1. You cast Living Death. Living Death is on the stack.
2. You cast Dualcaster Mage. Living Death is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield.
3. Dualcaster Mage copies Living Death. Living Death copy and Living Death are on the stack; Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield.
4. Living Death copy resolves. Living Death is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is in the graveyard.
5. Living Death original resolves. Nothing is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield. Dualcaster Mage has nothing left to copy.
I'm afraid Fiend Hunter won't do you a whole lot of good even if you can somehow get it in play in response to the Dualcaster's copy of Living Death. At best it'll get you one more copy of Living Death.
1. You cast Living Death. Living Death is on the stack.
2. You cast Dualcaster Mage. Living Death is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield.
3. Dualcaster Mage copies Living Death. Living Death copy and Living Death are on the stack; Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield.
4. Living Death copy resolves. Living Death is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is in the graveyard.
5. Living Death original resolves. Nothing is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield. Dualcaster Mage has nothing left to copy.
It doesn't go infinite, for the reasons I stated. By the time the Living Death returns the mage to the battlefield, there will no longer be a Living Death on the stack for the mage to copy.
Am I missing something about Banisher Priest and your Dualcaster Mage loop interaction? Shouldn't that not work since you control the Mage?
You're right; it just works with Fiend Hunter. Thanks for that!
Unless you have a free sacrifice outlet, Dualcaster Mage and Living Death won't do what you think. The first Living Death will kill the mage, and the second will bring it back to life. The mage's ETB ability will trigger, but both the copy and original Living Death will have already resolved and gone to your graveyard by the time you could put it on the stack. The only card in your deck that can make this combo work is Phyrexian Altar; Sadistic Hypnotist can't be activated while Living Death is on the stack, and Undercity Informer costs mana.
When a player leaves the game, all objects they own leave the game. This includes their graveyard, so your Nighthowler will now only use the graveyards of the remaining players.
#3 is the correct result. If the target was originally monocolored and became multicolored or colorless before ultimate price resolved, then it would "fizzle" -- that is, it would be countered on resolution because it was no longer targeting a legal object. However, since the action of casting ultimate price targeting blisterpod was illegal in the first place, you just rewind the game to before you cast it, provided the game state hasn't changed since then.
There are related cases where you would need to target one of your own creatures with an effect if there were no other legal targets, but this is not one of them. If, for example, you cast Shriekmaw with the intention of destroying your opponent's Esper Battlemage while your opponent has no nonblack, non-artifact creatures, you would need to instead target your own creature if you had a legal target.
This ultimately boils down to the same rule -- if you try to put an effect on the stack with an illegal target, the game rewinds to just before you do. The difference is that in the first case, ultimate price was in your hand with nothing forcing you to cast it, while in the second case, shriekmaw had just entered the battlefield and triggered its (non-optional) ability.
I like where this is going. Six copies of each combo piece, cantrips and zephyr scribe to dig for them, and some cheap protection to make sure your combo pieces make it through the turn. I might try increasing the count of apostle's blessing since your creatures will need to survive your opponent's turn before you can go off.
No. Goblin Sledder doesn't put a +1/+1 counter on it, it just gives the creature +1/+1 until end of turn. Also, if you try to target the scuzzback marauders with it, the ability will be countered because the persisted marauders aren't the same creature as the marauders you sacrificed.
No. The only times you can choose the order in which multiple objects go on the stack is when either A) an effect puts multiple spells and/or abilities on the stack simultaneously, or B) multiple triggered abilities trigger at the same time. Rikku's ability triggers when you cast the spell, which means that the spell is already on the stack when the ability triggers and the ability must go on top of it.
If I were to cast Ensoul Artifact on a card such as Hero's Blade, which has an equip ability, could I pay it's equip cost to equip it to itself after it's become a 5/5 creature?
