MTG Salvation

The tokens will enter the battlefield as copies of Gilt-Leaf Archdruid, and will acquire Gilt-Leaf Archdruid's copiable values. This process copies other copy effects (like Cackling Counterpart's) (C.R. 613.1a), but in general, it doesn't copy any effects that change types, color, abilities, power, or toughness (like all the effects of Turn to Frog or Polymorphist's Jest) (C.R. 706.2, 613.1d-g). For Turn to Frog or Polymorphist's Jest, the tokens will enter with Gilt-Leaf Archdruid's copiable values (normally 3/3, green, Elf Druid, among other things), without necessarily having no abilities, being a blue Frog and no other colors or creature types, or having base power and toughness 1/1. Cackling Counterpart leads to the same result, since it doesn't change Gilt-Leaf Archdruid's copiable values (compare Cackling Counterpart with Cytoshape). This answer assumes that all the spells in the scenario resolve.

Also, Polymorphist's Jest affects only "each creature target player controls" when that spell resolves, and not creatures that enter the battlefield under that player's control afterward (C.R. 611.2c).

Players can cast instant spells and activate abilities "in response" to Whir of Invention (before it resolves) as they can to other spells (C.R. 116.7, 116.1), but while they do so, players other than you will not only not know what card name you will choose with Pithing Needle, but they will also not know whether you will find a Pithing Needle card (or any other artifact card meeting the spell's criteria) at all (C.R. 701.18b). And once Whir of Invention starts resolving, players don't have priority to activate abilities before—

• the Pithing Needle card enters the battlefield,
• you choose a card name, and
• activated abilities from sources with that name can't be activated unless they're mana abilities

(assuming you search for a Pithing Needle card with Whir of Invention) (C.R. 116.2e, 116.3b, 116.1b).

EDIT (May 3): Clarification.
EDIT (May 26): One rule was renumbered with Dominaria.
EDIT (Jan. 29): Clarification.

The target you choose for Needle Drop must have already been dealt damage this turn by the time you start casting Needle Drop (C.R. 601.2c, 114.1a, 114.4). However, if an effect lets you change Needle Drop's target (which neither Needle Drop nor Firebrand Archer lets you do), that target could be changed to another creature, player, or planeswalker that was dealt damage this turn, even if the damage happened after Needle Drop is cast and before it resolves (C.R. 114.7, 114.4).

EDIT (after comment 4 was posted): Correctness edit in view of changed text for Needle Drop.
EDIT (Apr. 28): Edited further since Dominaria was released.
EDIT (May 18, 2019): Edited.

Quote from stokpile »

Ok so when something specifically changes a creature's base P/T it only effects the numbers that are printed on the card. Anything else such as +1/+1 counters, auras, and previously activated abilities are still added to what the base P/T are being set to. Am I understanding this correctly? I'm trying to make sure I'm solid on how and why this works so that when it inevitably comes up with the new shade in standard I can make a clear and correct explanation of why things happen a certain way.

Counters that modify power and/or toughness (like +1/+1 counters), and effects of the form "get +N/+M" or "get -N/-M", among other effects, are still applied on top of a creature's "base power and toughness" (C.R. 613.3b-d). Note that Auras and activated abilities don't necessarily modify power and/or toughness in this way (examples include Lignify and Omnibian). In general, it's what the effect does that counts, not what created the effect (whether an Aura, a spell, an ability, or something else).

Quote from stokpile »

I'll be honest, I still don't quite understand the why of how this works, heh. At least my take away is that it works out in my favor and I can play accordingly.

In effect, effects that change "base power and toughness" modify the power and toughness numbers that normally appear on the relevant creatures (C.R. 613.3b; review C.R. 208.1) (though in the case of your scenario, this makes no difference as Frozen Shade's normal power and toughness, 0/1, is the same as the "base power and toughness" given to it by Warkite Marauder — a better example would be Grizzly Bears, which is normally 2/2). Older cards usually said "becomes N/M" or "is N/M" in these situations, which was changed to "has base power and toughness N/M" (and not, say, "has power and toughness N/M") in their Oracle texts (C.R. 108.1) to better represent the nature of the change (compare the text of Diminish, as printed in Magic 2011, with its Oracle text; also compare the text of Opalescence, as printed in Urza's Destiny, with its Oracle text).

