…and knowing is half the battlefield
! This little tree-girl seems like lots of fun in Limited and Constructed both, but the most common question I’ve seen regarding her is how she works with removal. When does the spell go to the graveyard? Does she exile it or not? A spell does not go to the graveyard until it has fully […]
This week, in celebration of our Return to the beloved plane of Ravnica, I’ll be previewing each of the new mechanics! Tuesday is Tournament day, so I’ll be cramming two abilities onto Friday’s post. Today, Unleash! Unleash is the Rakdos mechanic, and it really helps capture the hedonistic, thrillkilling attitude of the Cult of Rakdos. […]
When a resolving effect modifies the characteristics of objects on the battlefield (such as power/toughness), the permanents that will be affected are “locked in” as the spell/ability resolves. So when you cast , it applies -X/-X to all creatures currently on the battlefield as the spell resolves, and that effect will last until the end […]
‘s ability is pretty cool. If an effect an opponent controls says “sacrifice a creature” Sigarda says, “No, I’d rather not.” So she keeps you safe from things like and . But what if the opponent targets your Phantasmal Image (copying something other than Sigarda) with ? On the surface, it almost looks like the […]
This is a very common question with any kind of copy creature. The most important thing to note is that the static ability that lets you choose to copy something is NOT a triggered ability (if it was, pretty much every Clone-type creature would die for being 0/0 before you could choose to copy something!). […]
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 […]
If you’ve never faced an while you control a 28/28 fatty, let me tell you: it’s frustrating! Some effects, such as the Circles of Protection, prevent damage from ever occuring. Effects such as these use the word ʺpreventʺ in their rules text, making them easy to identify. Other effects, such as those you find on […]
has an ability that seems pretty straightforward at first, but what happens if I’m trying to switch my life with ‘s toughness? Is that Life gain? Well, sometimes. If an effect sets your life total to a certain number, like Tree of Redemption or , for example, you ʺgain or loseʺ the appropriate amount of […]
Everyone loves BOGO! (That’s ʺBuy One, Get Oneʺ for those of you without a power shopper in your life.) Isn’t it great to pay for one thing, and get twice as much instead? seems like a good way to do that. Unlike that ʺBOGOʺ sign you see in a shopping mall, Magic rules strive to […]