Specific Cards Arcbound Ravager
You can sacrifice Arcbound Ravager to itself to put all counters on it onto another artifact creature. However, this does not give you an additional +1/+1 counter to put on either creature.
Amulet of Vigor
Multiple Amulets of Vigor create multiple triggers when an ETB tapped permanent ETBs. You can let one trigger resolve, tap the permanent for its own ability, then let another trigger resolve. E.g. 2 Amulet of Vigor and a Simic Growth Chamber.
Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Playing Lands
Playing lands does not use the stack, so you cannot destroy Azusa, Lost but Seeking “in response” to a land being played. However, if the land has a triggered ability (e.g. Simic Growth Chamber), you can respond to that.
Chalice of the Void Chalice of the Void has a converted mana cost of 2X on the stack, and 0 everywhere else (including the battlefield).
If Chalice of the Void at 0 and Hive Mind are on the battlefield and a player casts a Pact, his opponent still copies the Pact.
Creatures of the chosen type cast with Cavern of Souls, instants/sorceries cast with Boseiju, Who Shelters All, and any spell cast after Determined(Bound // Determined) resolves will not be countered by Chalice of the Void. The same holds for any spell that “can’t be countered by spells or abilities”, e.g. Abrupt Decay.
Cryptic Command
If you choose to bounce/counter with Cryptic Command and the target(s) are no longer legal, Cryptic fizzles and you do not get any of the other modes.
If your opponent wants to prevent you from attacking by tapping all your creatures, he has to do so before the declare attackers step (i.e. during the beginning of combat step, or the precombat main phase). The strategic application of this is that if you have a manland, you can get an attack with either your other creatures or the manland – if he chooses to tap all your creatures with Cryptic, you let it resolve, then animate your manland and attack with it, while if he doesn’t use Cryptic, then you attack with your other creatures.
Daybreak Coronet
If Daybreak Coronet is ever attached to a creature that has no other Auras attached to it (e.g. you destroy all other Auras attached to the creature), it falls off.
Delver of Secrets
You may crack a fetchland after Delver of Secrets has transformed, but before the draw step.
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
You can respond to Emrakul, the Aeons Torn being put into a graveyard. E.g. Goryo’s Vengeance or Surgical Extraction. Oblivion Ring’s triggered ability comes from a white permanent (not a white spell), so it can exile Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
Exiling Emrakul from a graveyard does not stop its trigger, so the rest of the cards in that graveyard will get shuffled into the library.
Engineered Explosives
You can cast Engineered Explosives for excess colorless mana/mana of a color that you've already spent. This is useful if you need 2 counters on Explosives but are afraid of Spell Snare.
If Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Thorn of Amethyst are in play and you spend a different color of mana to pay their tax, it counts towards the number of charge counters that get put on Explosives. E.g. if you spend U on Explosives (X=1) and B on the tax, Explosives gets 2 charge counters.
Farseek Farseeking for a shockland causes it to ETB tapped, regardless of whether you paid 2 life.
Geist of Saint Traft and Exalted
If Geist of Saint Traft attacks alone, it will get Exalted bonuses as well as create the Angel token. The Angel token doesn’t get Exalted boosts, however. (See: Put onto the battlefield attacking, 508.4)
Gifts Ungiven Gifts Ungiven targets and can be stopped by Leyline of Sanctity.
You can reveal 2 cards for Gifts Ungiven, forcing your opponent to put both of them into your graveyard. (Fun fact: the Modern Masters printing had different wording, to make this clearer.)
Leonin Arbiter
You only need to pay Leonin Arbiter's tax once to search >=2 times in 1 turn (e.g. fetch + ramp spell).
Paying 2 is a special action and cannot be responded to.
However, you still need to have priority in order to pay 2. You cannot cast a Scapeshift, sacrifice your lands, pay 2 and search - you have to pay 2 before casting the Scapeshift (or cast Scapeshift, hold priority, and pay 2).
If an effect says "You may search your library ... If you do, shuffle your library," and you haven't paid 2, you can't choose to search, so you won't shuffle.
Leyline of Sanctity
You cannot burn your opponent's planeswalker if he has Leyline of Sanctity.
Mindslaver
You may look at your opponent’s sideboard if you have controlled them with Mindslaver.
Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere
Removing Oblivion Ring from the battlefield before its first ability resolves results in the targeted permanent being exiled indefinitely.
Pyromancer Ascension and Copying Spells
If Pyromancer Ascension has one counter on it and you play a spell of which you have another copy in your graveyard, PA gets one more counter. The spell you played is not copied.
If you play Tormenting Voice, discarding another Tormenting Voice as the additional cost, you may put one counter on PA.
Copies of spells created by PA do not require their additional costs to be paid, since they were not casted. E.g. if you cast a Tormenting Voice with an active PA, you do not need to discard a card to get the copy.
Rain of Gore
Rain of Gore does not stop creatures with lifelink from causing their controller to gain life. This is because the damage, not the lifelink ability, is the source of the life gain.
Remand
You can Remand your own spell to return it to your hand and draw a card. A common play is to Remand your Snapcaster Mage if it would get countered (rather than countering the opponent’s counterspell).
You can Remand an uncounterable spell just to draw a card.
You can Remand a spell you casted with Storm or Replicate. The original will return to your hand and the copies will resolve.
Redirect and Swerve
You may Redirect a counterspell to Redirect in order to fizzle it.
Scapeshift and Valakut
You sacrifice lands as part of Scapeshift's resolution, not as its cost. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle will only do 3 damage if you search up 6 other Mountains and one of them leaves the battlefield. (See: “Intervening if” clause, 603.4)
Silence Silence does not affect spells casted before it, or spells casted in response to it, before it resolves.
Smallpox
If you discard Obstinate Baloth to Smallpox with no other creatures on the battlefield, you will be forced to sacrifice Baloth. This is because Baloth has a replacement effect, not a triggered ability.
Splinter Twin Splinter Twin grants an ability to the enchanted creature. To prevent this ability from being activated with Pithing Needle, you must name the enchanted creature, not Splinter Twin.
Giving a creature protection from red causes Splinter Twin to fall off.
Casting Vines of Vastwood on an opponent’s creature prevents it from being enchanted by Splinter Twin.
Spellskite
The target of Deceiver Exarch's untap/Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker’s copy ability cannot be changed to an opposing Spellskite.
You may use Spellskite's ability even if Spellskite would not be a legal target. You just lose life, and the spell’s target(s) remain unchanged. Spellskite cannot save a Phantasmal Image that has been targeted. Spellskite does not remove the “sacrifice Phantasmal Image” trigger.
If Spellskite and another target are the targets of Electrolyze, using its ability to try to save the other target does nothing. (See Spellskite’s 6th ruling.)
Sun Titan Sun Titan can return Enchant Creatures on hexproof/shroud creatures. (See: Auras, 303.4f)
Tarmogoyf and SBAs
Bolting a 2/3 Tarmogoyf when there are no instants in either player’s graveyard does not kill it. (See: State-based actions, 704.3, 704.5g)
Tectonic Edge
You can activate two Tectonic Edges (without passing priority) to destroy two of your opponent’s lands, even if he only has 4 lands and the first activation would put him at 3 lands. This is because Tectonic Edge only checks how many lands your opponent controls at the time you activate the ability.
Thoughtseize Thoughtseize's effect is mandatory, even if the only card you can choose is something you’d rather not, e.g. Obstinate Baloth.
You do not lose life if Thoughtseize is countered.
You lose life if Thoughtseize resolves, even if the chosen player had 0 cards in hand or 0 nonland cards in hand.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth turns all lands into Swamps. This includes itself, and your opponent’s lands.
Fetchlands retain their fetch ability even if Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is on the battlefield.
You cannot search for non-Swamp lands with Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, Bloodstained Mire or Verdant Catacombs even if Urborg is on the battlefield.
