Rules Tip of the Day: Paying a Morph cost is not playing an activated ability; it is paying a cost to end a continuous effect. Because of this, cards like Damping Matrix will not prevent a face-down creature from being turned face up. It also means that you can pay a Morph cost while a Split Second spell is on the stack.

Q: What is the interaction between Blood Moon and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgoth?

A: Non-basic lands will produce only red mana. Urborg's ability depends on Blood Moon's, since if Blood Moon's ability is applied first, Urborg will no longer have the text that generates the ability. When an effect is dependent on another, the other effect is applied first.

Q: If I have Wild Pair in play, and I play Llanowar Elves, can I search out Allosaurus Rider? My thinking is that the card is not in play, so the 1+* is simply read as 1, with the * being undefined while the card is not in play. Is this correct?

A: Yes, you can do what you describe. Wild Pair's ability has you search for a creature card with the same power and toughness as the creature that just came into play. The power and toughness of Allosaurus Rider in your library is 1/1. Allosaurus Rider's ability that gives it increased power and toughness is only applied when the Rider is in play. You are correct that in any other zone, the P/T of the Rider is treated as 1/1. And it does not matter that when the Rider comes into play, its combined P/T will be greater then the combined P/T of the Llanowar Elf.

Q: I have a Fortune Thief and Jaya Ballard, Task Mage in play and my opponent and I are each below six life. If I activate Jaya's 5RR ability that deals six damage to each creature and player, would I survive it? I realize the Fortune Thief will die, but will it save me before it dies?

A: Yes, you will survive at one life. When Jaya's ability resolves, six points of damage will be dealt to each player and each creature. However, when this damage is dealt, you have a Fortune Thief in play and your life total will be lowered to one. Immediately after Jaya's ability resolves, state-based effects are checked. At this time, each creature with lethal damage will go to the graveyard and each player with a life total of zero or less will lose the game. Your Fortune Thief will go to the graveyard, but when this damage was dealt, it did its job and kept you alive.

Q: My opponent had a Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir in play, and I had an Errant Ephemeron with one time counter and a Jhoira's Timebug. In my main phase I removed the last time counter from the Ephemeron but we were not sure if Teferi's ability would allow it to be played.

A: You will not able to play this Errant Ephemeron spell. When a card become unsuspended, you play it during the resolution of a triggered ability. It does not matter that you are in one of the main phases of your turn; there is still something on the stack at this point—the Suspend triggered ability that is resolving. Because of this, Teferi's ability will prevent you from playing this spell.

Q: I have a Wall of Roots in play with one -0/-1 counter on it. I also have Gaea's Anthem in play. My opponent then casts Ovinize on my Wall of Roots. Does the Wall of Roots die because of the -0/-1 counter, or does Gaea's Anthem save it?

A: Your Wall of Roots will not go to the graveyard. Before Ovinize resolves, this Wall of Roots is a 1/5 creature. You start with its printed P/T of 0/5, subtract 0/-1 for the counter on it (Layer 6c) and then add +1/+1 (Layer 6d). (For more information on how continuous effects interact, go to section 418.5 of the comprehensive rules) After Ovinize resolves, you add the effect from it that is applied before both the counter and the effect from Gaea's Anthem. So you will start with a 0/5, reset is P/T to 0/1 (Layer 6b), subtract -0/-1 (layer 6c) and finally add +1/+1 from the Anthem (Layer 6d). It does not matter that in the midst of calculating these effects that the toughness of the Wall is below zero. State-based effects are checked once all continuous effects have been applied. So in the end you will have a 1/1 Wall of Roots.

Q: In a multi-player game, I have Lich in play, and I cast Donate to give an opponent my Lich. I think I will die as soon as I cast the spell, since Lich will no longer be protecting me from having zero life. The dispute is whether the Lich will make it to my opponent, and whether he gets the Lich only because Donate has successfully resolved. Essentially, I have zero life and die, but he now has Lich and is at zero life: do I die before or after my opponent gets Lich. If Lich does goes to my opponent, then he will die because since I die all my cards leave play, which includes my Lich, thus killing him.

A: First of all, you won't die as soon as you play Donate; you will lose the game after Donate resolves and state-based effects are checked. But your opponent will gain control of Lich for a short time. Here is how it works. When Donate resolves, your opponent will gain control of the Lich. After Donate resolves, state-based effects will be checked. At this time, you have a life total of zero and the effect from Lich is not saving you, so you will lose the game. As you are leaving the game, all objects owned by you will also leave the game. This means that the Lich will leave the game. When it does, its last ability will trigger. Your opponent is the controller of this triggered ability so it will go on the stack. When this triggered ability resolves, the player who received the Lich will lose the game.

Q: If you are playing in a Two-Headed Giant game and you play False Cure and then Beacon of Immortality on the other team, is that an instant kill?

A: No. First of all, Beacon of Immortality only targets one player; it does not target a team. In 2HG, an individual player's life total is equal to 1/2 of the team's total, rounded up. So this team will gain 1/2 of their life total, rounded up, not the amount of the team's entire life total. In the end, after the False Cure delayed triggered ability resolves, that team will lose 1/2 of their life total.