If I control a Wort, The Raidmother and one other green creature I will not be able to conspire an Eldritch Evolution because by the time either part of the Conspire ability is checked either Wort will not be alive or I will not have enough creatures to conspire.
If I read rules 601.2f, 601.2h, and 702.77a correctly, then you actually can tap and sacrifice one of your creatures to pay both additional costs. With Conspire announced under 601.2b, the total cost for Eldritch Evolution will be tapping two green creatures, sacrificing a creature, and 1GG. Since the game lets players pay costs in any order under 601.2h, you can pay the cost to tap your creatures before you pay the cost to sacrifice a creature.
601.2f The player determines the total cost of the spell. Usually this is just the mana cost. Some spells have additional or alternative costs. Some effects may increase or reduce the cost to pay, or may provide other alternative costs. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions. If multiple cost reductions apply, the player may apply them in any order. If the mana component of the total cost is reduced to nothing by cost reduction effects, it is considered to be {0}. It can’t be reduced to less than {0}. Once the total cost is determined, any effects that directly affect the total cost are applied. Then the resulting total cost becomes “locked in.” If effects would change the total cost after this time, they have no effect.
601.2h The player pays the total cost in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can’t be paid.
702.77a Conspire is a keyword that represents two abilities. The first is a static ability that functions while the spell with conspire is on the stack. The second is a triggered ability that functions while the spell with conspire is on the stack. “Conspire” means “As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may tap two untapped creatures you control that each share a color with it” and “When you cast this spell, if its conspire cost was paid, copy it. If the spell has any targets, you may choose new targets for the copy.” Paying a spell’s conspire cost follows the rules for paying additional costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.
You can actually both sacrifice Wort to the Evolution's additional cost and conspire. Both the sacrifice and the tapping are additional costs, and different costs can be paid in any order, so during the casting process, you can first tap Wort and conspire, then sacrifice her. The conspire triggered ability will be put on the stack and give you a copy with 6 as the information for the sacrificed creature's CMC.I was incorrect, see below.
I'm a former judge (lapsed), who keeps up to date on rules and policy. Keep in mind that judges' answers aren't necessarily more valid than those of people who aren't judges; what matters is we can quote the rules to back up our answers. When in doubt, ask for such quotes.
You can actually both sacrifice Wort to the Evolution's additional cost and conspire. Both the sacrifice and the tapping are additional costs, and different costs can be paid in any order, so during the casting process, you can first tap Wort and conspire, then sacrifice her. The conspire triggered ability will be put on the stack and give you a copy with 6 as the information for the sacrificed creature's CMC.
Am I missing something here?
From Wort's gatherer page:
3/14/2017
Some spells instruct you to sacrifice a creature as an additional cost to cast that spell. If you sacrifice Wort to pay that cost, that spell won’t have conspire at the moment it becomes cast, so conspire won’t trigger, even if you tapped two creatures.
You actually caught something the others missed. The explanation lies in rule 702.77a. Since conspire consists of two parts, and the second part is a cast trigger, losing Wort before the spell becomes cast (as the last part of casting it), means that second part is lost as well, so there is no conspire ability to trigger anymore and you don't get a copy despite having paid the conspire cost.
So long as the spell still has conspire when it becomes cast. But yes.
EDIT:
Since I was just musing about this some more, I thought, I'd mentioned the results of that as well. If a spell has multiple instances of conspire due to Wort (or multiple Worts as courtesy of Helm of the Host for example), losing one instance makes the payment for that instance moot. You only get the conspire copy of the conspire ability that's still there.
702.77b If a spell has multiple instances of conspire, each is paid separately and triggers based on its own payment, not any other instance of conspire.
That is correct right?
601.2f The player determines the total cost of the spell. Usually this is just the mana cost. Some spells have additional or alternative costs. Some effects may increase or reduce the cost to pay, or may provide other alternative costs. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions. If multiple cost reductions apply, the player may apply them in any order. If the mana component of the total cost is reduced to nothing by cost reduction effects, it is considered to be {0}. It can’t be reduced to less than {0}. Once the total cost is determined, any effects that directly affect the total cost are applied. Then the resulting total cost becomes “locked in.” If effects would change the total cost after this time, they have no effect.
601.2h The player pays the total cost in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can’t be paid.
702.77a Conspire is a keyword that represents two abilities. The first is a static ability that functions while the spell with conspire is on the stack. The second is a triggered ability that functions while the spell with conspire is on the stack. “Conspire” means “As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may tap two untapped creatures you control that each share a color with it” and “When you cast this spell, if its conspire cost was paid, copy it. If the spell has any targets, you may choose new targets for the copy.” Paying a spell’s conspire cost follows the rules for paying additional costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.
You can actually both sacrifice Wort to the Evolution's additional cost and conspire. Both the sacrifice and the tapping are additional costs, and different costs can be paid in any order, so during the casting process, you can first tap Wort and conspire, then sacrifice her. The conspire triggered ability will be put on the stack and give you a copy with 6 as the information for the sacrificed creature's CMC.I was incorrect, see below.Am I missing something here?
From Wort's gatherer page:
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
EDIT:
Since I was just musing about this some more, I thought, I'd mentioned the results of that as well. If a spell has multiple instances of conspire due to Wort (or multiple Worts as courtesy of Helm of the Host for example), losing one instance makes the payment for that instance moot. You only get the conspire copy of the conspire ability that's still there.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)