Urza’s lands
Urza's lands check for subtype, not name. E.g. Urza's Tower is a Land - Urza's Tower. If the Tower is enchanted by Spreading Seas, it becomes a Land - Island and stops powering up Urza's Mine and Urza's Power Plant.
Vedalken Shackles Vedalken Shackles only cares about the number of Islands and the creature's power when the ability is activated and resolved. You still retain control if the creature stops being a creature, or if the creature's power becomes greater than the number of Islands you control.
Vendilion Clique Vendilion Clique's effect is not mandatory. Vendilion Clique can target any player. Don’t reveal your hand until your opponent has declared the target!
General Mechanics Cascade Ethersworn Canonist/Eidolon of Rhetoric/Rule of Law/Silence prevents your opponent from casting a second spell via cascade.
You can cast either half of a split card with cascade as long as one of those halves has a mana cost less than the cascade spell. E.g. Violent Outburst into Bust Boom // Bust.
If you counter a spell with cascade, the cascade ability still triggers.
Casting spells that are cascaded into is not mandatory. E.g. Cascading into Thoughtseize at 2 life.
If you want to cast a cascaded spell while Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is on the battlefield, you must pay 1. However, you cannot crack fetches for this extra mana, because fetchlands’ abilities are not mana abilities. In short: crack your fetches before casting Cascade spells when Thalia is on the battlefield!
Copying
“Clone” effects (e.g. Phantasmal Image) do not target.
“Clones” cannot copy other permanents that enter the battlefield at the same time as them. E.g. if you use Primeval Titan to get Vesuva + some other land, Vesuva can't copy that other land.
Copies of creatures share the base creature's mana cost. E.g. Phantasmal Image copying a Deceiver Exarch has a mana cost of 2U. A copy of Pestermite created by Splinter Twin has a mana cost of 2U. (See Copying Objects, 706.2)
Cycling
Cycling is an activated ability. Cards that say “Counter target spell” do not counter it.
You may cycle cards at instant speed, even if the card is a creature without flash, for example. Damping Matrix does not stop you from cycling creatures – the “creatures” referred to in Damping Matrix are creatures on the battlefield, not creature cards in hand.
Combat damage is dealt simultaneously
If you have 0 poison counters, 1 life, control Phyreixan Unlife, and your opponent is attacking with 700 Pestermites, you take 1400 damage and go to -1399 life. You don't receive any poison counters.
Suppose you have 12 life and control Death's Shadow (which is a 1/1 at this point). Your opponent attacks with two 1/1s and you block one of them. You will take 1 damage, Death's Shadow will take 1 damage, and the remaining 1/1 will take 1 damage. However, when SBAs are checked, Death's Shadow's P/T is 2/2, and it only has 1 damage marked on it, so it survives. (See: Bolting a 2/3 Goyf, below)
Damage Prevention
Effects that say “damage can’t be prevented” will cause creatures with protection from X to take damage as per normal if they block creatures with characteristic X. E.g. If your opponent blocks your 2/2 red creature with his Kor Firewalker and you play Skullcrack, his Kor Firewalker will be dealt damage by the red creature.
You cannot choose to prevent damage from a source that is not a permanent or a spell. E.g. You cannot pre-emptively sacrifice Burrenton Forge-Tender to prevent damage from a Lightning Bolt cast later in the turn. (See: Sources of Damage, 419.8)
Dredge
Dredge is a replacement effect, doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
You must have at least N cards in your library before you can dredge N.
You may cast Darkblast during your upkeep, and Dredge it back to your hand in replacement of your draw for that turn.
If you cast a spell that draws multiple cards, you can choose to replace any of those draws with Dredges. If one of the Dredges puts another Dredge card into the graveyard, you can Dredge that card in replacement of a subsequent draw from the same draw spell.
Flashback
A spell cast using flashback will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack in some other way. E.g. Remanding a spell casted for its flashback cost results in the spell being exiled.
You may not cast a spell for its alternative costs if it is given flashback via Snapcaster Mage or Past in Flames. E.g. You may not cast Mindbreak Trap for its trap cost.
Layers
Using Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas’ second ability on an animated Inkmoth Nexus turns it into a 5/5 artifact creature with flying and infect. At the end of the turn, it becomes a 5/5 artifact creature. If you animate it again, it becomes a 1/1 artifact creature with flying and infect. At the end of that turn, it becomes a 5/5 artifact creature.
If your opponent controls Melira, Sylvok Outcast and you animate Inkmoth Nexus, your Nexus does not deal any damage, whether regular, poison, or -1/-1 counters, to your opponent or his creatures.
Legend Rule
The "legend rule" doesn't use the stack. E.g. You are not allowed to tap 2 untapped Mox Opal on the battlefield for mana.
Life payment
You cannot pay more life than you have remaining. E.g if Angel’s Grace is active and you have 1 life, you can crack a fetchland and go to 0. But if you are at 0 life, you can’t crack the fetch. (See: Life, 118.4)
Split cards
If you reveal a split card with Dark Confidant, you lose life equal to the combined converted mana costs of both halves.
If you cast Inquisition of Kozilek, you can choose a split card with one half’s CMC less than 3, even if the other half’s CMC is more. E.g. Boom // Bust.
Split second
You can activate mana abilities, trigger triggered abilities and unmorph creatures when a card with Split second is on the stack. E.g. You can crack Lotus Bloom for mana when Krosan Grip is targeting it. Chalice of the Void can trigger and counter a spell of the appropriate mana cost.
Suspend
You counter Suspended spells when they come off suspend, not when your opponent activates the Suspend ability.
Exiling a card with suspend doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
If you Trickbind the “When the last is removed...” ability of a Suspended card, the card remains exiled indefinitely. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir prevents Suspend spells from coming off suspend. They stay exiled indefinitely.
Storm
Storm counts spells casted by both players.
If you copy a Grapeshot e.g. with Pyromancer Ascension, the copy’s Storm ability does not trigger and it only deals 1 damage.
You can Trickbind a Grapeshot to have it deal 1 damage only.
If you counter a Grapeshot without countering its Storm ability, its copies still resolve.
Tokens
Creature tokens are named after their types. E.g Echoing Truth will return all Spirit tokens from the battlefield to their owner's hand (whereupon they will cease to exist).
Tokens trigger “whenever a creature dies” abilities when they die.
Trample
If a creature with trample attacks and is blocked by another creature with protection from it, the trampler's controller may assign the minimum damage that would be required to kill the blocker and the rest to the opponent. E.g. if your Siege Rhino is blocked by a Mirran Crusader, you can assign 2 damage to the Crusader and 3 to your opponent. The Crusader isn't destroyed.
If your creature has trample, you can still choose to assign more damage than would be lethal. This is useful if you are attacking with a trampler into Death's Shadow - if you were to assign only the minimum required to kill Death's Shadow, it would survive. (See: Combat damage is dealt simultaneously, above)
”At the beginning of the next end step”
If you play a spell or activate an ability (with a delayed trigger that triggers at the beginning of the next end step) during your opponent’s end step, the trigger happens during your end step. E.g. Goryo’s Vengeance, Through the Breach, Splinter Twin – if you cast Through the Breach on your opponent’s end step, you get to keep the creature until your end step.
Changing Land Types
Giving basic land types to lands lets them tap for colors of those types. E.g. Prismatic Omen, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Spreading Seas, Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon cause affected lands to be unable to tap for other colors or activate their other abilities (unlike Prismatic Omen for example, they don’t say “...in addition to their other types”). It also removes subtypes such as Urza’s, but not supertypes such as Legendary.
When Blood Moon is on the battlefield, bouncelands (e.g. Simic Growth Chamber) enter the battlefield tapped, but do not require you to return a land to your hand.
When Blood Moon is on the battlefield, shocklands (e.g. Steam Vents) still require 2 life payment to enter the battlefield untapped.
When Blood Moon is on the battlefield and you have two Flagstones of Trokair, you have to ”legend rule” one of them, but will not fetch Plains.
