Rules Tip of the Day: Know your state-based effects—A permanent that is neither an Aura nor an Equipment that is somehow attached to another permanent will "fall off" and remain in play. This can happen when a copy effect ends and a permanent loses the Aura or Equipment subtype. You don't really have to worry about this one too much; in my opinion, this only happens in theoretical situations brought up to stump judges, and in casual games where players want to see if they can cause it to happen.

Q: Lost Auramancers is in play and leaves play with no vanishing counters on it. Can I put Daybreak Coronet in play enchanting a creature with no other enchantment on it?

A: No, a creature with no other Auras on it cannot be legally enchanted by Daybreak Coronet, so you can't put Daybreak Coronet on this creature by any means.

Q: I have a Thunderblade Charge in my graveyard. One of my creatures deals combat damage to my opponent and I play this Thunderblade Charge. Does the Thunderblade Charge get removed from the game when it resolves?

A: No, only spells played from a graveyard via a Flashback cost are removed from the game. When you play a spell via its Flashback cost it is removed from the game when leaves the stack due to the Flashback effect. In this example you are playing Thunderblade Charge from your graveyard, but you are not playing it via a Flashback cost, so it is not removed from the game. It will resolve and go back to your graveyard to be played again when its trigger condition is met.

Q: Regarding the Gravestorm ability of Bitter Ordeal: it doesn't specify that the permanent needs to be in play, so I was wondering, if I were to Dredge a Golgari Grave-Troll and have six permanents put into the graveyard that way, will the Gravestorm trigger for six?

A: The reminder text on Gravestorm does not need to refer to permanents in play, as permanents only exist in play. You did not put six permanents in your graveyard when you Dredged the Grave-Troll, you put six cards there. The Gravestorm ability will not count these cards as permanents going to the graveyard, even if these cards have the capability of being a permanent in play.

Q: If Soul Warden is in play, and an opponent plays a spell that creates Saproling tokens, like Scatter the Seeds, Spontaneous Generation, or Saproling Symbiosis, do I get one life, or one life for each new Saproling?

A: Soul Warden's ability will trigger once for each individual creature that comes into play. It does not trigger just once, even though these creatures are coming into play at the same time. So if Scatter the Seeds makes three Saproling tokens, then you will gain three life.

Q: Recently I was playing a multiplayer game and player 1 attacked player 2 with Rith, the Awakener. This combat damage killed player 2, who had several green permanents in play. Player 1 paid the cost to activate Rith's ability and named green. Player 1 thought that Rith's ability would count player 2's green permanents. I argued that that was not the case, as Rith's damage, once resolved, would remove player 2 and all of his permanents from the game as a state-based effect before Rith's activation would trigger. Who's right?

A: You are. In this example, when combat damage is dealt, player 2 takes lethal damage. Rith's ability will also trigger at this time. However, before this triggered ability can go on the stack, state-based effects are checked. As player 2 has a life total of zero, he will now lose the game, and leave it. When he does, all cards he owns will leave the game. Then, after state-based effects have done what they need to do, Rith's ability will go on the stack. When this ability resolves, player 1 can choose whether or not he will pay 2G and choose a color. Then Rith's ability will count the number of green permanents in play. At this point, all of the permanent controlled by player 2 are no longer in the game, so they will not be counted.

Q: I have a Two-Headed Giant rules question about the card Nacatl War-Pride. It says that you get a token copy for each creature the defending player controls. Would you get a token for the creatures both opponents control? I know you assign damage to only one player on the team, but do you attack both players on the team, since both players have the ability to block?

A: When you choose attackers you attack the team, not individual members on that team. Both members on that team are defending players. Nacatl War-Pride's ability refers to one 'defending player' which means that you must choose one. When this triggered ability resolves, you choose one of the two opponents on the opposing team. Then you will get an attacking copy of Nacatl War-Pride for each creature that the chosen player controls.

Q: How do poison counters work in a Two-Headed Giant game? Do we have to give the opposing team 20 poison counters? Or do we have to give the team just 10?

A: Poison counters work somewhat like "decking" an opponent in an 2HG game. With decking, all you have to do is cause one player to attempt to draw a card from an empty library and the team will lose the game. In order to win a game with poison counters, all you need to do is give one member of that team ten counters. Most effects that give poison counters do so when that player is dealt damage. A few other abilities, like Swamp Mosquito's ability, gives one to the 'defending player." In a Two-Headed Giant game, any time an effect refers to a 'defending player,' you need to choose one defending player.