When a player plays Clever Impersonator and comes into play copying Eternal Witness or any other creature with ETB effects, can the player return a card from graveyard to hand?
My understanding is he does not because the Impersonator comes into play as Impersonator first then only copies the Eternal Witness.
My opponent says the Impersonator comes into play as Eternal Witness straightaway and thus, he can return a card from graveyard to hand.
Who is right?
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GMR21=OYS, I know you.
Salt is part of the game. Deal with it.
They are right, abilities such as Eternal Witness' will trigger. It even says it on the card in the very terms you're using in your question: "You may have Clever Impersonator enter the battlefield as a copy..." Such an ability creates a replacement effect that modifies the event of the Impersonator entering the battlefield, and it's applied before the Impersonator actually is on the battlefield. It's an Eternal Witness as soon as it exists on the battlefield, so the ability triggers.
706.5. An object that enters the battlefield "as a copy" or "that's a copy" of another object becomes a copy as it enters the battlefield. It doesn't enter the battlefield, and then become a copy of that permanent. If the text that's being copied includes any abilities that replace the enters-the-battlefield event (such as "enters the battlefield with" or "as [this] enters the battlefield" abilities), those abilities will take effect. Also, any enters-the-battlefield triggered abilities of the copy will have a chance to trigger.
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I'm a former judge (lapsed), who keeps up to date on rules and policy. Keep in mind that judges' answers aren't necessarily more valid than those of people who aren't judges; what matters is we can quote the rules to back up our answers. When in doubt, ask for such quotes.
When a player plays Clever Impersonator and comes into play copying Eternal Witness or any other creature with ETB effects, can the player return a card from graveyard to hand?
My understanding is he does not because the Impersonator comes into play as Impersonator first then only copies the Eternal Witness.
My opponent says the Impersonator comes into play as Eternal Witness straightaway and thus, he can return a card from graveyard to hand.
Who is right?
Refer to MadMageQc's post for the answer to your question. This is for additional clarification. Clever Impersonator is a 0/0 creature. State-based actions tell us that any creature with a toughness of 0 or less is moved to the graveyard. Therefore, if Clever Imeprsonator exists as itself for any period of time, unless there is a continuous buff effect (e.g. Glorious Anthem), it will immediately move to the graveyard. Logically, it therefore must be the copy of whatever it is copying when entering (and not after) to avoid being immediately dead.
Note also that triggered abilities use words like "when," "whenever," and "at." Clever Impersonator does not use any of these words, so nothing "triggers" to make it a copy of the creature (a triggered ability would cause a delay between entering the battlefield and it becoming a copy). As MadMageQc said, its own wording states that it will enter the battlefield as the copy, meaning the change has taken place either before or in parallel with (and in this case, its in parallel with) entering the battlefield. As far as the game is concerned, an Eternal Witness enters the battlefield, not a Clever Impersonator.
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My understanding is he does not because the Impersonator comes into play as Impersonator first then only copies the Eternal Witness.
My opponent says the Impersonator comes into play as Eternal Witness straightaway and thus, he can return a card from graveyard to hand.
Who is right?
Salt is part of the game. Deal with it.
Refer to MadMageQc's post for the answer to your question. This is for additional clarification. Clever Impersonator is a 0/0 creature. State-based actions tell us that any creature with a toughness of 0 or less is moved to the graveyard. Therefore, if Clever Imeprsonator exists as itself for any period of time, unless there is a continuous buff effect (e.g. Glorious Anthem), it will immediately move to the graveyard. Logically, it therefore must be the copy of whatever it is copying when entering (and not after) to avoid being immediately dead.
Note also that triggered abilities use words like "when," "whenever," and "at." Clever Impersonator does not use any of these words, so nothing "triggers" to make it a copy of the creature (a triggered ability would cause a delay between entering the battlefield and it becoming a copy). As MadMageQc said, its own wording states that it will enter the battlefield as the copy, meaning the change has taken place either before or in parallel with (and in this case, its in parallel with) entering the battlefield. As far as the game is concerned, an Eternal Witness enters the battlefield, not a Clever Impersonator.