Manlands
Animated manlands may still tap for mana. E.g. tapping a Celestial Colonnade which attacked this turn.
Animated manlands are subject to summoning sickness.
Most manlands that tap for one or more colors of mana change colors when they are animated. This makes them vulnerable to color-based hate cards, e.g. Combust, Celestial Purge.
Nonexistent mana costs
Cards with nonexistent mana costs have a converted mana cost of 0. E.g. You can cast Reshape with X=0 for Lotus Bloom. You can use Violent Outburst’s cascade effect to cast Living End.
You may not cast a spell with no mana cost given flashback via Snapcaster Mage for 0.
”Tap an untapped creature you control”
You can tap untapped creatures that entered the battlefield this turn to pay costs for abilities, even if they don’t have haste. E.g. Springleaf Drum, Heritage Druid.
Similar, but Different Effects
Flipping/morphing/transforming a card or animating a manland does not trigger ETB abilities.
Putting a creature onto the battlefield does not count as casting it. E.g. You do not get an extra turn if you use Through the Breach to put Emrakul, the Aeons Torn onto the battlefield. You cannot counter a creature that has been put onto the battlefield via AEther Vial.
Putting cards into your hand does not count as drawing them. E.g. You may not Dredge a card back into your hand in replacement of Dark Confidant’s trigger.
Sacrificing a creature does not count as destroying it. E.g. Totem armor does not protect from Liliana of the Veil.
Life loss does not count as damage. E.g. If your opponent plays Siege Rhino while you are at 1 life and have Angel’s Grace active, you go to -2 life. You cannot redirect life loss to a planeswalker.
Explanations Blood Moon + Flagstones
Blood Moon does not change supertypes. Flagstones is still legendary, so you have to “legend rule” one of them.
What about fetching Plains? The Flagstones did not have its LTB ability while on the battlefield – it had been turned into a Mountain. Thus, its LTB ability does not trigger.
Bolting a 2/3 Goyf
Goyf is not put into the graveyard immediately when lethal damage is marked on it. That only happens when state-based actions are checked, i.e., when either player receives priority again. Before that happens, the Bolt is put into your graveyard, boosting Goyf’s toughness. The damage marked on it is no longer lethal, so it survives.
A related example is Bolting vs Murdering a Dryad Militant. Bolting it results in Bolt being exiled:
Bolt is cast.
Militant takes 3 damage. At this point Militant has lethal damage marked on it, but it is not put into the graveyard yet.
Bolt is exiled, because of Militant’s replacement effect.
Militant dies.
Murdering it results in Murder being put into your graveyard:
Murder is cast.
Militant is destroyed and put into the graveyard immediately. (You do not wait for state-based actions to be checked.)
Murder is put into the graveyard, since Militant is no longer on the battlefield.
Melira and Inkmoth
Losing or gaining Infect is applied in Layer 6. If Melira was on the battlefield first before Inkmoth was animated (which is the cast almost all the time), Melira’s “lose Infect” is applied. Then Inkmoth’s “gain Infect” is applied. The end result is that Inkmoth indeed has Infect – but because of Melira’s other abilities, it can’t put -1/-1 counters on creatures, or give poison counters to your opponent.
Oblivion Ring
More trickiness with the stack:
Oblivion Ring ETBs and you chose to have it exile Permanent X.
Oblivion Ring’s ETB trigger targeting Permanent X
Now, let’s say you Echoing Truth it. Echoing Truth resolves and bounces O-Ring, putting its LTB trigger on the stack.
The LTB trigger resolves, but does nothing because O-Ring has not exiled anything yet.
Then the ETB trigger resolves, and Permanent X is exiled.
Can you get Permanent X back? No, because your O-Ring is now sitting in your hand. Even if it re-entered the battlefield, it has no relation to its previous existence.
Redirecting counterspells
Pay attention to the stack:
Spell X
Counterspell targeting Spell X
Redirect targeting counterspell
Redirect resolves and changes the target of the counterspell to Redirect.
Spell X
Counterspell targeting Redirect
Since Redirect has left the stack, the counterspell fizzles.
Valakut
Valakut checks if there are 5 other mountains twice: once for triggering its ability, and another time when resolving its ability.
Label the 6 Mountains 1-6. 1 is the destroyed one.
Mountain 1 triggers Valakut fine, because Valakut checks for 5 other mountains, and can find them (2-6). Mountain 1 does not have to be on the battlefield in order for the trigger to be successful.
Mountain 2 does not trigger Valakut. When Valakut checks for 5 other mountains, it only sees mountains 3-6. It does not see mountain 1, as it has been destroyed. Thus, it only sees 4 other mountains, so the ability fizzles.
Village Bell-Ringer + Kiki + Mana dork vs Prison
On the surface, it seems like you should be able to generate infinite mana to pay for your attackers. Tap the dork for mana, tap Kiki making a copy of Bell-Ringer, and untap everything when the copy ETBs. You’re back where you started, except with 1 more mana and 1 copy of Bell-Ringer. What’s the problem?
The answer is: timing is everything. Here is what you can do during your combat phase, in order:
507.3 Activate abilities
508.1 Declare attackers
508.1h Activate mana abilities to pay for costs
508.3 Activate abilities.
No matter what you try, you cannot generate infinite mana AND pay for Prison.
Generate infinite mana at the beginning of combat step (507)? It empties when you move to the declare attackers step (508).
Generate infinite mana when you declare attackers? Sorry, you can’t do that. Declaring attackers doesn’t use the stack, so you may not activate non-mana abilities such as Kiki-Jiki while doing so*. If you want to pay for costs, you have to use mana abilities, as mentioned in 508.1h.
Generate infinite mana when you regain priority again (508.3)? No dice. If you couldn’t pay for all your attackers during declare attackers, the game rewinds to the moment before declaration. See 508.1.
*By the same token, you cannot use non-mana abilities to pay for Prison.
If a player casts Daybreak Coronet targeting a creature with just one Aura attached to it and you manage to destroy/bounce that Aura, Coronet will fizzle and go to the graveyard.
You may still cast spells and activate abilities in response to uncounterable spells (and abilities). For example, you can cast Mizzium Skin, activate Spellskite, and cast Deceiver Exarch (untapping Kiki-Jiki) in response to Combust.
You cannot do the above against spells with Split Second (e.g. Sudden Shock), but triggered abilities can still occur in response.
Clones (e.g. P. Image) copy converted mana cost (the 1-drop & 2-drop Twin Pod chain works). Tokens that are copies of other creatures also share converted mana costs (Engineered Explosives for X = 0 doesn't hose Twin).
Casting spells that are Cascaded into is optional (you don't have to cast a flipped Thoughtseize when you're at 2 life).
Any abilities triggered by activating other abilities or casting spells go on the stack on top of the activated ability or spell and resolve before that ability or spell. (Yes, the Finks-Resto Pod chain works, as Finks Persists before the Pod search resolves.)
You may cast spells and activate abilities in response to triggered abilities caused by lands ETB'ing (e.g. you can Izzet CharmSteppe Lynx in response to its Landfall).
Abilities from coloured sources do not count as coloured spells (e.g. Emrakul can be O. Ringed, as O. Ring doesn't target before it resolves).
if a tron land like urza's tower is enchanted by something like evil presence , the others tron lands produce only one mana
This is incorrect. Evil Presence changes the land's type and abilities, but it doesn't change the name of the card, which is what the Urza lands care about. So the [card]Urza's Tower[/b] will produce B, but the other Tron lands will still produce 2 if all three are in play.
No, when a Tron land refers to another piece, it's referring to its types.
Urza's Tower has the types "Urza's" and "Tower". It says so on the card: Land - Urza's Tower.
A Spreading Seas'd Tower will only have the type "Island".
EDIT: If Tron only cared about name, it would read "If you control a land named X and a land named Y instead...".
