Cards like (with or without kicker) and that make a token copy of a card seem to be fairly intuitive to most players. What is that token? Well, it’s exactly the card that it copied! If you copy a with Cackling counterpart, the token created is still named Runeclaw Bear. On the surface, creature cards […]
You have the freedom to kill an animated land or flashed in creature before it can block.
Creatures with flash or animated lands are generally a good thing to have when you’re being attacked. They can’t be destroyed or removed by sorceries before blocking, and you’ll know exactly which creatures your opponent is attacking with before you have to decide whether you want to cast or animate them. As the attacking player, […]
Improper Drawing at Start of Game: What it is and how to handle it.
One of the more frustrating problems that players face is when they start the game off on the wrong foot–by failing to draw the right opening hand. It is easy to just go on “autopilot” and draw 7 after a mulligan, or maybe they draw 8 because the cards stuck together, or maybe they just […]
Infinite Reflections always takes precedence over Clone effects.
So you may have read the Oracle rulings on and wondered, “Why does this always win over other copy effects? Can’t I choose the order to apply these effects?” Well, the answer is that you CAN choose the order, but you always get the same end result. Let’s say you control Infinite Reflection attached to […]
The order you put permanents into play with Primal Surge can matter.
Seems like I have a tendency to get the Commander questions lately! So, what’s the main difference between and (besides how easily Surge can whiff)? Mainly, the order of things coming into play. When you Genesis Wave for X=10, any and all permanents you hit will come in simultaneously, all at once, together. With Surge, […]
If you cast and flicker Stonehorn Dignitary, the next two combat phases will be skipped.
Each time ‘s ability resolves, it sets up a replacement effect that is extremely patient. It does not immediately decide “It’s currently turn X, so that means you skip combat in turn X+1.” Instead, it sets up a delayed effect and waits for the next time the specified event would happen. Right before your opponent […]
What you can do when you have two Dangerous Wagers in hand.
Two in han…: seems pretty useless, right? Well, not necessarily. Dangerous Wager is an instant, so you can cast it in response to an opponent’s spell; but what many players don’t realize is that you can cast spells in response to your own spells as well! After a player casts a spell, priority is given […]
Chalice of Life doesn’t transform when you gain life from something else.
has an ability that causes it to transform if your life total is at least ten points higher than your starting life total when it resolves. In most games of magic, your starting life total is 20, which means that it can transform if you have at least 30 life. It is not a triggered […]
How Demonic Rising really works.
‘Intervening if’ clauses! Fun times. These are handy little things that can stop stuff from happening before it happens. They’re always written as “When/whenever/at…, if SOMETHING IS TRUE, do something.” These abilities check for “something is true” at two times: when the ability would trigger, and when it would resolve. The ability needs something to […]