The following situation came up during an EDH game I was watching. Player A controls Roon of the Hidden Realm and Elvish Visionary. He casts Progenitor Mimic, copying the Visionary and drawing a card. During his next turn, he makes the token from the Mimic, draws his extra card, then blinks the Mimic with Roon. When the Mimic returns, he chooses to copy the token. He draw his extra card for it and passes the turn. At the beginning of his next turn, he tries to put two tokens into play. He tells the table that the Mimic has two instances of the token making ability, one from the token it copied and one that it gave itself. He also states that the tokens that the Mimic is making this turn will have that ability twice, so that when he blinks the Mimic and copies one of the tokens, it will now have the token-making ability three times.
Someone called the judge over. The judge ruled that the ability stacking was legal, but, because the Mimic was copying a token, it was a token and wouldn't make any tokens.
Yes, the Mimic has two instances of the token-making ability. I'll go back to this soon.
No, the Mimic is not a token. Being a token means being a permanent not represented by a card. The Mimic is still a card, therefore it is not a token. Being a token or not is not a copyable characteristic (even though some recent 'token cards' say Token in the type line, it is not actually a card type or supertype)
Therefore, the Mimic can make two tokens.
Mimic enters copying Elvish Visionary. It looks like that: Elvish Visionary 1G
Creature - Elf Shaman
When Elvish Visionary enters the battlefield, draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
*As the last ability comes from a copy effect (because the effect that makes Mimic copy something is the same one that gives it the ability), it is copyable by other copy effects.
In the Upkeep, the Mimic's ability triggers and creates a token. The token looks like this: Elvish Visionary 1G
Creature - Elf Shaman
When Elvish Visionary enters the battlefield, draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
(as it is a token, the ability won't trigger).
Even later, the Mimic is exiled and returns to the battlefield. It copies the token, and looks like that: Elvish Visionary 1G
Creature - Elf Shaman
When Elvish Visionary enters the battlefield, draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
As the Mimic is not a token, both abilities will trigger during the upkeep; each token will have the two abilities, that won't trigger on the token but are both copiable, so later the Mimic copying one of then will end up with three abilities, and so on.
Part of the ruling was corrct, part was not. When the mimic is blinked and returns and copies the token it will indeed have 2 instances of the triggered ability that makes copies of itself during the upkeep. However token is not a copiable characteristic of a card, in fact it's not a characteristic at all. A token is a permanent that is not represented by a card, since the returning mimic is represented by a card it is not a token.
Someone called the judge over. The judge ruled that the ability stacking was legal, but, because the Mimic was copying a token, it was a token and wouldn't make any tokens.
Was the judge's ruling correct?
EDH - Ghave, Guru of Spores
EDH - Rafiq of the Many
EDH - Roon of the Hidden Realm
Yes and no, so in the end, no.
Yes, the Mimic has two instances of the token-making ability. I'll go back to this soon.
No, the Mimic is not a token. Being a token means being a permanent not represented by a card. The Mimic is still a card, therefore it is not a token. Being a token or not is not a copyable characteristic (even though some recent 'token cards' say Token in the type line, it is not actually a card type or supertype)
Therefore, the Mimic can make two tokens.
Mimic enters copying Elvish Visionary. It looks like that:
Elvish Visionary 1G
Creature - Elf Shaman
When Elvish Visionary enters the battlefield, draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
*As the last ability comes from a copy effect (because the effect that makes Mimic copy something is the same one that gives it the ability), it is copyable by other copy effects.
In the Upkeep, the Mimic's ability triggers and creates a token. The token looks like this:
Elvish Visionary 1G
Creature - Elf Shaman
When Elvish Visionary enters the battlefield, draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
(as it is a token, the ability won't trigger).
Even later, the Mimic is exiled and returns to the battlefield. It copies the token, and looks like that:
Elvish Visionary 1G
Creature - Elf Shaman
When Elvish Visionary enters the battlefield, draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature
As the Mimic is not a token, both abilities will trigger during the upkeep; each token will have the two abilities, that won't trigger on the token but are both copiable, so later the Mimic copying one of then will end up with three abilities, and so on.
EDH - Ghave, Guru of Spores
EDH - Rafiq of the Many
EDH - Roon of the Hidden Realm