I wanted to expand on some stuff but also included anything weird I could think of from the format's top decks.
Tarmogoyf doesn't die to burn if the spell in question will level him up enough so it's not lethal. EX: Lightning Bolt a 2/3 (creature land) Goyf. It becomes a 3/4 with 3 damage.
Legendary lands die without using the stack. If you try to Legend rule an opposing Eiganjo Castle, your opponent cannot float mana.
Spellskite can stop any Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite + Splinter Twin/Kiki-Jiki combination EXCEPT Exarch + Kiki-Jiki. This is because Kiki can only target your own creatures and Deceiver is modal targeting your own creatures and Spellskite cannot change modes.
Spellskite can always be activated to recude your life total even if it can't change the target (ex; Divination). This is relivant for Mindslaver and and Death's Shadow.
If Phantasmal Image is targeted by a removal spell, Spellskite cannot save it.
Linvala, Keeper of Secrets stops all activated abilities of opposing creatures, including mana abilities like Birds of Paradise.
Deathrite Shaman's fist ability is not a mana ability and can thus be responded to. Removing the target for this (or any of his abilities), will counter it.
I will word this specially but feel free to extrapolate this; if Electrolyze targets a creature/player and Spellskite, you may not redirect the 2nd point to Spellskite as it's already a target or that part of the spell. If Martial Glory is +3/+0ing Spellskite and 0/+3ing another creature, you may redirect the 2nd half to it. The difference in these two spells is that one calls for separate targets.
+1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters cancel out. Persist creatures may persist again.
You can always find a smaller creature than you search for with Chord of Calling.
You counter Suspended spells when they come off of Suspend- not before then.
Valakut works if Mountains enter simultaneously including the 6th Mountain. Some decks will have 5 & 6 enter at once, resulting in 2 triggers per Valakut. Some will have all 6 enter via Scapeshift. This will result in 6 triggers per Valakut.
Vendillion Clique can target both players and doesn't need to take a card.
Players may crack a fetchland between Delver triggers and after Delver but before the draw step.
Body Double copying a Reveilark in the graveyard can return itself since it will have 0 power in the bin. You can combo various ways by continuing to copy the Lark.
A few big ones I notice that occur on MTGO frequently
Paying 2 Life for a Farseeked Shockland does not have it come into play untapped
Upon Second Sunrise's resolution it checks what cards have went from the Battlefield to the GY this turn and whether or not they still exist there as well as the card type
You can Pithing needle a Fetchland and it cannot activate, this applies to Planeswalkers and Deathrite Shaman as well
Similarly when someone uses a fetch land it's trigger goes on the stack on both players are given an opportunity to respond to the trigger (the fetcher must hold priority if they wish to respond)
Private Mod Note
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Modern:
Paper: WUR Waffle Control, RG and U Tron
MTGO: U Tron, BRG Living End, B Infect
Testing Modern on MTGO and helping to craft decks on a Budget I stream!
One that amazingly still needs to be explained to a ton of people:
Geist of Saint Traft triggers Exalted when he is declared as an attacker (if he is the only creature declared) despite the token entering the battlefield as a fellow attacker, because both Exalted and the token trigger when attackers are declared.
One that amazingly still needs to be explained to a ton of people:
Geist of Saint Traft triggers Exalted when he is declared as an attacker (if he is the only creature declared) despite the token entering the battlefield as a fellow attacker, because both Exalted and the token trigger when attackers are declared.
Not only that, but since the token is put into play already attacking, it's not considered to have been declared an attacker, so it doesn't count for exalted purposes.
Private Mod Note
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"The imagination is not a State: it is the Human existence itself." - William Blake
You cannot respond to multiple instances of an activated ability like Triskelion's if the player specifies he is not passing priority before activating it again, even with a split second spell like trickbind.
EX: get a Triskelion with many counters, you may remove each counter without passing priority, only the last instance of the ability may be responded to
Private Mod Note
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Modern UWUW ControlUW UGWSpiritsUGW GHardened ScalesG WGRUKiki PodWGRU [RIP]
You cannot respond to multiple instances of an activated ability like Triskelion's if the player specifies he is not passing priority before activating it again, even with a split second spell like trickbind.
EX: get a Triskelion with many counters, you may remove each counter without passing priority, only the last instance of the ability may be responded to
This is not correct. They may place as many Trike triggers on the stack without passing priority, but you have a chance to respond to each and every one. If they activate Trike 100 times, you could theoretically counter all of them if you had 100 Trickbinds in hand.
I think that what you are referring to is the second part of Trickbind that says "If a permanent's ability is countered this way, activated abilities of that permanent can't be activated this turn.", in which case if the Trike player puts 100 activations on the stack without passing priority Trickbinding the last one won't prevent the others from resolving because they've already been played.
This is not correct. They may place as many Trike triggers on the stack without passing priority, but you have a chance to respond to each and every one. If they activate Trike 100 times, you could theoretically counter all of them if you had 100 Trickbinds in hand.
I think that what you are referring to is the second part of Trickbind that says "If a permanent's ability is countered this way, activated abilities of that permanent can't be activated this turn.", in which case if the Trike player puts 100 activations on the stack without passing priority Trickbinding the last one won't prevent the others from resolving because they've already been played.
ehhhh i know things like wipe away also don't work, not sure exactly what the ruling is like ><, only the end result (100 counter triskelion still kills you to death)
EDIT: ok i reread everything:
Abilities stay on the stack independent of their sources, so even if you kill the source, they still resolve so long as costs were payed.
Paying for abilities does not use the stack, and therefore does not require you to pass priority.
So, a triskelion player could activate a 100 times without passing priority, and then there would still be 100 damage on the stack if you wipe away'd or doom blade'd it
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle will only do 3 damage if you search up 6 other Mountains and one of them leaves the battlefield. (See: “Intervening if” clause, 603.4)
Why 3 damage? If I strip mine one of the mountains in response to the triggers they will all fizzle and I will take no damage...
A creatue that was exiled instead of being put into the graveyard never "dies".
You can turn face-up on a morph even with a split-second spell on the stack.
Private Mod Note
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What's the big deal? You could have played multiple Righteous Avengers for years now.
Ghostly Prison - You cannot pay for the effect with mana that comes from effects on the stack like mana from Deathrite Shaman. Also, you only have to pay for Prison if you attack the player, you can attack Planeswalkers for free.
When you Mindslaver your opponent, you are allowed to look at their sideboard. This is because a player can look at their sideboard at any time, and you can make all actions that player would except concede.
When you Mindslaver lock an opponent, you are allowed to keep their hand face up, their lands tapped, and if they can't possibly do anything, skip their priority. This is to shortcut the game and prevent stalling.
Leyline of Sanctity can be used to make an opponent target themselves with certain spells/abilities. If an opponent declares an invalid target, they must rewind the game state to before using the spell because it can't be done. However, if they neglect to choose a target while casting their spell, then you implicitly assume it is the only available target, which would be themselves. Be careful to look out for this. One important card is Liliana, since her -2 and -6 are forced onto themselves if they don't declare you as the target. It might be a little sketchy, but the game allows for shortcuts, and since we assume the appropriate target, it has to be them.
Why 3 damage? If I strip mine one of the mountains in response to the triggers they will all fizzle and I will take no damage...
The triggers have already occurred. Removing a mountain will not stop the remaining triggers from occurring.
I learned a new ruling from last night:
If Tezzeret's -1 ability is used on a manland (like inkmoth or blinkmoth nexus), it remains a 5/5 artifact creature. However, it loses the rest of its abilities at the end of the turn, like the card says. If it's activated again, it becomes a 1/1 again with its abilities again.
The triggers have already occurred. Removing a mountain will not stop the remaining triggers from occurring.
No, read the other answers, you only get 3 damage cause the interventing if is checked on resolution, the other triggers fail to check for the other 5 mountains on resolution.
