Published on 07/31/2017
Hour of Answering
By Carsten Haese, Callum Milne, and Nathan Long
This Article from: Nathan Long
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Note: This article is over two years old. Information in this article may be out of date due to subsequent Oracle and/or rules changes. Proceed with caution.
We just blew everything up a few Hours ago.
Why do we need to blow them up again?
Why do we need to blow them up again?
And if this Hour of Answering didn't cover your question, you can still contact us with your rules questions. We might even use your question in a future Hour of Answe- err, article. If you have a short question, you can Tweet us at @CranialTweet. If you have a longer question, feel free to e-mail us at moko@cranialinsertion.com . Now onto the Answering!
Q: I have a Mirage Mirror in play, and I make it a copy of Hooded Brawler. I attack with the Mirror Brawler, and I exert it when it attacks. Will the Mirror untap during my next untap step?
A: No it won't. Since you exerted it when you attacked with it, the Mirror won't untap during your next untap step. Even if it stops being a copy of that creature before your next untap step, the effect from exert will still prevent it from untapping, so your Mirror still won't untap during your next untap step.
Q: I have my Mirage Mirror in play again, and this, I make it a copy of Liliana's Mastery. Will I get two zombie tokens?
A: No you won't. When the Mirror becomes a copy of something else, it doesn't count as anything entering the battlefield. It's just a permanent that's becoming a copy of something else. While your zombies will get +1/+1 from the Mastery's static ability, since it's not entering the battlefield, you won't get any zombie tokens.
Q: I enchant my opponent with two copies of Fraying Sanity, then I cast Compelling Argument targeting them. How many cards will they mill this turn?
A: They're going to mill a total of 20 cards this turn. When your end step begins, both triggers go on the stack, and each trigger is going to count the number of cards that have gone to the graveyard when the trigger resolves. When the first trigger resolves, it sees they've put five cards into their graveyard, so the first trigger will put five more. When the second trigger resolves, it sees they've put ten cards into the graveyard (it counts the cards put there by the first Sanity trigger), so the second trigger will put ten more cards into their graveyard, for a total of twenty cards milled this turn.
Q: My opponent has a Crocodile of the Crossing in play with a -1/-1 counter on it. I enchant my opponent with Overwhelming Splendor. What happens to my opponent's Crocodile?
A: They have a very dead Crocodile. And I'm sorry, but this has to do with layers. As we go through the layers, we apply the effect from the Splendor first (because it sets the base power and toughness), then we apply the bonus from the counter. The Crocodile becomes a base 1/1 creature, then it gets -1/-1 from the counter, and since it's now a 0/0 creature, it will die.
Q: I control a Firebrand Archer, and I want to cast Lethal Sting, targeting my opponent's creature and putting the -1/-1 counter on my Archer. Will I get the trigger from the Archer?
A: You will! This isn't like Fling, where the creature dies in the middle of announcing the spell, before its considered cast. The Archer won't die until after you're done announcing the Sting and state-based effects are checked. The Archer may be a 1/0 when the Sting becomes cast, but it's still on the battlefield at that point, so its ability will trigger, and then the Archer will die.
Q: I cast Puncturing Blow on my opponent's Hazoret the Fervent. What exactly happens?
A: Well, for now, not much. Puncturing Blow deals five damage to Hazoret. But since Hazoret is indestructible, it won't be destroyed by that damage. For now, Hazoret will sit on the battlefield as a 5/4 indestructible creature with five damage marked on it. However, should Hazoret die later in the turn (maybe you followed up with Trial of Ambition, since Hazoret would die, the Blow will replace going to the graveyard with being exiled instead.
We don't know what happened to Hours 9 through 21.
Q: I have an Abandoned Sarcophagus in play, and a Dissenter's Deliverance in my graveyard. Can I cast the Deliverance from my graveyard, let it resolve, then cast it again before the Sarcophagus exiles it?
A: Nope, you can't do that. The Sarcophagus doesn't exile the card with cycling due to a triggered ability - it exiles the card with a replacement effect. If you didn't cycle the card, instead of going to the graveyard, the card ends up in exile instead. Once the Deliverance is done resolving, it would go to the graveyard, but the Sarcophagus will replace that with being exiled instead, and won't go to the graveyard at all.
Q: I have The Locust God in play, and I just cast Pull from Tomorrow with X=4. How many tokens will I get from The Locust God?
A: You just drew four cards? You get four tokens! The Locust God will trigger each time you draw a card, and if you're drawing multiple cards at the same time, it will trigger for each one of them. Since you just drew four cards from the Pull, The Locust God will trigger four times and you'll get four tokens.
Q: When I cast Countervailing Winds, will it count itself as a card in my graveyard?
A: Nope, it won't count for its own effect. While the Winds is resolving, it's still on the stack, not in the graveyard. Since the Winds isn't in the graveyard while it's resolving, it will not count for its own effect. For instance, if you have one card in your graveyard and you cast the Winds, they'll have to pay
to prevent their spell from being countered, not 
.Q: I attacked my opponent with The Scarab God, and my opponent blocked with Ruin Rat, and then my opponent exiled The Scarab God with the Rat's trigger. Do I still get the God back at the end of turn?
A: Nope, your plans have been foiled by a Rat. The God will only return to your hand if it's still in the graveyard at the end of the turn. If the God leaves the graveyard, it will not return. By exiling your God with their Rat, it will prevent your God from returning to your hand and it will spend the rest of the game in exile.
Q: I'm at 5 life, and I have a Crested Sunmare in play. I cast Oketra's Last Mercy, going back up to 20 life. Will I get a Horse at the end of turn?
