Rules Tip of the Day: There is no such thing as playing something "as though it were in your hand." Older cards were printed with that wording, but it is not used any longer. You can either play something or you cannot. In most cases, in order to play something it must come from your hand, but some effects allow you to play cards from other zones.

Q: I have Barren Glory in play as my only permanent and no cards in hand. Greater Gargadon is Suspended with one counter as I start my turn. Do I win?

A: It is up to you. At the beginning of your upkeep, the triggered abilities of both Barren Glory and the Gargadon will trigger. As the controller of both of these abilities, you determine the order that they go on the stack. You can choose to put the Gargadon's Suspend ability on the stack first, followed by Barren Glory's ability. If you do, Barren Glory's ability will resolve first, and you will win the game before the Gargadon loses its last counter and gets played.

Q: Can I play Sulfurous Blast and copy it with Mirari to deal a total of six damage if played in my main phase?

A: No. Sulfurous Blast deals three damage instead of two if you play it during one of the main phases of your turn when the stack is empty. However, the copy that is put on the stack it not played at all, so it will only deal two points of damage. The original will deal three, so five poits of damage will be dealt to each creature and player.

Q: Does Tarmogoyf count Snow, Arcane, and Legendary towards its power and toughness?

A: No. Snow and Legendary are supertypes and Arcane is a subtype; none of these are card types. Tarmogoyf only counts card types: artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, sorcery, and tribal.

Q: Can I play Mana Short in response to the delayed trigger of one of the Future Sight Pacts to keep my opponent from being able to pay it?

A: Yes, that works. Unless they have sufficient non-land sources of mana, they will not be able to pay the cost when the Pact's delayed triggered ability resolves.

Q: Would Aether Snap affect counters on Suspended cards?

A: No. Suspended cards are not permanents, so Aether Snap will not affect them at all.

Q: I have a Suspended Ivory Giant with one counter, and a face-down Vesuvan Shapeshifter. During my upkeep, the Ivory Giant unsuspends, and I put its ability on the stack. In response, I morph the Vesuvan Shapeshifter, copying the Giant. My opponent said that the Shapeshifter would be tapped, because it was face-down/blue when the Giant came into play, but I told him that I stacked the effect of the Giant, and the Shapeshifter was white when the effect resolved. Who was right?

A: You are. If the Shapeshifter is white when the Giant's comes-into-play ability resolves, it will not become tapped. It does not matter what color it was when the Giant came into play.

Q: If I have Savra, Queen of the Golgari and a Nantuko Husk in play, can I sacrifice Savra to the Husk, pay two life to force an opponent to sacrifice, and gain two life?

A: Yes to all of the above. Savra's abilities will both trigger when you sacrifice Savra herself.

Q: If I only have three lands out, does Sheltering Prayers prevent Winter Orb's effect?

A: No, Winter Orb's ability does not target anything. It will prevent you from untapping more than one land, even if your lands cannot be targeted.

Q: When using Cao Cao, Lord of Wei's ability do I have to attack with creatures after using his ability?

A: You do not have to attack, but you do have to use this ability before the combat phase. Cao Cao, Lord of Wei, and the other cards from Portal: Three Kingdoms have been added to the Oracle database and many of them have updated text. Cao Cao's current Oracle text now reads, "T: Target opponent discards two cards. Play this ability only during your turn, before the combat phase." This makes it somewhat more clear that you do not have to attack.

Q: If my friend thinks he remembers a card in my deck, but names it differently (e.g. Spore-Dweller Thallid instead of Shell-Dweller Thallid) when resolving Tunnel Vision, will I just shuffle my library, or do I mill until we hit the Shell-Dweller?

A: As long as both of you realize what he is talking about then you will resolve the Tunnel Vision until you hit this card. We do not require players to be exactly precise when choosing a card name, only that all players make attempts to communicate clearly and that both players understand. It's not legal to name a nonexistant card. If this is in a sanctioned match and there was any dispute, miscommunication or confusion in a situation like this, it is best to call over a judge. (Also, the card name is Thallid Shell-Dweller. So if you can't get it exactly right, then there is no reason to expect your opponent to.)