Quote from Magic Comprehensive Rules »
301.5c An Equipment that’s also a creature can’t equip a creature. An Equipment that loses the subtype “Equipment” can’t equip a creature. An Equipment can’t equip itself. An Equipment that equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent becomes unattached from that permanent but remains on the battlefield. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.) An Equipment can’t equip more than one creature. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.
Highland Geyser
Land (R)
When Highland Geyser enters the battlefield, you lose 1 life and you may put a charge counter on it.
As long as it has Highland Geyser has no charge counter on it, it is a Mountain. Otherwise, it is an Island.
other dual land entry that came into mind:
Blighted Mangroove
Land (R) T ,Pay 1 life: Add G to your mana pool. T ,Each opponent gain 1 life: Add B to your mana pool.
Lush Savannah
Land (R)
When Lush Savannah enters the battlefield, sacrifice an untapped land. T: Add GW to your mana pool.
iiw: futuristic goblin card
Highland Geyser: Charge counter isn't very flavorful, but ok. I'm not really a fan of land that have permanent counters on them, if only because lands tend to get piled up and counters make that problematic.
Blighted Mangroove: This just seems like a more awkward Grove of the Burnwillows. Strange that green is paying life and black is giving it, but that may be necessary for symmetry if you make a five-card cycle out of this.
Lush Savannah: You can tap it in response to negate the drawback -- see the oracle text on Lake of the Dead for a way to make this work. Unfortunately, that wording would never be used on a modern day card due to the amount of text it requires.
Sapling's AwakeningG
Sorcery (U)
Search your library for a land card with the same name as a land you control and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library. "Truly there is nothing more beautiful than a young sap's first sunrise."
—Gael, Cloverdell farmer
IIW: Cards from an alternate reality version of an existing plane (think Lorwyn–Shadowmoor).
This will typically be quite a bit better than Elvish Mystic. Maybe printable, but definitely pushed.
Cliffside Encampment
Land - Mountain Plains (R) ( : Add R or W to your mana pool.)
Cliffside Encampment enters the battlefield tapped unless an opponent has more life than you.
Brilliant Ridge
Land (R)
Brilliant Ridge enters the battlefield with two charge counters on it. T: Add 1 to your mana pool T, Remove a charge counter from Brilliant Ridge: Add R or G to your mana pool.
IIW: Replace a mechanic in KTK
Cliffside Encampment: I'm a little hesitant about this card simply because of the presence of fetchlands in modern -- a format both sets of cards will make going first a (more) tremendous tempo advantage. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion though, since shock lands aren't going anywhere.
Brilliant Ridge: A longer lasting but more restrictive Tendo Ice Bridge seems fine but doesn't excite me.
Darkwood Marsh
Land (R)
Darkwood Marsh enters the battlefield tapped. T: Add B or G to your mana pool. 2BG: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Darkwood Marsh becomes a copy of that card until end of turn, except it’s still a land.
(The GB manland)
Should say "in addition to its other types" if you want to actually man with the man-land. Uncounterable reanimation on a land is powerful, but the price is probably fair.
t: Add 1 to your mana pool Morbid-t: Add RB to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if a creature died this turn. The tribute's blood sprayed into the air, his head rolled down the alter's slope--and yet the crowed roared for more.
IIW: Phenomena
I wouldn't want to use this as a general-purpose dual land, but otherwise there's nothing wrong with it.
Boundless Sanctuary
Land (R)
~ enters the battlefield tapped. T: add W to your mana pool for each life you have gained this turn. T: add U to your mana pool for each card you have drawn this turn.
IIW: Cards that HATE something
I would much rather see these effects separately on a new cycle of legendary lands a la Gaea's Cradle. Doesn't work as a general purpose dual, and can produce pretty dangerous amounts of mana in the right deck.
Sprawling Grove
Land
When Sprawling Grove comes into play, if it's not a token, sacrifice it unless you pay 1. If you do pay 1, then put a token into play that's a copy of Sprawling Grove. T: Add G to your mana pool.
IIW: Creatures with unusual jobs
This card would maybe conceivably be fair if it produced colorless, entered the battlefield tapped, and cost to make a copy. As it is, no way; it's strictly better than a Forest.