When you Mindslaver your opponent, you are allowed to look at their sideboard. This is because a player can look at their sideboard at any time, and you can make all actions that player would except concede.
This is to shortcut the game and prevent stalling.
Leyline of Sanctity
Speaking of shortcuts and Leyline: If you have a Leyline out and a planeswalker, your planeswalker is also protected from burn spells.
That is because "Lightning Bolt targeting Jace" is considered an acceptable shortcut for the proper play of "Lightning Bolt targeting you, where I will redirect the damage to your Jace upon resolution."
Private Mod Note
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What's the big deal? You could have played multiple Righteous Avengers for years now.
Reminding people, to add more as soon as they can, as this will be added to the primer eventually. It will still be updated, and people can still ask questions/ add more from there, but I'd love to get this as shapped as possible before then. Thanks!
Arcbound Ravager
You can sacrifice Arcbound Ravager to itself to put all counters on it onto another artifact creature. However, this does not give you an additional +1/+1 counter to put on either creature.
Amulet of Vigor
Multiple Amulets of Vigor create multiple triggers when an ETB tapped permanent ETBs. You can let one trigger resolve, tap the permanent for its own ability, then let another trigger resolve. E.g. 2 Amulet of Vigor and a Simic Growth Chamber.
Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Playing Lands
Playing lands does not use the stack, so you cannot destroy Azusa, Lost but Seeking “in response” to a land being played. However, if the land has a triggered ability (e.g. Simic Growth Chamber), you can respond to that.
Chalice of the Void
Chalice of the Void has a converted mana cost of 2X on the stack, and 0 everywhere else (including the battlefield).
If Chalice of the Void at 0 and Hive Mind are on the battlefield and a player casts a Pact, his opponent still copies the Pact.
Creatures of the chosen type cast with Cavern of Souls, instants/sorceries cast with Boseiju, Who Shelters All, and any spell cast after Determined(Bound // Determined) resolves will not be countered by Chalice of the Void. The same holds for any spell that “can’t be countered by spells or abilities”, e.g. Abrupt Decay.
Cryptic Command
If you choose to bounce/counter with Cryptic Command and the target(s) are no longer legal, Cryptic fizzles and you do not get any of the other modes.
If your opponent wants to prevent you from attacking by tapping all your creatures, he has to do so before the declare attackers step (i.e. during the beginning of combat step, or the precombat main phase). The strategic application of this is that if you have a manland, you can get an attack with either your other creatures or the manland – if he chooses to tap all your creatures with Cryptic, you let it resolve, then animate your manland and attack with it, while if he doesn’t use Cryptic, then you attack with your other creatures.
Daybreak Coronet
If Daybreak Coronet is ever attached to a creature that has no other Auras attached to it (e.g. you destroy all other Auras attached to the creature), it falls off.
Delver of Secrets
You may crack a fetchland after Delver of Secrets has transformed, but before the draw step.
Dryad Arbor
Dryad Arbor is a Forest and can be fetched for by Windswept Heath, Misty Rainforest, Verdant Catacombs and Wooded Foothills.
Dryad Arbor is affected by summoning sickness.
Dryad Arbor is a 1/1 green Land Creature – Mountain Dryad if Blood Moon is on the battlefield.
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
You can respond to Emrakul, the Aeons Torn being put into a graveyard. E.g. Goryo’s Vengeance or Surgical Extraction.
Oblivion Ring’s triggered ability comes from a white permanent (not a white spell), so it can exile Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
Exiling Emrakul from a graveyard does not stop its trigger, so the rest of the cards in that graveyard will get shuffled into the library.
Engineered Explosives
You can cast Engineered Explosives for excess colorless mana/mana of a color that you've already spent. This is useful if you need 2 counters on Explosives but are afraid of Spell Snare.
If Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Thorn of Amethyst are in play and you spend a different color of mana to pay their tax, it counts towards the number of charge counters that get put on Explosives. E.g. if you spend U on Explosives (X=1) and B on the tax, Explosives gets 2 charge counters.
Farseek
Farseeking for a shockland causes it to ETB tapped, regardless of whether you paid 2 life.
Geist of Saint Traft and Exalted
If Geist of Saint Traft attacks alone, it will get Exalted bonuses as well as create the Angel token. The Angel token doesn’t get Exalted boosts, however. (See: Put onto the battlefield attacking, 508.4)
Gifts Ungiven
Gifts Ungiven targets and can be stopped by Leyline of Sanctity.
You can reveal 2 cards for Gifts Ungiven, forcing your opponent to put both of them into your graveyard. (Fun fact: the Modern Masters printing had different wording, to make this clearer.)
Ghostly Prison
You do not need to pay 2 to attack an opponent's planeswalker if he has Ghostly Prison.
You cannot generate mana to get past a Ghostly Prison with just Village Bell-Ringer, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Birds of Paradise. (See: Combat, 507.3, 508.1, 508.1h, 508.3)
Grafdigger’s Cage
Grafdigger's Cage does not stop Living End from returning creatures. Read the card carefully!
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
You can cast spells with changeling (e.g. Nameless Inversion) from your graveyard if Haakon, Stromgald Scourge is on the battlefield.
Leonin Arbiter
You only need to pay Leonin Arbiter's tax once to search >=2 times in 1 turn (e.g. fetch + ramp spell).
Paying 2 is a special action and cannot be responded to.
However, you still need to have priority in order to pay 2. You cannot cast a Scapeshift, sacrifice your lands, pay 2 and search - you have to pay 2 before casting the Scapeshift (or cast Scapeshift, hold priority, and pay 2).
If an effect says "You may search your library ... If you do, shuffle your library," and you haven't paid 2, you can't choose to search, so you won't shuffle.
Leyline of Sanctity
You cannot burn your opponent's planeswalker if he has Leyline of Sanctity.
Mindslaver
You may look at your opponent’s sideboard if you have controlled them with Mindslaver.
Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere
Removing Oblivion Ring from the battlefield before its first ability resolves results in the targeted permanent being exiled indefinitely.
Pyromancer Ascension and Copying Spells
If Pyromancer Ascension has one counter on it and you play a spell of which you have another copy in your graveyard, PA gets one more counter. The spell you played is not copied.
If you play Tormenting Voice, discarding another Tormenting Voice as the additional cost, you may put one counter on PA.
Copies of spells created by PA do not require their additional costs to be paid, since they were not casted. E.g. if you cast a Tormenting Voice with an active PA, you do not need to discard a card to get the copy.
Rain of Gore
Rain of Gore does not stop creatures with lifelink from causing their controller to gain life. This is because the damage, not the lifelink ability, is the source of the life gain.
Remand
You can Remand your own spell to return it to your hand and draw a card. A common play is to Remand your Snapcaster Mage if it would get countered (rather than countering the opponent’s counterspell).
You can Remand an uncounterable spell just to draw a card.
You can Remand a spell you casted with Storm or Replicate. The original will return to your hand and the copies will resolve.
Redirect and Swerve
You may Redirect a counterspell to Redirect in order to fizzle it.
Scapeshift and Valakut
You sacrifice lands as part of Scapeshift's resolution, not as its cost.
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle will only do 3 damage if you search up 6 other Mountains and one of them leaves the battlefield. (See: “Intervening if” clause, 603.4)
Silence
Silence does not affect spells casted before it, or spells casted in response to it, before it resolves.
Smallpox
If you discard Obstinate Baloth to Smallpox with no other creatures on the battlefield, you will be forced to sacrifice Baloth. This is because Baloth has a replacement effect, not a triggered ability.
Splinter Twin
Splinter Twin grants an ability to the enchanted creature. To prevent this ability from being activated with Pithing Needle, you must name the enchanted creature, not Splinter Twin.
Giving a creature protection from red causes Splinter Twin to fall off.
Casting Vines of Vastwood on an opponent’s creature prevents it from being enchanted by Splinter Twin.
Spellskite
The target of Deceiver Exarch's untap/Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker’s copy ability cannot be changed to an opposing Spellskite.
