Atemsis is enchanted by Psionic gift. Player A taps them to deal damage to Player B. Player B in response destroys Atemsis.
I know the damage will still go through, but will Atemsis's ability still work?
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Say I control Zada here and 20 Kobolds of Kher Keep. If I cast Forked Bolt, choosing to deal damage only to Zada, will I copy Forked Bolt 20 times? Can I then choose to target the Kobold and an enemy player with one damage apiece from each copy?
Tidehollow Sculler enters the battlefield, puts its trigger on the stack.
You cheat in Flickerwisp with Aether Vial, targeting Sculler and putting its trigger on the stack.
Resolving, Flickerwisp removes Sculler from the game until end of turn.
Then Sculler resolves, revealing your opponent's hand where you pick Card A to be exiled.
At end of turn, Flickerwisp's effect brings back Sculler, who upon entering pits its effect on the stack again. Barring any other plays, it resolves and you choose Card B to be exiled.
Note, that Card A is basically permanently exiled at this point. The Sculler the effect was tied to left the field already before its effect resolved, so the return trigger can now never happen. Card B however can be returned if the new Sculler leaves the battlefield.
Alright, I'm going to take a stab at justifying her greenyness. Logical stretches and assumptions ahoy.
She witnessed the Eldrazi ravage and consume the plane in short order, with little being able to slow them down. She seeks the largest, most powerful creatures she thinks can be used to oppose them; mythical sea monsters. The fact she's using traditionally Blue critters to do it doesn't matter, fighting to restore and preserve the natural order of Zendikar is a solidly Green motivation.
It's interesting that she chose Theros to inhabit. She's learned that the 'Gods' of her home (Ula, Cosi, and Emeria) were false, they were actually vastly powerful alien parasites mistaken for deities. To stay so long on a plane defined by their reverence of Gods may hint at some other intention, perhaps to expose a potentially threatening pantheon before something equally devastating happens. If that's the case, I would classify wanting to let life continue without the potentially catastrophic interference of false gods as a decently Green motivation.
(Could be argue for Red too though, if you worded it differently.)
I could stretch further and assume more, but I'll admit that second one is pretty thin. Regardless, one's motivations should be taken into account when determining a flavor color identity, not just actions and means.
Blue is getting Force of Will back, and the other colors getting colorshifted prints as well.
White - Strength of Spirit
Green - Might of Instinct
Red - Power of Conviction
Black - Cult of Personality
If you really want an Esper commander that can also be played in mono-Blue, then one way to go about it would be to give it a UUU mana cost but abilities with W and B in the text. That still gives it an Esper color identity.
"You may pay U instead of B or W to pay for the costs of merfolk Spells you cast or to activate the effects of merfolk creatures you control."
Feels a little like cheating lets try it on for size.
Council of the Pearl TridentUUU
Legendary Creature - Merfolk [M]
0/0
Islandwalk
Council of the Pearl Trident enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it, plus an additional +1/+1 counter for each Legendary Merfolk creature in your graveyard.
Other merfolk creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Council of the Pearl Trident.
Discard another Legendary Merfolk: Double the number of +1/+1 counters on Council of the Pearl Trident.
You may pay U instead of B or W to pay for the costs of merfolk Spells you cast or to activate the effects of merfolk creatures you control
Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have tagged it Grandeur. Just seemed more... Regal.
As for a keyword, I was worried about pushing it too hard at 3 cmc. If one were included, Flying or Islandwalk would be the obvious picks.
The mana cost is weird. Just preferred it to tagging it with some funky activated abilities or rules text saying "Look at me I'm black and white!" Guess UWB would have been wiser, but I wanted it to feel more blue than black or white.
What about (W/B)UU? Or Maybe I could push it a little more and make it WBUU.
Council of the Pearl Trident(U/B)(U/W)U
Legendary Creature - Merfolk [M]
0/0
Council of the Pearl Trident enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it, plus an additional +1/+1 counter for each Legendary Merfolk creature in your graveyard.
Other merfolk creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Council of the Pearl Trident.
Grandeur - Discard another Legendary Merfolk: Double the number of +1/+1 counters on Council of the Pearl Trident.
Why?
Obviously, I loves me my fish.
Also, Merfolk need an esper color commander to play with all of their toys at once. They also really like their lords, so its a super lord. I kept it generic rather than a specific fish to represent the combined might of each legend who 'joins the council' through Grandeur. There's plenty of merfolk legends too. The grave clause helps it justify being black, and keeps it relevant even after you ditch your legends only to have it destroyed.
This doesn't really look like a simic card beyond the fact it's blue and fish-like. It just doesn't fit in with the rest of the simic creatures (especially since it breathes lightning), and in general doesn't look like magic art.
EDIT: To be more specific, it looks a bit too edgy to be simic. Simic has a lot of curves to it, it's creatures are covered in smooth skin, shells, or scales. This creature is jagged with sharp scales, it doesn't really match the simic's style.
I disagree on this not being simic based on its aesthetics. It's a Dragon with Butterfly wings on its face and watery tendrils all over its body. If this were a card, it would fit most at home with Simic. The only competitor is Izzet based on the lightning, and the multi-creature splice is more compelling imo.
