Rules Tip of the Day: This really isn't a rules tip. This weekend is the Guildpact Prerelease. Go, prereleases are always fun.

Q: To whom does the 'your' in Mark of Eviction's text refer? The player who cast the Mark, or the player whose creature is Marked?

A: It refers to the controller of the Mark of Eviction, not the controller of the enchanted creature. So unless you find a way to put the Mark into play during your opponent's turn, your opponent (assuming you cast it on an opponent's creature) will have control of the enchanted creature during his next turn. Then, at the beginning of your next turn, the Mark and the enchanted creature will be returned to their owners' hands.

Q: Can I sacrifice my Shambling Shell even if there are no other creatures in play, in order to avoid it being removed from the game by a removal spell like Swords to Plowshares?

A: You cannot play a targeted spell or ability if there isn't a legal target to choose. However, you can target the Shell with its own ability.

Q: If I play Imaginary Pet and Bottled Cloister, will my Pet stay in play? Would the Bottled Cloister cause me to have no cards in hand, allowing the Pet to stay in play, before all my cards are returned?

A: Yes, that works. Because you do not have any cards in hand, at the beginning of your upkeep, Imaginary Pet's ability will not trigger. It does not matter that later in the upkeep step, the cards that were removed from the game by the Cloister will return to your hand; at that point, it is too late for the Pet's ability to trigger.

Q: If I have a Rootwater Shaman in play, and I play an Armor of Thorns at instant speed, does it still gain Substance? If so, does it still lose Substance at end of turn? It seems like the "If it was played any time a sorcery couldn't have been played" clause would give it Substance and then take it away, regardless of when I may play the enchantment itself. Is this correct?

A: You are correct. The "insta-ments" from Mirage block will gain the Substance quality regardless of what allowed you to be play them whenever you could play an instant. (For those of you scratching your heads, these instant enchantments from Mirage block have modified Oracle text. They still work the same, but the mechanic used to explain how they work has been altered.)

Q: I was at a recent tournament, when my opponent played an Isochron Scepter and imprinted Power Sink. I'm sure that X is always zero off of a Scepter, so him trying to counter my Lava Axe doesn't work. However, he and a friend said he would sink my mana anyway. Who's right?

A: You are correct. Power Sink only causes you to tap your lands if you do not pay the value of X. As you pointed out the value of X in this instance is zero,as he cannot choose a value when playing this copy. So you can choose to pay this zero mana each time he makes a copy of Power Sink.

Q: My opponent has a Black Vise out and I control Memnarch. If I took control of the Black Vise, would the target player change, stay me, or would there be no target. I ask this because it says "target opponent" and if I control it I'm not an opponent.

A: The current Oracle text for Black Vise is a little different from the actual card you are looking at. The ability does not target at all, but the controller of the Vise must choose an opponent when it comes into play. Because of this, you will still be the player affected by the Vise's ability. When the Vise came into play your opponent choose an opponent—you. The triggered ability refers to this chosen player; it does not matter that the controller of the Vise and the triggered ability is now the chosen player.

Q: If I have a 1/1 Terravore in play and I cast Wildfire, would the Terravore die, or become a 9/9 with 4 damage on him?

A: Assuming both you and your opponent sacrifice four lands then it will survive as a 9/9 creature. This is because state-based effects will not be checked until after the Wildfire has completely resolved.

Q: What happens when Szadek, Lord of Secrets attacks in a Two-Headed Giant game? Which one of the two opponents loses library cards? Or are both affected?

A: As the controller of this attacking Szadek, you choose to assign its combat damage to one of the two opposing players. Then, when combat damage resolves, this player will "mill" cards from his library instead of taking damage, and Szadek will get that many +1/+1 counters. The other player on this team will be unaffected.

Q: How is Ghostly Prison's effect correctly applied in Two-Headed Giant?

A: In a Two-Headed Giant game, you do not attack individuals, but a team. Because of this, in order for a creature controlled by either player on the opposing team to attack your team, its controller must pay 2 mana.