Adam Barnello wrote a very informative article on StarCityGames.com. It includes some great examples for some of the games more complex rule interactions. This is recommended reading for anyone playing in Grand Prix: Chicago this weekend.
Don’t Krosan Grip the blue mages Standstill. Don’t be that guy.
- If a player casts Sea Drake with only one land in play, the card’s ability does not have enough legal targets. It effectively “falls off the stack” (used to be called fizzle), and doesn’t require you to return anything.
- Humility in general is a difficult card to work with. The most important things to know are: Manlands, such as Mishra’s Factory or Faerie Conclave, retain their power and Toughness, and if their ability is granted as a product of their “animating” ability, the ability is retained as well. For more on this issue, please read the detailed explanation I provided in this article. Additionally, remember that triggered abilities of creatures do not trigger – for example, Harmonic Sliver cannot destroy a Humility in play. On the other hand, static abilities are allowed – Arcbound worker still comes with a +1/+1 counter.
- Unlike under Humility, triggered abilities DO fire under Engineered Plague. A good example of this would be Plague on Goblins vs. Goblin Matron. Excluding any p/t boosting effects, the Matron would die as soon as SBE’s are checked – but the goblin player still gets to use the tutor effect from the Matron.
- If Blood Moon is in play, and a player plays a land that comes into play tapped (ie, Ravnica Dual lands), they still come into play tapped, and are basic Mountains. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is trumped by Blood Moon. As it is a Mountain, its effect does not exist.
- Trinisphere is always applied last. If your opponent has a Trinisphere and a Sphere of Resistance in play, and you attempt to cast a Ponder, it would cost you three mana, not four. Note that this has NO effect on the converted mana cost of the spell. That will remain 1. Shattering Spree, or other replicate spells, work differently for Sphere of Resistance than they do for Trinisphere. A Shattering Spree replicated twice under SoR will cost 1RRR – the original spell costs 1R, followed by 2 replications. Under Trinisphere, the same Spree would cost RRR – you announce the spell, Trinisphere asks “Did you pay three mana for this spell?” and the answer comes back “Yes.” The Spree destroys three artifacts (barring other effects), and everyone is satisfied.
- A spell with an X in the mana cost has converted mana cost of the non-X mana in every zone but the stack. X is ONLY counted when the spell is on the stack. For example, you cast Pernicious Deed (CMC=3). Your opponent has Counterbalance in play, and reveals Stroke of Genius. This would counter the Deed, as its CMC is three when it is in this zone. Should your opponent then cast the Stroke with X=4, the Stroke would have a CMC of seven while it is on the stack. Once the spell resolves, and it is placed in the graveyard, the CMC returns to 3.
- Split cards are handled differently depending on which zone they’re in, and what characteristics you’re looking at. If you are casting Bound (of Bound//Determined), then its CMC on the stack is 5. If you’re casting Determined, its CMC is 2. If you reveal B//D to Dark Confidant, you lose life equal to the total CMC, which is 7. If your opponent plays a spell into Counterbalance, and you reveal B//D, you will counter either a 5 or a 2 mana spell, but not a 7 mana spell. The explanation of why these act as they do is a little complex, but if you keep these examples in mind, you’ll be fine.
- Standstill can be targeted by Stifle or Trickbind, but the Standstill will trigger again when you play that spell, and the result will be your opponent drawing the three cards. Krosan Grip can target Standstill, but again, the triggered ability will resolve, and your opponent will draw. Should you or your opponent cycle a card, or channel, this will not trigger the Standstill.
- If your opponent casts Demigod of Revenge, and you counter the Demigod before allowing the triggered ability to resolve, the trigger will return the countered Demigod to play.
- There is a difference between effects whose duration has ended before they triggered, such as Sower of Temptation dying before control vs. triggered abilities such as Tidehollow Sculler. If you kill a Sower with its ability on the stack, no control is exchanged. If you kill a Sculler with its CitP ability on the stack, its abilities resolve in reverse order (from normal). You would first return a card removed by Sculler to your hand (which does nothing), and then your opponent may remove a non-land card in your hand from the game. This now becomes a permanent effect.
- Orim’s Chant, Abeyance, and an Aether Vialed Meddling Mage do not act as counterspells. These must be played preemptively, to prevent your opponent from playing spells before they are put on the stack, not after. However, there are occasions where they can be used this way effectively – specifically, in response to the activation of Isochron Scepter. Should you time the Chant or Abeyance correctly, you can stop your opponent from playing the spell from this effect. Example – Your opponent has a Lightning Bolt imprinted on Isochron Scepter. He pays 2, and activates the Scepter. If you respond to the activation with Orim’s Chant, when the ability resolves, he will be unable to play the copy generated by the Scepter.