Temple Mint
Land (U)
Temple Mint enters the battlefield tapped. t: Add G or W to your mana pool. 2, t: Put a colorless artifact token named Silver onto the battlefield. It has "Sacrifice this artifact: Add 1 to your mana pool."
WUTrade Academy UBUnderworld Market BRSlaver Camp RGFlourishing Bazaar
IIW: A man and his dog
I can get behind this. In a typical block these should definitely be rare, but in a slower format they could conceivably be uncommon. Great name selection.
Tumbledown Palace
Land (U) t: Add or to your mana pool.
Whenever a nonland permanent enters the battlefield under your control, tap Tumbledown Palace.
IIW: Rehabilitate a broken/sucky mechanic.
I don't really like the idea of a triggered ability like this on a land. This is possibly balanced but will likely cause a lot of judge calls to missed triggers if not outright cheating.
Cathedral Ruins
Land (U) T: Add W to your mana pool. T: Add B to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if you control Demon. Only true darkness can taint this place.
IIW: Mistake.
Strictly better than Plains is a no-no. Who is Demon?
Caldera Stronghold
Land (R)
Caldera Stronghold enters the battlefield tapped unless you discard a card. T: Add R or B to your mana pool. Threshold - Whenever Caldera Stronghold becomes tapped, if there are seven or more cards in your graveyard, target player loses 1 life.
IIW: Cards with two non-evergreen keywords.
This is kind of cute in a return to Odyssey block sort of way, but wizards has stated on the record that threshold was a mistake due (in part) to the complexity it added to limited games.
Legion's Watchtower
Land (R)
When Legion's Watchtower enters the battlefield, you may reveal a Mountain or Plains card from your hand. If you don't, Legion's Watchtower enters the battlefield tapped. T: Add R or W to your mana pool.
Also Senate's watchtower, Combine's watchtower, etc
I approve of nonbasic lands that promote playing basics. Compared to Clifftop Retreat this is better in the early game and a bit worse in the late game.
Thawing Fields
Land [R]
When Thawing Fields enters the battlefield, it doesn't untap during your next untap step. t: Add W or U to your mana pool.
Cavernous Depths
Land [R]
As Cavernous Depths enters the battlefield, you may exile two cards from your graveyard. If you don't, Cavernous Depths enters the battlefield tapped. t: Add U or B to your mana pool.
Bleeding Pit
Land [R]
Bleeding Pit enters the battlefield tapped unless you have no cards in your graveyard. t: Add B or R to your mana pool.
Verdant Peak
Land [R]
Verdant Peak enters the battlefield tapped unless you control three or more other lands. t: Add R or G to your mana pool.
Sunspore Grove
Land [R]
Sunspore Grove enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a green permanent or a white permanent. t: Add G or W to your mana pool.
IIW: Doubt yourself
Thawing Fields: This fills a niche I suppose, but I would put it at uncommon if anything and I'm not convinced that the niche is really worth filling with a land that may cause memory problems.
Cavernous Depths: No complaints here. It looks fair to me.
Bleeding Pit: I wouldn't run it over Blackcleave Cliffs but as a block dual land it could work.
Verdant Peak: Control and midrange decks would probably like this sort of card. Seems fine.
Sunspore Grove: Maybe a little on the weak side, but still fine for a block dual.
I can't really envision a format in which these would be played outside two- or three-color aggro decks. Almost completely outclassed by Blackcleave Cliffs and the like.
Duel Lands3RG
Sorcery (R)
Put an X/X green and red Avatar creature token onto the battlefield, where X is the number of lands you control. It fights target creature an opponent controls.
IIW: Hobo magic
Cute and powerful. Lands tend to be associated more with Elementals.
I'm afraid Fiend Hunter won't do you a whole lot of good even if you can somehow get it in play in response to the Dualcaster's copy of Living Death. At best it'll get you one more copy of Living Death.
