Invasion(TM) Frequently Asked Questions Compiled by Brady Dommermuth This FAQ represents our attempt to be more thorough and to make the FAQ useful to a wider range of players. Here's how it works: This FAQ is *not* meant to be read from beginning to end. It has three sections, each of which serves a different purpose. The first section ("GENERAL QUESTIONS") explains new mechanics and concepts in the set; the questions in it aren't tied to a particular card. Think of it as a little rulebook for the _Invasion_ set. The second section ("FAQ HIGHLIGHTS") is the same as the old- style "Card Specific Questions" portion of the FAQ. It consists of tougher questions that judges and tournament players will need to know. The third section ("CARD-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS") is every reasonable question we could think of that players might ask about a given card -- from very basic to very obscure -- including the ones in the second section. If you're a veteran player who knows the rules pretty well, you can skip the third section completely. If you're a newer player or one who doesn't care too much about the intricacies of the rules, you can use the third section to look up cards as you would in a glossary. If you have comments about this new FAQ format, send them to: bradyd@wizards.com GENERAL QUESTIONS Multicolored Cards ----- They're back! Here's what you need to know: - A card's color is determined by its mana cost. That means cards with more than one color of mana in their mana costs are multicolored cards. - Multicolored cards have gold backgrounds. The exception is split cards, which are multicolored unless they're on the stack (see "Split Cards" below). - A multicolored card is affected by anything that affects either or both of its colors. For example, a red and green multicolored card is affected by spells and abilities that affect red cards, green cards, or red and green cards. It's also affected by spells and abilities that affect "red or green" cards; just because it's both doesn't mean these effects don't apply. - When you change the color of a spell or permanent, all previous colors are overwritten (unless the effect specifies that the new color is "in addition" to its existing colors). That means changing the color of a multicolored spell or permanent will usually make it not multicolored. - When a multicolored card deals damage, the damage is of a multicolored source. Usually that doesn't matter. For example, Circle of Protection: Red has no trouble preventing damage dealt by a red and black creature. Neither does Circle of Protection: Black. In general, if an effect looks for a particular color, it will find multicolored cards with that color. - Some effects will seem to count a multicolored card twice. For example, a spell might say, "Gain 1 life for each color among permanents you control." If you control a single black and blue creature when you play this spell, you'd gain 2 life. See the "CARD- SPECIFIC QUESTIONS" section for more detailed information. - Split cards are multicolored, because their two mana costs have different colors of mana. They're not multicolored while they're on the stack, because during that time, half the card is invisible. See "Split Cards" below for more details. - Kicker costs aren't part of a spell's mana cost, so kicker cards aren't multicolored based on a difference in color between the two. Kangee, Aerie Keeper is a multicolored kicker card because it has two different colors of mana in its mana cost. - Activated ability costs aren't part of a spell's mana cost, so permanents aren't multicolored based on a difference in color between the two. Kicker Cards ----- Some spells have a kicker cost. If you pay it when you play the spell, the spell has some extra or better effect. - Kicker costs are always optional. - You pay the kicker cost when you play the spell. You declare whether you're going to pay it at the same time you'd choose a spell's mode, and then you actually pay it at the same time you pay the spell's mana cost. - If a permanent with a kicker cost is put directly into play, you don't get the chance to pay the kicker. - You can pay a kicker cost only once. You can't pay it multiple times to "pump up" the effect. - The effect you get when you pay a kicker cost sometimes has targets. Here's a special rule for kicker: You don't choose the targets for the part of the effect tied to paying the kicker cost unless you've declared that you're going to pay it. Every time the word "target" appears after the phrase "if you paid the kicker cost," that means you choose that target only if you've declared that you're going to pay the kicker cost. - Kicker costs don't count toward a spell's mana cost or converted mana cost, whether they're paid or not. That means they're not increased by the effect of Leeches, and they're not figured into effects like Spell Blast's. - Some kicker cards are worded this way: "Do A. If you paid the kicker cost, do B instead." For example, Prohibit reads, "Counter target spell if its converted mana cost is 2 or less. If you paid the kicker cost, counter that spell if its converted mana cost is 4 or less instead." For cards like this, you do B if you pay the kicker cost and A if you don't. You never get to do both. (Remember that the word "instead" means you replace one thing with another.) Split Cards ----- Split cards have two card faces on a single card. - When you play a split card, you announce which side of the card you're playing. While it's on the stack, the other side of the card is ignored completely. - Split cards have two sets of characteristics: two names, two mana costs, and so on. They always have both sets, except when they're on the stack. For example, Wax/Wane is a green instant that costs G and gives a creature +2/+2 on one side, and a white instant that costs W and destroys an enchantment on the other side. But while it's on the stack, one half is totally invisible. - When a split card is anywhere other than on the stack, it has both sets of characteristics. Anything that affects half the card affects the whole card. For example, let's say Wax/Wane is in your hand. Your opponent plays Persecute on you. If he or she chooses white, you'll have to discard Wax/Wane. If he or she chooses green, you'll have to discard it. - Split cards have two mana costs with different colors of mana in them. That means they are multicolored cards, except while they're on the stack. Remember that while a split card is on the stack, the half not being played is invisible, so it's only one color. - Remember that a split card has two names. If an effect tells you to name a card, you must name all of its names. For example, let's say you play Null Chamber. You can name Wax/Wane, but you can't name only Wax or only Wane (because they're not separate cards). That means Null Chamber prevents both halves of Wax/Wane from being played, not just one half or the other. - Sometimes an effect will key off the value of a split card's characteristic, such as color or converted mana cost. Usually this is simple. For example, if an effect deals damage to a target for each red card in your hand, split cards with a red half are counted with no problems. If an effect makes you discard all cards with a particular converted mana cost, a split card whose half has that converted mana cost will be discarded. But what if an effect asks for a single value of a split card's characteristic? For example, let's say you control Infernal Genesis from the _Prophecy(TM)_ set. It reads, "At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard. He or she then puts X 1/1 black Minion creature tokens into play, where X is that card's converted mana cost." What if you turn over a split card? What's its converted mana cost? The split card can't give a single answer, so it gives two. For example, if you put Wax/Wane into your graveyard because of Infernal Genesis's effect, you'd get two 1/1 token creatures. Why? Because when Infernal Genesis asks Wax/Wane what its converted mana cost is, it answers, "1, and 1." Basically, Infernal Genesis doesn't know which answer to use, so it uses both. That doesn't mean that a split card's characteristics get added, though. For example, if your opponent plays Void on you and names 1, you'll have to discard Wax/Wane. But if he or she names 2, you won't discard it, because neither half of the split card has a converted mana cost of 2. You don't add up the two characteristics for some kind of combined value. Here's the short version of this rule: "Effects that ask for a split card's characteristic get both answers. Effects that ask if a split card's characteristic matches a given value get only one answer." "Domain" Cards ----- These are cards whose effect depends on how many basic land types you have in play. In general, the more different types of basic lands you control, the better the effect from "domain" cards. - The maximum number of basic land types you can have among lands you control is five: plains, island, swamp, mountain, and forest. Even if you control 20 basic lands, there can be only five basic land types among them. - The _Revised Edition(TM)_ dual lands each have two basic land types. That means if you control only a Bayou and a Tundra, for example, there are 4 basic land types among lands you control. These are the only nonbasic lands for which this is true. Coastal Tower, for example, doesn't have a basic land type. - If a land becomes a basic land of some kind, it automatically gains that land's basic land type. For example, if you enchant Coastal Tower with Tainted Well, Coastal Tower becomes a swamp and becomes a basic land with the type "swamp." - Remember that it doesn't matter how many basic land types you have in play when you *play* a domain card. They're not counted up until the spell resolves. Djinns ----- The _Invasion_ set has five Djinns -- one of each color. They're big creatures that stay big as long as their color *isn't* the most common in play. If their color *is* the most common, they get smaller. - Here's the easiest way to figure out whether a Djinn gets -2/-2: For each of the five colors, count the number of permanents in play. If the number of permanents of the Djinn's color is the biggest, or is tied for biggest, the Djinn gets the -2/-2 penalty. Remember that a multicolored card counts as a permanent of each of its colors. Leeches ----- The _Invasion_ set has five Leeches -- one of each color. Each is cheaper to play than it would normally be, but each has an ability that makes other spells of its color more expensive to play. For example, Jade Leech is a 5/5 creature for only 2GG. But once it's in play, all other green spells you play cost G more. - The effects of Leeches don't change a card's mana cost or converted mana cost. They just affect how much its controller has to pay to play it. "Divvy" cards ----- There are six cards in the _Invasion_ set that instruct a player to divvy up some cards into two piles. Then one effect happens to one pile, and a different effect happens to the other one. - When cards are separated into piles, they don't leave the zone they're in (unless the effect says to move them to a different zone). For example, if a divvy card affects creatures in play, they don't leave play. No leaves-play or comes-into-play triggered abilities will trigger. - The affected cards stay separated into piles only for the duration of the effect. Once the spell is done resolving, the cards' controller can mix them together again. Dragon Legends ----- The _Invasion_ set has five Dragon Legends -- one for each group of three allied colors. Each one has an ability that triggers on it dealing combat damage, then does something based on a color you choose. - If all the Dragon's combat damage is prevented, the ability doesn't trigger. At least 1 combat damage must be actually dealt for the ability to go on the stack. - You don't choose the color for the ability until it resolves. That means by the time you choose, it'll be too late for your opponent to respond with instants or activated abilities. FAQ HIGHLIGHTS All these questions and answers also appear in the "CARD-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS" section. They're repeated here because they're difficult or because they change card wordings. Addle ----- Q: What happens if my opponent plays Addle, but I play Deflection or Misdirection and send it back at him or her? A: As printed, this situation would require trusting your opponent to tell the truth about what's in his or her hand (or calling a judge if you're playing in a tournament). This mandates a correction to Addle: "Choose a color. Target player reveals his or her hand, then you choose a card of that color from it. That player discards that card." Aether Rift ----- Q: When does my opponent decide whether or not to pay 5 life? A: After you discard a card at random from your hand during the ability's resolution. That means your opponent will get to see the card before he or she decides to pay the life to keep it from being put into play. Q: When I discard a creature card, does it actually make it into my graveyard before my opponent gets to decide whether to pay life or not? A: Yes. That means, for example, that abilities that trigger when a card is put into a graveyard will trigger, even if the creature card is put into play immediately after being discarded. Ancient Spring, Geothermal Crevice, Irrigation Ditch, Sulfur Vent, Tinder Farm ----- Q: If Overabundance or Mana Flare is in play, and I play the ability that gives me two different colors of mana, which color does the enchantment add? A: The mana ability's controller chooses. In this case, since you control the land, you get to decide. Atalya, Samite Master ----- Q: Which mode does the "spend only white mana" restriction apply to? A: It applies to both modes. Aura Shards ----- Q: Does this ability trigger when I gain control of one of my opponent's creatures? A: No. The creature is already in play, so the ability doesn't trigger. Barrin's Spite ----- Q: Who chooses which creature is sacrificed and which is returned to its owner's hand? A: The creatures' controller. Q: When is that choice made? A: During the playing of the spell. Q: What happens if one of the creatures becomes an illegal target before Barrin's Spite resolves? A: The spell will resolve anyway, and the remaining creature will either be sacrificed or returned to its owner's hand, depending on what its controller chose when Barrin's Spite was played. Q: What happens if one of the target creatures changes controllers before Barrin's Spite resolves? What if both do? A: The first sentence of Barrin's Spite should read, "Choose a player and two target creatures that player controls." With this wording, if one creature changes control before Barrin's Spite resolves, only the other one will be affected. If both creatures change controllers, all the spell's targets will be illegal and it will be countered. Blind Seer ----- Q: If I change the color of a spell that will become a permanent, what happens? A: After the spell resolves, the resulting permanent will be the new color of the spell until the end of the turn. Then it will revert to the spell's original color. Blurred Mongoose ----- Q: Can Blurred Mongoose be targeted by spells and abilities while it's on the stack? A: Yes. The "untargetable" ability applies only while the creature is in play. Q: What does "can't be countered" mean? Can the Blurred Mongoose spell be targeted by spells that would counter it? A: Yes. "Can't be countered" just means that if an effect would counter the spell, it fails to do so. The countering spell still resolves normally, but the Mongoose spell isn't countered. Cauldron Dance ----- Q: Can I play this if I don't have any creature cards in my hand? A: Yes. In that case, the creature card in your graveyard will come into play, gain haste, and return to your hand at end of turn. Q: Can I play it if there are no creature cards in my graveyard? A: No, because you must target a creature card in your graveyard. Without a target, you can't play the spell. Q: What if the creature card I target is removed from my graveyard before Cauldron Dance resolves? A: Then the spell will be countered, because its only