Rules Tip of the Day: In a DCI-sanctioned tournament, you always have the option of appealing a ruling given by a judge to the head judge. Just make sure that you allow the floor judge the chance to give a complete ruling, then tell the judge that you would like to appeal the ruling.
Q: What's the interaction between Plagiarize and Cerebral Vortex? If I target my opponent with both during his/her turn is any damage dealt?
A: Cerebral Vortex deals damage to the targeted player equal to the number of cards that they have actually drawn that turn. If you have "stolen" all of your opponent's draws this turn via Plagiarize, then Cerebral Vortex will not deal any damage to him.
Q: I was wondering if Abyssal Nocturnus's ability is per card, or just once. I.e., if I play Persecute and my opponent discards five cards, does Abyssal Nocturnus get +10/+10, or does it still only get +2/+2?
A: Abyssal Noturnus's ability triggers once for each card discarded. It does not matter that your opponent is discarding five cards at one time, the Nocturnus will trigger a total of five times. In the end, the Nocturnus will get +10/+10.
Q: If I unattach Sunforger and pay the white and red mana to play Boros Fury-Shield, will it block the damage and deal damage?
A: No, you are not paying any mana when you play this Fury-Shield, so you could not have paid red mana. It does not matter that you spent red mana to play the ability that allows you to search for and play Boros Fury-Shield.
Q: If a creature on the defending player's side shows up after Mortipede's activated ability has resolved, will this new creature have to block it?
A: Mortipede's ability creates a blocking restriction that applies to all creatures controlled by the defending player. This effect is applied when blockers are declared, not when the activated ability resolves. It does not matter how long these creatures have been in play.
Q: My opponent has played Erayo, Sorotami Ascendant and two other spells this turn. Now he plays the fourth spell: another Erayo. What happens? Will both of these Erayos go to the graveyard?
A: When this second Erayo is played, the ability of the Erayo in play will trigger and cause it to flip before the Erayo spell on the stack comes into play. When the Erayo spell on the stack resolves, it will enter play as an unflipped Erayo, and remain unflipped until the next time four spells are played in a turn. This is because Erayo's ability only triggers when it is in play and the fourth spell or a turn is played. Neither will go to the graveyard, as these two legendary permanents have different names.
Q: Does Boseiju, Who Shelters All need to be in play when the mana it produces is used in order to make an instant or sorcery uncounterable? For example, I "float" one mana from Boseiju and use mana from other lands to cast Warp World. If I now use that mana originally from Boseiju to cast an instant or sorcery, will it be uncounterable?
A: Yes, this instant or sorcery will be uncounterable. The effect that makes this spell uncounterable is associated with the mana generated by Bosieju and not Bosieju itself, so Boseiju does not need to be in play.
Q: I control two Kjeldoran Royal Guards. Can I use the abilities of each and divide up the combat damage that would be dealt to me between them?
A: No. The ability from each Guard will create a replacement effect. When combat damage resolves, you choose which replacement effect to apply first. When you apply this replacement effect, all combat damage that would be dealt to you will be redirected to the one Guard that generated the effect. At this point, the effect from the other Guard ability will not be applied, as there is not any combat damage that would be dealt to you.
Q: I have a question on Deflection, used against a Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt says "deal three damage to target player" or "deal four damage to target flying creature". Say I target a flying creature and my opponent uses Deflection. Does he get to choose either to do three damage to me directly; or—since I chose to target his flying creature for four damage—can he target anything he wants now for four damage; or does he have to target a flying creature (if this is the case, what happens if no other flying creatures are in play)?
A: Thunderbolt has errata so how it works is a bit different from when it was originally printed in Weatherlight. Thunderbolt is now a modal spell; this meant that when it is played, the controller of Thunderbolt must choose to target a player or a creature with flying. The amount of damage that Thunderbolt will deal is also determined at this time and depends on the chosen mode. This mode can not be changed by spells or abilities. If, after Thunderbolt is played, it is targeted by Deflection then, the controller of the Deflection can only choose to target another player if Thunderbolt was originally played targeting a player. Similarly, he can only choose to target a flying creature if it originally targeted a flying creature.
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