This may not be the place for this specific question, if so I apologize in advance.
During the earliest years of the game there was the rule that tapped artifacts were "turned off". Meaning that their abilities could not be used when tapped, or in the case of a static ability that the ability ceased to function. Vis a vis Howling Mine and Winter Orb.
I seem to remember this rule only applying to Poly Artifacts and Continuous Artifacts, but specifically not affecting Mono Artifacts nor Artifact Creatures.
However, in my readings from the ABU rulebook, the Revised and Forth Edition rulebooks and the Player's Pocket Guide, it states that all tapped artifacts are "turned off" even continuous ones. In reading the Fifth Edition rulebook it reiterates this but does add that this does indeed not apply to creatures and/or lands.
I know that by Revised WOTC had stopped using the aforementioned artifact types.
My question is, am I on crack for remembering the rule the way I do and just cannot find the specific reference, or was it always just this simple?
It seems, again, that cards like Basalt Monolith and Mana Vault would be unable to become untapped if their abilities ceased to function when tapped. Same for Brass Man and Colossus of Sardia, had they not later mentioned creatures. I'm wondering if there is somewhere mentioned how these discrepancies were dealt with.
As I recall, abilities that untapped the artifact, interfered with untapping, or explicitly worked while tapped were exempted from that rule.
Right, except that I cannot find that explicitly stated anywhere. I have a collection of old rulebooks as well as many of the early supplemental books on the game. For something that needs specific clarification the rules are somewhat nebulous. Back in the day we managed to play it correctly, but I’m wondering how we knew this.
I’m currently digging thru old Duelist and Scrye magazines to see if there’s an FAQ that might be the source of clarification, but as of yet nothing.
Was there another way WOTC disseminated information to the public back in ‘93/‘94ish time frame?
Q: Does an artifact turn off when it becomes tapped?
A: Yes, unless it's an artifact creature or artifact land. For
instance, you can't activate the second ability on a tapped Phyrexian
Furnace ... but a tapped Clay Statue *can* regenerate.
There are 3 artifact abilities which do *not* turn off when the artifact
is tapped: (1) Phase costs (like upkeep costs) must still be dealt
with; (2) abilities used to untap the artifact are usable; (3) any time
the card says something happens while it's tapped, like Mana Vault
damage.
The "Tapped artifacts have no effect" rule has led to a lot of
confusion, as many novice players believe that the rule also extends to
all other permanents. Untrue: it only applies to artifacts.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Why bother with mere rulings when so many answers can be found in the Rules?
When in doubt, always check the Oracle Text to know how a card functions, because despite the original text printed on older copies of Winter Orb, the current rules text specifies: "As long as Winter Orb is untapped, players can’t untap more than one land during their untap steps."
When in doubt, always check the Oracle Text to know how a card functions, because despite the original text printed on older copies of Winter Orb, the current rules text specifies: "As long as Winter Orb is untapped, players can’t untap more than one land during their untap steps."
I’m actually looking into rules and rulings from the ‘93 to ‘95 era and current Oracle text isn’t going to help with that.
From the original rulebook: "If a card contradicts the rules, the card takes precedence." Where I lived, there was no common source beyond rulebooks and rumors for rulings. Winter Orb turned off when tapped because it was in the rulebook and Basalt Monolith worked because it made sense. We didn't know that the king of Magic said Winter Orb didn't turn off if it was a tapped creature, or that Jade Statue had haste for a while. Artifacts were confusing. If you look at old tournament reports, you'll find inconsistent and short-lived rulings. By Antiquities, you perhaps naturally learned that tapped artifact creatures could use abilities due to Clay Statue and Dragon Engine. You wanted to use them on offense, so you did. The unique formatting of "doesn't untap" artifacts in Alpha may reveal designer intent that these were not ordinary abilities.
I can't make sense of the "Why?" of the '95 rulings for Basalt Monolith, so I don't know if they're satisfactory. That page also has similar Mana Vault and Brass Man rulings. "Page 22" refers to the Revised rulebook and "Snark" was a WotC guy's handle.
Rulings Summary: General (6/6/94)
Continuous effects of artifacts only work when they are untapped. [Page 22]
Continuous effects of creatures work whether or not they are tapped.
[Page 26] Artifact creatures count as creatures for this ruling.
[WotC Rules Team]
Rulings Summary: Cards (07/05/95)
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is a fast effect and can be done at any time fast
effects can be done. [Snark]
The untapping of a Monolith is not an activation cost. [D'Angelo 02/01/95]
+ The Basalt Monolith cannot be untapped with mana from a Basalt Monolith.
[WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] This is a relaxing of the rule which used to
also disallow untapping a Monolith with a Mana Vault or untapping a
Mana Vault with a Monolith. This is a REVERSAL of page 79 of Duelist
Magazine #3.
These are expanded from early '94 rulings, which began being unofficially collected in January: MTG Rulings Summary: General (2/22/94)
Continuous effects of artifacts only work when they are untapped. [Rulebook]
Continuous effects of creatures work whether or not they are tapped. [bethmo]
MTG Rulings Summary: Cards (2/22/94)
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is an Instant and may be done any time an Instant can
be done. [Snark]
---A ruling on Jade Statue from that summary:
It it neither a mono nor a poly artifact. It if effectively a poly artifact that can only be used once per player's turn (during the attack phase) and which may become tapped (if you declare it in an attack). [bethmo].
