Rules Tip of the Day: When multiple cards are about to go to a player's graveyard or library at one time, the owner of these cards can determine the order that they are arranged.

Q: I have a face-down Gathan Raiders. My opponent casts Sudden Shock on it. If I respond by discarding Fiery Temper to unmorph Gathan Raiders, can I play Fiery Temper via Madness after Sudden Shock resolves?

A: No. When you discard Fiery Temper, its Madness ability will trigger. You play a Madness spell when the Madness triggered ability resolves. All of this will happen while the Sudden Shock is still on the stack. Because of the Split Second ability, you will not be able to play your Madness spell at this time. Once the Sudden Shock resolves and leaves the stack, the Madness ability will have already resolved, and you will be not be able to play it at this point.

Q: If I control Mirari, and I play a Pact of the Titan and copy it using Mirari's ability, does that mean I'll have to pay the 'Echo' cost of Pact twice during my next upkeep to avoid losing the game?

A: Yes. Each instance of Pact of the Titan will create a delayed triggered ability. When each of these delayed triggers resolves in your next upkeep step, you will have to pay 4R or lose the game.

Q: At the beginning of my upkeep, I control Barren Glory and have no cards in hand. I put the trigger on the stack, and before it resolves, my opponent Disenchants the Barren Glory. When the ability resolves, do I still win the game?

A: Yes. In order for Barren Glory's ability to trigger, it must be in play, and the additional condition—that you control no other permanents and have no cards in hand—must be met. Then, when this triggered ability resolves, the additional condition must be met, but you do not need to control Barren Glory. You can still have it in play, but you are not required to.

Q: Will Gaea's Anthem allow Force of Savagery to survive?

A: Yes. With Gaea's Anthem in play, Force of Savagery will enter play as a 9/1 creature and remain in play.

Q: Can a Spell Snare counter a Boom / Bust if the caster is trying to cast Bust?

A: No. When on the stack, a split card has only the characteristics of the half that was played. The converted mana cost of a Bust on the stack is six, not two.

Q: I have a Morphed Vesuvan Shapeshifter in play, and I turn it face-up, copying a Student of Elements. Is my Shapeshifter's upkeep-triggered ability only available when my Shapeshifter is unflipped, or does it affect both sides of the card?

A: That ability is granted to this permanent due to the continuous effect that was created when the Shapeshifter was turned face-up. The permanent will have this ability whether it is flipped or not.

Q: If I sac a Festering Goblin to Patron of the Akki, will there be any cost reduction?

A: Yes. The creature that you sacrificing in this instance has a mana cost of B. Patron of the Akki does not have any black mana in its cost, so you will subtract this cost from the generic mana cost. The Patron will cost 3RR in this example.

Q: If I have The Abyss in play and a Nether Spirit in my graveyard, can I choose the order in which they resolve, so that I can bring the Spirit out without having to kill it?

A: You will not be able to destroy this Nether Spirit with The Abyss's ability under any circumstances. The Abyss targets, and you choose a target for this ability when it goes on the stack. Both of these triggered abilities will go on the stack at the same time, and the Nether Spirit will not be in play when this happens, so you will not be able to choose it as the target of the Abyss' ability. If there is not a target for The Abyss ability at all, then its ability will go on the stack and then immediately leave the stack without doing anything.

Q: A multiplayer opponent plays Laquatus's Champion, targeting me with the loss of life. In response I cast Seht's Tiger, giving me protection from black. What happens? Does the life loss fizzle, and if so, who gains the life when the Champion leaves play?

A: You will not lose any life in this situation. The Champion's comes-into-play ability will be countered on resolution, as you cannot be targeted by black spells or abilities. However, when the Champion leaves play, you will gain six life. Laquatas's Champion's second triggered ability refers to the player that was targeted by the first ability. The ability did not resolve, and you did not lose six life, but you can still gain life when the Champion leaves play.

Q: In the recent update to the Comprehensive Rules, there is no information about the Grandeur ability from Future Sight. Why is that?

A: Grandeur is not a keyword ability, it is an ability word. All of the information needed about the ability appears on the cards that have the ability. There does not need to be anything in the Comprehensive Rules to explain the ability further. Ability words are somewhat new and used to associate similar abilities that do not have specific rules dedicated to them. Other recent examples are Hellbent and Radiance.