You may use Spellskite's ability even if Spellskite would not be a legal target. You just lose life, and the spell’s target(s) remain unchanged.
Spellskite cannot save a Phantasmal Image that has been targeted. Spellskite does not remove the “sacrifice Phantasmal Image” trigger.
If Spellskite and another target are the targets of Electrolyze, using its ability to try to save the other target does nothing. (See Spellskite’s 6th ruling.)
Sun Titan
Sun Titan can return Enchant Creatures on hexproof/shroud creatures. (See: Auras, 303.4f)
Tarmogoyf and SBAs
Bolting a 2/3 Tarmogoyf when there are no instants in either player’s graveyard does not kill it. (See: State-based actions, 704.3, 704.5g)
Tectonic Edge
You can activate two Tectonic Edges (without passing priority) to destroy two of your opponent’s lands, even if he only has 4 lands and the first activation would put him at 3 lands. This is because Tectonic Edge only checks how many lands your opponent controls at the time you activate the ability.
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize's effect is mandatory, even if the only card you can choose is something you’d rather not, e.g. Obstinate Baloth.
You do not lose life if Thoughtseize is countered.
You lose life if Thoughtseize resolves, even if the chosen player had 0 cards in hand or 0 nonland cards in hand.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth turns all lands into Swamps. This includes itself, and your opponent’s lands.
Fetchlands retain their fetch ability even if Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is on the battlefield.
You cannot search for non-Swamp lands with Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, Bloodstained Mire or Verdant Catacombs even if Urborg is on the battlefield.
Urza’s lands
Urza's lands check for subtype, not name. E.g. Urza's Tower is a Land - Urza's Tower. If the Tower is enchanted by Spreading Seas, it becomes a Land - Island and stops powering up Urza's Mine and Urza's Power Plant.
Vedalken Shackles
Vedalken Shackles only cares about the number of Islands and the creature's power when the ability is activated and resolved. You still retain control if the creature stops being a creature, or if the creature's power becomes greater than the number of Islands you control.
Vendilion Clique
Vendilion Clique's effect is not mandatory.
Vendilion Clique can target any player. Don’t reveal your hand until your opponent has declared the target!
General Mechanics
Cascade
Ethersworn Canonist/Eidolon of Rhetoric/Rule of Law/Silence prevents your opponent from casting a second spell via cascade.
You can cast either half of a split card with cascade as long as one of those halves has a mana cost less than the cascade spell. E.g. Violent Outburst into Bust Boom // Bust.
If you counter a spell with cascade, the cascade ability still triggers.
Casting spells that are cascaded into is not mandatory. E.g. Cascading into Thoughtseize at 2 life.
If you want to cast a cascaded spell while Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is on the battlefield, you must pay 1. However, you cannot crack fetches for this extra mana, because fetchlands’ abilities are not mana abilities. In short: crack your fetches before casting Cascade spells when Thalia is on the battlefield!
Copying
“Clone” effects (e.g. Phantasmal Image) do not target.
“Clones” cannot copy other permanents that enter the battlefield at the same time as them. E.g. if you use Primeval Titan to get Vesuva + some other land, Vesuva can't copy that other land.
Copies of creatures share the base creature's mana cost. E.g. Phantasmal Image copying a Deceiver Exarch has a mana cost of 2U. A copy of Pestermite created by Splinter Twin has a mana cost of 2U. (See Copying Objects, 706.2)
Cycling
Cycling is an activated ability. Cards that say “Counter target spell” do not counter it.
You may cycle cards at instant speed, even if the card is a creature without flash, for example.
Damping Matrix does not stop you from cycling creatures – the “creatures” referred to in Damping Matrix are creatures on the battlefield, not creature cards in hand.
Combat damage is dealt simultaneously
If you have 0 poison counters, 1 life, control Phyreixan Unlife, and your opponent is attacking with 700 Pestermites, you take 1400 damage and go to -1399 life. You don't receive any poison counters.
Suppose you have 12 life and control Death's Shadow (which is a 1/1 at this point). Your opponent attacks with two 1/1s and you block one of them. You will take 1 damage, Death's Shadow will take 1 damage, and the remaining 1/1 will take 1 damage. However, when SBAs are checked, Death's Shadow's P/T is 2/2, and it only has 1 damage marked on it, so it survives. (See: Bolting a 2/3 Goyf, below)
Damage Prevention
Effects that say “damage can’t be prevented” will cause creatures with protection from X to take damage as per normal if they block creatures with characteristic X. E.g. If your opponent blocks your 2/2 red creature with his Kor Firewalker and you play Skullcrack, his Kor Firewalker will be dealt damage by the red creature.
You cannot choose to prevent damage from a source that is not a permanent or a spell. E.g. You cannot pre-emptively sacrifice Burrenton Forge-Tender to prevent damage from a Lightning Bolt cast later in the turn. (See: Sources of Damage, 419.8)
Dredge
Dredge is a replacement effect, doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
You must have at least N cards in your library before you can dredge N.
You may cast Darkblast during your upkeep, and Dredge it back to your hand in replacement of your draw for that turn.
If you cast a spell that draws multiple cards, you can choose to replace any of those draws with Dredges. If one of the Dredges puts another Dredge card into the graveyard, you can Dredge that card in replacement of a subsequent draw from the same draw spell.
Flashback
A spell cast using flashback will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack in some other way. E.g. Remanding a spell casted for its flashback cost results in the spell being exiled.
You may not cast a spell for its alternative costs if it is given flashback via Snapcaster Mage or Past in Flames. E.g. You may not cast Mindbreak Trap for its trap cost.
Layers
Using Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas’ second ability on an animated Inkmoth Nexus turns it into a 5/5 artifact creature with flying and infect. At the end of the turn, it becomes a 5/5 artifact creature. If you animate it again, it becomes a 1/1 artifact creature with flying and infect. At the end of that turn, it becomes a 5/5 artifact creature.
If your opponent controls Melira, Sylvok Outcast and you animate Inkmoth Nexus, your Nexus does not deal any damage, whether regular, poison, or -1/-1 counters, to your opponent or his creatures.
Legend Rule
The "legend rule" doesn't use the stack. E.g. You are not allowed to tap 2 untapped Mox Opal on the battlefield for mana.
Life payment
You cannot pay more life than you have remaining. E.g if Angel’s Grace is active and you have 1 life, you can crack a fetchland and go to 0. But if you are at 0 life, you can’t crack the fetch. (See: Life, 118.4)
Mana abilities
Heritage Druid’s ability is a mana ability, and is not stopped by Pithing Needle.
Stony Silence and Linvala, Keeper of Silence stop mana abilities as well.
Fetchlands’ abilities are not mana abilities.
Arbor Elf’s ability is not a mana ability.
“Rituals” (e.g. Pyretic Ritual) are not mana abilities.
Split cards
If you reveal a split card with Dark Confidant, you lose life equal to the combined converted mana costs of both halves.
If you cast Inquisition of Kozilek, you can choose a split card with one half’s CMC less than 3, even if the other half’s CMC is more. E.g. Boom // Bust.
Split second
You can activate mana abilities, trigger triggered abilities and unmorph creatures when a card with Split second is on the stack. E.g. You can crack Lotus Bloom for mana when Krosan Grip is targeting it. Chalice of the Void can trigger and counter a spell of the appropriate mana cost.
Suspend
You counter Suspended spells when they come off suspend, not when your opponent activates the Suspend ability.
Exiling a card with suspend doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
If you Trickbind the “When the last is removed...” ability of a Suspended card, the card remains exiled indefinitely.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir prevents Suspend spells from coming off suspend. They stay exiled indefinitely.
Storm
Storm counts spells casted by both players.
If you copy a Grapeshot e.g. with Pyromancer Ascension, the copy’s Storm ability does not trigger and it only deals 1 damage.
You can Trickbind a Grapeshot to have it deal 1 damage only.
