Rules Tip of the Day: Effects that lower the cost of a spell lower the total cost. Included in the total cost of a spell is the base mana cost, the variable cost of X, and additional costs like Kicker, Splice and Replicate.

Q: If a player plays Pyroclasm with a Pride of the Clouds and three Lantern Kami in play, would the Pride of the Clouds survive? I know that damage only wears off during the cleanup step; does this matter? Would the 2 damage 'stick' to the Pride of the Clouds after it becomes a 1/1, thereby killing it?

A: The Pride will not survive in this situation. After Pyroclasm resolves, state-based effects are checked, and the Lantern Kami will go to the graveyard. Then—because something happened when state-based effects were checked—they are checked again. At this point, the Pride of the Clods will be a 1/1 with 2 points of damage on it, so it will go to the graveyard.

Q: I have a Voice of All with protection from black in play. If my opponent attacks with Stinkweed Imp, and I block with my Voice of All, and he plays Gaze of the Gorgon, does my Angel get destroyed?

A: Yes. Gaze of the Gorgon does not target the creature that would be destroyed, and it's effect does not depend on the targeted creature dealing combat damage. Your Voice of All will be destroyed by Gaze of the Grogon's delayed triggered ability.

Because the Angel has protection from black, it will not receive combat damage from the Imp, so the Imp's ability will not trigger. But that is not what destroys the Voice of All in this situation.

Q: You have Grand Arbiter Augustin IV in play and you play Plaxmanta. Can you still pay G, so that Plaxmanta will remain after resolving? Or does the Grand Arbiter not allow this, since blue spells cost one colorless mana less?

A: In this example, the total cost of the Plaxmanta will be U, due to the cost lowering effect of the Grand Arbiter. You are not given the option of paying more mana just so you can spend green mana. So you will end up having to sacrifice Plaxmanta.

Q: I have Lyzolda, the Blood Witch and Balthor the Defiled in play. I remove Balthor from the game to pay for its ability and return all the red and black creature cards in my graveyard to play. Among others, I put into play another Lyzoda and a Stalking Vengeance. When the Lyzodas are put into the graveyard by the legendary rule, does the ability trigger for the Stalking Vengeance even though it is also coming into play?

A: Yes. After Balthor's ability has resolved, state-based effects are checked and both Lyzoldas will go to the graveyard. The Stalking Vengeance has been in play since Balthor's ability resolved, so its ability will trigger twice, once for each Lyzolda.

Q: I have Crown Of Convergence in play, a Yore-Tiller Nephilim face up on my library, and another one in play. Does the Crown give the Yore-Tiller in play +4/+4 or just +1/+1?

A: The Nephilim in play will only get +1/+1. Crown of Convergence's ability can only give an individual creature +1/+1. This is because the Crown's ability gives a bonus to any creature that you control that shares a color with the revealed creature card. It does not matter if a creature in play shares more than one color, only that it shares at least one.

Q: At a recent event, my opponent attacked with two Loxodon Hierarchs while I was at five life. I blocked with a Frenzied Goblin and damage was stacked. My opponent played Shining Shoal with X = 1, choosing my Goblin as the source, and me as the target. In response, I played Bathe in Light targeting the blocked 4/4 and giving it protection from red. Does the damage get reduced to zero as a result of protection before redirection? This was not ruled in my favor and the game was hinged on that ruling.

A: The ruling given was correct. When combat damage goes to resolve in this situation, there are two different prevention and replacement effects that are trying to affect the damage that would be dealt to the blocked Loxodon Hierarch. Whenever something like this happens, the controller of the affected permanent or the affected player can choose which effect to apply first. The other is then applied, if it is still applicable. I assume that your opponent chose to have the replacement effect from the Shining Shoal applied and had the damage from the blocking Goblin redirected to you before the protection ability prevented this damage.

Q: In a Two-Headed Giant game, I control a Seedborn Muse. How many times does Seedborn Muse trigger on the opposing team's untap step? Once? Twice? Does it also trigger on my teammate's untap step, as my teammate is another player?

A: Seedborn Muse does not have a triggered ability, it has a static ability. So there is nothing to trigger. This static ability alters what happens in the untap step of another player. When the opposing team untaps their permanents, you will untap yours. And as you and your teammate share an untap step, Seedborn Muse's ability doesn't really do anything at that time.