Rules Tip of the Day: Some spells and abilities have a player other than the spell's (or ability's) controller choose one or more targets. Even though a player other the controller is doing this, these targets are still chosen when the spell or ability is played.

Q: If you have Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, and you Swampcycle a Twisted Abomination, can you search your deck for any land?

A: No. The effect from Urborg only applies to lands that are in play. Land cards in other zones will not have the subtype Swamp unless they normally have that subtype.

Q: Can I play an Extirpate if there's already a Chalice of the Void with one counter in play, since Extirpate has Split Second?

A: You can play it, but it will be countered. Split Second prevents spells and abilities from being played while the Split Second spell is on the stack, but triggered abilities will still trigger and go on the stack. This Extirpate will still become countered by Chalice of the Void's ability.

Q: Can you redirect the "destroy target land" part of an Avalanche Riders with Imp's Mischief?

A: No. Imp's Mischief can only change the target of a spell, it cannot change the target of an ability.

Q: I have Hivestone, Psionic Sliver, Mycologist, and a Saproling. I tap the Saproling to deal two damage to a target and three damage to itself. Can I sacrifice the Saproling with Mycologist before it destroys itself with its Psionic Sliver power, but after it deals two damage to any target?

A: No. But you can tap the Saproling to activate this ability and then sacrifice it to activate the Mycologist's ability. When the Psionic ability resolves, two damage will be dealt to the targeted creature or player, and as the Saproling will no longer be in play, it can't have any damage dealt to it.

Q: My opponent attacks with Gorgon Recluse, and I block with my Akroma, Angel of Wrath. Who dies? Both? Only the Gorgon?

A: Assuming that nothing else is played, both the Akroma and the Gorgon Recluse will end up going to the graveyard. The Recluse will receive lethal damage in the First Strike combat damage step. Then the Akroma will be destroyed in the end of combat step when the Recluse's delayed triggered ability resolves. It does not matter that this Akroma has protection from black; the Recluse's ability triggered when it was blocked and does not target the blocking creature.

Q: If I have Saffi Eriksdotter and Orzhov Pontiff in play, and I block my opponent's 3/3 with both, could I stack the damage and sack the Eriksdotter to allow the Pontiff to come back into play before his Haunt goes on the stack?

A: No. When combat damage is dealt, the Pontiff will go to the graveyard. At this point, the delayed triggered ability from Saffi's ability and the Haunt triggered ability will go on the stack. As the controller of these two abilities, you can determine the order that they go on the stack and, therefore, the order that they resolve in. To hve the Pontiff enter play instead of being removed from the game, you'll want to put Saffi's triggered ability on the stack last.

Q: I read somewhere that Pull from Eternity can effectively counter a Madness card while it is removed from game from being discarded but before it can be played. Is this true? If so, how does it work?

A: Yes, that is possible. When you discard a Madness card, you can choose to have it be removed from the game. If you do, then the Madness ability will trigger. It is when this trigger resolves that you can play the Madness spell. However, if the Madness card leaves the removed from game zone before the Madness trigger resolves, then it cannot be played.

Q: There is a 6/6 creature with 3 damage on it. I give it -3/-0 and use Merfolk Thaumaturgist's ability on it. What happens?

A: When everything resolves, this will be a 6/3 creature with 3 damage on it, so it will go to the graveyard.

Q: I have a Wall of Roots with four -0/-1 counters on it, so it is a 0/1. Can I use its mana ability and tap the Wall to lower the cost of a Convoke spell?

A: Yes. State-based effects are not checked until after the announcement of this spell has been completed. The Wall's toughness may become zero as you play the Convoke spell, but the Wall will remain in play long enough for you to tap it to lower the cost of this spell.

Q: With the card Consume Strength, if there's only one 2/2 creature in play, can I stack the abilities so the creature gets -2/-2 and dies, before it gets the +2/+2?

A: No, in fact what you want to do is not possiblei, because you cannot play Consume Strength unless there are two creatures to target. Consume Strength specifically says that one target creature gets +2/+2 and "another target creature gets -2/-2." So you cannot target this one creature with Consume Strength.