If you counter a Grapeshot without countering its Storm ability, its copies still resolve.
Tokens
Creature tokens are named after their types. E.g Echoing Truth will return all Spirit tokens from the battlefield to their owner's hand (whereupon they will cease to exist).
Tokens trigger “whenever a creature dies” abilities when they die.
Trample
If a creature with trample attacks and is blocked by another creature with protection from it, the trampler's controller may assign the minimum damage that would be required to kill the blocker and the rest to the opponent. E.g. if your Siege Rhino is blocked by a Mirran Crusader, you can assign 2 damage to the Crusader and 3 to your opponent. The Crusader isn't destroyed.
If your creature has trample, you can still choose to assign more damage than would be lethal. This is useful if you are attacking with a trampler into Death's Shadow - if you were to assign only the minimum required to kill Death's Shadow, it would survive. (See: Combat damage is dealt simultaneously, above)
”At the beginning of the next end step”
If you play a spell or activate an ability (with a delayed trigger that triggers at the beginning of the next end step) during your opponent’s end step, the trigger happens during your end step. E.g. Goryo’s Vengeance, Through the Breach, Splinter Twin – if you cast Through the Breach on your opponent’s end step, you get to keep the creature until your end step.
Changing Land Types
Giving basic land types to lands lets them tap for colors of those types. E.g. Prismatic Omen, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
Spreading Seas, Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon cause affected lands to be unable to tap for other colors or activate their other abilities (unlike Prismatic Omen for example, they don’t say “...in addition to their other types”). It also removes subtypes such as Urza’s, but not supertypes such as Legendary.
When Blood Moon is on the battlefield, bouncelands (e.g. Simic Growth Chamber) enter the battlefield tapped, but do not require you to return a land to your hand.
When Blood Moon is on the battlefield, shocklands (e.g. Steam Vents) still require 2 life payment to enter the battlefield untapped.
When Blood Moon is on the battlefield and you have two Flagstones of Trokair, you have to ”legend rule” one of them, but will not fetch Plains.
Fetchlands
Fetchland activations can be Squelched, Trickbound, or Pithing Needled.
Manlands
Animated manlands may still tap for mana. E.g. tapping a Celestial Colonnade which attacked this turn.
Animated manlands are subject to summoning sickness.
Most manlands that tap for one or more colors of mana change colors when they are animated. This makes them vulnerable to color-based hate cards, e.g. Combust, Celestial Purge.
Nonexistent mana costs
Cards with nonexistent mana costs have a converted mana cost of 0. E.g. You can cast Reshape with X=0 for Lotus Bloom. You can use Violent Outburst’s cascade effect to cast Living End.
You may not cast a spell with no mana cost given flashback via Snapcaster Mage for 0.
”Tap an untapped creature you control”
You can tap untapped creatures that entered the battlefield this turn to pay costs for abilities, even if they don’t have haste. E.g. Springleaf Drum, Heritage Druid.
Similar, but Different Effects
Flipping/morphing/transforming a card or animating a manland does not trigger ETB abilities.
Putting a creature onto the battlefield does not count as casting it. E.g. You do not get an extra turn if you use Through the Breach to put Emrakul, the Aeons Torn onto the battlefield. You cannot counter a creature that has been put onto the battlefield via AEther Vial.
Putting cards into your hand does not count as drawing them. E.g. You may not Dredge a card back into your hand in replacement of Dark Confidant’s trigger.
Sacrificing a creature does not count as destroying it. E.g. Totem armor does not protect from Liliana of the Veil.
Life loss does not count as damage. E.g. If your opponent plays Siege Rhino while you are at 1 life and have Angel’s Grace active, you go to -2 life. You cannot redirect life loss to a planeswalker.
Explanations
Blood Moon + Flagstones
What about fetching Plains? The Flagstones did not have its LTB ability while on the battlefield – it had been turned into a Mountain. Thus, its LTB ability does not trigger.
A related example is Bolting vs Murdering a Dryad Militant. Bolting it results in Bolt being exiled:
Bolt is cast.
Militant takes 3 damage.
At this point Militant has lethal damage marked on it, but it is not put into the graveyard yet.
Bolt is exiled, because of Militant’s replacement effect.
Militant dies.
Murdering it results in Murder being put into your graveyard:
Murder is cast.
Militant is destroyed and put into the graveyard immediately. (You do not wait for state-based actions to be checked.)
Murder is put into the graveyard, since Militant is no longer on the battlefield.
Oblivion Ring ETBs and you chose to have it exile Permanent X.
Oblivion Ring’s ETB trigger targeting Permanent X
Now, let’s say you Echoing Truth it. Echoing Truth resolves and bounces O-Ring, putting its LTB trigger on the stack.
Oblivion Ring’s ETB trigger targeting Permanent X
Oblivion Ring’s LTB trigger
The LTB trigger resolves, but does nothing because O-Ring has not exiled anything yet.
Then the ETB trigger resolves, and Permanent X is exiled.
Can you get Permanent X back? No, because your O-Ring is now sitting in your hand. Even if it re-entered the battlefield, it has no relation to its previous existence.
Spell X
Counterspell targeting Spell X
Redirect targeting counterspell
Redirect resolves and changes the target of the counterspell to Redirect.
Spell X
Counterspell targeting Redirect
Since Redirect has left the stack, the counterspell fizzles.
Label the 6 Mountains 1-6. 1 is the destroyed one.
Mountain 1 triggers Valakut fine, because Valakut checks for 5 other mountains, and can find them (2-6). Mountain 1 does not have to be on the battlefield in order for the trigger to be successful.
Mountain 2 does not trigger Valakut. When Valakut checks for 5 other mountains, it only sees mountains 3-6. It does not see mountain 1, as it has been destroyed. Thus, it only sees 4 other mountains, so the ability fizzles.
The answer is: timing is everything. Here is what you can do during your combat phase, in order:
507.3 Activate abilities
508.1 Declare attackers
508.1h Activate mana abilities to pay for costs
508.3 Activate abilities.
No matter what you try, you cannot generate infinite mana AND pay for Prison.
Generate infinite mana at the beginning of combat step (507)? It empties when you move to the declare attackers step (508).
Generate infinite mana when you declare attackers? Sorry, you can’t do that. Declaring attackers doesn’t use the stack, so you may not activate non-mana abilities such as Kiki-Jiki while doing so*. If you want to pay for costs, you have to use mana abilities, as mentioned in 508.1h.
Generate infinite mana when you regain priority again (508.3)? No dice. If you couldn’t pay for all your attackers during declare attackers, the game rewinds to the moment before declaration. See 508.1.
*By the same token, you cannot use non-mana abilities to pay for Prison.
BBD's article on odd interactions: http://www.starcitygames.com/article/30419_Modern-Interactions.html
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Here's one more:
If a player casts Daybreak Coronet targeting a creature with just one Aura attached to it and you manage to destroy/bounce that Aura, Coronet will fizzle and go to the graveyard.
You may still cast spells and activate abilities in response to uncounterable spells (and abilities). For example, you can cast Mizzium Skin, activate Spellskite, and cast Deceiver Exarch (untapping Kiki-Jiki) in response to Combust.
You cannot do the above against spells with Split Second (e.g. Sudden Shock), but triggered abilities can still occur in response.
Clones (e.g. P. Image) copy converted mana cost (the 1-drop & 2-drop Twin Pod chain works). Tokens that are copies of other creatures also share converted mana costs (Engineered Explosives for X = 0 doesn't hose Twin).
Casting spells that are Cascaded into is optional (you don't have to cast a flipped Thoughtseize when you're at 2 life).
Any abilities triggered by activating other abilities or casting spells go on the stack on top of the activated ability or spell and resolve before that ability or spell. (Yes, the Finks-Resto Pod chain works, as Finks Persists before the Pod search resolves.)
