Rules Tip of the Day: Attacking creatures with protection from a quality cannot be blocked by creatures that have that quality.

Q: I use Isochron Scepter's ability with an instant imprinted that has a converted mana cost of 2. My opponent has Thought Prison in play and it's imprinted card has a converted mana cost of 2. Do I take 2 damage? Since I am not paying the casting cost, is the casting cost then considered 0 or "nothing", rather than what the card actually says?

A: If you choose to do so, you will end up playing the copy of the card created by Isochron Scepter's ability. You may not pay the mana cost of this copy card, but you are still playing it, and it will have the same converted mana cost as if you did pay the cost. Because of this, Thought Prison's ability will trigger, as it has a card with the converted mana cost of 2 imprinted on it.

Q: Can Spawnbroker be played and then targeted by its own coming into play ability to exchange itself with another creature?

A: Yes. When Spawnbroker's triggered ability goes on the stack and you need to choose targets for its ability, it will be in play, and a potential legal target.

Q: Is Spectral Searchlight's ability solely a mana ability? Can it be used under Damping Matrix or Faith's Fetters?

A: Yes, which player ends up receiving mana is variable, but it is still a mana ability. This means that it can be used if the Searchlight is enchanted by Faith's Fetters, or if a Damping Matrix is in play.

Q: I understand how you may play Copy Enchantment, copy a Dream Leash, and play it on any permanent, whether it is tapped or not. Does this same philosophy work with other restricted Auras, like Threads of Disloyalty?

A: No. The restriction that it only be played targeting a tapped permanent is a restriction on how it is played; it does not affect what it can be attached to once in play. Threads of Disloyalty can only ever be attached to a creature with the converted mana cost of 2 or less. Even if you manage to make it comes into play without being played, or make a copy of one, you can not attach it to a creature with a converted mana cost of 3 or more.

Q: I'm still confused on the casting cost of split cards. If I reveal a split card—say, Fire / Ice—with Dark Confidant's ability, will I lose four life or two?

A: You'll lose four life. Split cards have two mana costs. When the game needs to know the characteristics of a split card, two answers will be given. What this means depends on how the effect that asks about the mana cost is worded. If an effects asks what the mana cost of a card is, it will get both answers and use both numbers. Dark Confidant's ability is like this; in the example given, when Fire / Ice is revealed, it will get the answer of "Two and two." So you'll lose two life and two life, for a total of four life.

Other effects try to see if the characteristics of a card matches a chosen number, color, or quality. In these examples the effect will check to see if either of the two answers given is a match.

Q: Are you able to Splice Arcane spells onto spells with the same name? For example, Goryo's Vengeance onto Goryo's Vengeance. My friend tells me otherwise.

A: Yes, you can do that. There is nothing to prevent you from doing that, as there is no rule that says you can't.

Q: I have a general question about Altar of Dementia. Can I pump a creature—say Shivan Dragon—to increase the number of cards a targeted player would have to remove from their library, or would the targeted player lose five cards from their library, regardless of how much I pump the creature before I sacrifice it?

A: What you want to do works. Altar of Dementia's ability will use the last known information regarding the sacrificed creature when determining how many cards the targeted player will mill. If you increased the power of this creature before you sacrificed it, then the game will use the increased power as the basis for the count.

Q: If my opponent has Pattern of Rebirth on his creature and I take control of this creature and sacrifice it, who gets to use the ability?

A: You will. Pattern of Rebirth refers to the controller of the enchanted creature. As you controlled this creature when it went to the graveyard, this triggered ability refers to you. It does not matter that your opponent controlled the Pattern of Rebirth or its triggered ability.

Q: Can you Stifle Phasing? For example, say you have a Rainbow Efreet phased out. When it is about to phase in, can your opponent cast Stifle on the creature, so it doesn't come back into play? If so, will the creature be permanently in the Phased-out zone, or will it come back into play the next turn?

A: No, you can't do that. The phasing in and out of permanents that occurs at the beginning of an untap step is a game action. It does not use the stack, and it cannot be responded to.