target has become illegal. That means a creature card in your hand won't be put into play either. Coalition Victory ----- Q: How does this work with multicolored creatures? What about lands with more than one type? For example, let's say I control a Sliver Queen (which is all five colors), a Tundra (which is both a plains and an island), a Taiga (both a mountain and a forest), and a swamp when my Coalition Victory resolves. Do I win? A: Yes you do. To figure out if the win condition has been met, ask these questions: Do I control a white creature? a blue creature? a black creature (and so on)? Do I control a plains? an island? a swamp (and so on)? If the answer is "yes" to all the questions, you win. Divine Presence ----- Q: Does this effect keep track of how much damage each source has dealt over the course of the game? In other words, does it mean that no source can ever deal more than 3 damage total to a particular creature or player? A: No. The effect applies each time a source deals damage. If a source would deal less than 4 damage, the effect ignores it. If it would deal 4 or more, the effect applies and resets the damage to 3. The next time that source would deal damage, it's treated just like the first time. Dream Thrush ----- Q: If I control a land that's also a creature, then play Dream Thrush's ability on it, will it still be both a land and a creature? A: Yes. The printed wording of Dream Thrush's ability isn't clear on this. It should read, "T: Target land's type becomes a basic land type of your choice until end of turn." The fixed wording clarifies that the ability only affects the target's land type, not its permanent type. Elfhame Sanctuary ----- Q: What happens if I have two of these in play? A: You can get up to two basic land cards each upkeep. If you use both Sanctuaries' abilities, you'll only have to skip that turn's draw step, not future ones. If you only use one Sanctuary's ability, you'll still have to skip that turn's draw step. Fertile Ground ----- Q: What if I tap a land for mana but it doesn't produce any? A: Fertile Ground's ability will trigger anyway. Global Ruin ----- Q: How does this spell work with the _Revised Edition_ dual lands? A: Let's say the only lands you control are two Tundras and a Scrubland. You can choose one Tundra for your plains, one for your island, and the Scrubland for your swamp, thereby keeping them all in play. Goblin Spy ----- Q: How do I play with the top card of my library revealed? A: Just flip over the top card and leave it that way. Every time the revealed card leaves your library (if you draw it, if it's milled, and so on), flip over the next card. If you have to shuffle your library, first turn the top card face-down, then shuffle, then flip over the new top card. Q: What happens if an effect makes me draw 4 cards, for instance? A: You must reveal each one before you draw it. Q: What about an effect like Sage Owl's that lets me look at a number of cards on top of my library? A: When you look at cards in your library, they're not actually leaving that library. So the revealed one stays revealed and the others stay hidden. Kangee, Aerie Keeper ----- Q: Can I choose 0 for X? If so, will that trigger Saproling Infestation's ability? A: Yes, you can choose 0 for X, but Saproling Infestation's ability will trigger only if you pay the other 2 mana. Also, the fact that you can choose 0 for X doesn't mean you have to pay the kicker cost. You can still choose not to pay X at all. Liberate ----- Q: Let's say I play this on a creature that has an "at end of turn" triggered ability. When the creature returns to play, will its ability trigger? A: No. All "at end of turn" abilities trigger at the same time. By the time Liberate's delayed "at end of turn" triggered ability has resolved and returned the creature to play, it's too late for other "at end of turn" abilities to trigger. Loafing Giant ----- Q: If Loafing Giant blocks more than one creature (using Entangler, for example), does its ability trigger once for each creature it blocks? A: No, it triggers once for the whole blocking event. Mages' Contest ----- Q: Can I bid 0? A: No. "A high bid of 1" means that you must bid 1 life, and that becomes the high bid for your opponent to top. Q: Can my opponent play Deflection on Mages' Contest and make Mages' Contest target itself? A: No. Spells can't target themselves. But your opponent could play Deflection on Mages' Contest and make it target Deflection. When Mages' Contest tries to resolve, Deflection will no longer be on the stack, so the Contest will be countered. Q: What happens if I target a spell I control with Mages' Contest? A: You'll have a bidding war with yourself (with a 1-life starting bid), and you'll surely win. The target spell will be countered. Overabundance ----- Q: What happens if the land produces no mana? Does Overabundance give me one anyway? For example, what if I tap Gaea's Cradle while no creatures are in play? A: You get nothing. Gaea's Cradle would produce no mana (which has no type or color), so Overabundance wouldn't add any mana to your mana pool. Q: So if the land produces no mana, I don't take damage? A: That's right. Q: Does the extra mana come from the land? A: No, it comes from the enchantment. Q: Is its ability a mana ability? A: Yes. Q: Doesn't that mean it never goes on the stack -- that there's no chance to respond with instants or activated abilities before the damage is dealt? A: That's right. If you want to prevent the damage dealt by Overabundance, you must have a prevention shield in place before the ability triggers. Q: What if I tap a forest enchanted with Fertile Ground for mana? A: You get G from the forest, one mana of any color from Fertile Ground, G from Overabundance, and you're dealt one point of damage. Because the Fertile Ground mana comes from the enchantment, not the land, Overabundance has no additional effect. Phantasmal Terrain ----- Q: If a land I control is also a creature, and I play Phantasmal Terrain on it, will it still be a creature? A: Yes. Phantasmal Terrain has been reworded so it doesn't "reset" a permanent's type. Its second ability now reads, "Enchanted land's type is the chosen type." The fixed wording clarifies that the ability only affects land types, not permanent types. Phyrexian Battleflies ----- Q: If the Battleflies' controller changes, can the new controller play the ability twice, even if its previous controller already played it twice that turn? A: No. The ability can be played only twice a turn, regardless of who controls the creature or plays the ability. Phyrexian Infiltrator ----- Q: What happens if I respond to playing its ability by playing it again? A: Weird things happen. For example, let's say you control the Infiltrator and a Grizzly Bears. Your opponent controls an Avatar of Woe. With enough mana, you can steal the Avatar and keep the Infiltrator. How? First you play the Infiltrator's ability targeting the Bears. (If this ability resolved while you controlled both creatures, it wouldn't do anything.) In response, you play the ability again, targeting Avatar of Woe. Now the abilities on the stack start to resolve. First, you get the Avatar of Woe and your opponent gets the Infiltrator. Then you exchange control of the Infiltrator and the Bears. (They're controlled by two different players now, so it works.) When the dust clears, you control the Infiltrator and the Avatar, and your opponent controls the Bears. Pretty sneaky. Note that this dastardly plan can be foiled if your opponent can play the Infiltrator's activated ability while he or she controls it. Psychic Battle ----- Q: The wording makes it seems like I can change all or none of the targets, but not just some of them. Is that right? A: No, you can change only some of them if you want. "You may change the target or targets" means "for each target, you can change it or not." Q: Let's say I play a creature spell and you play Counterspell on it while Psychic Battle is in play. (No other spells are on the stack.) When Psychic Battle's effect occurs, I reveal the most expensive card. Can I change Counterspell's target to itself? A: No. A spell can't target itself. Because your creature spell is the only legal target, you won't be able to change Counterspell's target at all. Q: Let's say my opponent plays Arc Lightning while Psychic Battle is in play, and I reveal the most expensive card. Can I change the number of targets for Arc Lightning? Can I redistribute how much damage is going to be dealt to each target? Can I change the targets so that something ends up being targeted twice? A: No, no, and no. Psychic Battle (and other target-changing spells and abilities) let you change only the targets. You can't change any other decisions made for the spell, and all your changes must be legal. However, let's say that I play Arc Lightning, and I decide to have it deal 2 damage to your Grizzly Bears (2/2) and 1 damage to your Prodigal Sorcerer (1/1). If you win the Psychic Battle contest, you could change the Bears target to the Sorcerer and the Sorcerer target to the Bears. The result would be that the Bears survive. Pulse of Llanowar ----- Q: What does "tapped for mana" mean? What if I tap a basic land for mana but it doesn't produce any? A: Pulse of Llanowar just makes basic lands you control produce mana of any one color instead of what they'd normally produce. If a basic land would produce no mana, Pulse of Llanowar doesn't change that. If it would produce three mana, Pulse of Llanowar makes it produce three mana of any one color instead. Q: Does this card let you choose the color of mana produced by Wild Growth or Overabundance? A: No. That mana comes from the enchantments, not the lands. However, when both Overabundance and Pulse of Llanowar are in play, if you tap a forest and choose to get R, the mana Overabundance adds to your mana pool is red as well. Savage Offensive ----- Q: If I play this, then play a creature, does the new creature have first strike until end of turn? A: No, because it came into play after Savage Offensive resolved. Only creatures you control when it resolves are affected. Scarred Puma ----- Q: Can the Puma attack if it's black or green? A: No. The Puma can't attack unless a black or green creature other than the Puma attacks as well. Shoreline Raider ----- Q: Protection from Kavu? What the heck is that? A: It works just like protection from a color. A creature with protection from Kavu can't be blocked by Kavu, all damage dealt to it by Kavu is prevented, and it can't be the target of abilities from a Kavu source. Skizzik ----- Q: What happens at end of turn if I play Liberate on Skizzik? A: Once Liberate resolves and puts Skizzik back into play, it's too late for Skizzik's "at end of turn" triggered ability to trigger. But at the end of the next turn, Skizzik's ability will trigger and it will be sacrificed. (You can't pay the kicker cost when Liberate puts it into play because kicker costs can be paid only when you play the card from your hand.) Spinal Embrace ----- Q: The card says, "If you do." Does that mean I can choose not to sacrifice the creature at end of turn? A: No. You must sacrifice the creature. The "if you do" means if you're unable to sacrifice the creature because you don't control it at end of turn, you don't get to gain life. Q: What happens if I play this on a creature that's attacking me? A: When a creature changes control, it's removed from combat. But if you play it before blockers are declared, you can block with it. Remember that if you play it on an attacker after combat damage goes on the stack, however, the combat damage will still be dealt. Q: What if I play it on a blocking creature? A: The blocker will be removed from combat, but the creature it was blocking will still be considered blocked. (If the attacker has trample, it won't be able to assign any damage to a blocker, so all its damage will be assigned to the defending player.) Spirit of Resistance ----- Q: How does this work with multicolored cards? A: The enchantment only looks to see if each *Magic* color is represented among the permanents you control. That means if you controlled nothing but a Sliver Queen (it's all five colors), the enchantment's effect would work. All damage dealt to you would be prevented. Sunscape Master ----- Q: If I play its first ability, then play a creature later in the turn, does the new creature get the +2/+2 bonus? A: No. When the ability resolves, it gives the bonus only to creatures you control at that time. Thicket Elemental ----- Q: Let's say I pay the kicker and I choose to reveal cards from my library until I reveal a creature card. What happens if I don't find one (if there are none in my library, for instance)? A: Not much. You just get to the end of your library, then shuffle it. The "if you do" part of the effect is tied to revealing cards from your library, not to putting a creature into play. Thunderscape Master ----- Q: If I play its second ability, then play a creature later in the turn, does the new creature get the +2/+2 bonus? A: No. When the ability resolves, it gives the bonus only to creatures you control at that time. Tsabo's Web ----- Q: What does "activated ability that doesn't produce mana" mean? For example, does that count a Gaea's Cradle while no creatures are in play? A: No. It means "activated nonmana ability," but that was just too gross for us to put on a card. It means an ability that couldn't ever normally produce mana. Tsabo Tavoc ----- Q: Protection from Legends? What does that mean? A: It means the same thing other kinds of protection do: Tsabo can't be the target of spells or abilities from a Legend source, can't be blocked by Legends, and all damage dealt to Tsabo by Legend sources is prevented. Q: Does protection from Legends include legendary lands, legendary artifacts, and so on? A: No. It only protects against creatures with the Legend creature type. Q: Tsabo's other ability lets me destroy Legends. Can I destroy legendary lands, legendary artifacts, and so on? A: No, only creatures with the Legend type. Remember, though, that if a legendary permanent becomes a creature, it automatically has the Legend type. Urza's Rage ----- Q: What does "can't be countered by spells or abilities" mean? A: That means it can still be countered by the rules. For example, if its target becomes illegal before it tries to resolve, the rules will counter the spell. Q: Is Urza's Rage an illegal target for a countering spell, or does a countering spell that targets it simply have no effect? A: Countering spells can target Urza's Rage, and they'll resolve normally, but they'll fail to counter Urza's Rage. Other effects of the countering spell will happen normally, though. For example, you could target Urza's Rage with Dismiss. It wouldn't counter Urza's Rage, but you'd still get to draw a card. Q: If I pay the kicker, the damage is unpreventable. But can it be affected by other things, such as replacement effects like Pariah's? A: Yes. Verdeloth the Ancient ----- Q: Can I choose to pay a kicker cost of 0? If so, would this trigger the ability of Saproling Infestation? A: Yes and yes. Note that even though you can choose 0 for X, that doesn't mean you have to pay the kicker cost. You can still choose not to pay X at all. Void ----- Q: Can I choose 0? A: Sure. That would affect artifacts and creatures in play and nonland cards in hand with mana cost 0. Creature tokens would be destroyed, but your opponent wouldn't have to discard any land cards or destroy any lands unless they had been animated. Yawgmoth's Agenda ----- Q: What happens if the card in my graveyard I'm trying to play gets removed from there in response (with Rapid Decay, for instance)? A: It doesn't work that way. The first thing you do when you play a spell is put it on the stack. So a player can't target that card with Rapid Decay in response because the card isn't a legal target -- it's already on the stack, so it's no longer in your graveyard. Q: Yawgmoth's Agenda says I can play cards in my graveyard as though they were in my hand. If something makes me discard my hand, do I have to remove my entire graveyard from the game? A: No. Those cards aren't actually in your hand. You can just play them as though they