A: Of course! Setting your life total to a number counts as gaining or losing that much life. You went from 5 life up to 20 life, which counts as you gaining 15 life. Since you gained life this turn, the Sunmare's ability will trigger and you'll get a Horse token at the end of the turn.
Q: I have two lands in play, along with a Faith of the Devoted. I cycle Vizier of Tumbling Sands from my hand. Can I stack things so I can untap one of my lands, then use it to pay for the Devoted's trigger?
A: Yes you can! After you've cycled the Vizier, there's two triggers waiting to go on the stack: the trigger from the Devoted, and the trigger from the Vizier. You control both triggers, so you get to choose the order they're put on the stack. As long as you put the Vizier trigger on the stack above the Devoted's trigger, the Vizier's trigger will resolve first. You'll be able to untap your land, then tap that land for mana to pay for the Devoted's trigger when it resolves.
Q: My opponent cast a random spell, and I respond with Supreme Will, choosing the first mode. My opponent responds by using Unsubstantiate on their spell, returning it to their hand. Can I change my mind and resolve the Will with the second mode instead?
A: No you can't. When you cast a modal spell like Supreme Will, you choose which mode you're going to cast as part of announcing the spell. Once you've made that decision, you're locked in to that choice, and you can't change your mind later on. You cast the Will with the first mode chosen, and you can't change your mind and cast it with the second mode chosen just because the targeted spell is no longer legal.
This Hour takes place right before the Hour of Dawning.
Q: I just cast Champion of Wits, and in response to the Champion's enter the battlefield trigger, my opponent casts Aether Meltdown on my Champion. What happens when the Champion's trigger resolves?
A: If you choose to use the ability, it's going to end badly for you. When the trigger goes to resolve, we see that the Champion's power is -2. However, you can't really draw a negative number of cards, so instead of drawing -2 cards, you draw 0 cards. Even though you didn't draw any cards, the other part of the trigger will still occur, so you'll still have to discard two cards.
Luckily, since the Champion uses the word "may", you choose on resolution if you want to use the ability or not. That means if your opponent responds with the Meltdown, you can choose to not use the ability when it resolves (you still can, if you really want to Mind Rot yourself, but you probably don't want to do that).
Q: I control an Anointed Procession and a Geist of Saint Traft. What happens when I attack with the Geist?
A: When the Geist's trigger resolves, it wants to create an attacking 4/4 Angel token. The Procession sees this, and instead of getting one attacking 4/4 Angel token, you get two tokens instead! The token is made by the Geist's ability, so it will also be an attacking creature. However, at the end of combat, both tokens will be exiled, since the Geist's trigger created both tokens.
Q: My opponent, being a mean person, has both an Aven Mindcensor and an Ob Nixilis, Unshackled in play. I sacrifice my Terramorphic Expanse, but due to the Mindcensor, I only look through the top four cards of my library. Will Ob Nixilis still trigger?
A: Yes, it will still trigger. Even though the Mindcensor only has you looking at the top four cards instead of your entire library, you're still searching your library, and anything that triggers when you search your library (like Ob Nixilis) will still trigger. Hopefully, you at least found a land with your Expanse so you didn't lose 10 life and sacrifice a creature for nothing.
Q: My opponent has a Dragonlord Kolaghan in play, and I have a single Gravecrawler in my graveyard, as well as a Zombie token in play. If I cast Gravecrawler from my graveyard, will the Dragonlord's ability trigger?
A: No it will not. The very first step of casting a spell is moving it from where you're casting it from (in this case, that's the graveyard) to the stack. Later on, once you've completed casting the spell, we check to see if anything should trigger. This is the point that the Dragonlord is checking to see if you have a copy of Gravecrawler in your graveyard. But you don't have a Gravecrawler in your graveyard - the one you just cast is on the stack, and won't count for the Dragonlord's ability. In this case, the Dragonlord's ability will not trigger and you will not lose any life.
Q: My opponent is playing an infect deck, and I just played Solemnity. This is pretty good for me, right?
A: Yep, your opponent is probably pretty unhappy with you right now. Unlike Melira, Sylvok Outcast, which removes infect from your opponent's creatures (thus letting them deal damage to you and reducing your life total), Solemnity prevents you from getting counters, and that includes poison counters from a creature with infect. You're still dealt damage by the creature with infect, (so they'll still gain life if they dealt damage to you with [c]
Flensermite[/c], for instance), but you won't actually get any poison counters from the infect creature. You've pretty much neutralized their game plan until they can get rid of Solemnity.
Q: I have a Chrome Mox in play, with a Grizzly Bears imprinted on it. Then I use Pull from Eternity to move the Bears to the graveyard. What happens if I tap Chrome Mox for mana now?
A: Your Mox is kind of worthless now. Chrome Mox has what we call a linked ability, meaning that the activated ability will look at the card the triggered ability exiled to determine what color of mana it can produce. However, if that card leaves exile, then the Mox loses track of it, and no longer has any knowledge about it. If you activate the Mox's ability, but there's nothing exiled by the Mox, the ability does nothing and you won't get any mana.
Q: I cast Recoil targeting my opponent's commander. Instead of putting their commander in their hand, they choose to put it in the command zone instead. Will they still have to discard to the second part of Recoil's effect?
A: Yes they will. Recoil doesn't care if some other replacement effects makes the targeted permanent go somewhere else. Even if they put their commander in the command zone instead, they will still have to discard a card from their hand.
If they were planning on putting their commander in the command zone no matter what, a smart play would have been to let their commander go to their hand, then discard their commander and put it in the command zone instead of the graveyard. They get their commander back in the command zone, and they don't have to discard anything else to Recoil
Well, we're all out of Hours for this week. We'll see you all next week!
Thrawcheld
That's Flensermite, not Fleshermite.
#1
• Date: 2017-08-01 • Time: 06:34:06 •