- If multiple replacement effects try to replace a single ability or action, the owner of the affected object chooses which replacement to apply. For example, if you were to discard Darksteel Colossus to Survival of the Fittest, while your opponent has a Leyline of the Void in play, you would be able to choose whether you remove the Colossus from the game, or shuffle it back into your library.
- Some cards create multiple triggered effects that would happen simultaneously. Additionally, two or more cards may trigger at the same point in time. Under these sets of conditions, the active player’s triggers are put on the stack first, followed by the non-active player’s, and resolve in reverse. For example, your opponent controls a Tangle Wire, and you control a Smokestack. During your turn, your two effects will be put on the stack in whichever order you choose – say, Sacrifice is put on the stack first, and then Soot counters. Then, your opponent’s effects are put on the stack – tapping for Tangle Wire. When the stack resolves, you would tap permanents, then choose whether or not to add a soot counter to Smokestack, and then sacrifice permanents equal to the number of soot counters. Note that you could also have chosen the other order for your own triggers.
- When it comes to “Protection from X,” remember the anagram “DEBT.” This means that something with Protection from Green, for example, cannot be Damaged, Enchanted/Equipped, Blocked, or Targeted by something that is green.
- If Replenish is cast with Auras in the graveyard, those auras will be retuned to play. These auras will be attached to permanents of which they have “enchant this” and will not target those permanents. For example, Immolation is in your opponent’s graveyard, and they cast Replenish. That Immolation will return to play attached to a chosen creature, and could be attached to your Troll Ascetic, since the Aura does not target the creature. Only Aura spells target, not aura permanents.
- The handling of characteristic-setting abilities in out-of-play zones has recently been changed. In Legacy, the most relevant example of this is centered on Tarmogoyf. Regardless of the zone Goyf is in, it retains the values for its power and toughness. Should there be 4 card types in the graveyard, every Tarmogoyf will be a 4/5, no matter what zone the card is in. If you remove four Tarmogoyfs from the game with Sutured Ghoul (and no other creatures), and your opponent activates Relic of Progenitus, the Goyfs track their power and toughness, and would become 0/1’s. This would effectively kill the Sutured Ghoul. Once the Ghoul dies, the Goyfs return to at least 1/2’s. It’s kind of a bad rap for the Ghoul.
- Phyrexian Dreadnought has been “fixed” to combo with Stifle again. However, there’s more to it. If you should choose to sacrifice creatures to fulfill its CitP, you may sacrifice it and any number of other creatures, as the ability reads 12 OR MORE power.
- Timing is everything. There are common effects that seem like they should work one way, but instead work differently. A few examples:
- Tombstalker vs. Tormod’s Crypt – Tombstalker cannot be countered by Crypt. As the Delving is part of the cost of playing the Stalker, the player casting Stalker will be able to delve without an opportunity for their opponent to activate Crypt. You’ll need to preemptively Crypt if you want that to work.
- Devastating Dreams – The discarding of cards is an additional cost to playing the spell, meaning should the Dreams be counterspelled, you will still lose your cards.
- Mox Diamond – This card’s wording has recently been changed. You now choose whether or not to discard a card upon its resolution, and therefore do not lose the land if the Diamond is countered. Additionally, you are now able to play the Diamond, and let it die without discarding a land (to get Hellbent, for example). You cannot tap the Diamond for mana without discarding a land, however.
- Chrome Mox’s (Free foil at the GP!) imprint can be Stifled, but you will not be required to RFG a card from your hand. Along the same vein, you do not imprint a card until the Mox has resolved, and its Imprint has resolved. No need to give out extra info.
- If you control a Tarmogoyf, with a land and sorcery as the only cards in graveyards, it cannot die to Lightning Bolt. Should your opponent try to Lightning Bolt it, it will take three damage, but will not die until State Based Effects are checked. This occurs after the resolution of the spell. Since placing the card in the graveyard is the last part of a spell’s resolution, the Goyf will be a 3/4 when the SBE’s are checked, and will survive the bolt.
- Runed Halo may only be used against cards. While this seems intuitive, it is important to note that tokens are not cards, unless they are tokens which are copies of an actual card – such as the tokens generated by Soul Foundry. These are different from tokens generated by Empty the Warrens or Bridge from Below – Runed Halo can do nothing to protect from those.
- Storm is a triggered ability on some spells which copies the spell for each spell cast before it this turn. This is a triggered ability which triggers prior to the resolution of the spell itself, and which still triggers should the spell itself be countered. In other words, Counterspell (the card) will not stop every Storm copy of Tendrils of Agony. You would need a counterspell for each copy of the Tendrils.
- RTFC’s:
- Chrome Mox cannot imprint an artifact, even if it has a color.
- Engineered Explosives does NOT destroy Mishra’s Factory, animated or not.
- Pernicious Deed and Powder Keg destroy animated lands and artifact lands.