were. CARD-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS Absorb ----- Q: Do I still gain 3 life if Absorb is countered? A: No. If it's countered, none of its effects occur. Addle ----- Q: When do I choose the color? A: Not until Addle resolves. That means the player you target won't know what color you'll choose until it's too late to respond with instants and activated abilities. Q: Can I choose a combination of colors? A: No, only one. Q: Can I choose colorless? A: No. Colorless isn't a color. Q: If I choose, say, black, can I make my opponent discard a black and red multicolored card? What about a black and red split card? A: Yes and yes. Q: What happens if my opponent plays Addle, but I play Deflection or Misdirection and send it back at him or her? A: As printed, this situation would require trusting your opponent to tell the truth about what's in his or her hand (or calling a judge if you're playing in a tournament). This mandates a correction to Addle: "Choose a color. Target player reveals his or her hand, then you choose a card of that color from it. That player discards that card." Aether Rift ----- Q: When does my opponent decide whether or not to pay 5 life? A: After you discard a card at random from your hand during the ability's resolution. That means your opponent will get to see the card before he or she decides to pay the life to keep it from being put into play. Q: When I discard a creature card, does it actually make it into my graveyard before my opponent gets to decide whether to pay life or not? A: Yes. That means, for example, that abilities that trigger when a card is put into a graveyard will trigger, even if the creature card is put into play immediately after being discarded. Aggressive Urge ----- Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature becomes an illegal target before Aggressive Urge resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Agonizing Demise ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Alabaster Leech ----- See "Leeches" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Ancient Kavu ----- Q: What good is this ability? A: Let's say your opponent controls a creature with protection from red, or plays a sorcery that reads, "Destroy all red creatures." You could respond by making the Ancient Kavu colorless so it wouldn't be affected. Q: Does its ability turn it into an artifact? A: No. Ancient Spring ----- Q: If Overabundance or Mana Flare is in play, and I play the ability that gives me two different colors of mana, which color does the enchantment add? A: The mana ability's controller chooses. In this case, since you control Ancient Spring, you get to decide. Andradite Leech ----- See "Leeches" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Annihilate ----- Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature becomes an illegal target before Annihilate resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Ardent Soldier ----- Q: Does the "doesn't tap to attack" ability depend on whether I pay the kicker? A: No. Attacking doesn't cause it to tap, regardless of whether you paid the kicker. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Armadillo Cloak ----- Q: If damage dealt by the enchanted creature is prevented, do I gain life anyway? A: No. Q: Does its effect trigger only when the enchanted creature deals combat damage? A: No, it triggers when the creature deals any kind of damage. Armored Guardian ----- Q: Can this ever give protection from colorless things, such as artifacts or lands? A: No. Q: When do I choose the color for the ability that gives a creature protection? A: When the ability resolves. That means your opponent won't know what color you'll choose until it's too late to respond with instants or activated abilities. Q: What happens if I play its "untargetable" ability in response to my opponent targeting it? A: The Guardian's ability will resolve first, since it went on the stack on top of the spell or ability your opponent played. When it resolves, the Guardian will be untargetable until end of turn. Then, when your opponent's spell or ability starts to resolve, it finds its target is no longer legal. If the spell or ability targeted only the Guardian, it's countered. If it had other targets, it affects them normally. Artifact Mutation ----- Q: Do I still get Saproling tokens if the artifact becomes an illegal target before this spell resolves? A: No. The artifact is its only target; if it becomes illegal, the whole spell will be countered. Atalya, Samite Master ----- Q: This ability is modal, isn't it? A: Yes. You choose the mode when you play the ability: damage prevention or life gain. Q: Which mode does the "spend only white mana" restriction apply to? A: It applies to both modes. Aura Mutation ----- Q: Do I still get Saproling tokens if the enchantment becomes an illegal target before Aura Mutation resolves? A: No. The enchantment is the spell's only target; if it becomes an illegal target, the spell will be countered. Q: Do the effects of Leeches change the enchantment's converted mana cost? A: No. Aura Shards ----- Q: Does this ability trigger when I gain control of one of my opponent's creatures? A: No. The creature is already in play, so the ability doesn't trigger. Backlash ----- Q: Does this spell still work if the target creature becomes tapped before it resolves? A: No. Backlash checks to see if its target is still legal when it resolves. If it's tapped, it's illegal, and the spell will be countered. Barrin's Spite ----- Q: Who chooses which creature is sacrificed and which is returned to its owner's hand? A: The creatures' controller. Q: When is that choice made? A: During the playing of the spell. Q: What happens if one of the creatures becomes an illegal target before Barrin's Spite resolves? A: The spell will resolve anyway, and the remaining creature will either be sacrificed or returned to its owner's hand, depending on what its controller chose when Barrin's Spite was played. Q: What happens if one of the target creatures changes controllers before Barrin's Spite resolves? What if both do? A: The first sentence of Barrin's Spite should read, "Choose a player and two target creatures that player controls." With this wording, if one creature changes control before Barrin's Spite resolves, only the other one will be affected. If both creatures change controllers, all the spell's targets will be illegal and it will be countered. Barrin's Unmaking ----- Q: How does this card work? A: First, pick a target permanent. Then, when the spell resolves, figure out if that permanent is the most common color among permanents in play. If it is, or is tied for most common, the permanent is returned to its owner's hand. If it's not, the spell doesn't affect the target at all. (It's not countered, it just doesn't do anything.) Q: What if the permanent I want to target has more than one color? A: You only have to worry about whether or not it has the most common color among permanents. Other colors are irrelevant. Q: What if I want to target a colorless permanent, such as an artifact or land? A: You can target it, but Barrin's Unmaking will affect it only if it has acquired the most common color among permanents by the time the Unmaking resolves. It won't do anything otherwise, even if all permanents are colorless. Benalish Emissary ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Benalish Lancer ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Benalish Trapper ----- Q: If a creature has an activated ability with T in its cost, can I tap it to prevent its controller from playing that ability? A: No. If you tap it before the ability is played, its controller can play the ability in response. If you wait until the ability is played and then try to tap it, it's too late. Q: Can I stop an attacking creature by tapping it? A: If the creature's already attacking, tapping it won't stop it. But you can play Benalish Trapper's ability anytime during your opponent's turn before the declare attackers step to tap a creature so it won't be able to attack. Bend or Break ----- See "Divvy Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Bind ----- Q: Can I play this just to draw a card? A: No. There must be an activated ability on the stack for you to target. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the activated ability becomes an illegal target before Bind resolves? What about if Bind is countered? A: No and no. In both cases, Bind's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Blazing Specter ----- Q: Does the defending player discard a card if all of the Specter's combat damage is prevented? A: No. Some combat damage must actually be dealt for the ability to trigger. Blind Seer ----- Q: Can I choose a combination of colors? A: No, only one. Q: Can I choose colorless? A: No. Colorless isn't a color. Q: When do I choose the color? A: When the ability resolves. That means your opponent won't know what color you'll choose until it's too late to respond with instants or activated abilities. Q: If I change the color of a spell that will become a permanent, what happens? A: After the spell resolves, the resulting permanent will be the new color of the spell until the end of the turn. Then it will revert to the spell's original color. Blinding Light ----- Q: Will this tap a creature that's both white and some other color? A: No. Blurred Mongoose ----- Q: Can Blurred Mongoose be targeted by spells and abilities while it's on the stack? A: Yes. The "untargetable" ability applies only while the creature is in play. Q: What does "can't be countered" mean? Can the Blurred Mongoose spell be targeted by spells that would counter it? A: Yes. "Can't be countered" just means that if an effect would counter the spell, it fails to do so. The countering spell still resolves normally, but the Mongoose spell isn't countered. Breaking Wave ----- Q: What does "any time you could play a instant" mean? Do I have to have a instant in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the spell whenever you have priority. Q: Does the "any time you could play an instant" cost count toward the card's converted mana cost? A: No. Q: Not even after I pay it? A: No. Breath of Darigaaz ----- Q: If I pay the kicker cost, does it deal 5 damage to each nonflying creature and player? A: No. If you pay the kicker cost, it deals 4. If you don't, it deals 1. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Callous Giant ----- Q: Say my opponent controls Thrashing Wumpus. Can she play its ability four times in a row to kill the Giant? A: No. The Giant's ability affects damage each time it would be dealt. That means each time the Wumpus's ability resolves and deals 1 damage to the Giant (four different times), the Giant's ability prevents it. Canopy Surge ----- Q: If I pay the kicker cost, does it deal 5 damage to each flying creature and player? A: No. It deals 4 if you do pay the kicker cost and 1 if you don't. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Captain Sisay ----- Q: What's the difference between a Legend and a legendary card? A: "Legend" is a creature type subject to the "Legend rule." Legendary cards are noncreature cards, such as legendary lands and legendary artifacts, that are subject to the same rule. Cauldron Dance ----- Q: Can I play Cauldron Dance if no attack is declared? A: Yes. "Only during combat" means "only during the combat phase." That phase occurs even if the active player doesn't declare any attackers. Q: Can I get a paraphrase of what this card does? A: You choose two creature cards: one in your graveyard and one in your hand. You put both into play, and they both gain haste. Then, at end of turn, the one from your graveyard goes into your hand, and the one from your hand goes into your graveyard. Q: Can I play this if I don't have any creature cards in my hand? A: Yes. In that case, the creature card in your graveyard will come into play, gain haste, and return to your hand at end of turn. Q: Can I play it if there are no creature cards in my graveyard? A: No, because you must target a creature card in your graveyard. Without a target, you can't play the spell. Q: What if the creature card I target is removed from my graveyard before Cauldron Dance resolves? A: Then the spell will be countered, because its only target has become illegal. That means a creature card in your hand won't be put into play either. Chaotic Strike ----- Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature becomes an illegal target before Chaotic Strike resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Q: Do I get to draw a card if I lose the coin flip? A: Yes, because in this case Chaotic Strike resolves. If a spell resolves, you carry out all its instructions to the fullest extent possible. Coalition Victory ----- Q: How does this work with multicolored creatures? What about lands with more than one type? For example, let's say I control a Sliver Queen (which is all five colors), a Tundra (which is both a plains and an island), a Taiga (both a mountain and a forest), and a swamp when my Coalition Victory resolves. Do I win? A: Yes you do. To figure out if the win condition has been met, ask these questions: Do I control a white creature? a blue creature? a black creature (and so on)? Do I control a plains? an island? a swamp (and so on)? If the answer is "yes" to all the questions, you win. Q: Do I have to control an artifact or colorless creature to win? A: No, just one of each of the five *Magic* colors. Q: Do I have to control exactly one land of each basic type and one creature of each color to win? A: No. In this case, "a land" and "a creature" mean "at least one land/creature." Cards that mean "exactly one" will say so in some way. Q: Does this affect just me or does it affect everybody? A: Just you. Collapsing Borders ----- Q: How does this work? A: Each upkeep, you end up taking more damage if you control fewer basic land types. If you control only one type of basic land, you'll gain 1 life and take 3 damage (so you'll take 2 damage overall). If you control all five basic land types, you'll gain 5 life and take 3 damage (so you'll gain 2 life overall). See also "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Collective Restraint ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Cremate ----- Q: Can I play this if all graveyards are empty, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: If the target card becomes an illegal target before Cremate resolves, do I still get to draw a card? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Crimson Acolyte ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent red with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Acolyte's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now red. Q: What if Crimson Acolyte is targeted with the ability of a green permanent that requires red mana to activate it (such as Thornscape Master)? A: The Acolyte's protection from red won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Crosis, the Purger ----- See "Dragon Legends" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Crown of Flames ----- Q: If I put this on a creature, pump it up, then return Crown of Flames to my hand, will the creature stay pumped up until end of turn? A: Yes. Q: If I play this on my opponent's creature, can that player pay R to give the enchanted creature +1/+0 or to return Crown of Flames to my hand? A: No. Although your opponent controls the enchanted creature, you control the enchantment, so only you can activate the enchantment's ability. Crusading Knight ----- Q: In a multiplayer game, which opponent's swamps do I count? A: You count all swamps all your opponents control. Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent black with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Knight's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now black. Q: What if Crusading Knight is targeted with the ability of a red permanent that requires black mana to activate it? A: The Knight's protection from black won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Crypt Angel ----- Q: Can I return a creature card that's blue *and* red to my hand? A: Yes. Q: Let's say there's a creature card in my graveyard that has protection from black. Can I target it with Crypt Angel's "Raise Dead" ability? A: Yes, because creature cards in graveyards don't have abilities unless they say so. Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent white with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Angel's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now white. Q: What if Crypt Angel is targeted with the ability of a blue permanent that requires white mana to activate it (such as Stormscape Apprentice)? A: The Angel's protection from white won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Crystal Spray ----- Q: Let's say there are no cards in play with color words or basic-land-type words in their text boxes. Can I just play this spell anyway to draw a card? A: Sure. The spell doesn't say the target spell or permanent has to have such a word. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the spell or permanent becomes an illegal target before Crystal Spray resolves? What about if Crystal Spray is countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Darigaaz, the Igniter ----- See "Dragon Legends" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Death or Glory ----- See "Divvy Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Defiling Tears ----- Q: Does the creature become black in addition to its other color(s)? A: No. Black replaces all its previous colors. Q: Can I play Defiling Tears on a creature my opponent controls, then regenerate it? A: No. Defiling Tears puts the regeneration ability onto the creature, so only the creature's controller can regenerate it. Desperate Research ----- Q: Can I name "Goblin" and then get all cards with that word in their names? A: No. You have to name an entire card title that actually exists in *Magic.* Devouring Strossus ----- Q: What happens if I run out of creatures to sacrifice to it? A: Then you have to sacrifice the only creature you have in play: the Devouring Strossus. It gets so hungry that it devours itself! Dismantling Blow ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Disrupt ----- Q: Can I play this targeting itself, just to draw a card? A: No; spells can't target themselves. If there isn't an instant or sorcery spell on the stack, you can't play this card. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the instant or sorcery becomes an illegal target before Disrupt resolves? What about if Disrupt is countered? A: No and no. In both cases, Disrupt's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the controller of the target spell pays 1? A: Yes, because in this case Disrupt resolves. If a spell resolves, you carry out all its instructions to the fullest extent possible. Distorting Wake ----- Q: Can I use this to bounce a creature that's also a land? A: No. If "land" is one of its types, you can't target it with Distorting Wake. Divine Presence ----- Q: Does this effect keep track of how much damage each source has dealt over the course of the game? In other words, does it mean that no source can ever deal more than 3 damage total to a particular creature or player? A: No. The effect applies each time a source deals damage. If a source would deal less than 4 damage, the effect ignores it. If it would deal 4 or more, the effect applies and resets the damage to 3. The next time that source would deal damage, it's treated just like the first time. Do or Die ----- See "Divvy Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Dream Thrush ----- Q: If I control a land that's also a creature, then play Dream Thrush's ability on it, will it still be both a land and a creature? A: Yes. The printed wording of Dream Thrush's ability isn't clear on this. It should read, "T: Target land's type becomes a basic land type of your choice until end of turn." The fixed wording clarifies that the ability only affects the target's land type, not its permanent type. Q: Can I make a land into, say, an island, and then tap it for blue mana? A: Yes. When a land's type becomes a basic land type, it automatically gains the mana ability for that land. Dredge ----- Q: What if I don't have any creatures or lands to sacrifice when Dredge resolves? A: You still get to draw a card. Dredge doesn't target anything, so it's not countered if you can't sacrifice anything. Q: Do I get to draw a card even if Dredge is countered? A: No. When a spell is countered, none of its effects happen. Dromar, the Banisher ----- See "Dragon Legends" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Dueling Grounds ----- Q: Does this affect just me, just my opponent, or everybody? A: It affects everybody. Duskwalker ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Elfhame Sanctuary ----- Q: What happens if I have two of these in play? A: You can get up to two basic land cards each upkeep. If you use both Sanctuaries' abilities, you'll only have to skip that turn's draw step, not future ones. If you only use one Sanctuary's ability, you'll still have to skip that turn's draw step. Elvish Champion ----- Q: Does its ability affect itself? A: No. Just like Goblin King isn't a Goblin and Lord of Atlantis isn't a Merfolk, Elvish Champion isn't an Elf. Q: Does its ability affect only my Elves? A: No, it affects all Elves in play. If it affected only yours, it would read, "Elves you control get +1/+1 and have forestwalk." Empress Galina ----- Q: Does this ability really give me control of a Legend or legendary permanent indefinitely? A: Yes. Q: Can I gain control of creatures I already control? In other words, can I target Galina with her own ability as a mana dump? A: Yes and yes. Q: What's the difference between a Legend and a legendary permanent? A: "Legend" is a creature type. Legendary permanents include noncreature cards such as legendary lands and legendary artifacts. Essence Leak ----- Q: Can I use this to enchant a permanent that isn't red or green? A: Yes, but Essence Leak would just sit there on it doing nothing. If the enchanted permanent ever became red or green, Essence Leak's ability would kick in. (The same thing happens if Essence Leak is enchanting a red or green permanent that changes color. The enchantment would have no effect until the permanent became red or green again.) Q: Will Essence Leak affect a permanent that's red *and* green? A: Yes. Q: So even though I control the enchantment, the enchanted permanent's controller has to pay its mana cost at the beginning of each of his or her upkeeps? A: That's right, because Essence Leak puts an ability onto the permanent it's enchanting. Exclude ----- Q: Can I play this if no creature spells are on the stack, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the spell becomes an illegal target before Exclude resolves? What about if Exclude is countered? A: No and no. In both cases, Exclude's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Exotic Curse ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Explosive Growth ----- Q: If I pay the kicker cost, does the creature get +7/+7? A: No. It gets +5/+5 if you do pay the kicker cost and +2/+2 if you don't. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Fact or Fiction ----- See "Divvy Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Faerie Squadron ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Fertile Ground ----- Q: Does the enchanted land make extra mana? A: No. The extra mana comes from Fertile Ground, not from the land. Q: Let's say I enchant a land with Fertile Ground, and then my opponent steals that land. Since I still control the enchantment, do I get to choose the color of mana it makes? A: No. The land's controller chooses, regardless of who controls the enchantment. Q: What if I tap a land for mana but it doesn't produce any? A: Fertile Ground's ability will trigger anyway. Fight or Flight ----- Q: Does this effect enable creatures to attack that wouldn't have been able to, such as Walls? A: No. It just restricts the number of creatures eligible to attack. See also "Divvy Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Firebrand Ranger ----- Q: Can I play my normal one land for the turn, then put another into play with this ability? A: Yes. Q: Can I put a _Revised Edition_ dual land (such as Bayou) into play with this ability? A: No. Even though the dual lands have basic land types, they're nonbasic lands. Frenzied Tilling ----- Q: Let's say my opponent controls no lands. Can I play this just to put a land into play? A: Only if you're willing to destroy one of your own lands. You must target a land when you play it. Q: If the land is an illegal target when Frenzied Tilling tries to resolve, do I still get to search my library for a land card? A: No. Frenzied Tilling has only one target. If that target becomes illegal before Frenzied Tilling resolves, the whole spell is countered. Galina's Knight ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent red with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Knight's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now red. Q: What if Galina's Knight is targeted with the ability of a green permanent that requires red mana to activate it (such as Thornscape Master)? A: The Knight's protection from red won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Geothermal Crevice ----- Q: If Overabundance or Mana Flare is in play, and I play the ability that gives me two different colors of mana, which color does the enchantment add? A: The mana ability's controller chooses. In this case, since you control Geothermal Crevice, you get to decide. Ghitu Fire ----- Q: What does "any time you could play a instant" mean? Do I have to have a instant in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the spell whenever you have priority. Q: Does the "any time you could play an instant" cost count toward the card's converted mana cost? A: No. Q: Not even after I pay it? A: No. Glimmering Angel ----- Q: What happens if I play its ability in response to my opponent targeting it? A: The Angel's ability will resolve first, since it went on the stack on top of the spell or ability your opponent played. When it resolves, the Angel will be untargetable until end of turn. Then, when your opponent's spell or ability starts to resolve, it finds its target is no longer legal. If the spell or ability targeted only the Angel, it's countered. If it had other targets, it affects them normally. Global Ruin ----- Q: What happens if I don't control at least one land of each type? A: Nothing important. You simply follow the instructions as fully as you can. Q: How does this spell work with the _Revised Edition_ dual lands? A: Let's say the only lands you control are two Tundras and a Scrubland. You can choose one Tundra for your plains, one for your island, and the Scrubland for your swamp, thereby keeping them all in play. Q: What does "the rest" refer to? A: All lands each player controls except the ones he or she chose. Goblin Spy ----- Q: How do I play with the top card of my library revealed? A: Just flip over the top card and leave it that way. Every time the revealed card leaves your library (if you draw it, if it's milled, and so on), flip over the next card. If you have to shuffle your library, first turn the top card face-down, then shuffle, then flip over the new top card. Q: What happens if an effect makes me draw 4 cards, for instance? A: You must reveal each one before you draw it. Q: What about an effect like Sage Owl's that lets me look at a number of cards on top of my library? A: When you look at cards in your library, they're not actually leaving that library. So the revealed one stays revealed and the others stay hidden. Goham Djinn ----- See "Djinns" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Halam Djinn ----- See "Djinns" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Harrow ----- Q: Do I have to sacrifice a land if the spell is countered? A: Yes. You sacrifice a land as a cost when you play it. By the time it's countered, that land is long gone. Q: Can I get two different types of basic land cards? A: Yes. Q: Does Harrow's effect replace my normal once-a-turn land play? A: No. You can play a land in addition to the two lands Harrow puts into play. Hate Weaver ----- Q: Can I target a creature that's blue *and* red? A: Yes. Hooded Kavu ----- Q: Can I play its ability after blockers are declared to undo the block? A: No. Once it becomes blocked, it's too late. Horned Cheetah ----- Q: Do I gain life if its damage is prevented? A: No. You gain life only for the damage actually dealt. Hunting Kavu ----- Q: What happens if the target creature loses flying or is removed from combat before the ability resolves? A: If either condition happens, the target will become illegal and the ability will be countered. Both creatures will remain in play. Hypnotic Cloud ----- Q: Does the player discard a total of four cards if I pay the kicker cost? A: No. He or she discards three cards if you do pay the kicker cost and one if you don't. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Irrigation Ditch ----- Q: If Overabundance or Mana Flare is in play, and I play the ability that gives me two different colors of mana, which color does the enchantment add? A: The mana ability's controller chooses. In this case, you control Irrigation Ditch, so you get to decide. Jade Leech ----- See "Leeches" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Kangee, Aerie Keeper ----- Q: Can I choose 0 for X? If so, will that trigger Saproling Infestation's ability? A: Yes, you can choose 0 for X, but Saproling Infestation's ability will trigger only if you pay the other 2 mana. Also, the fact that you can choose 0 for X doesn't mean you have to pay the kicker cost. You can still choose not to pay X at all. Q: Does Kangee have flying even if I don't pay the kicker cost? A: Yes. Q: Does Kangee give itself the +1/+1-per-counter bonus? A: No; Kangee isn't a Bird. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Kavu Aggressor ----- Q: Does the "can't block" ability depend on whether I pay the kicker cost? A: No. It can't block, regardless of whether you pay the kicker cost. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Kavu Chameleon ----- Q: Can I use its ability to make it multicolored? A: No. Each new color overrides the last one. Q: When do I choose the color? A: When the ability resolves. Q: What does "can't be countered" mean? Can the Chameleon spell be targeted by spells that would counter it? A: Yes. "Can't be countered" just means that if an effect would counter the spell, it fails to do so. The countering spell still resolves normally, but the Chameleon spell isn't countered. Kavu Climber ----- Q: Do I still get to draw a card if it's countered? A: No. If it's countered, it never comes into play, and its ability never triggers. Kavu Lair ----- Q: If I play a creature spell with power 4 but it gets countered, do I get to draw a card anyway? A: No. The creature must actually come into play. Q: If I play Giant Growth on my Llanowar Elves to make them a 4/4 creature, do I get to draw a card? A: No, because when the Elves came into play, they were only 1/1. Kavu Lair only cares about creatures' power when they first come into play, not later. Q: Does this ability work for my opponent, too? A: Yes, it works for all players. Kavu Monarch ----- Q: Does Kavu Monarch give itself a +1/+1 counter? A: No, but if a second Kavu Monarch comes into play, the first will get a +1/+1 counter. Q: Does it give itself trample? A: Yes. It gives all Kavu trample, including itself. Kavu Runner ----- Q: Does it have haste if my opponent controls only a white *and* blue creature? A: No. Q: What happens if I play this and attack with it, and in response my opponent plays a white or blue creature as an instant? A: Things don't quite work that way. First you play the Kavu Runner during your main phase, then you enter your attack phase. If your opponent plays a white or blue creature when it's still your main phase or during the beginning-of-combat step, the Runner will lose haste and you won't be able to attack with it. If your opponent plays the creature during the declare attackers step, it's too late -- the Runner is already attacking, and causing it to lose haste won't undo the attack. Kavu Scout ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Kavu Titan ----- Q: It doesn't get trample unless I pay the kicker cost? A: That's right. It's either a plain 2/2 creature or a 5/5 trampler. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Liberate ----- Q: What's the use of this card? A: If a creature you control has a nasty enchantment on it, you can play Liberate to remove it from the game. The enchantment will be put in its owner's graveyard because now it's not enchanting anything. Then, at the end of the turn, your creature will return to the game all shiny and new. Also, if someone tries to destroy a creature you control (with Shock or Terror, for example), you can save it by responding with Liberate to remove it from the game. Q: When the creature returns to the game, can I tap it to play its abilities? A: No. It's just like the creature came into play for the first time. You can't play its activated abilities with T in the cost (and you can't attack with it) until your next turn. Q: Let's say I play this on a creature that has an "at end of turn" triggered ability. When the creature returns to play, will its ability trigger? A: No. All "at end of turn" abilities trigger at the same time. By the time Liberate's delayed "at end of turn" triggered ability has resolved and returned the creature to play, it's too late for other "at end of turn" abilities to trigger. Lightning Dart ----- Q: Does this deal 5 damage to a white or blue creature? A: No. If the creature is white or blue, it deals 4 damage. If not, it deals 1 damage. Q: Does it deal 4 if the creature is white *and* blue? A: Yes. Llanowar Cavalry ----- Q: Can I play its ability more than once per turn? A: Sure, but after it resolves once, the other times it resolves won't do anything extra. Llanowar Elite ----- Q: Does it have trample if I don't pay the kicker cost? A: Yes. It has trample whether you pay it or not. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Llanowar Knight ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent black with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Knight's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now black. Q: What if Llanowar Knight is targeted with the ability of a red permanent that requires black mana to activate it? A: The Knight's protection from black won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Llanowar Vanguard ----- Q: What's the point of this ability? A: You can declare the Vanguard as a blocker, then tap it to boost its toughness. You can also boost its toughness in response to effects like Shock. Loafing Giant ----- Q: If Loafing Giant blocks more than one creature (using Entangler, for example), does its ability trigger once for each creature it blocks? A: No, it triggers once for the whole blocking event. Lobotomy ----- Q: What about cards in play? Don't I get to remove those too? A: No. Mages' Contest ----- Q: How do I bid life? A: It works just like an auction, except that you're using life instead of money. If you play the spell and win the auction by naming the highest number, you pay that amount of life and the target spell is countered. If the other player names the highest number, that player pays that much life and the spell stays on the stack and waits to resolve normally. Q: Can I bid 0? A: No. "A high bid of 1" means that you must bid 1 life, and that becomes the high bid for your opponent to top. Q: How do I know when the high bid stands? A: It works kind of like priority. When one player bids, then both players pass, the last bid wins. Q: Can my opponent play Deflection on Mages' Contest and make Mages' Contest target itself? A: No. Spells can't target themselves. But your opponent could play Deflection on Mages' Contest and make it target Deflection. When Mages' Contest tries to resolve, Deflection will no longer be on the stack, so the Contest will be countered. Q: What happens if I target a spell I control with Mages' Contest? A: You'll have a bidding war with yourself (with a 1-life starting bid), and you'll surely win. The target spell will be countered. Q: Can the spell's controller use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Mana Maze ----- Q: What does this do? A: Its main purpose is to stop countering-spell wars. It also has an Arcane Lab-like effect against players with monocolored decks. In general, it keeps players from playing a spell that has a color in common with the last spell played. Q: Does Mana Maze work even if the last spell played was countered, or if it hasn't resolved yet? A: Yes. Q: What about the first spell played each turn? A: Mana Maze doesn't affect it at all. Manipulate Fate ----- Q: Does my opponent get to see which cards I remove? A: Yes. When cards are removed from the game, all players can see them (unless an effect removes cards from the game face down). Q: Can I remove fewer than three cards if I want? A: No, you must remove three (unless your library contains less than three cards when the spell resolves). Q: Do I get to draw a card even if Manipulate Fate is countered? A: No. When a spell is countered, none of its effects happen. Marauding Knight ----- Q: In a multiplayer game, which opponent's plains do I count? A: You count all plains all opponents control. Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent white with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Knight's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now white. Q: What if Marauding Knight is targeted with the ability of a blue permanent that requires white mana to activate it (such as Stormscape Apprentice)? A: The Knight's protection from white won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Metathran Aerostat ----- Q: Do kicker costs or the effects of Leeches change a card's converted mana cost? A: No. Q: If I bring a creature with a kicker cost into play using the Aerostat's ability, can I pay its kicker? A: No. Kicker costs can be paid only when you're playing the spell from your hand. Q: Can I play the Aerostat's ability and then respond by doing something else to the Aerostat, such as playing Liberate on it? A: Yes. Returning the Aerostat to your hand isn't a cost of playing its ability, so anything could happen to the Aerostat before its ability resolved, and the creature card would still be put into play. Q: Can I play its ability, then respond by playing its ability again to bring two creatures into play before it's returned to my hand? A: Yes. Meteor Storm ----- Q: Can I play Meteor Storm's ability if I have only one card in my hand? A: No. To play the ability, you must pay its cost, and that means you must have two cards to discard. Might Weaver ----- Q: Can I target a creature that's red *and* white? A: Yes. Q: What happens if I give a creature trample during the combat damage step? A: Not much. By the time you can play spells and abilities during this step, combat damage is already on the stack. A creature must have trample before the combat damage step begins for the ability to do anything useful. Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer ----- Q: Lots of other _Invasion_ cards have effects that depend on the number of basic land types among lands you control. But this one just counts the total number of lands you control, right? A: That's right. If you control twelve lands, Molimo is 12/12. Mourning ----- Q: If I play this on my opponent's creature, can that player pay B to return Mourning to my hand? A: No. Although your opponent controls the enchanted creature, you control the enchantment, so only you can activate the enchantment's ability. Nightscape Apprentice ----- Q: Can I play its first ability on itself? A: Yes. Q: What happens if I give a creature first strike during the combat damage step? A: Not much. The first thing that happens during the combat damage step is that combat damage goes on the stack. Afterward, players can play instants and activated abilities. So it will be too late for first strike to affect the target creature's combat damage, because it will already be on the stack. If you play this ability during the declare blockers step, it will have the effect you want. Nightscape Master ----- Q: Can I play its bounce ability on itself? A: Yes. Noble Panther ----- Q: What happens if activate its ability during the combat damage step? A: Not much. By the time you can play spells and abilities in this step, the combat damage is already on the stack. A creature must have first strike before the combat damage step begins for the ability to do anything useful. Q: What happens if I activate its ability more than once in a turn? A: Nothing. Once a creature has first strike, giving it first strike again doesn't do anything extra. Obliterate ----- Q: What does "can't be countered" mean? Can the Obliterate spell be targeted by spells that would counter it? A: Yes. "Can't be countered" just means that if an effect would counter the spell, it fails to do so. The countering spell still resolves normally, but the Obliterate spell isn't countered. Obsidian Acolyte ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent black with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Acolyte's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now black. Q: What if Obsidian Acolyte is targeted with the ability of a red permanent that requires black mana to activate it? A: The Acolyte's protection from black won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Opt ----- Q: Do I get to draw a card even if Opt is countered? A: No. When a spell is countered, none of its effects happen. Q: If I choose not to put the card on the bottom of my library, do I end up drawing two cards? A: No. If you decide not to put the card on the bottom of your library, you must put it back on top. You'll end up drawing the one you just looked at. Ordered Migration ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Orim's Touch ----- Q: If I pay the kicker cost, do I prevent the next 6 damage? A: No. You prevent the next 4 damage if you do pay the kicker cost and the next 2 if you don't. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Overabundance ----- Q: What happens if the land produces no mana? Does Overabundance give me one anyway? For example, what if I tap Gaea's Cradle while no creatures are in play? A: You get nothing. Gaea's Cradle would produce no mana (which has no type or color), so Overabundance wouldn't add any mana to your mana pool. Q: So if the land produces no mana, I don't take damage? A: That's right. Q: Does the extra mana come from the land? A: No, it comes from the enchantment. Q: Is its ability a mana ability? A: Yes. Q: Doesn't that mean it never goes on the stack -- that there's no chance to respond with instants or activated abilities before the damage is dealt? A: That's right. If you want to prevent the damage dealt by Overabundance, you must have a prevention shield in place before the ability triggers. Q: What if I tap a forest enchanted with Fertile Ground for mana? A: You get G from the forest, one mana of any color from Fertile Ground, G from Overabundance, and you're dealt one point of damage. Because the Fertile Ground mana comes from the enchantment, not the land, Overabundance has no additional effect. Overload ----- Q: If I pay the kicker cost, do I get to destroy an artifact with converted mana cost 7 or less? A: No. It's 5 or less if you do pay the kicker cost, and 2 or less if you don't. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Phantasmal Terrain ----- Q: If a land I control is also a creature, and I play Phantasmal Terrain on it, will it still be a creature? A: Yes. Phantasmal Terrain has been reworded so it doesn't "reset" a permanent's type. Its second ability now reads, "Enchanted land's type is the chosen type." The fixed wording clarifies that the ability only affects land types, not permanent types. Q: If I change, say, an island to a mountain, what mana abilities does it have? A: Basic lands have mana abilities that correspond to their land type. So an island changed into a mountain will lose its ability to tap for U and gain an ability to tap for R. Phyrexian Battleflies ----- Q: If the Battleflies' controller changes, can the new controller play the ability twice, even if its previous controller already played it twice that turn? A: No. The ability can be played only twice a turn, regardless of who controls the creature or plays the ability. Phyrexian Delver ----- Q: Do kicker costs or the effects of Leeches change a card's converted mana cost? A: No. Q: Can I use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Q: What if I don't want to return a creature in my graveyard to play? A: If there are any creature cards in your graveyard, you must target one of them. You can't choose not to return one. Q: What if I don't have any creature cards in my graveyard? A: No big deal. You can't choose a target for the Delver's triggered ability, so that ability is countered. The Delver still comes into play normally. Phyrexian Infiltrator ----- Q: What happens if I respond to playing its ability by playing it again? A: Weird things happen. For example, let's say you control the Infiltrator and a Grizzly Bears. Your opponent controls an Avatar of Woe. With enough mana, you can steal the Avatar and keep the Infiltrator. How? First you play the Infiltrator's ability targeting the Bears. (If this ability resolved while you controlled both creatures, it wouldn't do anything.) In response, you play the ability again, targeting Avatar of Woe. Now the abilities on the stack start to resolve. First, you get the Avatar of Woe and your opponent gets the Infiltrator. Then you exchange control of the Infiltrator and the Bears. (They're controlled by two different players now, so it works.) When the dust clears, you control the Infiltrator and the Avatar, and your opponent controls the Bears. Pretty sneaky. Note that this dastardly plan can be foiled if your opponent can play the Infiltrator's activated ability while he or she controls it. Phyrexian Reaper ----- Q: Does its ability destroy green blockers before combat damage is dealt? A: Yes. Q: If it's blocked by two or more green creatures, will it destroy all of them? A: Yes. Q: Will the ability destroy multicolored creatures if one of their colors is green? A: Yes. Phyrexian Slayer ----- See Phyrexian Reaper. Pincer Spider ----- Q: Can it block as though it had flying even if I don't pay the kicker cost? A: Yes. It has that ability regardless of whether you pay the kicker. Q: While it's blocking, is the Spider affected by spells and abilities that affect flying creatures? A: No. It doesn't have flying; it can just block as if it does. Q: Can it block a creature enchanted with Treetop Bracers? A: Yes. Even though it doesn't have flying, it gets to block as though it does. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Plague Spitter ----- Q: Does it deal damage to itself with its upkeep ability? A: Yes. Plague Spores ----- Q: Can I choose to target only a creature or only a land? A: No. You can't play it unless you have two valid targets: one creature and one land. Q: What if one of the targets becomes illegal before the spell resolves? A: Plague Spores will destroy the other target anyway. If both targets become illegal, though, the spell will be countered. Planar Portal ----- Q: Do I have to show my opponent the card I get? A: No. Pledge of Loyalty ----- Q: Can this ever give protection from colorless things, such as artifacts or lands? A: No. Pouncing Kavu ----- Q: Does the first-strike ability depend on whether I pay the kicker cost? A: No. It has first strike regardless of whether you pay the kicker cost. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Power Armor ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Prison Barricade ----- Q: If I pay the kicker, is the Barricade still affected by spells and abilities that affect Walls? A: Absolutely. Paying the kicker allows the Barricade to attack, but doesn't change its creature type. It's still a Wall. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Probe ----- Q: Do I have to discard two of the cards I drew? A: No. You can discard any two cards in your hand. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Prohibit ----- Q: If I pay the kicker cost, do I get to counter a spell with converted mana cost 6 or less? A: No. The "instead" means 4 replaces 2; it doesn't add to it. Q: Can I target a spell with a converted mana cost higher than 4? A: Yes. If you do, Prohibit won't counter the spell. Q: Do kicker costs or the effects of Leeches change a card's converted mana cost? A: No. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Protective Sphere ----- Q: What happens if I activate its ability with colorless mana? A: Nothing happens. You'll lose 1 life from paying the activation cost, but no damage will be prevented. Q: Is there any way to prevent damage from lands or artifacts with this enchantment? A: Not unless they have a color somehow. They usually don't, so there's no kind of mana that "shares a color" with them. Psychic Battle ----- Q: Can I get a paraphrase of what this card does? A: Sure. Every time a player plays a spell or ability that targets anything, everybody turns over the top card of their library. Whoever reveals the most expensive card gets to change the spell or ability's target(s). If there's a tie, nothing happens. Notice that this is a regular triggered ability. That means it goes on the stack when it triggers, and instants and activated abilities can go on top of it. Q: Do kicker costs or the effects of Leeches change a card's converted mana cost? A: No. Q: The wording makes it seems like I can change all or none of the targets, but not just some of them. Is that right? A: No, you can change only some of them if you want. "You may change the target or targets" means "for each target, you can change it or not." Q: Let's say I play a creature spell and you play Counterspell on it while Psychic Battle is in play. (No other spells are on the stack.) When Psychic Battle's effect occurs, I reveal the most expensive card. Can I change Counterspell's target to itself? A: No. A spell can't target itself. Because your creature spell is the only legal target, you won't be able to change Counterspell's target at all. Q: Let's say my opponent plays Arc Lightning while Psychic Battle is in play, and I reveal the most expensive card. Can I change the number of targets for Arc Lightning? Can I redistribute how much damage is going to be dealt to each target? Can I change the targets so that something ends up being targeted twice? A: No, no, and no. Psychic Battle (and other target-changing spells and abilities) let you change only the targets. You can't change any other decisions made for the spell, and all your changes must be legal. However, let's say that I play Arc Lightning, and I decide to have it deal 2 damage to your Grizzly Bears (2/2) and 1 damage to your Prodigal Sorcerer (1/1). If you win the Psychic Battle contest, you could change the Bears target to the Sorcerer and the Sorcerer target to the Bears. The result would be that the Bears survive. Pulse of Llanowar ----- Q: What does "tapped for mana" mean? What if I tap a basic land for mana but it doesn't produce any? A: Pulse of Llanowar just makes basic lands you control produce mana of any one color instead of what they'd normally produce. If a basic land would produce no mana, Pulse of Llanowar doesn't change that. If it would produce three mana, Pulse of Llanowar makes it produce three mana of any one color instead. Q: Do I get to choose a different color every time I tap a basic land for mana? A: Yes. Q: Let's say Overlaid Terrain is in play and I tap a basic land for two mana. Can I have Pulse of Llanowar make the land produce two different colors, such as one black and one white mana? A: No. Each time you tap a basic land for mana, you can choose only one color. Q: Does this card let you choose the color of mana produced by Wild Growth or Overabundance? A: No. That mana comes from the enchantments, not the lands. However, when both Overabundance and Pulse of Llanowar are in play, if you tap a forest and choose to get R, the mana Overabundance adds to your mana pool is red as well. Pure Reflection ----- Q: How does this work? A: Each time anyone plays a creature spell, that player gets a creature token whose power and toughness is equal to the spell's converted mana cost. The catch is that only one Reflection token can be in play at a time -- each new one destroys all previous ones. Quirion Sentinel ----- Q: Can I choose not to get the mana when it comes into play? A: No. You get it even if you don't want it. If you can't spend it, you'll take mana burn at the end of the phase. Quirion Trailblazer ----- Q: Does its ability count as my normal once-a-turn land play? A: No. The ability puts a land into play directly; it doesn't count as "playing a land." Rage Weaver ----- Q: Can I target a creature that's black *and* green? A: Yes. Raging Kavu ----- Q: What does "any time you could play an instant" mean? Do I have to have an instant in my hand to play it this way? A: No. It just means you can play it whenever you have priority -- even during other players' turns. Rainbow Crow ----- Q: Can I use its ability to make it colorless? A: No. Colorless isn't a color. Rampant Elephant ----- Q: What does "if able" mean? A: It means the creature must be an untapped creature the defending player controls, and it can't have effects applying to it that would keep it from being able to block (such as Pacifism). Reckless Assault ----- Q: I'm at 1 life. Can I activate this ability (to force a draw, for instance)? A: No. If you're unable to pay 2 life, you can't activate the ability. Q: Fine. I'm at 2 life. Can I activate this ability (to force a draw, for instance)? A: Yes, you can activate the ability, but no, it won't force a draw. The game checks to see if a player has 0 life any time a player gets priority, so you'll lose before the ability resolves. Reckless Spite ----- Q: Can I play this if there's only one nonblack creature in play? A: No. You must have two legal targets to play it. Q: Do I lose the life if one of the targets is illegal when Reckless Spite resolves? What if both targets become illegal? A: If Reckless Spite fails against only one of its targets, it will still destroy the other one and you'll lose the life. If it fails against both targets, it's countered, and you won't lose the life. Q: Can I use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Recoil ----- Q: Can I play this on one of my own permanents? A: Yes. Q: Can the affected player discard the card that was returned to his or her hand? A: Yes. Q: What happens if I play this on a token creature? A: When the token leaves the in-play zone, it ceases to exist. The token's controller still has to discard a card, though. Recover ----- Q: Can I play this if there are no creature cards in my graveyard, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature card becomes an illegal target before Recover resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Repulse ----- Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature becomes an illegal target before Repulse resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Restock ----- Q: Can I play this if there's only one card in my graveyard? A: No, you must have two cards to target. Q: What happens if one of the target cards is removed from my graveyard in response? A: The other target card is returned to your hand and Restock is removed from the game. However, if both target cards are removed before Restock resolves, it's countered, and it goes to your graveyard instead of being removed from the game. Restrain ----- Q: Can I play this if no creatures are attacking, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the attacking creature becomes an illegal target before Restrain resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Reviving Dose ----- Q: Do I still get to draw a card if it's countered? A: No. When a spell is countered, none of its effects happen. Reviving Vapors ----- Q: Do kicker costs or the effects of Leeches change a card's converted mana cost? A: No. Rewards of Diversity ----- Q: This card refers to "multicolored" spells. What are those? A: A multicolored spell is any spell with more than one color of mana in its mana cost. They have a gold background. (Players have been calling these "multicolored" for a long time, but this is the first time we've put the term on a card.) See "Multicolored cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Q: If a multicolored spell is played but then countered, do I still gain the life? A: Yes. Q: If this is in play and my opponent plays a split card, do I gain life? A: No. Split cards are multicolored *except* while they're being played (while they're on the stack). Q: What about a spell with one color of mana in its mana cost and another color in its kicker cost? A: No. Q: What about a spell with one color of mana in its mana cost and another color in the activation cost of its ability? A: No. Riptide Crab ----- Q: Say Riptide Crab is destroyed, but I regenerate it. Do I get to draw a card? A: No. Regeneration keeps the creature from being destroyed at all. To draw a card, the Crab must actually be put into a graveyard. Rith, the Awakener ----- See "Dragon Legends" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Rogue Kavu ----- Q: What does "attacks alone" mean? A: It means no other creatures are declared as attackers during the declare attackers step. Rooting Kavu ----- Q: Does it get shuffled back into my library with the other creature cards? A: No. It has to be removed from the game for you to shuffle your creature cards back in. Rout ----- Q: What does "any time you could play a instant" mean? Do I have to have a instant in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the spell whenever you have priority. Q: If I pay 2 more to play it when I could play an instant, what is its mana cost considered to be? For example, how much would it cost to play Spell Blast on it? A: The additional 2 mana isn't considered part of the mana cost. A Spell Blast targeting Rout would cost 5U, regardless of whether it was played normally or as an instant. Ruby Leech ----- See "Leeches" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Ruham Djinn ----- See "Djinns" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Sabertooth Nishoba ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a black permanent. What would happen if I responded by making that permanent red (or blue) with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities have the same color as their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Nishoba's protection makes it an illegal target because the ability is now red (or blue). Q: What if Sabertooth Nishoba is targeted with the ability of a green permanent that requires red mana to activate it (such as Thornscape Master)? A: The Nishoba's protection from red won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Samite Ministration ----- Q: Can this prevent damage more than once in a turn from the chosen source (if Thrashing Wumpus's ability is played more than once during the turn, for example)? A: Yes. Q: If I choose a black or red source, and that source would deal damage more than once, do I gain life each time? A: Yes. Q: If the source is black *and* red, do I gain twice as much life? A: No. The triggered part of Samite Ministration only triggers once each time damage from the chosen source is prevented. Sapphire Leech ----- See "Leeches" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Saproling Infestation ----- Q: Do I get the Saproling token even if someone counters the spell for which the kicker cost was paid? A: Yes. The ability triggers as soon as a kicker cost is paid. What happens to the spell after that doesn't matter. Saproling Symbiosis ----- Q: What does "any time you could play a instant" mean? Do I have to have a instant in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the spell whenever you have priority. Q: What is its converted mana cost if I pay the "any time you could play an instant" cost? A: Its converted mana cost is still 4. Savage Offensive ----- Q: If I play this, then play a creature, does the new creature have first strike until end of turn? A: No, because it came into play after Savage Offensive resolved. Only creatures you control when it resolves are affected. Q: If I pay the kicker cost, do my creatures get +1/+1 instead of gaining first strike? A: No, both effects happen. If one effect replaced the other, the card would say "instead" on it. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Scarred Puma ----- Q: Can it attack with only a black *and* green creature? A: Yes. Q: What happens if the black and green creatures are removed from combat later? Does the Puma get removed from combat, too? A: No. Once it's actually attacking, it doesn't matter what happens to the other attackers. Q: Can the Puma attack if it's black or green? A: No. The Puma can't attack unless a black or green creature other than the Puma attacks as well. Scavenged Weaponry ----- Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature becomes an illegal target before Scavenged Weaponry resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. If the target is illegal when Scavenged Weaponry tries to resolve, it's countered. If the spell is countered, it never comes into play, and that means you don't get to draw a card. Scorching Lava ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Scouting Trek ----- Q: What zone are the basic land cards in while they're set aside? A: They're in the removed-from-game zone (face up). Searing Rays ----- Q: How does this work? A: Your opponent has to have some creatures in play for it to do anything useful. If he or she does, figure out the most common color among them. That's the color you want to choose when Searing Rays resolves. Let's say your opponent controls 4 green creatures and you control 2 green creatures. When Searing Rays resolves, if you choose green, it will deal 4 damage to your opponent and 2 damage to you. Q: When do I choose the color? A: When Searing Rays resolves. That means your opponent won't know what color you'll choose until it's too late to respond with instants or activated abilities. Seer's Vision ----- Q: So all my opponents have to play with their hands revealed? A: That's right. Q: What does "any time you could play a sorcery" mean? Do I have to have a sorcery in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the ability only during one of your own main phases when the stack is empty. Shackles ----- Q: If I play this on my opponent's creature, can that player pay W to return Shackles to my hand? A: No. Although your opponent controls the enchanted creature, you control the enchantment, so only you can activate the enchantment's ability. Shimmering Wings ----- Q: If I play this on my opponent's creature, can that player pay U to return Shimmering Wings to my hand? A: No. Although your opponent controls the enchanted creature, you control the enchantment, so only you can activate the enchantment's ability. Shivan Emissary ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Shivan Zombie ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent white with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Zombie's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now white. Q: What if Shivan Zombie is targeted with the ability of a blue permanent that requires white mana to activate it (such as Stormscape Apprentice)? A: The Zombie's protection from white won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Shoreline Raider ----- Q: Protection from Kavu? What the heck is that? A: It works just like protection from a color. A creature with protection from Kavu can't be blocked by Kavu, all damage dealt to it by Kavu is prevented, and it can't be the target of abilities from a Kavu source. Skittish Kavu ----- Q: Does it get +1/+1 if my opponent controls only a white *and* blue creature? A: No. Skizzik ----- Q: Does it have trample and haste if I don't pay the kicker cost? A: Yes. Q: What happens at end of turn if I play Liberate on Skizzik? A: Once Liberate resolves and puts Skizzik back into play, it's too late for Skizzik's "at end of turn" triggered ability to trigger. But at the end of the next turn, Skizzik's ability will trigger and it will be sacrificed. (You can't pay the kicker cost when Liberate puts it into play because kicker costs can be paid only when you play the card from your hand.) See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Sky