Rules Tip of the Day: A permanent with a protection ability cannot have any other permanents (equipment or enchantments) of the protected quality attached to it.

Q: If Life from the Loam is in my graveyard, can I use the Dredge ability, but instead of drawing the Life from the Loam in the grave, draw from my library as per normal?

A: No, you cannot put cards from your library into your graveyard, but then draw a card as normal. If you mill these cards, you will have to put the Life From the Loam into your hand.

Q: How does Concerted Effort interact with Empty-Shrine Kannushi? Let's say I have Empty-Shrine Kannushi, Boros Recruit, and Concerted Effort. Does the Effort's triggered ability give the Recruit "protection from the colors of permanents you control", or does it give the Recruit "pro White" and "pro Red"?If I play a Dimir House Guard that turn, does the Recruit gain "pro Black" that turn, or does he have to wait for the Effort to trigger again?

Q: Empty-Shrine Kannushi has s static ability that grants itself other protection abilities based on what colored permanents you control. If you control a White and Red permanent, the Kannushi will have protection from White and protection from Red. So when Concerted Effort's ability resolves, your Recruit will gain protection from White and protection from Red. If you gain control of a Dimir House Guard, your Kannushi will get protection from black, but the Recruit will not, until the next time the Concerted Effort's ability resolves.

Q: How does Blood Moon affect the "As ~this~ comes into play..." effect of the rare Ravnica dual lands (Watery Grave, etc.) or other lands with that ability?

A: Those abilities are applied as the land with that ability comes into play, before Blood Moon turns this land into a Mountain. So with respect to the rare Ravnica duals, they will come into play tapped if you do not pay 2 life.

Q: I enchant a Temple Garden with Genju of the Fields and Genju of the Cedars. Then I activate the Genju of the Fields' ability, and attack with this land. If I then activate the Genju of the Cedars' ability, I believe that replaces the old creature with the new and doesn't combine them. Is this correct? Is it just a 4/4 Green Spirit?

A: Sort of. The power and toughness will not be combined in any way, so this animated land will be a 4/4. But it will have the life gaining triggered ability as granted by the Genju of the Fields' ability, as the Genju of the Cedars' ability does not remove this ability.

Q: Why does the triggered ability of Stinkweed Imp work differently from Gaze of the Gorgon? For example, if I block a creature with Stinkweed Imp, put combat damage on the stack, and sacrifice the Imp before combat damage resolves, the blocked creature is not destroyed. But if I block with a creature, play Gaze of the Gorgon on this creature, put combat damage on the stack, and sacrifice the targeted creature before combat damage resolves, the blocked creature is destroyed. Why the inconsistency?

A: The difference is because the ability of Stinkweed Imp is a triggered ability of a permanent, and this permanent—the Imp—must be in play when the trigger condition is met in order for the ability to trigger. It does not matter if combat damage has been placed on the stack, if the Imp is not in play when this damage is dealt, then the ability cannot trigger. Gaze of the Gorgon is different, in that Gaze creates a delayed triggered ability; it is not a triggered ability of a permanent in play. This delayed triggered ability is not granted to the targeted creature. It will trigger even if the targeted creature is not in play when the end of combat step begins.

Q: If Oni Possession is on a creature, do you have to sacrifice during every upkeep, or just the next one?

A: You will have to sacrifice a creature at the beginning of each your upkeeps as long as Oni Possession is in play, not just the upkeep after it enters play.

Q: I had in play my Mephidross Vampire and a Sengir Vampire, and used them to block two attacking creatures. My Sengir Vampire survived and killed the creature he was assigned to block, but my Mephidross Vampire received lethal combat damage. My question, since combat damage is dealt all at once, is the Mephidross Vampire still in play long enough for my Sengir Vampire to get the +1/+1 for dealing damage to the creature he blocked (due to Mephidross's ability), or does he only get the +1/+1 from his own ability (for a creature going into the graveyard the same turn he damaged it)?

A: The Sengir Vampire will get the +1/+1 counter from the the Mephidross Vampire's ability. This is because the Mephidross Vampire is in play when Sengir Vampire deals damage, so that ability will trigger. As your Sengir Vampire dealt lethal damage to the creature it blocked, it will get a counter for its own ability and the one from the ability granted by Mephidross Vampire.

Q: How does Mindslaver work in Two-Headed Giant?

A: The controller of the Mindslaver will be able to make all decisions that the entire team of the targeted player would make. This is because the two players share a turn, so the controller of the Mindslaver will the one making all of the decisions that the opposing team would make.