Ravnica is a plane where law magic is particularly strong, and Azor was an oldwalker particularly adept at this kind of magic. It was him who created the guildpact (which is more like an world enchantment than an artifact), including the failsafe that resulted in Jace becoming the living guildpact. And we know Azor kept his spark.
It is just like Sorin's work in Innistrad (the Helvault, Avacyn, and her power-balancing 'rules') or Ugin's and Nahiri's Hedron network in Zendikar. All of them are plane-wide 'enchantments' that use that world's special magic affinities.
Ixalan doesn't appear to be particularly strong with the kind of magic Azor and Ugin's plan needed, so Azor had to sacrifice his spark to get the Immortal Sun working.
---
The story doesn't need an artifact with an oldwalker spark inside in Ravnica for Bolas to get, because he already got an artifact-with-an-oldwalker-spark-inside from Ixalan.
Yes, it dies. Hour of Devastation removes Indestructible from the creature until end of turn. It doesn't matter the creature gained indestructible from an equipment, it still loses it. Then the 5 damage kills it.
A "creature spell" is spell with the card type Creature.
Crib Swap has the card types Tribal and Instant. The tribal type allows it to have creature (sub)types, but it is still not a "creature spell" in itself.
When I attack with It That Betrays. Can an opponent sac their kitchen finks twice for the annihilator 2 trigger?
No. That player needs to sacrifice two different permanents as a single action. They can't sacrifice one, have something else happen, then sacrifice another.
It is not possible to sacrifice Kitchen Finks, have its Persist ability trigger, put it on the stack, have all players pass priority so it resolves, return Finks to the battlefield, and then sacrifice it again. Everything after "Persist triggers" can only happen after Annihilator has finished resolving.
The enchantment's ability triggers for each card drawn, but they only get to be put on the stack after Wheel of Fortune has finished resolving.
You also can't activate Words of Wind's ability "in between" each draw. You need to activate it up to seven times before Wheel starts resolving. So you don't have the treasures for that yet.
Their chance to cast Surgical Extraction in response happens before Collective Brutality starts resolving, so it has to be before you get to see their hand.
So, if they are already showing their hand to you, that means they passed priority and allowed CB to resolve - and once it starts resolving, it resolves fully: you look at their hand, then choose SE, then they discard SE, then the second mode you chose (-2/-2 or 2 life) happens. They can't interrupt this sequence to cast SE.
No. Harm's Way has only one target, that you choose when you cast it. The 2 damage is dealt to that one target. You can't choose two creatures to target.
Idont think there is supposed to be
a 3rd set. I believe maro and them said its gonna be strictly two sets
The set after Ravnica Allegiance is still on the plane of Ravnica, but will focus on the battle against Bolas rather than the guilds. This has been known for a good time and has been confirmed multiple times.
Exiling the opponent's creature and shuffling Etrata, the Silencer do happen almost simultaneously (it is in sequence but what matters is that you can't do anything between those two actions), that's true.
But you can cast an instant like Fated Infatuation in response to the whole ability going to the stack, before you exile the creature. Even though you send the original Etrata to the graveyard (or command zone) this way to keep the copy, her ability still resolves and do what it can, exiling the targeted creature.
#2) After the second -1/-1 ability resolves, Plaguelord dies as a 2/2 with 2 damage marked on it, so it wasn't a 1/1 and Shirei's ability won't return it.
#2a) Many problems here.
First and most important, Bond of Agony is a sorcery. You can't cast it during an opponent's turn, or in response to anything.
Second, you can't pay more life than you have. You can pay up to your current total life, but not more.
Finally, as paying life is an additional cost you pay as you cast Bond of Agony while the opponent(s) losing life happens only when Bond resolves, if you pay all your life, you lose the game right after you finish casting Bond, before it can resolve.
Now, if you have some effect allowing you to cast a sorcery at this time, and you pay all your life but one, you may be able to hurt your opponents a lot and maybe even take someone with you. That would be your best move.
Is it actually possible to "capture" Pharika while she is a creature?
Yes, if Pharika is a creature, she can be enchanted by Imprisoned in the Moon.
As soon as Pharika becomes enchanted, she stops being a creature and an enchantment and becomes a land (which Imprisoned can still enchant), and loses all of her abilities, including the ability that makes her stop being a creature.
She does not have the "As long as your devotion to black and green is less than seven, Pharika isn't a creature" ability, so there's no 'threshold' to care about.
I forgot to ask or couldn't find: When I replicate say Shattering Spree five or six times, is that the same stack that I can use Mindbreak Trap on or is that a new one?
Replicate is a triggered ability that triggers when you cast the spell, just like Storm, and the copies are created quite like the same way (it just looks at something else for the number copies to create). It ends up working the same way for Mindbreak Trap.
