Rules Tip of the Day: The converted mana cost is the total number of mana in the upper right corner of a card, regardless of what is actually spent to play the spell.
Q: Can you discard a Crime/Punishment to fully pay for a Soul Spike?
A: No, you are only discarding one card. It does not matter that you are discarding a card that has black mana in its two separate mana costs; it is still only a single black card.
Q: Can I use Sakura Tribe-Elder to fetch a Snow-Covered Forest, or can I only fetch those with Into the North?
A: A Snow-Covered Forest is still a basic land, and it can be found when resolving Sakura Tribe-Elder's ability or anything else that allows you to search for a basic land, like Rampant Growth.
Q: I have a question regarding Court Hussar. I know that you cannot sacrifice something to two different effects, but if I do not pay the white to keep him around can I still sac him to Lyzolda, the Blood Witch while the ability is on the stack, or is this a state-based thing that makes him instantly go to the graveyard?
A: You do not sacrifice Court Hussar until the appropriate comes-into-play triggered ability resolves. You don't sacrifice it due to a state-based effect. So you can play the Hussar without white mana, and then sacrifice it to pay some cost before you have to sacrifice it due to not paying white mana. However, sacrificing it to Lyzolda will not do anything other than cause you to spend two mana, unless you can find a way to change its color before you sacrifice it.
Q: If I have control of both Leyline of the Void and an Endless Whispers, what happens? Also, if I control one, but not the other, what happens?
A: Cards owned by your opponent that would go to the graveyard will be removed from the game. However, cards owned by you will go to your graveyard as usual, so any creatures that you own that go to the graveyard will go to your graveyard, and then they will be returned to play by Endless Whispers.
Q: Bloodthirst's wording says, "If an opponent was dealt damage..." If I were to use Breath of Darigaaz in a free-for-all game with three other players, then cast Gristleback, would it come into play with three +1/+1 counters?
A: The Bloodthirst ability only cares that an opponent has received damage this turn. It does not matter if one opponent or more than one opponent has received damage. The number of damaged opponents does not increase the number of counters that the Bloodthirst creature receives. The Gristleback will only get a single +1/+1 counter.
Q: I create a Doomsday stack with the following: (From the top) Ancestral Recall, Black Lotus, Dark Ritual, Mind's Desire, Research/Development. I have the necessary mana, cast Ancestral, play the Lotus and the Dark Ritual, and use the other mana to cast Mind's Desire with a Storm count of three. Will I get to use the Research to bring more cards into my library to reveal via the Mind's Desire copies?
A: Yes. When the Storm triggered ability of Mind's Desire resolves, the appropriate number of copies of Mind's Desire will go on the stack. You can allow the first to resolve, remove the top card of your library and play this card before the other copies resolve. As this card is Research/Development, you can shuffle four card that have been removed from the game into your currently empty library.
Q: When Arcbound Crusher comes into play and there is a Genesis Chamber in play, does the token that is created by the Crusher put a 1/1 counter on the Crusher?
A: Yes. When Arcbound Crusher comes into play, Genesis Chamber's ability will trigger. When this triggered ability resolves and a 1/1 Myr put into play, the ability of Arcbound Crusher will trigger. Then, when this triggered ability resolves, the Crusher will get an additional +1/+1 counter.
Q: I control an Ivory Tower and Searing Mediation. If I have four or less cards in my hand, will Searing Mediation trigger? Basically, does Ivory Tower's ability cause me to gain life for the purpose of triggered abilities, even if the amount gained is zero?
A: If you do not gain any life, then the ability of Searing Meditation will not trigger. Searing Mediation's ability does not trigger when an effect merely has the potential to cause you to gain life; it triggers when your life total actually increases.
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