Rules Tip of the Day: Gaining control of a permanent does not grant you control of the enchantments or equipment attached to it.

Q: I have two creatures with nine power each, which is enough to kill my opponent. I declare them as attackers and he blocks one with a Swans of Bryn Argoll. I only have three cards left in my library. Will he die from combat damage before I am forced to draw the last card from my library?

A: No. Swans of Bryn Argoll's static ability creates a prevention effect that causes you to draw cards as damage to the Swans is prevented. This means that when state-based effects are checked after combat damage is dealt, your opponent will lose because he has received lethal damage, but you will also lose because you were instructed to draw a card but were unable to. Because of this, the game will be a draw.

Q: I was playing my friend in a casual game where he was playing his zombie deck and I was playing a sort of red-black control. I had eight mana open and an Ashling's Perogative set to even. My friend was at nine life, and it was my turn. I top-decked a Lightning Serpent. Thinking I had won the game, I used all eight mana on the Lightning Serpent. When I tried to attack with it, however, one of my friends convinced me it still had a converted mana cost of one, so it came into play tapped. Is this correct?

A: Your friend was correct; the Lightning Serpent will come into play tapped. When in play, the value of X in the converted mana cost of a permanent is zero. This means that the converted mana cost of the Lightning Serpent in play is one.

Q: Can Incandescent Soulsoke put Supreme Exemplar into play without a champion, since Soulstoke reads "put an Elemental creature card from your hand into play..."?

A: When you put the Exemplar into play, its champion ability will trigger. When this trigger resolves, you will either champion an elemental or sacrifice the Exemplar. The fact that you are putting the Exemplar into play and not playing it as a spell does not matter; its champion ability will still trigger when it enters play.

Q: I have a Reveillark in the graveyard and an Incandescent Soulstoke in play. Can I put Body Double from my hand into play copying the Reveillark, using the Soulstoke's ability?

A: No. The Body Double is not an Elemental until it comes into play. When Incandescent Soulstroke's ability resolves and you choose a card in your hand to put into play, the Body Double card is not a legal choice.

Q: If I play Crush Underfoot and choose Brion Stoutarm, do I gain four life because of Brion's lifelink ability?

A: Yes. Crush Underfoot has the chosen Giant be the source of the damage. Because of this, Brion Stougharm's lifelink ability will trigger.

Q: I have a question about the interaction of Leaf-Crowned Elder and Verdeloth the Ancient. If I reveal Verdeloth with kinship and play it without paying its mana cost, can I then tap all my lands to make Saprolings with the kicker?

A: Yes. When you reveal a Treefolk or Shaman card via Leaf-Crowned Elder's kinship ability, you do end up playing this card. As you are playing the card, you can pay additional costs associated with the card. This means that you can pay the kicker cost of Verdeloth the Ancient.

Q: My opponent has a Tarmogoyf and a 1/1 non-token creature with an empty graveyard. If I play a Pyroclasm with an empty graveyard, will the Tarmogoyf survive?

A: No. After Pyroclasm resolves and state-based effects are checked, the Tarmogoyf will be a 1/2 creature with two points of damage on it. Both it and the 1/1 creature in play will go to the graveyard at the same time.

Q: My friends say that even though I have a Blazing Archon in play, a person with a Nactl War-Pride can attackt one opponent with the War-Pride, and attack me with the War-Pride tokens. Is this correct? I thought that these tokens were still attacking and should be affected by the Archon's ability.

A: Yes, that is correct. These tokens are attacking, but they were not declared as attacking you. Blazing Archon, and similar effects, like Propaganda, only affect what happens when attackers are declared, not when a creature is put into play attacking.

Q: I use Word of Command on my opponent and make him play Pyromatics. Am I able to make him pay the replicate to the maximum legal use of his land?

A: Yes, but you will not get the exact result you want. When resolving Word of Command, you make all decisions involving playing of the spell. This includes the choice to pay additional costs like replicate. This Pyromantics spell has one target, which you will choose. When this spell is played, the replicate triggered ability will go on the stack. When this trigger resolves, the appropriate number of copies will go on the stack. These copies are controlled by your opponent, so he will choose what each of these copies targets. So you can make your opponent choose to make a bunch of replicate copies, but you can only choose the target for the first one.