MTG Salvation

If something like Angelic Shield or Glorious Anthem is on the field, its static effect will give your lands enough toughness to survive as soon as they become creatures.

No, to both. Flash has you sacrifice immediately as it resolves, so the creature won't be around long enough to be declared as a blocker. And when you cast a creature for its evoke cost, it will be sacrificed when the evoke triggered ability resolves. So, likewise, it won't stick around long enough to be declared as a blocker.

Also, note that you have to put a creature onto the battlefield *before* the declare blockers step if you want to declare it as a blocker.

When an object changes zones, any counters that were on it are removed. When the land returns to the battlefield, it is considered a new object with no memory of, or relation to its previous existence. The land won't remember that it was animated earlier, and will return as just a land without any counters.

Yes, Dread Presence will see a Swamp entering the battlefield in this case.

To answer your other question, if you cast Lightning Bolt on Liliana and your opponent sacrifices a nontoken creature in response, then Liliana will be exiled and returned tranformed before your bolt resolves. And since the object you targeted no longer exists, your bolt will be countered on resolution for having no legal target.

It doesn't sound right because it isn't right. Lion's Eye Diamond's mana ability can only be used whenever you could cast an instant, which means you need to have priority. LED's Oracle rules text and old Gatherer ruling back this up:

Sacrifice Lion's Eye Diamond, Discard your hand: Add three mana of any one color to your mana pool. Activate this ability only any time you could cast an instant.

10/4/2004 The ability is a mana ability, so it is activated and resolves as a mana ability, but it can only be activated at times when you can cast an Instant. Yes, this is a bit weird.

Normally, you can activate mana abilities at times you don't have priority but need to pay mana, such as during the resolution of a spell/ability that asks for mana payment, or in the process of casting a spell. However, LED's last sentence means that you cannot activate its mana ability during those times, as no player has priority at those times (which means, among other things, that you cannot cast an instant at those times).

Edit - Oh wait, I see your friend is attempting to use LED after announcing the spell, but before it has been cast, as though that's a thing. Most assuredly, it is not, and a simple quote from the Comprehensive Rules dispels that misconception:

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 717, "Handling Illegal Actions"). Announcements and payments can't be altered after they've been made.

601.2a. The player announces that he or she is casting the spell. That card (or that copy of a card) moves from where it is to the stack. It becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has all the characteristics of the card (or the copy of a card) associated with it, and that player becomes its controller. The spell remains on the stack until it's countered, it resolves, or an effect moves it elsewhere.

As you can see, 601.2a outlines that announcing that you're casting a spell is in fact the first step of casting a spell; you can't "announce you're casting, activate LED, and then actually cast", because the rules don't work like that.

Nope. If Obstinate Baloth enters the battlefield via its replacement effect, it is never a spell on the stack -- it goes directly from your hand to the battlefield.

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Yes, because the combat phase cannot be skipped, even if you don't want to attack with anything.

The only way to outright skip the combat phase is with an effect that specifically allows it - Fatespinner, for example.

Desecration Demon's triggered ability triggers during the beginning of combat (that's what "at the beginning of combat" means).

At the point that your opponent can choose to sacrifice a creature, they won't have any idea whether you will ultimately attack with the Demon (or any creature, for that matter). The list of the steps of combat make this a lot easier to see:

1. Beginning of Combat Step <- This is where Desecration Demon's triggered ability both triggers and resolves.
2. Declare Attackers Step
3. Declare Blockers Step
4. Combat Damage Step
5. End of Combat Step

Powerful in creature based decks
Synergy with drogskol reaver

why didnt wotc make drogskull legendary??

afk killing myself. /throat

Quote from Niart Gunn

A thousand times this. This redesign is really arbitrary and kills the flavour of slivers for me. Why would you even still call these slivers, they don't even work like the old ones.

I think this is quite sad and I don't even play magic anymore.

Heh, I think its sad and I've never played magic

Because it's a strong independent black card that don't need no other color to pay its cc.

Quote from Zeke_787

So my opponent is still very confused on this interpretation.

The reason why he is confused is because Nightveil Spector dosnt explicitly say that for spells that you actually have to pay the mana cost.

It doesn't say that because it doesn't have to.

So is there any where in the comprehensive rules that goes over this or is there any better way to help explain this interpretation.

The rules say that you have to pay the total cost to cast a spell. Nightveil Specter doesn't say anything to override those rules.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 717, "Handling Illegal Actions"). Announcements and payments can't be altered after they've been made.

Quote from Waiting in the Weeds

filibuster counter... really??

Are you honestly going to tell me with a straight face that it doesn't add immeasurably to the card's appeal?

Hey look, it's Gaka, a pilot of sufficiently goofy personality.