I am fairly sure that isn't how "becomes equipped" is defined. While it doesn't look like there's any rules that specify that, the closest one I can find is that an artifact that becomes attached to a creature "equips" a creature, meaning it's becoming equipped.
Huh? Cancel is the new baseline. Day of Judgment is the new baseline. What is your problem with that?
I'm not the one that has the problem with Cancel, it's everybody else. I still can't go one week without hearing about how much Counterspell should be back and how Cancel is awful and sucks and how they're killing Blue.
Interesting how that doesn't seem to apply when the issue of Cancel being the hard counter's new baseline comes up, but that's another discussion altogether.
Why shouldn't it? There's no reason it should cost three, cause then I'd just play Putrefy. You take away an ability, you take away some cost. It's fine the way it is.
As written, the cost is to add a loyalty counter, and the effect is to remove X and deal X. Costs exist before the colon on activated abilities.
Yes, thank you, I am not quite that out of touch with the rules yet. SI says removing the counters is not a cost, I said I don't see how it isn't. (Because it is a cost.)
I must not be understanding how removing the counters is not a cost...
606. Loyalty Abilities
606.1. Some activated abilities are loyalty abilities, which are subject to special rules.
606.2. An activated ability with a loyalty symbol in its cost is a loyalty ability. Normally, only planeswalkers have loyalty abilities.
606.3. A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent he or she controls any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of his or her turn, but only if no player has previously activated a loyalty ability of that permanent that turn.
606.4. The cost to activate a loyalty ability of a permanent is to put on or remove from that permanent a certain number of loyalty counters, as shown by the loyalty symbol in the ability's cost.
606.5. A loyalty ability with a negative loyalty cost can't be activated unless the permanent has at least that many loyalty counters on it.
I'm pretty sure that this all means that it is a cost, and that if it has five counters on it, you can't declare it as 50.
I'm not the one that has the problem with Cancel, it's everybody else. I still can't go one week without hearing about how much Counterspell should be back and how Cancel is awful and sucks and how they're killing Blue.
No, which means given the choice, there's no reason to use it over Wrath. Problem with this is Wizards isn't giving us the choice.
And being forced to attack or block.
edit: Not that it is a bad thing, since it does take 7 turns to realize its full potential...
Uh, dude, removing the counters is the cost. That's why it's before a colon. +1 means "add a counter, get the ability."
Well, if you can't remove X counters, you can't deal X damage.
Yes, thank you, I am not quite that out of touch with the rules yet. SI says removing the counters is not a cost, I said I don't see how it isn't. (Because it is a cost.)
606. Loyalty Abilities
606.1. Some activated abilities are loyalty abilities, which are subject to special rules.
606.2. An activated ability with a loyalty symbol in its cost is a loyalty ability. Normally, only planeswalkers have loyalty abilities.
606.3. A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent he or she controls any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of his or her turn, but only if no player has previously activated a loyalty ability of that permanent that turn.
606.4. The cost to activate a loyalty ability of a permanent is to put on or remove from that permanent a certain number of loyalty counters, as shown by the loyalty symbol in the ability's cost.
606.5. A loyalty ability with a negative loyalty cost can't be activated unless the permanent has at least that many loyalty counters on it.
I'm pretty sure that this all means that it is a cost, and that if it has five counters on it, you can't declare it as 50.