You can only activate abilities when you have priority. If your creature enters the battlefield but dies before you get priority, you're not going to have a good time!
Category: State-Based Actions
Characteristics, Continuous Effects, Multiplayer, Resolving spells and abilities, State-Based Actions, Triggered Abilities
Warp World and Humility (Confusion level: Expert!)
Warp World is weird, and so is Humility. Put them together, and weird things happen with triggers. If you're less confused after reading this blog entry, I'll be impressed!
Abilities, Characteristics, Control / Controller, State-Based Actions, Static Abilities, Type Changing
Mind Control and Gods: Not a Great Idea
So your opponent is staring you down with an active , or maybe his is online and giving you the business. Your board is fairly barren, but you’ve got a nice little in your hand, and you’re ready to turn that threat into an answer! Well, you shouldn’t. Devotion is a static ability on the […]
Using the planeswalker uniqueness rule for profit.
Under the new rules, you can activate your planeswalker, then cast a second copy, put only the old one in the graveyard (instead of both!), and activate the new one! Not always the best value, but a neat trick that can come in handy in certain situations.
Brave the Elements, Gods Willing, and Auras
Back when Zendikar block was still in standard, was one of my favorite cards. We may have that back, but we also have , which grants protection to just one of your creatures, but that creature needn’t be white (plus you get to Scry 1). Now, we’re also in a Standard heavy with Auras and […]
Bestow vs. Protection
Protection makes a Bestowed aura just drop off onto the battlefield as a creature, thanks to a last-minute rule addition that made it into the 9/27/13 Comp Rules.
“Commander damage” is only from combat damage.
A very common question is whether Ashling the Pilgrim or Heartless Hidetsugu can kill opponents by dealing 21 damage even without attacking. We explain why that doesn't work!
M14 Rules Changes! The Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule
This one is very similar to the Legend Rule update. Previously, any two planeswalkers on the field with the same subtype would go to the graveyard immediately. Now, the game only looks at the planeswalkers controlled by the same player, and if there are two or more with the same subtype, the controller chooses one […]
M14 Rules changes! Legendary permanents
Magic 2014 is coming, and with it, we’re getting some major updates to the rules! One of the major changes is to the “legend rule” that governs legendary permanents. Currently, if two or more legendary permanent with the same name are on the battlefield, all of them are put into their owners’ graveyards as a […]