Weaver ----- Q: Can I target a creature that's white *and* black? A: Yes. Sleeper's Robe ----- Q: Do I still get to draw a card if all the enchanted creature's combat damage is prevented? A: No. Slimy Kavu ----- Q: When I make a land into a swamp, can its controller tap it for B? A: Yes. When a land becomes a basic land type, it gains the mana ability for that type. Q: If I change a land into a swamp in response to its controller tapping it for mana, will that player have to add B to his or her mana pool? A: No. Mana abilities are played and resolve in one step, so by the time the Slimy Kavu's ability resolves, the land will have already made its mana. Q: If I target a land that's also a creature with Slimy Kavu's ability, will it remain a creature? A: Yes. The Slimy Kavu's ability changes only the land's land type, not its permanent type. Smoldering Tar ----- Q: Can my opponent use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Q: What does "any time you could play a sorcery" mean? Do I have to have a sorcery in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the ability only during one of your own main phases when the stack is empty. Soul Burn ----- Q: Can I spend a combination of black and red mana for X? A: Yes. Q: But I can only gain life equal to the black mana I spend? A: That's right. Q: What happens if I play Soul Burn for 10, using all black mana, on a creature with 1 toughness or a player with 1 life? A: Soul Burn will deal 10 damage to the target, but you'll gain only 1 life. Sparring Golem ----- Q: What happens if a creature that's blocking the Golem is removed from combat? A: The Golem's ability only cares how many creatures are blocking the Golem when the ability resolves. If that number changes later, the Golem's power and toughness bonus isn't affected. Spinal Embrace ----- Q: Can I play Spinal Embrace if no attack is declared? A: Yes. "Only during combat" means "only during the combat phase." That phase occurs even if the active player doesn't declare any attackers. Q: Can I get a paraphrase of what this card does? A: During combat, you can steal an opponent's creature and untap it. It gains haste, so you can attack with it. Then, at the end of the turn, you sacrifice the creature and gain life equal to its toughness. Q: The card says, "If you do." Does that mean I can choose not to sacrifice the creature at end of turn? A: No. You must sacrifice the creature. The "if you do" means if you're unable to sacrifice the creature because you don't control it at end of turn, you don't get to gain life. Q: What happens if I play this on a creature that's attacking me? A: When a creature changes control, it's removed from combat. But if you play it before blockers are declared, you can block with it. Remember that if you play it on an attacker after combat damage goes on the stack, however, the combat damage will still be dealt. Q: What if I play it on a blocking creature? A: The blocker will be removed from combat, but the creature it was blocking will still be considered blocked. (If the attacker has trample, it won't be able to assign any damage to a blocker, so all its damage will be assigned to the defending player.) Spirit of Resistance ----- Q: How does this work with multicolored cards? A: The enchantment only looks to see if each *Magic* color is represented among the permanents you control. That means if you controlled nothing but a Sliver Queen (it's all five colors), the enchantment's effect would work. All damage dealt to you would be prevented. Q: Do I have to control an artifact and/or a land for this effect to work? A: No. Spirit of Resistance looks only for permanents of each color. Artifacts and lands don't have a color. Q: Do I have to control exactly one permanent of each color, or can I control more? A: You must control at least one of each color. If the ability required you to control exactly one of each color, it would say so in some way. Spirit Weaver ----- Q: Can I target a creature that's green *and* blue? A: Yes. Spreading Plague ----- Q: How does this work with multicolored creatures? A: If a Sliver Queen came into play while this enchantment was in play, you'd destroy all creatures except those without a color (usually artifact creatures and animated lands). If a white creature came into play, you'd destroy all creatures with white as one of their colors. Q: Does this ability trigger if the creature spell is countered? A: No. The creature has to actually come into play for the ability to trigger. Stalking Assassin ----- Q: If a creature has an activated ability with T in its cost, can I tap it to prevent its controller from playing that ability? A: No. If you tap it before the ability is played, its controller can play the ability in response. If you wait until the ability is played and then try to tap it, it's too late. Q: Can I stop an attacking creature by tapping it? A: If the creature's already attacking, tapping it won't stop it. But you can play the Assassin's first ability anytime during your opponent's turn before the declare attackers step to tap a creature so it won't be able to attack. Q: If I play its ability to destroy a tapped creature, and the creature becomes untapped before the ability resolves, will the creature be destroyed anyway? A: No. If the creature is untapped when the ability resolves, it has become an illegal target, and the ability will be countered. Stand or Fall ----- See "Divvy Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Sterling Grove ----- Q: Does Sterling Grove's first ability protect itself? A: No. Q: If I use Sterling Grove's second ability, can I choose to not get a card? A: Yes. Whenever a spell or ability instructs you to search for a card, you can choose not to find one. Stormscape Apprentice ----- Q: If a creature has an activated ability with T in the cost, can I tap it to prevent its controller from playing that ability? A: No. If you tap it before the ability is played, its controller can play the ability in response. If you wait until the ability is played and then try to tap it, it's too late. Q: Can I stop an attacking creature by tapping it? A: If the creature's already attacking, tapping it won't stop it. But you can play the Apprentice's first ability anytime during your opponent's turn before the declare attackers step to tap a creature so it won't be able to attack. Q: Can my opponent use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Stormscape Master ----- Q: When do I choose the color for the ability that gives a creature protection? A: When the ability resolves. That means your opponent won't know what color you'll choose until it's too late to respond with instants or activated abilities. Q: Can my opponent use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Strength of Unity ----- See "Domain cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Stun ----- Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Can I play this on a creature that already can't block? A: Yes. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature becomes an illegal target before Stun resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Q: If I play this on a creature that's been declared as a blocker, will it undo the block? A: No. Once a creature has been declared as a blocker, it's too late. Sulam Djinn ----- See "Djinns" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Sulfur Vent ----- Q: If Overabundance or Mana Flare is in play, and I play the ability that gives me two different colors of mana, which color does the enchantment add? A: The mana ability's controller chooses. In this case, since you control Sulfur Vent, you get to decide. Sunscape Apprentice ----- Q: Can I play its second ability on itself? A: Yes. Sunscape Master ----- Q: Can I play its bounce ability on itself? A: Yes. Q: If I play its first ability, then play a creature later in the turn, does the new creature get the +2/+2 bonus? A: No. When the ability resolves, it gives the bonus only to creatures you control at that time. Q: If I play its first ability, does Sunscape Master get +2/+2 as well? A: Yes. Sway of Illusion ----- Q: Do I choose a new color for each target creature? A: No. When you play Sway of Illusion, you choose its targets. When it resolves, you choose one color and all the targets become that color. Q: Can I use this to make creatures multicolored? A: No. Whatever color you choose will be the affected creatures' only color. Q: Can I use it to make creatures colorless? A: No. Colorless isn't a color. Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have at least one legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card even if Sway of Illusion is countered? A: No. When a spell is countered, none of its effects happen. Q: If some of the targets are illegal when Sway of Illusion tries to resolve, do I still get to draw a card? A: Yes. Only if all the targets become illegal will Sway of Illusion be countered. Tainted Well ----- Q: Can the enchanted land be tapped for B? A: Yes. When a land becomes a basic land type, it gets the mana ability for that type. Q: Does the land keep its previous land type? A: No. While it's enchanted by Tainted Well, it's only a swamp. Q: If I enchant a land that's also a creature, will it remain a creature? A: Yes. The enchantment changes only the land's land type, not its permanent type. Q: Can I play this if no lands are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the land becomes an illegal target before Tainted Well resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. If the target is illegal when Tainted Well tries to resolve, it's countered. If the spell is countered, it never comes into play, and that means you don't get to draw a card. Tangle ----- Q: Does this prevent all damage dealt during the combat phase? A: No, only damage dealt by creatures as a result of attacking or blocking. Q: If an attacking creature is removed from combat after this spell resolves, will it untap normally during its controller's next upkeep? A: No. If it was attacking at the time Tangle resolved, it won't untap during its controller's next untap step. Tectonic Instability ----- Q: Can I play a land, then play abilities of lands I control before this card taps them? A: Yes. Q: Does the land I just put into play get tapped as well? A: Yes. Q: Does this ability trigger if a land is put directly into play (such as with Harrow), or only if a land is played normally? A: It triggers whenever a land enters play, regardless of how it got there. Q: What's the point of this card? A: It means when a player puts a land into play, that player must draw all available mana from his or her lands in response to Tectonic Instability's triggered ability going on the stack, or just let the lands become tapped. The alternative is not to put any new lands into play. Think about this card against a deck filled with countering spells or in combination with "rhystic" spells, for example. Teferi's Care ----- Q: Can I sacrifice Teferi's Care to pay its own activation cost? A: Yes. Teferi's Moat ----- Q: Can I choose colorless? A: No. You can choose only one of the five *Magic* colors. Q: If a flying creature of the chosen color is attacking me, can I make it lose flying to cancel the attack? A: No. Once a creature is attacking you, causing it to lose flying won't undo the attack. Teferi's Response ----- Q: This is pretty good against Rishadan Port and Dust Bowl, isn't it? A: Yes it is. Q: It kinda sucks against Armageddon, though, doesn't it? A: That's right. Armageddon doesn't target anything, so Teferi's Response is powerless against it. Q: Can this affect triggered abilities my opponent controls? A: Yes. Q: Can I play this spell just to draw two cards? A: No. You must have a valid target for it, which means there must be a spell or ability your opponent controls that's targeting one or more of your lands. Q: Do I get to draw two cards if the target spell or ability becomes an illegal target before Teferi's Response resolves? What about if Teferi's Response is countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw two cards" part. Tek ----- Q: Save me some calculation. What's Tek if I have all five basic lands in play? A: It would be a 4/4 flying, trampling, first-striker. Temporal Distortion ----- Q: What does this do? A: It makes creatures and lands stay tapped for an extra turn every time they become tapped. Thicket Elemental ----- Q: Let's say I pay the kicker and I choose to reveal cards from my library until I reveal a creature card. What happens if I don't find one (if there are none in my library, for instance)? A: Not much. You just get to the end of your library, then shuffle it. The "if you do" part of the effect is tied to revealing cards from your library, not to putting a creature into play. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Thornscape Apprentice ----- Q: If a creature has an activated ability with T in its cost, can I tap it to prevent its controller from playing that ability? A: No. If you tap it before the ability is played, its controller can play the ability in response. If you wait until the ability is played and then try to tap it, it's too late. Q: Can I stop an attacking creature by tapping it? A: If the creature's already attacking, tapping it won't stop it. But you can play the Apprentice's first ability anytime during your opponent's turn before the declare attackers step to tap a creature so it won't be able to attack. Q: What happens if I give a creature first strike during the combat damage step? A: Not much. The first thing that happens during the combat damage step is that combat damage goes on the stack. Afterward, players can play instants and activated abilities. So it will be too late for first strike to affect the target creature's combat damage, since it will already be on the stack. If you use this effect during the declare blockers step, it will have the effect you want. Thornscape Master ----- Q: When do I choose the color for the protection ability? A: When the ability resolves. That means by the time your opponent knows what color you'll choose, it'll be too late to respond with instants and activated abilities. Thunderscape Apprentice ----- Q: Can my opponent use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Thunderscape Master ----- Q: Can my opponent use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Q: If I play its second ability, then play a creature later in the turn, does the new creature get the +2/+2 bonus? A: No. When the ability resolves, it gives the bonus only to creatures you control at that time. Q: If I play its first ability, does Thunderscape Master get +2/+2 as well? A: Yes. Tidal Visionary ----- Q: Can I use its ability to make something colorless? A: No. Colorless isn't a color. Tinder Farm ----- Q: If Overabundance or Mana Flare is in play, and I play the ability that gives me two different colors of mana, which color does the enchantment add? A: The mana ability's controller chooses. In this case, since you control Tinder Farm, you get to decide. Tolarian Emissary ----- Q: Does it have flying if I don't pay the kicker cost? A: Yes. It has flying regardless of whether you pay the kicker cost. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Traveler's Cloak ----- Q: Can I choose any land type? Even Island of Wak-Wak? A: Sure, knock yourself out. The enchanted creature will have Island-of-Wak-Wak-walk. But your choice has to be a noun that doesn't have a special Magic meaning (you can't choose "legend," for example). Q: Can I play this if no creatures are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the creature becomes an illegal target before Traveler's Cloak resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. If the target is illegal when Traveler's Cloak tries to resolve, it's countered. If the spell is countered, it never comes into play, and that means you don't get to draw a card. Treva, the Renewer ----- See "Dragon Legends" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Tribal Flames ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Tsabo Tavoc ----- Q: Protection from Legends? What does that mean? A: It means the same thing other kinds of protection do: Tsabo can't be the target of spells or abilities from a Legend source, can't be blocked by Legends, and all damage dealt to Tsabo by Legend sources is prevented. Q: Does protection from Legends include legendary lands, legendary artifacts, and so on? A: No. It only protects against creatures with the Legend creature type. Q: Tsabo's other ability lets me destroy Legends. Can I destroy legendary lands, legendary artifacts, and so on? A: No, only creatures with the Legend type. Remember, though, that if a legendary permanent becomes a creature, it automatically has the Legend type. Tsabo's Assassin ----- Q: How does this card work? A: First, pick a target creature. Then, when the ability resolves, figure out if that creature's color is the most common among permanents in play. If it is, or is tied for most common, you get to destroy the creature. If it's not, the ability doesn't affect the target at all. (It's not countered, it just doesn't do anything.) Q: What if the creature I want to target has more than one color? A: You only have to worry about whether or not it has the most common color among permanents. Other colors are irrelevant. Q: What if I want to target a colorless creature, such as an artifact creature or animated land? A: You can target it, but the Assassin will affect it only if it has the most common color among permanents when the ability resolves. If it remains colorless, nothing will happen. Tsabo's Decree ----- Q: Let's say my opponent plays this on me and names "Goblin." I'm holding a creature card whose type is Goblin Legend. Do I have to discard it? A: Yes. A Goblin Legend is both a Goblin and a Legend and will be affected by spells or abilities that affect either type. Q: Can I choose Kumquat? A: Sure. You can choose any word that's a one-word noun and that isn't a *Magic* term. Tsabo's Web ----- Q: Do I get to draw a card if it's countered? A: No, it must actually come into play for the "draw a card" ability to trigger. Q: What does "activated ability that doesn't produce mana" mean? For example, does that count a Gaea's Cradle while no creatures are in play? A: No. It means "activated nonmana ability," but that was just too gross for us to put on a card. It means an ability that couldn't ever normally produce mana. Turf Wound ----- Q: Can I play this on myself? A: Sure. Q: Does this stop the player from putting lands into play by other means, such as Harrow? A: No, it stops only the "one land per turn" play. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the player becomes an illegal target before Turf Wound resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Twilight's Call ----- Q: What does "any time you could play a instant" mean? Do I have to have a instant in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the spell whenever you have priority. Q: Does the "any time you could play an instant" cost count toward the card's converted mana cost? A: No. Q: Not even after I pay it? A: No. Q: In what order do the creatures come into play? A: They all come into play simultaneously. If some of them have "comes-into-play" triggered abilities, the ones controlled by the active player go on the stack first, in the order he or she chooses. Then the ones controlled by the other player go on the stack in the order that player chooses. Q: What happens if my opponent and I both have copies of the same Legend in our graveyards when this is played? What if both copies are in my graveyard? A: They'll both come into play then immediately be destroyed, regardless of who controls them. Both Legends come into play at the same time, so when they check to see which one has been in play longest, they'll see that neither one has been in play longer than the other -- and back to the graveyard they go. Undermine ----- Q: Can the spell's controller use prevention effects to stop the loss of life? A: No. Loss of life can't be prevented. Q: If Undermine is countered, does the target spell's controller lose 3 life anyway? A: No. If it's countered, all of its effects are countered. Urborg Drake ----- Q: What does "if able" mean? A: It means that during the declare attackers step, the Drake must have been continuously controlled by the attacking player since the beginning of that player's turn (or have haste), it must be untapped, and it can't have effects applying to it that would keep it from being able to attack (such as Pacifism). Urborg Emissary ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Urborg Shambler ----- Q: Do multicolored creatures get -1/-1 if one of their colors is black? A: Yes. Q: Is the Urborg Shambler affected by its own ability? A: No. It says "other black creatures." But any other Urborg Shamblers in play are affected. Urborg Skeleton ----- Q: Do I have to pay the kicker cost for the Skeleton to have regeneration? A: No. The kicker just makes it bigger. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Urza's Filter ----- Q: What's a multicolored spell? A: A spell with more than one color of mana in its mana cost. Q: Does that count kicker costs? A: No. Q: What about a spell with one color of mana in its mana cost and another color in the activation cost of its ability? A: No. Q: Does this make split cards cheaper to play? A: No, because split cards aren't multicolored when they're on the stack (when you pay their costs). Q: Does this work only for instants and sorceries? A: No, it works for all card types except lands. Remember that all cards except lands are spells while they're being played. Urza's Rage ----- Q: What does "can't be countered by spells or abilities" mean? A: That means it can still be countered by the rules. For example, if its target becomes illegal before it tries to resolve, the rules will counter the spell. Q: Is Urza's Rage an illegal target for a countering spell, or does a countering spell that targets it simply have no effect? A: Countering spells can target Urza's Rage, and they'll resolve normally, but they'll fail to counter Urza's Rage. Other effects of the countering spell will happen normally, though. For example, you could target Urza's Rage with Dismiss. It wouldn't counter Urza's Rage, but you'd still get to draw a card. Q: Is it uncounterable only if I pay the kicker cost? A: No. It's uncounterable whether or not you pay the kicker cost. Q: If I pay the kicker cost, does it deal 13 damage? A: No. If you pay the kicker cost, it deals 10. If not, it deals 3. Q: If I pay the kicker, the damage is unpreventable. But can it be affected by other things, such as replacement effects like Pariah's? A: Yes. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Utopia Tree ----- Q: This isn't a Wall? A: No. It's a Plant that can attack. Verdeloth the Ancient ----- Q: Does it give Saprolings and other Treefolk +1/+1 even if I don't pay the kicker? A: Yes. It has that ability regardless of whether you pay the kicker. Q: Does it give itself the +1/+1 bonus? A: No. It says "other Treefolk." Q: Can I choose to pay a kicker cost of 0? If so, would this trigger the ability of Saproling Infestation? A: Yes and yes. Note that even though you can choose 0 for X, that doesn't mean you have to pay the kicker cost. You can still choose not to pay X at all. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Verduran Emissary ----- See "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Viashino Grappler ----- Q: What happens if I give it trample during the combat damage step? A: Not much. By the time you can play spells and abilities during this step, combat damage is already on the stack. A creature must have trample before the combat damage step begins for the ability to do anything useful. Vicious Kavu ----- Q: Does it get +4/+0 until end of turn if I attack with it, then play Relentless Assault and attack with it again? A: Yes. Vigorous Charge ----- Q: Do I get to give a creature trample if I don't pay the kicker cost? A: Yes. That part of the effect doesn't depend on whether you paid the kicker cost. Q: What happens if I give the creature trample during the combat damage step? A: Not much. By the time you can play spells and abilities during this step, combat damage is already on the stack. A creature must have trample before the combat damage step begins for the ability to do anything useful. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Vile Consumption ----- Q: Do I control this ability? A: You control the enchantment's static ability, which gives each creature a triggered ability. But each creature's controller controls the individual triggered abilities. (In other words, you don't get to choose whether or not to sacrifice your opponent's creatures.) Vodalian Hypnotist ----- Q: What does "any time you could play a sorcery" mean? Do I have to have a sorcery in my hand to play the ability? A: No. It means you can play the ability only during one of your own main phases when the stack is empty. Vodalian Merchant ----- Q: Let's say Vodalian Merchant is the only card in my hand. Can I play it, draw a card, and then play that card before I have to discard? A: No. The Vodalian Merchant's ability has to finish resolving before anyone can play spells or abilities. Vodalian Serpent ----- Q: If I don't pay the kicker, can it attack even if the defending player has no islands in play? A: No. It has that restriction regardless of whether you paid the kicker. See also "Kicker Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Vodalian Zombie ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a blue permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the blue permanent green with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Zombie's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now green. Q: What if Vodalian Zombie is targeted with the ability of a white permanent that requires green mana to activate it (such as Rampant Elephant)? A: The Zombie's protection from green won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Void ----- Q: Can I choose 0? A: Sure. That would affect artifacts and creatures in play and nonland cards in hand with mana cost 0. Creature tokens would be destroyed, but your opponent wouldn't have to discard any land cards or destroy any lands unless they had been animated. Q: So it affects only artifacts and creatures in play, but affects all nonland cards in hand? A: That's right. Q: Do kicker costs or the effects of Leeches change a card's converted mana cost? A: No. Voracious Cobra ----- Q: When does its ability trigger? When combat damage goes on the stack, or when it's actually dealt? A: When it's actually dealt. That means if all its combat damage is prevented, the ability won't trigger. Wallop ----- Q: Can I target a blue *and* black creature with flying? A: Yes. Wandering Stream ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Wash Out ----- Q: Can I choose a combination of colors? A: No, only one. Q: Can I choose colorless? A: No. Colorless isn't a color. Q: When do I choose the color? A: When Wash Out resolves. That means your opponent won't know what color you'll choose until it's too late to respond with instants or activated abilities. Wayfaring Giant ----- See "Domain Cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Well-Laid Plans ----- Q: Can this prevent damage from spells? A: No, only from creature sources. Q: Does that include stuff like Prodigal Sorcerer's ability? A: Yes. Q: Is there any way to respond to this ability? A: No. It's a static ability that makes a prevention effect, so it doesn't use the stack. If you wanted to keep the ability from working, you'd have to make sure the creatures didn't share any colors before the damage would be dealt. Whip Silk ----- Q: While the enchanted creature is blocking, is it affected by spells and abilities that affect flying creatures? A: No. It doesn't actually have flying; it can just block as if it does. Q: Can the enchanted creature block a creature enchanted with Treetop Bracers? A: Yes. Even though the Whip-Silk-enchanted creature doesn't have flying, it gets to block as though it does. Q: If I play this on my opponent's creature, can that player pay G to return Whip Silk to my hand? A: No. Although your opponent controls the enchanted creature, you control the enchantment, so only you can activate the enchantment's ability. Winnow ----- Q: Can I play this if no nonland permanents are in play, just to draw a card? A: No. You must have a legal target to play it. Q: Can I play this targeting a nonland permanent if there isn't another permanent with that name in play? A: Sure. Having a duplicate card in play isn't a targeting condition. Winnow won't destroy its target, but you'll get to draw a card. Q: Let's say I play Winnow on a Kavu Titan while another Kavu Titan is in play. In response, the controller of the second Titan returns it to her hand. What happens when Winnow resolves? A: Winnow checks to make sure its target -- the first Titan -- is still valid. It is, but Winnow doesn't destroy it, because there's no longer a permanent in play with the same name. Winnow's controller draws a card anyway, though, because the spell wasn't countered. Q: Do I get to draw a card if the target creature becomes an illegal target before Winnow resolves? What about if it's countered? A: No and no. In both cases, the spell's effect won't occur -- not even the "draw a card" part. Q: Can I use Winnow to destroy an animated land if another land with the same name is in play? A: No. Even though the animated land is a creature, it's still a land as well, so Winnow can't target it. Wordly Counsel ----- Q: Do I get to choose what order the cards go on the bottom of my library? A: Yes. See also "Domain cards" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Yavimaya Barbarian ----- Q: Let's say my opponent targets this with an ability of a black permanent. What would happen if I responded by making the black permanent blue with something like Distorting Lens? A: Abilities "remember" the color of their source even after they go on the stack. So when the ability resolves, the Barbarian's protection makes it an illegal target because the source is now blue. Q: What if Yavimaya Barbarian is targeted with the ability of a white permanent that requires blue mana to activate it (such as Sunscape Master)? A: The Barbarian's protection from blue won't do anything, because an ability's activation cost is irrelevant to its color. The color comes from the ability's source. Yavimaya Kavu ----- Q: What if no green creatures are in play? A: Yavimaya Kavu is a red and green creature itself, so if it's the only creature in play, it's normally a 1/1 creature. If, however, its color has been changed and no other green creatures are in play, Yavimaya Kavu's toughness will be 0 and it will be destroyed. Yawgmoth's Agenda ----- Q: So while this is in play I have no way of getting cards into my graveyard? A: That's right. Q: Does the first ability affect all players? A: No, it affects only the controller of Yawgmoth's Agenda. Q: Does it mean I can play no more than one spell during my turn and no more than one spell during my opponent's turn? A: Yes. Q: The turn that I play Yawgmoth's Agenda, does that count as my one spell that turn? A: No. That would mean Yawgmoth's Agenda could "look back in time" and see itself being played. Q: What happens if the card in my graveyard I'm trying to play gets removed from there in response (with Rapid Decay, for instance)? A: It doesn't work that way. The first thing you do when you play a spell is put it on the stack. So a player can't target that card with Rapid Decay in response because the card isn't a legal target -- it's already on the stack, so it's no longer in your graveyard. Q: Yawgmoth's Agenda says I can play cards in my graveyard as though they were in my hand. If something makes me discard my hand, do I have to remove my entire graveyard from the game? A: No. Those cards aren't actually in your hand. You can just play them as though they were. Zanam Djinn ----- See "Djinns" in the "GENERAL QUESTIONS" section. Zap ----- Q: Do I get to draw a card if Zap is countered? A: No. Q: If the target creature or player becomes an illegal target before it resolves, do I still get to draw a card? A: No. If the target is illegal when Zap tries to resolve, it's countered -- including the "draw a card" part of the effect.