If I have a Lotus bloom coming out of suspend, and my opponent has a Thalia in play, when I cast Lotus bloom I do not pay the mana cost but I have to pay the 1 for Thalia. But lets say there was some ultra hypothetical scenario where I don't want to cast my Lotus bloom. I have the choice to not cast it. Unless I have floating mana. Then I have to spend it to pay for the spell. The difference is that the game rules can't force me to tap lands for mana, but it can force me to use floating mana to cast the spell. Here is the relevant Time Spiral text;
As the second triggered ability of suspend resolves, if playing the suspended card involves an additional cost, the card's owner must pay that cost if able. If he or she can't, the card remains removed from the game. If the additional cost includes mana, the situation is more complex. If the player has enough mana in his or her mana pool to pay the cost, that player must do so. If the player can't possibly pay the cost, the card remains removed from the game. However, if the player has the means to produce enough mana to pay the cost, then he or she has a choice: The player may play the spell, produce mana, and pay the cost. Or the player may choose to play no mana abilities, thus making the card impossible to play because the additional mana can't be paid.
Ok, so if I have Upwelling in play and enough floating mana to pay for Thalia, then I have to. I understand all this, easy enough.
Does this rule also apply to other similar scenarios.
Albert has a Grizzly Bear enchanted with Awesome Presence and Lure. Norbert has a Grizzly Bear, Upwelling and 3 mana floated. When Albert attacks, is Norbert forced to pay his 3 mana to block?
Is the scenario any different if Norbert has 3 mana and two Grizzly bears?
If I had to guess, I would say that Norbert has to block. And that Norbert gets to choose which creatures he is using the floating mana to pay to block with (if not all his creatures). But my googlefu is falling me and I can't get a 100% certain answer on this.
Quoting from the Time Spiral FAQ is good, but quoting from the comprehensive rules is even better, since they are kept up to date:
117.3c Activating mana abilities is not mandatory, even if paying a cost is.
Example: A player controls Lodestone Golem, which says "Nonartifact spells cost {1} more to cast." Another player removes the last time counter from a suspended sorcery card. That player must cast that spell if able, but doing so costs {1}. The player is forced to spend {1} if enough mana is in his or her mana pool, but the player isn't forced to activate a mana ability to produce that {1}. If he or she doesn't, the card simply remains exiled.
Obviously the answer is still the same.
As for the blocking scenario:
509.1c The defending player checks each creature he or she controls to see whether it's affected by any requirements (effects that say a creature must block, or that it must block if some condition is met). If the number of requirements that are being obeyed is fewer than the maximum possible number of requirements that could be obeyed without disobeying any restrictions, the declaration of blockers is illegal. If a creature can't block unless a player pays a cost, that player is not required to pay that cost, even if blocking with that creature would increase the number of requirements being obeyed.
Paying the cost for blocking is explicitly stated to be optional in the Comprehensive Rules, so you do not have to pay the 3 even if you have that much mana in your mana pool. This is different from Suspend.
One way to look at this, philosophically, that might help explain why the rules are like this, is that a "must attack if able" or "must block if able" effect is visualized as applying to a creature, not a player.
Hence if a player is forced to cast a spell, and that spell has an additional cost the player is capable of paying at that moment in time, the player must pay it. But if a creature is forced to block, the creature has to block if it can, but the player is not required to do anything to assist that creature in blocking, and so can choose not to pay a cost that would allow the creature to block even if that cost is {0}.
It's also worth noting, just for rules sake, you cannot float mana into the Declaration of Blockers which happens at the beginning of the Declare Blockers step. This mana leaves your pool at the end of the Declare Attackers step.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Lotus Bloom
Upwelling
If I have a Lotus bloom coming out of suspend, and my opponent has a Thalia in play, when I cast Lotus bloom I do not pay the mana cost but I have to pay the 1 for Thalia. But lets say there was some ultra hypothetical scenario where I don't want to cast my Lotus bloom. I have the choice to not cast it. Unless I have floating mana. Then I have to spend it to pay for the spell. The difference is that the game rules can't force me to tap lands for mana, but it can force me to use floating mana to cast the spell. Here is the relevant Time Spiral text;
Does this rule also apply to other similar scenarios.
Awesome Presence
Lure
Albert has a Grizzly Bear enchanted with Awesome Presence and Lure. Norbert has a Grizzly Bear, Upwelling and 3 mana floated. When Albert attacks, is Norbert forced to pay his 3 mana to block?
Is the scenario any different if Norbert has 3 mana and two Grizzly bears?
If I had to guess, I would say that Norbert has to block. And that Norbert gets to choose which creatures he is using the floating mana to pay to block with (if not all his creatures). But my googlefu is falling me and I can't get a 100% certain answer on this.
Thanks in advance
As for the blocking scenario: Paying the cost for blocking is explicitly stated to be optional in the Comprehensive Rules, so you do not have to pay the 3 even if you have that much mana in your mana pool. This is different from Suspend.
Hence if a player is forced to cast a spell, and that spell has an additional cost the player is capable of paying at that moment in time, the player must pay it. But if a creature is forced to block, the creature has to block if it can, but the player is not required to do anything to assist that creature in blocking, and so can choose not to pay a cost that would allow the creature to block even if that cost is {0}.
L1 Judge
Whoops! Read it as "Upheaval." My bad!
L1 Judge
Personally I don't think that is how it should be, but now I know for the next time it comes up.