MTG Salvation

Quote from FigBits »

Cool. Is that in the rules?

What made me think of this was the answer to this question: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-rulings/773567-richard-garfield-card-question , where it is implied that nothing has the same mana cost as a land, because lands have no mana cost.

That answer dealt with a card's "mana cost", not what is now mana value (formerly: converted mana cost); these two concepts are not to be confused with each other (compare C.R. 202.1, mana cost, with C.R. 202.3, mana value). An object without a mana cost can't have the same mana cost as any other object. However, since such an object still has a mana value, namely 0 in most cases (C.R. 202.3a; see C.R. 202.3b-c for exceptions), it still "has mana value 2 or less" in those same cases.

EDIT (Sep. 29): Clarification.
EDIT (Jan. 16): Correctness edit in view of changes to the Magic Tournament Rules with Rivals of Ixalan.
EDIT (Apr. 9): Correctness edit.
EDIT (Nov. 11, 2021): Edited to use updated terminology.
EDIT (Nov. 30, 2021): Edited in view of use of "identical mana cost" in a recently published card.

A token can be destroyed with Fatal Push as long as it's a creature (C.R. 111.6) and as long as its mana value (not: its mana cost; formerly: its converted mana cost) is 2 or less (or 4 or less if a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn). An object without a mana cost still has a mana value, namely 0 in most cases (C.R. 202.3a; see C.R. 202.3b-c for exceptions; see also C.R. 202.1b). Note that Fatal Push can target any "creature", even a creature token and even if its mana value doesn't meet that spell's criteria (C.R. 111.6, 115.1a, 601.2c).

EDIT (Nov. 11, 2021): Edited, including because some rules were renumbered in the meantime.

Vision Charm's (now) second mode (review C.R. 108.1 and the current Oracle text) affects only lands of the first chosen land type when the ability resolves. It doesn't affect any other permanents, including creatures that aren't lands. That mode doesn't affect the color of mana those lands produce when tapped for mana, except it makes those lands the second chosen basic land type (thereby removing the abilities "generated from [their] rules text, [their] old land types, and any copiable effects affecting [them]" in favor of the corresponding mana ability [C.R. 305.7]).

EDIT (Jun. 19): Correction.
EDIT (Jul. 27, 2019): Clarification.
EDIT (Jun. 18. 2021): Edited to conform to rule changes with Modern Horizons 2.

With the understanding that there is no Magic card legal for tournament play that has the same effect as that of Richard Garfield, Ph.D.:

Neither Dryad Arbor nor any currently existing Magic basic land card has a mana cost (C.R. 202.1b). Therefore, no such card has the "same mana cost" as any other Magic card.

EDIT (Jan. 16): Correctness edit in view of changes to the Magic Tournament Rules with Rivals of Ixalan.
EDIT (Sep. 22, 2022): Edit first paragraph.

Quote from migrena »

Currently section 3.3 of Tournament Rules (10.11.2016) states that legal cards are only those with white or black border. Invocations doesn't have that kind of border. Does that mean there will be an update of MTR before Amonkhet prerelease (I assume Invocations will be legal during prerelease and then after the release)?

It would be speculation to say whether the Magic Tournament Rules will be updated in this respect.
EDIT: See comment 4.

1. The creature wouldn't have double strike. Since Resolute Blademaster's ability makes it gain double strike, then Gift of Tusks makes that creature lose all abilities (and neither depends on the other) (C.R. 613.6, 613.7, 613.1f), the end result is the creature will have no abilities.

2. Polymorphist's Jest doesn't remove counters from any creatures, whether when it resolves or as the turn ends, since the noun "counter" doesn't appear on that spell. (Neither does Gift of Tusks, by the way, for the same reason.)

You discard your hand (and exile all permanents) when Apocalypse resolves (C.R. 608.2c); discarding your hand is not a cost of casting that spell (which it would be if Apocalypse had said "As an additional cost to cast Apocalypse, discard your hand").

In this particular case, however, even if discarding your hand were a cost, you could still do so even if you had no cards in hand (see the rulings for Bomat Courier).

Since Bludgeon Brawl's effect is a continuous effect that affects only "noncreature, non-Equipment artifact[s]", and one Bludgeon Brawl effect is dependent on each other Bludgeon Brawl effect (within the meaning of C.R. 613.7a) (these effects all apply in layer 4 [C.R. 613.1d], among other layers), and vice versa (C.R. 613.7b), timestamp order is used (C.R. 613.7b, 613.7, 613.6); however, it's not possible for more than one of them to apply at the same time (since applying one effect would make the artifacts no longer "non-Equipment artifact[s]", making the other effects inapplicable to them). Therefore, even if more than one Bludgeon Brawl is on the battlefield at the same time, each "noncreature, non-Equipment artifact" would have only one instance of "Equipped creature gets +X/+0", where X is that artifact's converted mana cost. In any case, Bludgeon Brawl's effect doesn't affect counters of any kind (the ability it grants doesn't use the noun "counter" at all).

