Rules Tip of the Day: You can float mana from step to step within a phase. This means you can put mana in your mana pool in the upkeep step and use it in the draw step, or put it in your pool during the declaration of attacker step and later spend it in the combat damage step. But once a phase ends, any mana left in your pool will cause mana burn.

Q: If I have Swans of Byrn Argoll in play along, with Seismic Assualt. I discard Dakmor Salvage and dredge it back with the first draw. Can I respond to the trigger of the second draw by repeating the process with the end result of stacking 20 draws and then drawing all 20 cards at once?

A: No. First of all, Swans of Byrn Argoll's ability is not a triggered ability that uses the stack. Its ability is a static ability that generates a prevention effect. This prevention effect has an added effect that will cause the controller of the source of the prevented damage to draw cards. When damage would be dealt to the Swans, instead the controller of the damage will draw that many cards. While these cards are drawn one at a time, no one will receive priority in between each of the draws.

Q: If I have a Diviner's Wand equipped to a creature, and I draw a card and then equip the Wand to a different creature, will the first creature still get +1/+1 and have flying?

A: Yes. Diviner's Wand gives the equipped creature a triggered ability. This triggered ability affects the creature that was equipped by the Wand when the ability triggered, and will continue to do so until the end of turn. Moving the Wand to another creature will not remove the effect from the initial creature.

Q: I have Null Profusion and Colfenor's Plans in play. Will I draw a card when I play a card that was removed form the game by the Plans?

A: Yes. That ability of Null Profusion will trigger whenever you play a card, regardless of what zone you play the card from.

Q: I have Cream of the Crop in play, and I play a Riftwing Cloudskate. I target a Mulldrifter with the Cloudskate's ability and Cream of the Crop's ability goes on the stack. Before this ability resolves, my opponent Nameless Inversions my Skate; do I still get the effect of Cream of the Crop?

A: Yes; in fact, you'll be able to look at even more cards on top of your library than you would before. Cream of the Crop's ability uses the power of the creature that just came into play when its ability resolves, or the last-known information about this creature when it was in play. When this Cloudskate was last in play, it was a 5/-1 creature. The fact that its toughness was below zero is what caused it to go to the graveyard, but that does not matter for Cream of the Crop's ability. Because its power was five at that point, you'll be able to look at the top five cards of your library, choose one to keep on top and put the rest on the bottom of your library.

Q: If I have played Enduring Ideal, can I get more than one Tidal Influence into play? I think I can, because Enduring Ideal does not have me "play" the enchantment; I just put it into play.

A: You are correct. When you resolve Enduring Ideal or a copy of Enduring Ideal, you search your library for an enchantment card and put this enchantment into play; you do not play the Enchantment. Tidal Influence has a restriction preventing you from playing it if there is another permanent with the name Tidal Influence in play. However, as you are not playing anything, this restriction does not stop you from putting additional copies in play.

Q: I have an Altar Of Dementia in play and a Protean Hulk. If I sacrifice the Hulk to the Altar, can I use its ability to search for a Vulturous Zombie and bring it into play before my opponent has to mill himself, putting counters on the Zombie?

A: Yes. In fact it is not a choice, that is what will happen. You sacrifice the Protean Hulk when you play Altar of Dementia's ability. This will cause the Hulk's triggered ability to go on the stack on top of the Altar's ability, and it will resolve first. This means that you will search for creature cards and put them into play before your opponent ends up milling cards.

Q: If I play Brainstorm and I have Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind in play, I deal three damage, right?

A: Correct, as you did draw three cards. It does not matter that you end up putting two cards from your hand back on top of your library.

Q: If a creature has flash, what is its card type? I think its just a creature, but a friend of mine said that its an instant and can be countered with spells that say counter target instant spell.

A: A creature with flash is still just a creature card. Your friend is incorrect; the flash ability does not make it an instant. It changes when this creature card can be played; it does not change its card type.

Q: When I am asked to discard a card at random, by what method do I make it random?

A: Any method that you and your opponent can agree upon. I prefer laying the cards in your hand face down, assigning a number to each and rolling a die to pick a random number and re-rolling in the event that the random number is not one that is assigned to a card.