Rules Tip of the Day: While many cards have effects that raise or lower the amount of mana you must pay when playing a spell (like the Tempest Talismans, the Morningtide Bannerets, Chill, and Sphere of Resistance), nothing affects the converted mana cost of a card.
Q: Player A controls an Axegrinder Giant. Player B has played a Lignify on the Giant, making it a 0/4 Treefolk. If player A plays Rootgrapple, targeting the Lignify, does he draw a card? Why or why not?
A: No, this player will not draw a card. When Rootgrapple resolves, it will destroy the noncreature permanent first. Then, if you control a Treefolk, you will draw a card. However as the Lignify is not in play at this point, player A does not control a Treefolk.
Q: My opponent is playing the Enduring Ideal combo deck, and has played and resolved an Ideal. I play Gaddock Teeg. How does this affect the epic ability?
A: It does not affect it at all. The copies of spells made by the epic ability are put on the stack without being played. Gaddock Teeg's ability only prevents certain spells from being played, not from being put on the stack without being played.
Q: If I have a Vivid Creek and a Reflecting Pool in play as my only lands, does the Pool tap for mana of any color?
A: Yes. This is true even if the Vivid Creek does not have any charge counters on it. Reflecting Pool's ability only cares about what mana a land you control is capable of producing, not what it it can actually produce at that time.
Q: I have Riftwing Cloudskate suspended, and I play Steel Golem. When the counters on the Riftwing are gone, and it is supposed to come into play, what happens if the Golem is in play?
A: Pretty much nothing. As you cannot play creature spells, the Cloundskate card will remain removed from the game.
Q: I have a Platinum Angel in play and play a Pact of Negation targeting a spell controlled by my opponent. After the Pact resolves, he plays another spell that removes my Angel from play. Will I lose the game in my next upkeep step?
A: Yes. The Angel's ability only prevents you from losing the game while the Angel is in play. The delayed triggered ability from the Pact only causes you to lose the game when the delayed triggered ability resolves. What matters is that the Angel is in play during your next upkeep step, not when the Pact spell is played and resolves.
Q: If I have two Quilled Slivers in play, do they tap for two damage?
A: No. Each Sliver will have two activated abilities, each allowing them to tap and deal a single point of damage to an attacking or blocking creature. You can activate one or the other of these identical abilities at a time, not both. Tapping to pay for one ability will not activate the other.
Q: I have Femeref Archers in play. My opponent has a 3/3 creature in play. I cast Shimmering Wings on his creature, so now it has flying. If he attacks with it, can I kill it with the Archers' ability and also get my enchantment back?
A: No. You can either destroy this attacking creature or return the Shimmering Wings to your hand, but not both. Femeref Archer's ability has a targeting restriction that it must target an attacking creature with Flying. If you remove the Shimmering Wings from this creature before the ability resolves, then the ability will become countered on resolution and no damage will be dealt, as this creature no longer has flying. However, if you wait for the ability to resolve and deal four points of damage to the targeted creature, then (assuming it receives lethal damage) it and the Shimmering Wings will go to the graveyard before you can return the Shimmering Wings to your hand.
Q: Since Dark Depths is a Snow land, does it generate Snow mana? If yes, can Snow mana be used to pay colorless costs?
A: If it were to gain a mana ability, then yes, this mana would be Snow mana. But Dark Depths does not have an inherent mana ability. If it were to gain a mana ability, then the ability would specify if it generated a specific colored or colorless mana.
Q: In a multiplayer game, I put an Ophidian Eye on an opponent's creature. If that creature attacks another opponent, do I get to draw a card?
A: Yes. You will draw a card whenever the enchanted creature deals damage to anyone other than you.
Q: If I'm shuffling my deck with the faces of the cards facing me, am I allowed to look? If not, what happens?
A: You can shuffle as you describe as long as you later shuffle where you cannot see the faces. The deck you present must be randomized to the point where you do not have any idea about how it is distributed. Seeing even a glimpse of the cards as you shuffle can give you information regarding the order of your deck. What happens if you do not then truly randomize your deck can vary depending on the judge investigation and the REL. If the judge believe that this is just sloppy or an honest mistake, then at Regular REL you could receive a warning for Insufficient Randomization; at Competitive or Professional REL, you can get a game loss. However, at any REL, if the judge believes that you were doing this intentionally in order to manipulate the contents of your deck, then you can get DQed for Manipulation of Game Materials.
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