casting […]
Rooftop Storm does not apply to non-creature spells.
When in play allows you to pay zero mana when casting a zombie creature spell. This effect does not apply to spells and abilities that put zombie tokens into the battlefield or otherwise relate to zombies. For example, you still have to pay the mana cost when playing from your hand. Similarly, you’d have to […]
How Phyrexian Mana works.
With the takeover of the plane of Mirrodin by the Phyrexians we are introduced to a new way to cast some spells and pay for some abilities. There are a total of 26 cards in New Phyrexia that have a Phyrexian mana symbol in either the mana cost of the card, as a cost to […]
You can’t spend life if your life total cannot change
a mythic card from Scars of Mirrodin has an ability that prevents your life total from changing. This ability prevents its controller from spending life as well. Because of this, you cannot spend life to play cards with Phyrexian mana in their mana cost via their alternate costs.
The informal term ‘summoning sickness.’
A term that was official used when the game was created that has been somewhat phased out is ‘summoning sickness.’ This term does appear in the comprehensive rules, but it is pointed out that this is informal. It refers to the inability of creatures to attack, or use their own activated abilities that have the […]
You can’t respond to the payment of costs.
When a player plays a spell or ability they pay all costs associated with casting or playing that ability. No player will receive priority until after the spell or ability is on the stack and paid for. For example you cannot use destroy a land that was just tapped for mana while casting a spell […]