You may cast spells and activate abilities in response to triggered abilities caused by lands ETB'ing (e.g. you can Izzet Charm Steppe Lynx in response to its Landfall).
Abilities from coloured sources do not count as coloured spells (e.g. Emrakul can be O. Ringed, as O. Ring doesn't target before it resolves).
This is incorrect. Evil Presence changes the land's type and abilities, but it doesn't change the name of the card, which is what the Urza lands care about. So the [card]Urza's Tower[/b] will produce B, but the other Tron lands will still produce 2 if all three are in play.
Urza's Tower has the types "Urza's" and "Tower". It says so on the card: Land - Urza's Tower.
A Spreading Seas'd Tower will only have the type "Island".
EDIT: If Tron only cared about name, it would read "If you control a land named X and a land named Y instead...".
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Tarmogoyf doesn't die to burn if the spell in question will level him up enough so it's not lethal. EX: Lightning Bolt a 2/3 (creature land) Goyf. It becomes a 3/4 with 3 damage.
Legendary lands die without using the stack. If you try to Legend rule an opposing Eiganjo Castle, your opponent cannot float mana.
Spellskite can stop any Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite + Splinter Twin/Kiki-Jiki combination EXCEPT Exarch + Kiki-Jiki. This is because Kiki can only target your own creatures and Deceiver is modal targeting your own creatures and Spellskite cannot change modes.
Spellskite can always be activated to recude your life total even if it can't change the target (ex; Divination). This is relivant for Mindslaver and and Death's Shadow.
If Phantasmal Image is targeted by a removal spell, Spellskite cannot save it.
Verdant Catacombs and Misty Rainforest can fetch Dryad Arbor.
Linvala, Keeper of Secrets stops all activated abilities of opposing creatures, including mana abilities like Birds of Paradise.
Deathrite Shaman's fist ability is not a mana ability and can thus be responded to. Removing the target for this (or any of his abilities), will counter it.
I will word this specially but feel free to extrapolate this; if Electrolyze targets a creature/player and Spellskite, you may not redirect the 2nd point to Spellskite as it's already a target or that part of the spell. If Martial Glory is +3/+0ing Spellskite and 0/+3ing another creature, you may redirect the 2nd half to it. The difference in these two spells is that one calls for separate targets.
With Haakon in play, you may cast Nameless Inversion from your yard.
+1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters cancel out. Persist creatures may persist again.
You can always find a smaller creature than you search for with Chord of Calling.
You counter Suspended spells when they come off of Suspend- not before then.
Valakut works if Mountains enter simultaneously including the 6th Mountain. Some decks will have 5 & 6 enter at once, resulting in 2 triggers per Valakut. Some will have all 6 enter via Scapeshift. This will result in 6 triggers per Valakut.
Vendillion Clique can target both players and doesn't need to take a card.
Players may crack a fetchland between Delver triggers and after Delver but before the draw step.
You must take a card with Thoughtseize if possible, even if their only card is Obstinate Baloth.
Body Double copying a Reveilark in the graveyard can return itself since it will have 0 power in the bin. You can combo various ways by continuing to copy the Lark.
Sun Titan can return Enchant Creatures and attach them to hexproof/shrouded creatures.
L1 Judge
Paying 2 Life for a Farseeked Shockland does not have it come into play untapped
Upon Second Sunrise's resolution it checks what cards have went from the Battlefield to the GY this turn and whether or not they still exist there as well as the card type
You can Pithing needle a Fetchland and it cannot activate, this applies to Planeswalkers and Deathrite Shaman as well
Similarly when someone uses a fetch land it's trigger goes on the stack on both players are given an opportunity to respond to the trigger (the fetcher must hold priority if they wish to respond)
Paper: WUR Waffle Control, RG and U Tron
MTGO: U Tron, BRG Living End, B Infect
Testing Modern on MTGO and helping to craft decks on a Budget
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Hermit Druid Combo:
Geist of Saint Traft triggers Exalted when he is declared as an attacker (if he is the only creature declared) despite the token entering the battlefield as a fellow attacker, because both Exalted and the token trigger when attackers are declared.
CG
Not only that, but since the token is put into play already attacking, it's not considered to have been declared an attacker, so it doesn't count for exalted purposes.
"Stoned players can't attack, block, or play spells or abilities."
EX: get a Triskelion with many counters, you may remove each counter without passing priority, only the last instance of the ability may be responded to
UWUW ControlUW
UGWSpiritsUGW
GHardened ScalesG
WGRUKiki PodWGRU [RIP]
This is not correct. They may place as many Trike triggers on the stack without passing priority, but you have a chance to respond to each and every one. If they activate Trike 100 times, you could theoretically counter all of them if you had 100 Trickbinds in hand.
I think that what you are referring to is the second part of Trickbind that says "If a permanent's ability is countered this way, activated abilities of that permanent can't be activated this turn.", in which case if the Trike player puts 100 activations on the stack without passing priority Trickbinding the last one won't prevent the others from resolving because they've already been played.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
ehhhh i know things like wipe away also don't work, not sure exactly what the ruling is like ><, only the end result (100 counter triskelion still kills you to death)
EDIT: ok i reread everything:
Abilities stay on the stack independent of their sources, so even if you kill the source, they still resolve so long as costs were payed.
Paying for abilities does not use the stack, and therefore does not require you to pass priority.
So, a triskelion player could activate a 100 times without passing priority, and then there would still be 100 damage on the stack if you wipe away'd or doom blade'd it
UWUW ControlUW
UGWSpiritsUGW
GHardened ScalesG
WGRUKiki PodWGRU [RIP]
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle will only do 3 damage if you search up 6 other Mountains and one of them leaves the battlefield. (See: “Intervening if” clause, 603.4)
Why 3 damage? If I strip mine one of the mountains in response to the triggers they will all fizzle and I will take no damage...
The other mountains only see 4 mountains, so they fizzle.
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=10796
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
You can turn face-up on a morph even with a split-second spell on the stack.
OK thanks, its because its says five OTHER mountains.
Ghostly Prison - You cannot pay for the effect with mana that comes from effects on the stack like mana from Deathrite Shaman. Also, you only have to pay for Prison if you attack the player, you can attack Planeswalkers for free.
EDIT: Found it.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
When you Mindslaver your opponent, you are allowed to look at their sideboard. This is because a player can look at their sideboard at any time, and you can make all actions that player would except concede.
When you Mindslaver lock an opponent, you are allowed to keep their hand face up, their lands tapped, and if they can't possibly do anything, skip their priority. This is to shortcut the game and prevent stalling.
Leyline of Sanctity can be used to make an opponent target themselves with certain spells/abilities. If an opponent declares an invalid target, they must rewind the game state to before using the spell because it can't be done. However, if they neglect to choose a target while casting their spell, then you implicitly assume it is the only available target, which would be themselves. Be careful to look out for this. One important card is Liliana, since her -2 and -6 are forced onto themselves if they don't declare you as the target. It might be a little sketchy, but the game allows for shortcuts, and since we assume the appropriate target, it has to be them.
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
The triggers have already occurred. Removing a mountain will not stop the remaining triggers from occurring.
I learned a new ruling from last night:
If Tezzeret's -1 ability is used on a manland (like inkmoth or blinkmoth nexus), it remains a 5/5 artifact creature. However, it loses the rest of its abilities at the end of the turn, like the card says. If it's activated again, it becomes a 1/1 again with its abilities again.
Modern Junk Primer
Legacy ANT Primer
L1 Judge
No, read the other answers, you only get 3 damage cause the interventing if is checked on resolution, the other triggers fail to check for the other 5 mountains on resolution.
Interesting, you cannot do this on MTGO.
Speaking of shortcuts and Leyline: If you have a Leyline out and a planeswalker, your planeswalker is also protected from burn spells.
That is because "Lightning Bolt targeting Jace" is considered an acceptable shortcut for the proper play of "Lightning Bolt targeting you, where I will redirect the damage to your Jace upon resolution."