---There were no changes to the 2/22/94 Basalt Monolith ruling in early April, the final set of First Edition rulings. The late April rulings, the first using Revised rules, changed it to this:
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is a fast effect. [Snark]
Rulings Summary: Cards (9/19/94)
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is a fast effect and can be done at any time fast
effects can be done. [Snark]
The Basalt Monolith cannot be untapped with mana from a Basalt Monolith or
Mana Vault. This ruling is recommended in order to stop the abuse of
repeatedly tapping and untapping these artifacts.
[WotC Rules Team 7/27/94] Many homes also have a house rule limiting
the Basalt Monolith to only one untapping per turn (or even one per
round of turns) in order to eliminate this problem.
Wow, thanks hrvl, that’s exactly the source material I need.
Boy howdy the rules were a *****-show back then. And I was playing back then and had no idea what a mess it was.
The Sixth Edition rules update really did a lot to streamline the game.
During the earliest years of the game there was the rule that tapped artifacts were "turned off". Meaning that their abilities could not be used when tapped, or in the case of a static ability that the ability ceased to function. Vis a vis Howling Mine and Winter Orb.
I seem to remember this rule only applying to Poly Artifacts and Continuous Artifacts, but specifically not affecting Mono Artifacts nor Artifact Creatures.
However, in my readings from the ABU rulebook, the Revised and Forth Edition rulebooks and the Player's Pocket Guide, it states that all tapped artifacts are "turned off" even continuous ones. In reading the Fifth Edition rulebook it reiterates this but does add that this does indeed not apply to creatures and/or lands.
I know that by Revised WOTC had stopped using the aforementioned artifact types.
My question is, am I on crack for remembering the rule the way I do and just cannot find the specific reference, or was it always just this simple?
It seems, again, that cards like Basalt Monolith and Mana Vault would be unable to become untapped if their abilities ceased to function when tapped. Same for Brass Man and Colossus of Sardia, had they not later mentioned creatures. I'm wondering if there is somewhere mentioned how these discrepancies were dealt with.
Right, except that I cannot find that explicitly stated anywhere. I have a collection of old rulebooks as well as many of the early supplemental books on the game. For something that needs specific clarification the rules are somewhat nebulous. Back in the day we managed to play it correctly, but I’m wondering how we knew this.
I’m currently digging thru old Duelist and Scrye magazines to see if there’s an FAQ that might be the source of clarification, but as of yet nothing.
Was there another way WOTC disseminated information to the public back in ‘93/‘94ish time frame?
Q: Does an artifact turn off when it becomes tapped?
A: Yes, unless it's an artifact creature or artifact land. For
instance, you can't activate the second ability on a tapped Phyrexian
Furnace ... but a tapped Clay Statue *can* regenerate.
There are 3 artifact abilities which do *not* turn off when the artifact
is tapped: (1) Phase costs (like upkeep costs) must still be dealt
with; (2) abilities used to untap the artifact are usable; (3) any time
the card says something happens while it's tapped, like Mana Vault
damage.
The "Tapped artifacts have no effect" rule has led to a lot of
confusion, as many novice players believe that the rule also extends to
all other permanents. Untrue: it only applies to artifacts.
I used to be a demigod, but now I'm an omnimage
I’m actually looking into rules and rulings from the ‘93 to ‘95 era and current Oracle text isn’t going to help with that.
I can't make sense of the "Why?" of the '95 rulings for Basalt Monolith, so I don't know if they're satisfactory. That page also has similar Mana Vault and Brass Man rulings. "Page 22" refers to the Revised rulebook and "Snark" was a WotC guy's handle.
Rulings Summary: General (6/6/94)
Continuous effects of artifacts only work when they are untapped. [Page 22]
Continuous effects of creatures work whether or not they are tapped.
[Page 26] Artifact creatures count as creatures for this ruling.
[WotC Rules Team]
Rulings Summary: Cards (07/05/95)
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is a fast effect and can be done at any time fast
effects can be done. [Snark]
The untapping of a Monolith is not an activation cost. [D'Angelo 02/01/95]
+ The Basalt Monolith cannot be untapped with mana from a Basalt Monolith.
[WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] This is a relaxing of the rule which used to
also disallow untapping a Monolith with a Mana Vault or untapping a
Mana Vault with a Monolith. This is a REVERSAL of page 79 of Duelist
Magazine #3.
These are expanded from early '94 rulings, which began being unofficially collected in January:
MTG Rulings Summary: General (2/22/94)
Continuous effects of artifacts only work when they are untapped. [Rulebook]
Continuous effects of creatures work whether or not they are tapped. [bethmo]
MTG Rulings Summary: Cards (2/22/94)
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is an Instant and may be done any time an Instant can
be done. [Snark]
---A ruling on Jade Statue from that summary:
It it neither a mono nor a poly artifact. It if effectively a poly artifact that can only be used once per player's turn (during the attack phase) and which may become tapped (if you declare it in an attack). [bethmo].
---There were no changes to the 2/22/94 Basalt Monolith ruling in early April, the final set of First Edition rulings. The late April rulings, the first using Revised rules, changed it to this:
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is a fast effect. [Snark]
Rulings Summary: Cards (9/19/94)
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is a fast effect and can be done at any time fast
effects can be done. [Snark]
The Basalt Monolith cannot be untapped with mana from a Basalt Monolith or
Mana Vault. This ruling is recommended in order to stop the abuse of
repeatedly tapping and untapping these artifacts.
[WotC Rules Team 7/27/94] Many homes also have a house rule limiting
the Basalt Monolith to only one untapping per turn (or even one per
round of turns) in order to eliminate this problem.
Boy howdy the rules were a *****-show back then. And I was playing back then and had no idea what a mess it was.
The Sixth Edition rules update really did a lot to streamline the game.