Rules Tip of the Day: Banding, Part 1—Banding is really two separate abilities. They are commonly referred to as 'mutual assistance' and 'damage sharing.' Both of these abilities apply when a banding creature attacks, but only damage sharing applies when one blocks.
Q: If you have two Countryside Crushers in play, and you reveal a land when resolving the upkeep ability, do they both get the bonus? Or do they alternate?
A: Each Countryside Crusher in play will get +1/+1 any time a land card goes to your graveyard. If a land card is revealed when the Kinship ability of one Countryside Crusher resolves, both will get the counter, not just the source of the Kinship ability.
Q: I have a question in regards to a possible synergy between Sensation Gorger and Howltooth Hollow. At the beginning of your upkeep, if Sensation Gorger's Kinship ability triggers, can you use Howltooth's Hollow's ability right after each player discards all cards and before they draw four cards?
A: No. When Sensation Gorger's ability resolves, you will look at the top card of your library; if this card shares a type with Sensation Gorger you may reveal it. If you do, all players will discard their hands and then draw four cards. All of the above happens as Sensation Gorger's ability resolves. It is not broken down into separate items on the stack, and no one will receive priority to play anything in between performing these actions. By the time you receive priority to play anything, all players in the game will have four cards in their hands.
Q: If I go to play a Shard Volley and tap a Gemstone Mine with only one counter on it, would I be able to use it for mana as well as the additional cost of sacrificing a land?
A: No. When you play a spell or ability you must generate all mana before you pay any costs. Gemstone Mine's mana ability has you sacrifice it when the last counter is removed from it. This means that you will sacrifice it as you get the last mana from it, and will not be able to sacrifice it for some other purpose.
Q: I play a Myr Enforcer, and in response, my opponent plays Spellstutter Sprite. Including the Sprite, he has eight Faeries in play, so the Myr should be countered, since it has a casting cost of seven. But in response, I cycle Slice and Dice, killing all eight Faeries. Will that prevent the Faerie from countering the Myr Enforcer?
A: Yes, that works. Spellstutter Sprite's ability counts the number of Faeries in play when its comes-into-play ability resolves. If you can reduce the number of Faeries in play to less than seven, the Myr Enforcer spell will resolve.
Q: Does Wren's Run Packmaster's ability that gives all Wolves deathtouch only apply to the specific Wolf tokens, or to all creatures with the Wolf creature type?
A: The Packmaster's ability that gives deathtouch applies to all creatures you control with the creature subtype of Wolf, not just those Wolf tokens that are put into play by the Packmaster's activated ability.
Q: If I play Balance, with the only creature in play being a champion creature, what happens?
A: It is sacrificed when Balance resolves. Then, after Balance has resolved, the champion leaves-play triggered ability will go on the stack. When this trigger resolves, the championed creature will return to play. It will not enter play until well after Balance has resolved and left the stack, so it will not be counted.
Q: I had a suspended Greater Gargadon and my opponent played Pithing Needle, naming Greater Gargadon. My understanding is that Garadon is in a different plane than the other cards and should not be affected by Pithing Needle. Am I right or wrong?
A: You are incorrect. The Gargagon card is in the removed from game zone, but Pithing Needle's ability applies to all cards with the chosen name regardless of what zone they are in. You will not be able to use the suspended Gargadon's ability to remove time counters from it. Keep in mind that it will still lose a time counter in each of your upkeep steps, and you will be able to play it when it unsuspends.
Q: Can I attack with Sengir Nosferatu, pay 1B to sub in the Bat, attack with the Bat, sacrifice the Bat and pay 1B to sub back in Sengir Nosferatu, and repeat the process?
A: No. When you activate the ability of an attacking Sengir Nosferatu, a Bat is put into play, but it is not attacking. The converse is also true, if the Bat token creature was originally attacking.
Q: Govern the Guildless says "Gain control of target monocolored creature." Can I target my Ink-Treader Nephilim with it, and get all of those copies of Govern the Guildless, even if the ability can't hit the Nephilim?
A: No. The word 'monocolored' is a targeting restriction; Govern the Guildless can only target a monocolored creature. You cannot play a targeted spell or ability unless you choose a legal target. This will only work if you can find a way to make the Nephilim monocolored before you play Govern the Guildless.
Q: I have five Zombies in the graveyard: four Soulless Ones and a Sutured Ghoul. I play Exhume, and bring back Sutured Ghoul. When I remove all four Soulless Ones, will the Ghoul be a 16/16?
A: No, it will just be a 4/4. The P/T of the Soulless One cards in the removed from game zone will be 1/1. This will make the Sutured Ghoul a 4/4 creature.
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