1. You cast Living Death. Living Death is on the stack.
2. You cast Dualcaster Mage. Living Death is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield.
3. Dualcaster Mage copies Living Death. Living Death copy and Living Death are on the stack; Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield.
4. Living Death copy resolves. Living Death is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is in the graveyard.
5. Living Death original resolves. Nothing is on the stack and Dualcaster Mage is on the battlefield. Dualcaster Mage has nothing left to copy.
Unless you have a free sacrifice outlet, Dualcaster Mage and Living Death won't do what you think. The first Living Death will kill the mage, and the second will bring it back to life. The mage's ETB ability will trigger, but both the copy and original Living Death will have already resolved and gone to your graveyard by the time you could put it on the stack. The only card in your deck that can make this combo work is Phyrexian Altar; Sadistic Hypnotist can't be activated while Living Death is on the stack, and Undercity Informer costs mana.
Midnight Guard doesn't untap Kiki-Jiki.
There are related cases where you would need to target one of your own creatures with an effect if there were no other legal targets, but this is not one of them. If, for example, you cast Shriekmaw with the intention of destroying your opponent's Esper Battlemage while your opponent has no nonblack, non-artifact creatures, you would need to instead target your own creature if you had a legal target.
This ultimately boils down to the same rule -- if you try to put an effect on the stack with an illegal target, the game rewinds to just before you do. The difference is that in the first case, ultimate price was in your hand with nothing forcing you to cast it, while in the second case, shriekmaw had just entered the battlefield and triggered its (non-optional) ability.
I like where this is going. Six copies of each combo piece, cantrips and zephyr scribe to dig for them, and some cheap protection to make sure your combo pieces make it through the turn. I might try increasing the count of apostle's blessing since your creatures will need to survive your opponent's turn before you can go off.
So yes, your promo Rabblemaster is legal in standard as long as it's black-bordered.
Blighted Mangroove: This just seems like a more awkward Grove of the Burnwillows. Strange that green is paying life and black is giving it, but that may be necessary for symmetry if you make a five-card cycle out of this.
Lush Savannah: You can tap it in response to negate the drawback -- see the oracle text on Lake of the Dead for a way to make this work. Unfortunately, that wording would never be used on a modern day card due to the amount of text it requires.This will typically be quite a bit better than Elvish Mystic. Maybe printable, but definitely pushed.Cliffside Encampment: I'm a little hesitant about this card simply because of the presence of fetchlands in modern -- a format both sets of cards will make going first a (more) tremendous tempo advantage. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion though, since shock lands aren't going anywhere.
Brilliant Ridge: A longer lasting but more restrictive Tendo Ice Bridge seems fine but doesn't excite me.Should say "in addition to its other types" if you want to actually man with the man-land. Uncounterable reanimation on a land is powerful, but the price is probably fair.I wouldn't want to use this as a general-purpose dual land, but otherwise there's nothing wrong with it.This is stretching the challenge a bit, but...
Mana Reflection says this is fine, but the color restriction seems shoehorned in to fit the challenge.I would much rather see these effects separately on a new cycle of legendary lands a la Gaea's Cradle. Doesn't work as a general purpose dual, and can produce pretty dangerous amounts of mana in the right deck.This card would maybe conceivably be fair if it produced colorless, entered the battlefield tapped, and cost
Cavernous Depths: No complaints here. It looks fair to me.
Bleeding Pit: I wouldn't run it over Blackcleave Cliffs but as a block dual land it could work.
Verdant Peak: Control and midrange decks would probably like this sort of card. Seems fine.
Sunspore Grove: Maybe a little on the weak side, but still fine for a block dual.I can't really envision a format in which these would be played outside two- or three-color aggro decks. Almost completely outclassed by Blackcleave Cliffs and the like.Cute and powerful. Lands tend to be associated more with Elementals.
Next: A man and his dog
Creature - Giant Illusion (U)
Protection from converted mana cost 3 or less.
3/1
IIW: Dual lands.