Rules Tip of the Day: Know your state-based effectsi—all sate-based effects are checked at the same time. They are not checked in any order, but rather all at once.
Q: I have a Bridge from Below in my graveyard, and my opponent has a Yixlid Jailer in play. I know that if any of my creatures die, my Bridge will not trigger and put a Zombie into play, and that if one of my opponent's creatures dies the Bridge, will not trigger and be removed. However, what happens if I kill the Jailer with the Bridge in the graveyard? Will the Bridge be deactivated until the Jailer is completely dead, and stay in the graveyard, or will it notice that the Jailer was put into a graveyard from play and remove itself from the game?
A: The Bridge from Below ability will not trigger. Bridge from Below has two leaves-play triggered abilities (How leaves-play abilities work is covered in section 410.10d). Whenever an event occurs in Magic, the game will look at the game state just prior to that event to see if any leaves-play triggered abilities triggered. This means that you check to see if the Bridge from Below's abilities triggered just before the Yixlid Jailer went to the graveyard. At that time Bridge from Below did not have any abilities, so there was nothing to trigger.
Q: Suppose my opponent has only Akroma, Angel of Wrath in play, and I've just played Magus of the Abyss. Come my opponent's upkeep, will Akroma die?
A: No. Magus of the Abyss' ability targets. It does not matter that the active player is the one who choses what the target is; they still need to choose a legal target. Akroma, Angel of Wrath has protection from black, and therefore cannot be chosen as the target of the Magus' ability.
Q: I have Oriss, Samite Guardian in play. I play a spell. My opponent plays Counterspell. In response, I discard another Oriss, Samite Guardian to activate the Grandeur ability, targeting my opponent. The Grandeur ability resolves successfully. Will the ability prevent my opponent's Counterspell on the stack from resolving? My sense is that, since the Counterspell has already been played by putting it on the stack, the Grandeur ability will not prevent it from resolving. My friend believes that the Grandeur ability will cause Counterspell to fizzle, since the Grandeur ability means "Target player can't play spells this turn."
A: You are correct. Spells that have already been played and waiting on the stack to resolve will be unaffected. That ability prevents spells from being played, it does not prevent spells that have been played and on the stack from resolving.
Q: I have an Epochrasite in play with no +1/+1 counters on it. If I cast Momentary Blink on it, will it gain the three +1/+1 counters when it returns to play, as I didn't play it from my hand?
A: Yes. This Epochrasite will be a new creature with no connection to the one that was previously in play. As this creature came into play and was not played from your hand, it will come into play with three +1/+1 counters.
Q: My opponent casts Intuition on his turn and searches for three Goblin Welders. Can I play Extirpate after the Intuition resolves to target one of the Goblin Welders in the graveyard before he casts the Goblin Welder in his hand?
A: No, but you could have, if he played Intuition during your turn. If your opponent plays Intuition during his turn, he will receive priority after Intuition resolves. At this point, he can play the Goblin Welder that is in his hand. But if he plays it during your turn, you will gain priority after Intuition resolves, and you can play Extirpate at this time. That Extirpate has Split Second does not change when the spell can be played; it only prevents spells and non-mana activated abilities from being played when it is on the stack.
Q: I have a Porphyry Nodes in play and I choose to destroy a creature, can that player sacrifice the creature using an ability and have it count as having destroyed that creature by Porphyry Nodes? Or would the Nodes look for another target?
A: No. When Prophyry Nodes' ability resolves, you choose an appropriate creature and destroy it, but you do not target it. There is no time between when the choice is made and when the creature is destroyed that anyone will receive priority to play any spells or abilities. If a player were to respond to Prophyry Nodes' ability by sacrificing the creature with the least power, then when the Node's ability resolves, the current creature with the least power will be chosen and destroyed.
Q: When Sculpting Steel is played and Chalice of the Void is chosen, does Sculpting Steel come into play with the same number of charge counters, or do you get to pay for a new number of counters?
A: Neither. This Sculpting Steel will come into play with no charge counters on it. When you play a spell with X in its mana cost, you choose the value of X at that time. However, Sculpting Steel does not become a copy of the chosen artifact until it come into play. At that time, it is too late to choose a value for X or to make any payments. Additionally, when a copy of a permanent is made, it does not copy any effects or counters that are on the original. So this Sculpting Steel copy of Chalice of the Void will have zero counters on it.
Q: Grand Prix Columbus starts on May 19 and ends on May 20. Future Sight becomes legal for constructed play on May 20. Will Future Sight be legal for Grand Prix Columbus?
A: No. You submit your decklists for the Grand Prix at the start of day one of the event. At that time, Future Sight is not legal, so you cannot include any Future Sight cards in that list. It does not matter that Future Sight is constructed legal the day after Grand Prix Columbus begins; you must play the same deck on both days. Keep in mind that this applies to any side events at the Grand Prix as well. Future Sight is not legal at any constructed event that begins on May 19th or earlier. But you will be able to use Future Sight cards at any constructed event that begins on May 20th, day two of the main event.
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