Rules Tip of the Day: Know your state-based effects—When state-based effects are checked, tokens that are in any zone other than in play will cease to exist. The important thing to keep in mind here is that tokens do indeed leave play and do arrive in other zones. This will trigger all appropriate abilities.

Q: If I have a Leyline of Lifeforce out and I play Loxodon Hierarch, does my opponent get +1/+1 counters on his Draining Whelk?

A: Yes. Draining Whelk's ability will put the appropriate number of +1/+1 counters on it, even if the spell targeted by its comes-into-play ability was not actually countered.

Q: With Arena or Magus of the Arena in Two-Headed Giant, does the phrase "target creature of an opponent's choice" affect one "head" of your choice, or both?

A: Just one. When you play the ability of Arena or Magus of the Arena, you choose one of the two opposing heads, and that chosen player will then choose a target creature they control.

Q: I'm playing Wild Pair Slivers. I have a Wild Pair in play and I play a Dormant Sliver. I put the Dormant Sliver's ability on the stack first and the Wild Pair ability on top of that. When Wild Pair's ability resolves, I search for another Dormant Sliver. So here's the part where my opponent and I had a problem. I said I would draw two cards for each Sliver: I had two Dormant, so I'll draw two cards, for a total of four cards. But my opponent said I would have to draw one card from Dormant Sliver #1, and two cards from Dormant Sliver #2. So who's right?

A: Your opponent is correct. When the initial Dormant Sliver came into play, it was the only Dormant Sliver, so it only had the "draw a card" triggered ability once; only this single ability can trigger. It does not matter that before this triggered ability resolves, a second Dormant Sliver enters play.

Q: While building my Stuffy Doll deck I came on this great idea: enchant Stuffy Doll with Spirit Loop, then cast Volcano Hellion and target the Doll with its ability for a ton of damage—say 300. It does 300 damage to me and the Doll. So it deals 300 damage to my opponent, killing them. Hellion also does 300 damage to me, but with Spirit Loop, will I gain all the life back?

A: This combo does not work as you want it to. Stuffy Doll and Spirit Loop both have triggered abilities that use the stack. When Volcano Hellion's ability resolves, you can choose to have it deal 300 damage to you and your Stuffy Doll. This will cause Stuffy Doll's ability to trigger. However, before this triggered ability can go on the stack, state-based effects are checked. Assuming that you did not have a life total over 300 when you played the Hellion, you will lose the game at this point. This is before Stuffy Doll's ability can deal any damage to your opponent. And even if Stuffy Doll's ability somehow dealt damage to your opponent at the same time that you received damage, you wouldn't gain any life until Spirit Loop's ability resolved. If this were the case, then the game would end up in a draw.

Q: Does removing a graveyard with Tormod's Crypt affect the extra mana that has to be paid to a Rune Snag which is already on the stack? For example, my opponent plays a spell, I cast Rune Snag (my third). In response, he removes my graveyard from the game. What happens?

A: Yes, it does affect what has to be paid. You do not calculate how much mana the controller of the targeted spell has to pay until Rune Snag resolves. If some Rune Snags have been removed or added to a graveyard since this Rune Snag has been played, but before it has resolved, then the amount of mana that needs to be paid will change. In the example given, this player will only have to pay two mana in order to prevent his spell from being countered.

Q: I have Dimir Doppelganger in play. I attack with it. My opponent blocks. I then change the Doppelganger to a Vigean Hydropon for the increased defense. Since it was attacking before it had the "~this~ can't attack or block" ability, is it still technically attacking, and will it deal damage to the blocking creature, or is it automatically removed from combat?

A: Yes, this creatures is still attacking, but only for a very brief moment. Vigean Hydropon has a printed (which is to say: copiable) power and toughness of 0/0. If you turn a Dimir Doppelganger into a copy of a Hydropon, then the Doppelganger will be a 0/0. This Doppelganger will go to the graveyard, since it has zero toughness. However, if there is some other effect that boosts the toughness of the Doppelganger, it will remain in play as an attacker. This is because the Vigean Hydropon's ability only prevents it from being declared as an attacker or blocker. If a creature is attacking or blocking and then gains the ability that says that it cannot attack or block, it will not be removed from combat.

Q: Can Colossus of Sardia be untapped by Instill Energy without paying the untap cost of the Colossus?

A: Yes it can. Instill Energy has an activated ability that allows you to untap the enchanted creature once during your turn. This ability does not interact with either of Colossus of Sardia's two abilities. The Colossus may not untap as normal in the untap step and it has another built in triggered ability that allows you to pay a lot of mana to untap it, but that does not prevent you from using Instill Energy to do so.

Q: During a sanctioned tournament, can a player use a piece of paper during sideboarding, to remind them of their sideboarding plan for a given matchup?

A: No, that is using outside notes, and it is a form of cheating. The reason that notes that you write to yourself are considered outside notes is that there is no way to verify that you did in fact write these notes. If we allowed players to bring in notes on how to sideboard and deal with certain matchups, there would be no way to adequately prove that they were your notes and not just a piece of paper that was handed to you by a friend. So, using any notes from outside a match is treated the same as when a player outside of the game tells you how to play.