And the Stack is a zone that exists in the game from start to finish. There is no such thing as "a new stack".
1WU
Creature - Vedalken Wizard
When Deputy of Detention enters the battlefield, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls and all other nonland permanents that player controls with the same name as that permanent until Deputy of Detention leaves the battlefield.
1/3
Detention Sphere on legs. Doesn't hit your stuff on accident. Thoughts?
The M19 planeswalkers are Ajani, Tezzeret, Liliana, Sarkhan and Vivien. Of those, Tezzeret and Liliana are aligned with Bolas, while Sarkhan and Vivien have reasons to oppose him, so my guess is Ajani is recruiting them.
It is just like Sorin's work in Innistrad (the Helvault, Avacyn, and her power-balancing 'rules') or Ugin's and Nahiri's Hedron network in Zendikar. All of them are plane-wide 'enchantments' that use that world's special magic affinities.
Ixalan doesn't appear to be particularly strong with the kind of magic Azor and Ugin's plan needed, so Azor had to sacrifice his spark to get the Immortal Sun working.
---
The story doesn't need an artifact with an oldwalker spark inside in Ravnica for Bolas to get, because he already got an artifact-with-an-oldwalker-spark-inside from Ixalan.
A "creature spell" is spell with the card type Creature.
Crib Swap has the card types Tribal and Instant. The tribal type allows it to have creature (sub)types, but it is still not a "creature spell" in itself.
No. That player needs to sacrifice two different permanents as a single action. They can't sacrifice one, have something else happen, then sacrifice another.
It is not possible to sacrifice Kitchen Finks, have its Persist ability trigger, put it on the stack, have all players pass priority so it resolves, return Finks to the battlefield, and then sacrifice it again. Everything after "Persist triggers" can only happen after Annihilator has finished resolving.
You also can't activate Words of Wind's ability "in between" each draw. You need to activate it up to seven times before Wheel starts resolving. So you don't have the treasures for that yet.
Their chance to cast Surgical Extraction in response happens before Collective Brutality starts resolving, so it has to be before you get to see their hand.
So, if they are already showing their hand to you, that means they passed priority and allowed CB to resolve - and once it starts resolving, it resolves fully: you look at their hand, then choose SE, then they discard SE, then the second mode you chose (-2/-2 or 2 life) happens. They can't interrupt this sequence to cast SE.
The set after Ravnica Allegiance is still on the plane of Ravnica, but will focus on the battle against Bolas rather than the guilds. This has been known for a good time and has been confirmed multiple times.
But you can cast an instant like Fated Infatuation in response to the whole ability going to the stack, before you exile the creature. Even though you send the original Etrata to the graveyard (or command zone) this way to keep the copy, her ability still resolves and do what it can, exiling the targeted creature.
#2) After the second -1/-1 ability resolves, Plaguelord dies as a 2/2 with 2 damage marked on it, so it wasn't a 1/1 and Shirei's ability won't return it.
#2a) Many problems here.
First and most important, Bond of Agony is a sorcery. You can't cast it during an opponent's turn, or in response to anything.
Second, you can't pay more life than you have. You can pay up to your current total life, but not more.
Finally, as paying life is an additional cost you pay as you cast Bond of Agony while the opponent(s) losing life happens only when Bond resolves, if you pay all your life, you lose the game right after you finish casting Bond, before it can resolve.
Now, if you have some effect allowing you to cast a sorcery at this time, and you pay all your life but one, you may be able to hurt your opponents a lot and maybe even take someone with you. That would be your best move.
It wouldn't. Plains and Mountain are colorless permanents.
For most categories, like the five single colors, you'd vote for 20 cards, and yes it was ranked 1-20.
For example, here's the thread with all the votes for White cards in 2016.
Yes, if Pharika is a creature, she can be enchanted by Imprisoned in the Moon.
As soon as Pharika becomes enchanted, she stops being a creature and an enchantment and becomes a land (which Imprisoned can still enchant), and loses all of her abilities, including the ability that makes her stop being a creature.
She does not have the "As long as your devotion to black and green is less than seven, Pharika isn't a creature" ability, so there's no 'threshold' to care about.
Replicate is a triggered ability that triggers when you cast the spell, just like Storm, and the copies are created quite like the same way (it just looks at something else for the number copies to create). It ends up working the same way for Mindbreak Trap.
And the Stack is a zone that exists in the game from start to finish. There is no such thing as "a new stack".
1WU
Creature - Vedalken Wizard
When Deputy of Detention enters the battlefield, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls and all other nonland permanents that player controls with the same name as that permanent until Deputy of Detention leaves the battlefield.
1/3
Detention Sphere on legs. Doesn't hit your stuff on accident. Thoughts?