Quote from Ringwraith »

So I would have to return a creature to my hand if I want to use it as the trigger?

You can still return a creature you control (other than Quickling) to its owner's hand when Quickling's last ability resolves, even if Quickling has left the battlefield in the meantime (under C.R. 112.7a, the ability, "[o]nce ... triggered", "exists ... independently" of Quickling). Note that the ability means, in part, "...you may return another creature you control to its owner's hand. If you don't, sacrifice [Quickling]" (C.R. 117.12a; see also C.R. 603.5) — this also clarifies that the effect does nothing further if you do return another creature you control to its owner's hand. Moreover, you choose whether to return such a creature only when the ability resolves, not when it's put onto the stack (C.R. 603.5); thus, you can activate abilities (such as Jinxed Idol's last ability) in "response" to that ability before it resolves (C.R. 116.7, 116.1b, 116.4).

EDIT (Sep. 29, 2018): Correct quotation.

Quote from Prid3 »

So to clarify, it doesn't work now but will work soon?

Under the rules in effect before Dominaria, since a team is not a player, and players themselves are not attacked, then you can choose any opponent, even if Territorial Hellkite attacked the opposing team during your last combat, and Territorial Hellkite will attack the opposing team if able. Under the new rules you can choose only an opponent that Territorial Hellkite didn't attack during your last combat (since Territorial Hellkite would now be able to attack players directly).

EDIT (Apr. 27; Jan. 19): Edited.
EDIT (Oct. 17, 2019): Edited.

Eli Shiffrin released the update bulletin for Dominaria on Friday; when the rules for that set go into effect, creatures will attack players or planeswalkers in Two-Headed Giant games as in other Magic games; this will make Territorial Hellkite work more intuitively.

Under current rules (at the time of this writing), creatures attack teams, not players, in Two-Headed Giant (C.R. 810.7a, 810.7c) — a team is not a player (C.R. 102.1).

EDIT: See comment 5.

Quote from lushianryu »

I Just wasnt to know if i can put in the stack the etb effect of Sharuum and discard an artefact with for example trading post and After resolve trading post bring to the battlefield the artefact that i previosly i discarted with the trading post and finally if i can do this same process when using open the vaults

When Sharuum's enters-the-battlefield ability goes on the stack, you must target an artifact card already in your graveyard at that moment (C.R. 603.2, 603.2d, 601.2c), and you do so before you get priority to activate abilities, including one of Trading Post's abilities (C.R. 116.5, 116.1b). (In effect, you can't target a card you're about to discard with Trading Post's first ability.) In general, this is the case no matter how Sharuum enters the battlefield (whether with Open the Vaults or by any other means).

When the second ability of Novijen, Heart of Progress resolves, you put a +1/+1 counter on each permanent that is currently a creature and that entered the battlefield this turn (C.R. 608.2g-h), even if that permanent (e.g., Lumbering Falls, in this case) wasn't a creature when it entered the battlefield. See also this thread.

1. You discard cards (including Chandra's Phoenix in this case) to pay for Nostalgic Dreams before any abilities that trigger this way, such as the madness ability in this case, can even go on the stack (C.R. 601.2i, 116.5, 702.34a), so well before you decide whether to cast Fiery Temper from exile when its madness ability resolves (C.R. 116.4, 608.2c, 702.34a).
2. You target cards in your graveyard before you discard cards to pay for Nostalgic Dreams (C.R. 601.2c, 601.2h). Thus, Fiery Temper will be in your hand, not in your graveyard, by the time you target cards; this is the case even if Fiery Temper doesn't have madness.

EDIT: Clarification after comment 4 was posted.

Quote from Rezzahan »

Maybe I'm misreading this, but I think, peteroupc read the question wrong.

Each Cone sets up its own delayed triggered ability. So for each Cone that has been activated targeting the creature you will get the trigger when it attacks and isn't blocked. These are all seperate abilities, and they don't care if a similar one also triggers. Thus, if the creature attacks and isn't blocked, you can gain life equal to X times the creature's power, where X is the number of Cones you've activated.

Also, since the delayed trigger comes with a duration, it can trigger multiple times until the duration expires. So if there is an additional combat phase and the creature attacks and isn't blocked in that one either, you get the triggers all over again.