That said, I do not think this is card art at all. It would look a bit awkward cropped to a magic sized art frames well as not really meshing all that well with the style we've had through Ravnica already
If anything returns from Future Sight, I'd want it to be Grandeur. It's such a cool way to make 4 of legendary not a bad thing.
With an apparent focus on gods, it would make sense too. What's more legendary or grandiose than a god?
On the flipside, Wizards really has a thing for Commander right now and grandeur is a decidedly poor mechanic to promote that.
I know the damage will still go through, but will Atemsis's ability still work?
Using card tags is mandatory in the Magic Rulings forum. Please check your private messages to learn how to use them. I've added them for this post.
-MadMage
Say I control Zada here and 20 Kobolds of Kher Keep. If I cast Forked Bolt, choosing to deal damage only to Zada, will I copy Forked Bolt 20 times? Can I then choose to target the Kobold and an enemy player with one damage apiece from each copy?
Tidehollow Sculler enters the battlefield, puts its trigger on the stack.
You cheat in Flickerwisp with Aether Vial, targeting Sculler and putting its trigger on the stack.
Resolving, Flickerwisp removes Sculler from the game until end of turn.
Then Sculler resolves, revealing your opponent's hand where you pick Card A to be exiled.
At end of turn, Flickerwisp's effect brings back Sculler, who upon entering pits its effect on the stack again. Barring any other plays, it resolves and you choose Card B to be exiled.
Note, that Card A is basically permanently exiled at this point. The Sculler the effect was tied to left the field already before its effect resolved, so the return trigger can now never happen. Card B however can be returned if the new Sculler leaves the battlefield.
She witnessed the Eldrazi ravage and consume the plane in short order, with little being able to slow them down. She seeks the largest, most powerful creatures she thinks can be used to oppose them; mythical sea monsters. The fact she's using traditionally Blue critters to do it doesn't matter, fighting to restore and preserve the natural order of Zendikar is a solidly Green motivation.
It's interesting that she chose Theros to inhabit. She's learned that the 'Gods' of her home (Ula, Cosi, and Emeria) were false, they were actually vastly powerful alien parasites mistaken for deities. To stay so long on a plane defined by their reverence of Gods may hint at some other intention, perhaps to expose a potentially threatening pantheon before something equally devastating happens. If that's the case, I would classify wanting to let life continue without the potentially catastrophic interference of false gods as a decently Green motivation.
(Could be argue for Red too though, if you worded it differently.)
I could stretch further and assume more, but I'll admit that second one is pretty thin. Regardless, one's motivations should be taken into account when determining a flavor color identity, not just actions and means.
White - Strength of Spirit
Green - Might of Instinct
Red - Power of Conviction
Black - Cult of Personality
Or so I hope.
"You may pay U instead of B or W to pay for the costs of merfolk Spells you cast or to activate the effects of merfolk creatures you control."
Feels a little like cheating
Legendary Creature - Merfolk [M]
0/0
Islandwalk
Council of the Pearl Trident enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it, plus an additional +1/+1 counter for each Legendary Merfolk creature in your graveyard.
Other merfolk creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Council of the Pearl Trident.
Discard another Legendary Merfolk: Double the number of +1/+1 counters on Council of the Pearl Trident.
You may pay U instead of B or W to pay for the costs of merfolk Spells you cast or to activate the effects of merfolk creatures you control
Getting awful wordy...
As for a keyword, I was worried about pushing it too hard at 3 cmc. If one were included, Flying or Islandwalk would be the obvious picks.
The mana cost is weird. Just preferred it to tagging it with some funky activated abilities or rules text saying "Look at me I'm black and white!" Guess UWB would have been wiser, but I wanted it to feel more blue than black or white.
What about (W/B)UU? Or Maybe I could push it a little more and make it WBUU.
Legendary Creature - Merfolk [M]
0/0
Council of the Pearl Trident enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it, plus an additional +1/+1 counter for each Legendary Merfolk creature in your graveyard.
Other merfolk creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Council of the Pearl Trident.
Grandeur - Discard another Legendary Merfolk: Double the number of +1/+1 counters on Council of the Pearl Trident.
Why?
Obviously, I loves me my fish.
Also, Merfolk need an esper color commander to play with all of their toys at once. They also really like their lords, so its a super lord. I kept it generic rather than a specific fish to represent the combined might of each legend who 'joins the council' through Grandeur. There's plenty of merfolk legends too. The grave clause helps it justify being black, and keeps it relevant even after you ditch your legends only to have it destroyed.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1244
Bottom of the article.
What's been done already, plus speculation.
I disagree on this not being simic based on its aesthetics. It's a Dragon with Butterfly wings on its face and watery tendrils all over its body. If this were a card, it would fit most at home with Simic. The only competitor is Izzet based on the lightning, and the multi-creature splice is more compelling imo.
That said, I do not think this is card art at all. It would look a bit awkward cropped to a magic sized art frames well as not really meshing all that well with the style we've had through Ravnica already
With an apparent focus on gods, it would make sense too. What's more legendary or grandiose than a god?
On the flipside, Wizards really has a thing for Commander right now and grandeur is a decidedly poor mechanic to promote that.
God, I hope not.