Therefore, the answer is no.

EDIT (Mar. 31, Apr. 11): Clarification.
EDIT (Nov. 4; Jan. 15, 2018; Dec. 17, 2018): Correction.

Wild Slash deals 2 damage regardless of whether you control a creature with power 4 or greater. (The condition "If you control a creature with power 4 or greater" applies only to the first paragraph and not the second; this ought to be clear because of the paragraph break on that spell [C.R. 112.2c].)

Wild Slash will check whether you control a creature with power 4 or greater when it resolves (C.R. 608.2g). Therefore, in your scenario, Kiln Fiend, now 4/2, will count as a creature with power 4 or greater by the time Wild Slash resolves, so that if you control Kiln Fiend as that spell resolves, damage can't be prevented this turn.

Quote from kamikaziechameleon »

Is there any situation where deadlock trap could stop Bristling Hydra from activating its ability(assuming you always have the necessary energy)?

Deadlock Trap's last ability has an effect only if it resolves (C.R. 609.1). Before then, players can respond by activating abilities, including those of the targeted creature or planeswalker. (Under C.R. 117.4, an ability resolves, in general, only if all players pass in a row, meaning that all players necessarily had priority and chose "not to take any actions" [C.R. 117.3d], and under C.R. 117.1b, the player with priority may activate an ability. The exception of C.R. 117.4 is mana abilities [C.R. 605.3b], which Deadlock Trap's last ability isn't because it doesn't produce mana [C.R. 605.1a].)

Therefore, as Deadlock Trap's ability would resolve while Bristling Hydra has hexproof...

• and Deadlock Trap's ability was activated by an opponent of Bristling Hydra's controller, it will be an illegal target for that ability, so the ability will fail to resolve (C.R. 608.2b) (so Bristling Hydra won't become tapped and its activated abilities can still be activated).
• and Deadlock Trap's ability was activated by a player other than an opponent of Bristling Hydra's controller (for example, the same player as Bristling Hydra's controller), and Bristling Hydra isn't an illegal target for another reason, the ability will continue to resolve (C.R. 608.2b-c), so Bristling Hydra will be tapped and its activated abilities can't be activated this turn.

EDIT (Dec. 20, 2018): Edited to conform to rule change in Dominaria.
EDIT (Jan. 17, 2020): Edited, including because some rules were renumbered in Core Set 2020.

1. In this scenario, if a white creature would deal combat damage to a Sliver, that damage is prevented due to the Sliver's protection from white (C.R. 702.16e).

2. That player will still be dealt the combat damage. Ward Sliver's ability applies only to Slivers on the battlefield (controlled by any player), not to players (C.R. 109.2).

EDIT (Aug. 9): Clarification.

A spell or ability targets something only if it identifies it with the word "target" (C.R. 114.1a-d), or uses a keyword that does so (C.R. 114.1e; see also C.R. 114.10a; under C.R. 701.34a, the support keyword action also uses "target [something]"). "Each opponent" doesn't identify a target any more than "all creatures" does.

EDIT (Aug. 19): Edited first sentence.
EDIT (Sep. 1, 2018): Correctness edit to conform to changes in Dominaria.
EDIT (Nov. 30, 2018): Further edited to conform to rule changes with Dominaria.

Quote from psly4mne »

400.1 also acknowledges that "Some older cards also use the ante zone." So does a zone not exist if no cards "use" it? That's kind of weird. It also kind of suggests that if there are no cards in a format that "use" the command zone (or exile), then that zone does not exist.

Unfortunately, the comprehensive rules don't sufficiently clarify whether a zone exists in a particular game even if nothing can put cards there.

The effect of Veilstone Amulet's ability applies to creatures you control this turn, even if they come under your control after that ability resolves. This is because the effect doesn't change the characteristics or control of any objects (if the ability had said "...creatures you control gain hexproof until end of turn", for example [review C.R. 702.11b], the effect would have applied only to creatures you controlled as the ability resolved, not those that come under your control later) (C.R. 611.2c).

A "nonartifact spell" means a spell without the type "Artifact" in its type line (C.R. 109.2b). Therefore, it includes most creature spells, but not artifact creature spells, for example (C.R. 205.2b). (Note that creatures [not: monsters] exist only on the battlefield; a creature card that was cast [not: summoned] and is on the stack is called a creature spell [C.R. 109.2, 109.2b, 112.1].)

EDIT (Apr. 9): A "nonartifact spell" doesn't include abilities of creatures; such abilities are not called "creature effects" (compare C.R. 112.1, spells, with C.R. 113.1, abilities, and C.R. 609.1, effects).

EDIT (Feb. 5, 2020): Edited, including because some rules were renumbered with Core Set 2020.