Rules Tip of the Day: When damage is redirected by a spell or ability it is not a new event and the source of the damage does not change. This means that effects that change the amount of damage dealt (such as Furnace of Rath, or Tok-Tok, Volcano Born) will only be applied once. It also means that the source of the damage is the original source and not the source of the redirection effect.

Q: I understand that the Offering ability of the Patrons allow you to play the card as an Instant. Does this count as playing a spell? In other words, if I have an Epic spell copying each upkeep preventing me from playing spells, can I still play the Patrons by way of their Offering ability?

A: Even though you are taking advantage of the Offering ability, you are still playing a spell. If you have resolved an Epic spell previously in the game, then you will not be able to play a Patron in the normal way or by taking advantage of its Offering ability.

Q: If Pithing Needle is to choose Jiwari, the Earth Aflame can I still use Jiwari's channel ability?

A: No, that is an activated ability of the card that was named as this Pithing Needle came into play, so you cannot use that ability.

Q: If I have Swirl the Mist set to Blue and then play Shining Shoal with its alternate cost, would I have to remove a white card or would Swirl change it so I have to remove a blue card?

A: You'll have to remove a blue card from the game to play Shining Shoal. This is because Swirl the Mists changes the color words on spells as well as permanents in play. Therefore the text of this Shining Shoal on the stack has an alternate play cost that allows you to pitch a blue card.

Q: If you copy Chalice of the Void (with Sculpting Steel or Copy Artifact) that is in play with some counters on it, do you get a chance to pay XX again as the new copy comes into play? I have read that you get to make certain decisions again when you copy a permanent, and since it has a cost of x/x and you copy the cost, do you set values for x/x again or use the original x/x that was paid for the original? Or do you get no chance to decide and get 0 counters?

A: No. You can only choose a value for X when you play Chalice of the Void. When a copy comes into play you do get to make choices that are made when the original came into play, but the choice of a value of X is made when announcing a spell, not when a permanent comes into play. If you copy Chalice of the Void in play the copy will come into play as with zero counters on it, you do not get a choice.

Q: I have Zombie Infestation in play, and I want to discard Strength of Lunacy and another card to put Zombie token into play? Can I enchant that Zombie token with Strength of Lunacy that I just discarded?

A: No, in order to play the Strength of Lunacy you'll have to play it via its Madness cost before the Zombie infestation ability resolves and puts a zombie token into play. This means that this zombie will not be a legal target when you need to choose one for Strength of Lunacy.

Q: If someone attacks me with Taunting Elf and several creatures, I know all of my creatures must block Taunting Elf. But if I have Two-Headed Dragon or another creature that can block an additional creature(s), can I block another creature other than Taunting Elf?

A: Yes. As long as this Two-Headed Dragon blocks the Taunting Elf the block is legal, it will therefore be able to block an additional creature.

Q: With Soldevi Excavations, do I have to sacrifice a basic island or can it a dual land?

A: In order for Soldevi Excavations to enter play you have to sacrifice a land with the subtype of Island, not a necessarily a card with the name of Island. So yes, you can sacrifice an appropriate original dual land.

Q: I have two Leveler and Sutured Ghoul in my graveyard. I play Living Death. Do the Levelers come into play at the same time as the Ghoul, removing my library from the game, or can I choose to bring the Ghoul in first and remove the levelers?

A: You have to deal with Sutured Ghouls' ability before it actually comes into play. This means that you can choose to remove creature card(s) from your graveyard as part of whatever event is putting it into play. However, when you resolve Living Death the first thing you do is remove all creature cards in your graveyard from the game. Then you sacrifice the creatures in play that you control. Finally you put the removed creature cards into play. Because of this these two Leveler will not be in your graveyard, can not be removed and therefore they will enter play. The only creature cards that will be in your graveyard will be those that were just in play and you sacrificed as part of resolving Living Death.