Rules Tip of the Day: Paying a Morph cost is not playing an activated ability, it is paying a cost to end a continuous effect. Because of this, Damping Matrix and Pithing Needle will not prevent a facedown creature from being turned face up by paying the Morph cost.

Q: Does Spectral Searchlight target? If I have an Ivory Mask in play, can I still produce mana for myself with it?

A: Spectral Searchlight does not target anyone; you can use it to generate mana for your own mana pool even if you can not be targeted. When you play the ability, you choose a player—without targeting them—and that player gets one mana of his or her choice.

Q: Will a Pithing Needle stop Terrarion? It says it produces mana, but it also says draw a card. Or is the draw ability totally seperate from the producing mana?

A: Terrarion only has one activated ability. This ability is a mana ability; it does not matter that you draw a card when this ability resolves. The use of this ability will not be stopped by Pithing Needle.

Q: I know that guild mana isn't like half a mana of each type, so what happens if I flip over a Boros Guildmage with a Charmed Pendant? Would I get no mana, my choice of colors, or something else?

A: For each of the hybrid mana symbols in the cost of revealed card you can choose mana of one color or the other. In your example you can add either RW, WW, or RR to your mana pool.

Q: If I play Master Warcraft, and then attack, can I choose not to block any of my creatures with my opponent's creatures? Or do I have to choose to have each of my opponent's creatures block at least one attacking creature?

A: As you choose how creatures block this turn, you can choose to have your attacking creatures go unblocked.

Q: If Hunted Horror is blocked by one 3/3 green Centaur creature token, with protection from black, can I play Gaze of the Gorgon to destroy the token if there is insufficient damage for Hunted Horror to require regeneration?

A: It does not matter that the Hunted Horror will not receive enough damage to require regenerating, you can still play Gaze of the Gorgon and the blocking 3/3 will be destroyed by this delayed triggered ability.

Q: I attack with the 7/7 trample Hunted Horror and my opponent blocks with a 3/3 protection from black creature. Then with damage on the stack, I cast Fiery Conclusion, sacrificing my Haunted Horror to deal 5 damage to the 3/3 creature. Would the 5 damage from the Firey Conclusion resolve, allowing 7 trample damage to be dealt to the player, or would I first have to assign 3 to the creature and 4 to the player before the 5 resolves?

A: Combat damage resolves as originally assigned when placed on the stack. In this example combat damage was placed on the stack, and I assume that three points was assigned to the blocking creature and the remaining four to the defending player. Because of this the defending player will only receive 4 point of damage.

Q: My opponent attacked me with Bramble Elemental. I blocked it with my Elves of Deep Shadow. Then I played Gaze of the Gorgon, targeting my Elf. In response my opponent cast Gaze of the Gorgon, targeting his creature. What happens?

A: When combat damage is dealt, your Elves of Deep shadow will receive lethal damage and will be destroyed. The regeneration effect from your Gaze of the Gorgon will cause the Elf to regenerate and remain in play. At the end of combat the delayed triggered abilities from each copy of Gaze of the Gorgon will go on the stack. Your opponent's Bramble Elemental will regenerate at this point as the regeneration shield has not been used yet. Your Elves of Deep Shadow will be destroyed again, and, as the regeneration shield has been used, it will not be saved this time and it will go to the graveyard.

Q: I was in a Two-Headed Giant game this past Friday and my teammate played Cabal Conditioning on our opponents. Someone on the other team played Shunt and swore that it deflected one of the targets back to my team. Can he play Shunt on Cabal Conditioning if that card had more than one target? I'd say Shunt would be countered because that card only works on a single spell with a single target. Cabal Conditioning has more than one target in this case. Who's right?

A: No one is 100% correct in this situation. The opposing team cannot play Shunt and target this Cabal Condition as it has more than one target. However, this Shunt will not be countered on resolution; it was illegally played in the first place. Because of this you will back up to just before the Shunt was played and the Shunt will be returned to the hand of whoever played it.