I made clarifications to my comment 2. When I wrote comment 2, I assumed that there was only one Delif's Cone on the battlefield and/or that only one Delif's Cone effect was active in the turn in question. Now that I see "Infinite number of..." (which is not really possible in a given game without the game ending in a draw [C.R. 721.4]), I edited that comment accordingly.

EDIT (Jan. 27, 2020): Edited, including because one rule was renumbered in the meantime.

1. In this scenario, each player's life total is 10 (since that's that player's team's life total) (C.R. 810.9a), so Heartless Hidetsugu deals 5 damage to each player, resulting in 10 damage to each team, with each team losing 10 life (C.R. 810.9; see generally C.R. 119.3a). Moreover, Heartless Hidetsugu's controller (not necessarily its owner) gains as much life as damage dealt this way (C.R. 119.3f). Thus, the team without Heartless Hidetsugu's controller loses and the other team wins (C.R. 704.5a, 810.8c, 104.2a, 810.8).
2. If Tooth and Nail's entwine cost was paid, each mode of that spell is done one after the other, in the order written (C.R. 702.41a, 608.2c). Thus, in this case, you put the cards searched for into your hand before you put up to two creature cards from your hand onto the battlefield.
3. Spells and abilities on the stack resolve one at a time, not simultaneously (C.R. 116.4). Managorger Hydra's triggered ability will go on the stack above Lightning Bolt (C.R. 405.2) and get to resolve before Lightning Bolt (C.R. 116.4). Thus, when it resolves, Managorger Hydra will be given a +1/+1 counter before Lightning Bolt gets to resolve.
4. Xenagos is normally "green" while on the battlefield, even if it's also red (see also C.R. 608.2h), and Xenagos is normally a "green creature card" while in your library, regardless of your devotion to red and green (C.R. 109.2a, 608.2h; as regards Xenagos's second ability, see C.R. 112.6). And you can sacrifice even a creature with indestructible, since doing so doesn't destroy that creature (C.R. 702.12b; compare C.R. 701.15, sacrifice, with C.R. 701.7, destroy).
(6). Multani's power and toughness will continuously change with the number of cards in its controller's hand (C.R. 109.5). In general, if that number is reduced for any reason, Multani's power and toughness will be reduced accordingly (C.R. 604.3, 604.2, 611.3a).
5. A creature "dies" when it "is put into a graveyard from the battlefield" (C.R. 700.4), not when it moves to exile.

EDIT (May 11): Clarification.
EDIT (Sep. 17): Correctness edit.

All three permanents you mention (besides the 2/2 creature) have replacement effects that replace putting certain counters on a permanent with putting more of those counters instead (C.R. 614.1a). In this case, whoever controls the permanent being given the counters (e.g., the 2/2 creature in your example) chooses which one applies first (C.R. 616.1). (It's not necessarily the player who puts those counters on that permanent that does so.) Then if other replacement effects still apply, the appropriate player chooses one of them, and so on (C.R. 616.1e).

Depending on how its controller applies the replacement effects, the 2/2 creature in your example may be given a different number of +1/+1 counters (assuming the same player controls all four permanents you mention). For example, in the case of Winding Constrictor, Hardened Scales, Corpsejack Menace, the total is six +1/+1 counters. But in the case of Corpsejack Menace, Hardened Scales, Winding Constrictor, the total is four +1/+1 counters.

See Delif's Cone's Oracle text (C.R. 108.1). You may choose to gain life equal to the creature's power only when whenever the targeted creature "attacks and isn't blocked" "[t]his turn" (and the ability that triggers this way resolves) (C.R. 603.7, 603.7b). Note that an ability (including the delayed triggered ability created when each Delif's Cone ability resolves) that triggers whenever a creature attacks and isn't blocked triggers only once per creature each combat: right after blockers are declared if the attacking creature has no blockers (C.R. 509.5g). Thus, in general, you can't gain life repeatedly this way more times this way each combat than the number of Delif's Cone effects active, let alone "infinite" life.

EDIT: Correctness edit after comment 4 was posted, again after comment 5 was posted.
EDIT (Apr. 8, 2019): Quoted part of text.