Rules Tip of the Day: When a permanent changes controller, it does not untap, unless the effect that causes this change in control also instructs you to untap it.

Q: I play Smallpox. During its resolution, I discard a Bridge from Below. Would Bridge from Below's second triggered ability trigger from my opponent sacrificing a creature for Smallpox's resolution and remove itself?

A: Yes. When you resolve a spell or ability, you do so in the order written. As you discard before you sacrifice creatures, your Bridge from Below will be in your graveyard when a creature goes to your opponent's graveyard. This will cause Bridge from Below's second ability to trigger and eventually remove the Bridge from the game.

Q: I have read that you could not return to play a creature that you sacrifice to pay the Flashback cost of Dread Return. But what if I have just a Body Double in my graveyard and a Bogardan Hellkite and two other creatures in play? Can I Flashback Dread Return, sacrificing the Hellkite and the two other creatures, and copy the Hellkite with the Body Double?

A: Yes. When you play Dread Return via its Flashback cost, you choose a target creature card in your graveyard and sacrifice three creatures. When this Dread Return resolves, the Bogarden Hellkite you sacrificed will be in your graveyard. If you target a Body Double with Dread Return, then you can choose to copy the Hellkite in your graveyard when the Body Double resolves.

Q: I have Confusion In The Ranks in play. I play Plaxmanta without using green mana. Can I choose a creature another player controls and exchange control of them before having to sacrifice the Plaxmanta, so I can gain their creature and they lose mine, due to the fact I chose to not use green mana?

A: Not quite, but you can almost get that result. When this Plaxmanta comes into play, both its ability and Confusion in the Ranks' ability will trigger. As the controller of these two abilities, you can put them on the stack in whatever order you want. To make the exchange first, you'd have to put Confusion in the Ranks ability on the stack second. When this resolves, you will exchange control of your Plaxanta with the creature targeted by Confusion in the Ranks' ability. Then Plaxmanta's ability will resolve. But you can only sacrifice permanents you control, so you will not be able to sacrifice the Plaxmanta, as you no longer control it. This means that you opponent will keep control of this creature; it will not go to your graveyard.

Q: I cast Wellspring and then, after I gain control of the land, I sacrifice the enchantment with Claws of Gix. Does the land still return under my opponent's control at end of turn, or is the enchantment's clause effectively forgotten?

A: No. Wellspring's official Oracle text is a bit different from its printed text. As written, all change of control of the enchanted land was due to triggered abilities. Now, you still gain control of this enchanted land when its triggered abilities resolve, but these triggered abilities create a continuous effect with a duration. You will lose control of this land when the continuous effect ends. This will happen whether or not Wellspring is in play.

Q: I have a question regarding the interaction of Eon Hub and Reset. Reset tells me it can be played "only during an opponent's turn after his or her upkeep step". Since with Eon Hub in play there is no upkeep step, can Reset be played at all? Or is the main phase sill considered to be occurring after the skipped upkeep?

A: Even if the upkeep step is skipped, the remainder of the turn is still considered to be after the upkeep step. The restriction on Reset means that it can be played in any step or phase that normally occurs after the upkeep step. So you will be able to play Reset in the draw step, main phases, etc. of a turn.

Q: Last night a few friends and I got into a heated debate about the timing of the zone change caused by Cauldron Dance. Using Cauldron Dance, I put a Crash of Rhinos into play from my hand and a Thundermare from my graveyard, and used them to attack someone (I had Fervor in play). The intended target of this attack protested that the zone trigger for Thundermare would tap all creatures, including the Crash. My argument, however, was that because those creatures would come into play at the same time, the Crash of Rhinos would still effectively be "in limbo" when the Thundermare's 'Tap all other creatures' effect resolved. My question therfore is: are creatures that are currently coming into play affected by other creatures' comes-into-play triggers?

A: These creatures do come into play one at a time as Cauldron Dance resolves. When the Thundermare comes into play its coming into play ability will trigger. However triggered abilities only go on the stack when a player receives priority. Whenever an ability triggers during the resolution of another spell or ability it will wait until after the spell resolves completely and go on the stack afterwards. In this example, this triggered ability will go on the stack after Cauldron Dance has completely resolved and put both of these creatures in play. This means that Crash of Rhinos will be in play when this trigger resolves, and it will become tapped.

Q: If my opponent has Drought in play, and I Consume Spirit him for five, do I have to sacrifice six Swamps or one?

A: Just one. Drought refers to the mana cost or activation cost of the spell or ability. Consume Spirit has only one black mana symbol in its mana cost. There is an an additional requirement that black mana be used to pay the X cost of that spell, but that does not increase the number of black mana symbols in the mana cost.

Q: Recently, a situation occurred in a multiplayer game that has me stumped. During this game, I controlled a Dimir Doppelganger and used his ability to copy a Soul Warden from opponent Joe's graveyard, removing the Warden card from the game. A few turns later, Joe was eliminated from the game, but the game wasn't over. We weren't sure what would happen to my Doppelganger-Warden. Would the Doppelganger continue to copy the Warden, even though Joe is gone? Does that Soul Warden card move from the removed from game zone to somewhere even more 'removed' so my Doppelganger isn't copying it anymore?

A: Dimir Doppleganger will remain a copy of the removed card even if this card leaves the game entirely. Dimir Doppleganger's ability does not continue to look at the removed card and copy it, it becomes a copy of the removed cards when it becomes removed. What happens to this card later does not matter, the Dopplegangers will continue to be a copy of it.