Rules Tip of the Day: If a targeted triggered ability triggers and there is not a legal target to choose, the ability will leave the stack without doing anything.

Q: When playing Pithing Needle and naming Arashi, the Sky Asunder, Juwari, the Earth Aflame, Ghostlit Raider, etc. does it stop the Channel ability from being played out of a persons hand?

A: Yes, the Channel ability is an activated ability and this ability of the named card cannot be played.

Q: I'm playing Green/Red and my opponent is playing Erayo Affinity. During my turn, I play Naturalize targeting his Myr Enforcer. I pass priority and he plays Mana Leak. I allow the Naturalize to be countered. Then I play Threaten targeting Erayo, Soratmi Ascendent. The Threaten resolves, and I play Naturalize again targeting his Enforcer. Since that was spell #4 Erayo will flip, but who controls Erayo's Essence? Does that change at end of turn?

A: When Erayo, Soratami Ascendent flips and becomes the Legendary enchantment Erayo's Essence, you will control it, because flipping will not cause you to lose control of it. (And because your opponent has already played a spell that turn, its ability will not do anything during this turn.) However the control effect from Threaten will end when the current turn ends, so you will lose control of Erayo's Essence at that point. Flipping while under your control also does not mean that you will not keep control of it.

Q: If I my opponent has Horobi, Death's Wail in play and I play Clone targeting it, do I get to keep my Clone, and will it be a 4/4 flier?

A: Clone does not target. When it comes into play you choose a creature in play to copy. This does not target the creature that you are copying. Because of this your Clone will come into play as a exact copy of Horobi. Then both will go to the graveyard due to the fact that these two permanents are Legendary and have the same name.

Q: How do the cards Goblin Lore and Uba Mask work? The random discarding of cards, do they come immediately after the drawing or because of the Uba Mask can you play all the cards you can and then discard 3 random cards if you have that many in your hand.

A: You discard immediately after you draw the four cards as this is all part of one spell resolving. Keep in mind that due to the Uba Mask, when Goblin Lore resolves you will remove cards in your library from the game instead of drawing them, so you won't actually draw any cards. And you will still have to discard three cards when you complete the resolution of Goblin Lore even though you did not actually draw any. If there are not any cards in your hand, you won't have to discard any. However, if you have three or less cards in your hand, you will have to discard them all.

Q: If my opponent plays Devouring Greed and targets me, can I use Sideswipe to cause him to lose life, and me to gain it? Basically, is it a target where Devouring Greed says "you"?

A: The word "you" does not denote targeting at all. Sideswipe allows you to change the target of the Devouring Greed, it does not make you the controller of the Devouring Greed. If you change the target of this spell so it targets your opponent, then he will lose life and then regain it. Your life total will not be affected at all.

Q: Would I be able to imprint a card from my hand onto Isochron Scepter that came into play from my graveyard via a Goblin Welder?

A: Yes. When Isochron Scepter comes into play by any means, its comes into play ability will trigger. When this ability resolves, you can choose an appropriate instant in your hand to imprint on the Scepter.

Q: If Stabwhisker the Odious is removed by Otherworldly Journey does it come back as Stabwhisker or Shortfang?

A: It will return to play as Nezumi Shortfang. When a card leaves play and then later returns it is treated as a new object with no connection to its prior existence.

Q: If I use Sensei Golden-Tail to put a training counter on a Sliver, do all Slivers now have Bushido of just the one I put the counter on?

A: Only the Sliver that was targeted by Sensei Golden-Tail's ability will have Bushido. Slivers from a flavor standpoint do share their abilities, but from a rules standpoint they only share the abilities that specifically state that they are given to other Slivers in play.

Q: I'm playing a Two-Headed Giant match. One of the players on the opposing team has Sun Droplet in play. I attack this team with a 3/3 creature. The opposing team has no blockers. How many counters are then put on the Sun Droplet?

A: Either zero or three, it's up to you. When you assign combat damage from an unblocked creature in a Two-Headed Giant game you can choose which player / head to assign this combat damage to. If you do not want the Sun Droplet to get any counters, you can assign the combat damage from this creature to the player without the Sun Droplet. If for some reason you do want the Sun Droplet to get counters, you can assign this combat damage to the player that controls it.