Rules Tip of the Day: Combat damage is assigned and put on the stack at the beginning of the combat damage step as one item. Then both players will receive priority to play spells and abilities. When both player pass priority with combat damage being the only item on the stack, this combat damage will be dealt.

Q: I have Garruk Wildspeaker in play. I have one land tapped. Can I use his "Untap two lands" ability to add a loyalty counter?

A: Yes, but that is because you can choose to target a land that is already tapped. Garruk Wildspeaker's first activated ability must target twoo different lands. It does not matter if these lands are tapped or untapped. If, for some reason, you only controlled one land, you'd have to target a land controlled by another player to play this ability.

Q: If my opponent plays Shriekmaw for its Evoke cost to destroy one of my creatures, and I counter it with Delay, when it un-Suspends, what will happen? Will it still see itself being played for the Evoke cost?

A: No, as this creature was not played via its Evoke cost. When it was initially played, it was played by having its Evoke cost paid, but the second time, it was not. This time it was played without anything being paid, due to the effect from the Suspend ability. This is not the Evoke cost (even though it is even cheaper) so this creature will not have to be sacrificed.

Q: If I were to copy a creature like Nova Chaser, would I have to Champion a creature for the token?

A: Yes. The token copy is an exact copy of the original. When it comes into play, the Champion ability will trigger. When this trigger resolves, you will have to sacrifice the copy or remove an appropriate creature you control from the game.

Q: Does Lignify remove any previous creature types of a creature? For example, if my opponent plays an Elf and I Lignify it, can he then Champion the Lignified creature with Wren's Run Packmaster?

A: Lignify will remove all other creature subtypes from the enchanted creature, so it will be a Treefolk only. Any time an effect sets a creature's type or subtype, it will lose all other types (or subtypes) unless the effect specifically mentions that this permanent keeps its previous types. In this example, your opponent will not be able to remove the Lignified creature from the game with Wren's Run Packmaster's ability, as it is not an Elf.

Q: Can Hideaway be used to play a spell with no casting cost, like Restore Balance?

A: Yes, as the effect from the associated activated ability allows you to play the card that was removed from the game without paying its mana cost.

Q: Because Moggcatcher brings a Goblin into play, would it be possible for me to play a Tarfire with the Moggcatcher's ability?

A: No. Moggcatcher's ability, and the similar Mercenary and Rebel searching abilities, have received errata so they can only be used to search for and put an appropriate permanent card in to play. These abilities cannot be used to play tribal instants and sorceries, even if they have the correct creature subtype.

Q: After attackers and blockers have been declared, can Boldwyr Intimidator use its ability to make the designated blocking creature a Coward, creating an illegal blocker?

A: It can make a creature a Coward, but that will not negate the block. Once a creature is legally declared as a blocking creature it will continue to be a blocking creature, even if the attacking creature gains an evasion ability or something else happens that would have made the block illegal.

Q: I have a Dread Slag and a Hill Giant with Oblivion Crown in play, and no cards in my hand. My opponent plays Ancestral Recall, targeting me. Do I have the opportunity to discard cards to the Crown before they kill my Slag?

A: No. When Ancestral Recall resolves, you will draw three cards. Immediately after it resolves, state-based effects will be checked and the Dread Slag will go to the graveyard, as it is -3/-3. This will happen before you gain priority to play anything, like activating Oblivion Crown's ability.

Q: If I have Pandemonium in play and I play a War Elemental, will I be able to use the Pandemonium damage to avoid losing the Elemental?

A: As the controller of these two abilities, you can determine the order that they go on the stack, and therefore the order that they resolve. In other words, you can pretty much guarantee that your opponent will receive damage by the time War Elemental's comes-into-play trigger resolves.