Rules Tip of the Day: Know your state-based effects—Copies of spells that end up in any zone other than the stack will cease to exist. This state-based effect is similar to the one that causes tokens to cease to exist, though copies of spells are not represented by anything physical.

Q: Do face-down creatures have abilities, or will they be pumped by Muraganda Petroglyphs?

A: Face-down creatures do not have intrinsic abilities. The Morph effect is applied to them, but this is not an ability. Unless there is some other effect that is giving creatures in play an ability, face-down creatures will get +2/+2 from Muraganda Petroglyphs' ability.

Q: If I have Dralnu, Lich Lord in play and a Commandeer in the graveyard, can I activate Dralnu's ability, targeting the Commandeer, and then remove two blue cards to play the spell from the graveyard?

A: No. Dralnu gives the card in a graveyard a Flashback cost equal to its mana cost. You can play this card in your graveyard by paying this Flashback cost; you are not given the option of paying any other alternate play costs that you could have normally used when this card was in your hand.

Q: What happens when I play Dragonstorm and there is an Eye of the Storm in play?

A: When you play Dragonstorm, its Storm ability will trigger and Eye of the Storm's ability will trigger. The order that these triggers go on the stack doesn't really matter. When the Storm trigger resolves, you will put a copy of Dragonstorm on the stack for each spell that was played before the original Dragonstorm was played. Putting these copies on the stack will not trigger Eye of the Storm. When the Eye of the Storm's triggered ability resolves, you will counter the original Dragonstorm ability on the stack and remove it from the game. You will then be able to play all of the cards that have been removed from the game by Eye of the Storm. When you play the removed Dragonstorm card its Storm ability will trigger. If you play this removed Dragonstorm last, then the new storm count will include the initial Dragonstorm and all of the other instants and sorceries that you have just played when the Eye of the Storm ability resolved.

Q: I was wondering how Paradox Haze interacts with Echo costs, and whether the enchanted player would have to pay the Echo cost twice, once for each upkeep he/she would have?

A: You will not have to pay the Echo cost multiple times for each upkeep step in order to keep the Echo permanent in play. The Echo ability only triggers if the permanent with Echo was not in play since the beginning of your last upkeep. If you have multiple upkeep steps in a turn, then the Echo ability of a permanent will only trigger in one, if this permanent was not in play when the last upkeep step began.

Q: I was wondering if I can sacrifice a Molten Firebird as many times as I choose to a Suspended Greater Gargadon during my end of turn step to remove the time counters on it, or if I am limited to doing this once per turn?

A: What you want to do does not work. Molten Firebird will only re-enter play once each turn. When Molten Firebird goes to the graveyard from play, its ability will trigger. When this trigger resolves, a delayed triggered ability will be created, along with an effect that causes you to skip your next draw step. This delayed triggered ability will go on the stack when the next end of turn step begins. When this ability resolves, the Firebird will return to play. If Molten Firebird were to leave play again in the end of turn step, it would not return until the next end of turn step. Keep in mind that if the Firebird were to leave play twice in a single turn, you would skip your next two draw steps.

Q: I remove all of the counters from Spike Tiller by using its effect; it will be sent to the graveyard as it is now 0/0. At the end of the turn, Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker will bring it back, as it was a 0/0 when it left play. Does it come back as a 0/0, or will it have the three +1/+1 counters on it? The wording on Spike Tiller says "Spike Tiller comes into play with three +1/+1 counters on it." but Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker says "you may return that creature card to play," and I wasn't sure if returning to play counts as coming into play.

A: Shirei's ability triggers when a creature you control with power one or less goes to the graveyard. In this example, Spike Tiller leavs play with a power of zero, so Shirei's ability will trigger. At the end of turn, Spike Tiller will be returned to play. When it does, this Spike Tiller will return to play—just as when it first entered play—with three +1/+1 counters on it. When a card returns to play it counts as coming into play. Abilities that are applied or trigger when a permanent comes into play will occur here as well.

Q: I have a Desecration Elemental in play, and my opponent plays Haunting Echoes. I have no other creatures, so Desecration Elemental is sacrificed to itself. Does my Desecration Elemental go to the graveyard quickly enough to be one of the cards that is searched for in my library and removed from the game?

A: Yes. In this example, Desecration Elemental's ability triggers when Haunting Echoes is played. This triggered ability will go on the stack on top of the Haunting Echoes, and will resolve first. If you do sacrifice the Desecration Elemental, it will be in your graveyard when Haunting Echoes resolves. Keep in mind that this is not due to "speed," but timing. There is no speed involved when resolving spells and abilities on the stack, but there is an order in which these spells and abilities resolve.

Q: If I have Crosswinds in play, then play Wind Shear after my opponent attacks, do I lose the effect of Crosswinds? I don't think I do, because the effect of the enchantment has already been applied to my opponent's attacking creatures when I play Wind Shear. My opponent said I lose the effect of the enchantment because Wind Shear makes his creatures lose flying, and so the Crosswinds effect is removed. Who is right?

A: Your friend is correct. Effects that are applied to power and toughness are applied after other effects. Wind Shear's effect has two aspects to it. When calculating the characteristics of permanents in play, you will apply the "lose flying" portion of Wind Shear's effect first. Then when you apply the effect from Crosswinds; there will not be any flying creatures in play, so that ability will not be applied to anything. For more information on how this works, see section 418.5 of the Comprehensive Rules on the interaction of continuous effects.