is a card that says, ʺExile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control.ʺ Normally, you will be both the controller (the player who currently controls the creature) and the owner (the player whose deck originally contained the creature). While the owner of a creature can’t change, its controller […]
How Predatory Rampage works with your Acidic Slime.
makes all of your opponent’s creatures block if able. How does that wok with a single attacker? Easy enough, all of their creatures that CAN block it, must block it. Now, we’ll suppose you have a creature with Deathtouch. Deathtouch makes any nonzero amount of damage lethal. So say you did this with . It […]
How Sign in Blood (or any loss of life that isn’t damage) works vs. Elderscale Wurm.
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 […]
You can use “good” spells on your opponent’s creatures (when it’s actually bad for them).
For the most part, players don’t need to read the Comprehensive Rules in order to figure out how to play their cards, especially at common and uncommon. If a card says “Enchant creature,” for example, it’s not a great leap of intuition to suppose that the card becomes attached to a creature, and from there […]
What you can do with your electronic device during a tournament.
Nowadays, it seems like everyone has a smartphone, PDA, or some other kind of electronic gizmo in their pocket or purse at all times. Luckily, the latest update to the Magic Tournament Rules recognizes that we live in a very different world than 20 years ago (can you believe Magic is almost that old?) Section […]
Thragtusk will give you a 3/3 if it leaves play for any reason (not just if it dies).
is one of the exciting new cards from M13 that everyone is talking about. Anyone who has been paying attention to Standard immediately sees that this guy is ‘s new best friend. What’s most interesting about this card is that it doesn’t have the word “dies” anywhere in its text box. Instead, it says “leaves […]
Rancor only returns to your hand if it went to the graveyard from the battlefield.
is a card I’m quite familiar with, because I play so much Commander. We’ve got a few green decks like Uril, the Miststalker and Jenara that tend to ‘go Voltron’, so I’ve had to learn how Rancor works. Mainly by telling my friends it’s not QUITE as unstoppable as they’d hope! Now, the normal ways […]
Elderscale Wurm doesn’t actually ‘prevent’ damage.
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 […]
Roaring Primadox’s ability doesn’t target anything.
Probably one of the most-misused words in Magic has to be ʺtarget.ʺ Despite how often people seem to be confused, it’s actually quite simple: a spell or ability only has a target if the word ʺtargetʺ is included somewhere in its rules text (or in the comprehensive rules text for certain keyword abilities, such as […]