Rules Tip of the Day: You can identify many abilities that generate replacement effects by their use of the word 'instead.'

Q: With Nihilistic Glee, can I activate the Hellbent ability to draw a card, then, in response, activate that ability again (before the first card is drawn)—drawing any number of cards as long as I can pay the cost?

A: Yes, the only limit on when you can play the ability is that you have no cards in hand. So you can respond to the activation of this ability by activating it again and again.

Q: I control a Rakdos Ickspitter and a Kill-Suit Cultist. If I target a creature with the Ickspitter's ability and then respond by sacrificing the Cultist and targeting the same creature, will my opponent lose a point of life?

A: Yes. Kill-Suit Cultist's ability will only replace what happens when a source would deal damage; it does not change anything else about an effect that does more than that. When the Ickspitter's ability resolves, the targeted creature will be destroyed and its controller will lose one life.

Q: Would I be able to use Aquastrand Spider's ability to make it so that a Vigean Hydropon would be able to block? If so, would it be able to block both ground and flying creatures?

A: No. In Magic "can't" always beats "can." So the Hydropon may have the ability to block flying creatures, but it's other ability will still prevent it from blocking at all.

Q: If I cast Demonfire and a friend responds with Counterspell, can I remove my hand with Ignorant Bliss to render my Demonfire uncounterable?

A: Yes, that works. All that matters is that you have no cards in hand when a spell or ability attempts to counter Demonfire. It does not matter how many cards you have in your hand when you play the Demonfire.

Q: When I cast Cytoshape and copy a creature that has a comes-into-play effect, will I get a copy of that effect?

A: No, this creature does not come into play. The creature that is becoming a copy of something else is already in play. Technically it will have that ability, but this ability will not trigger, as it is not coming into play.

Q: On my turn, I tap out to play Debtor's Knell. I already have Yosei, the Morning Star and Miren, the Moaning Well in play. At the beginning of my upkeep, when Debtor's Knell triggers, can I activate Miren's ability, sacrificing Yosei to tap out my opponent, and use the Knell's ability to return the Yosei to play?

A: No, that doesn't work. Debtor's Knell's triggered ability will go on the stack before you can play any spells or abilities, and you need to choose a target for this ability at that time. If there is another copy of Yosei in a graveyard you can target that one, but you cannot target the one in play, as it is not in your graveyard yet.

Q: My opponent has a Jushi Appretice, flipped into a Tomoya the Revealer. I use Eradicate on it. What name does Eradicate look for when searching his hand, graveyard, and library? Jushi or Tomoya??

A: Eradicate instructs you to search for cards that have the same name as the destroyed creature. In this example, the name of the creature that was destroyed by Eradicate was Tomoya the Revealor. However flip cards only have their secondary characteristics when in play and flipped, so you will not be able to find any cards with the name Tomoya the Revealor in this players hand, library or graveyard. Keep in mind that you will still be able to search those zones.

Q: I was playing on Magic Online and I had Homura, Human Ascendant in play, and my opponent enchanted it with Followed Footsteps. At the beginning of my opponent's upkeep, he put a copy of Homura into play. As they are both legends, they both went to the graveyard. However, my Homura came back as a Homura's Essence, while his did not. I thought both of us would get an Essence, and then they would both die, because they are Legendary. Why didn't this happen?

A: Tokens that leave play cease to exist. The token copy of Homurra left play when the Legend rule was applied, but it could not return to play, as it stopped existing just after it hit the graveyard.

Q: If my opponent plays Guilded Drake, and I respond to the comes-into-play ability by gaining control of the Drake with Vedalken Shackles, what will happen?

A: When the Gilded Drake's comes-into-play ability resolves, the exchange cannot happen, as your opponent does not control the Drake any longer. Because of this, he would normally have to sacrifice the Drake. However you can only sacrifice permanents you control, so he cannot sacrifice it. So you will maintain control of the Drake. If the Shackles' control effect were to end, then your opponent would regain control of the Drake, and obviously he wouldn't have to sacrifice it as the Drake's triggered ability has already resolved.