Rules Tip of the Day: Abilities that trigger during the announcement of a spell or ability will wait to go on the stack until the announcement is completed. The triggered abilities will then go on the stack on top of the played spell or ability.

Q: If Divinity of Pride blocks a 4/4 attacker while I am at 21 life, does the Divinity of Pride become 8/8 before damage from the attacker kills it?

A: No. Lifelink is a triggered ability that uses the stack. When combat damage is assigned, this ability will trigger. But before this trigger can go on the stack, state-based effects will be checked. At this point, the Divinity of Pride will have received damage and will go to the graveyard. Then the lifelink ability will go on the stack, and eventually you will gain four life.

Q: Does paying life, like for Temporal Extortion, count toward the doubled damage that Wound Reflection gives?

A: Yes. Damage causes loss of life; paying life also count as loss of life.

Q: Can Umbral Mantle and similar untap abilities be used in conjunction with conspire? For example, if I have one creature and I play Burn Trail, could I tap that creature, untap it using Umbral Mantle, and tap it again to get a copy of Burn Trail via conspire?

A: No, that does not work. All costs of a spell must be paid at one time when the spell is played; this includes the conspire cost. You cannot play and resolve an untap ability during this announcement.

Q: If my opponent has a Sengir Autocrat in play with three Serf tokens, what happens if I Mirrorweave targeting a Serf token? Would all creatures become Serf tokens and then die without the Autocrat in play?

A: All creatures in play will become 0/1 black Serfs. They will not leave play, as the Autocrat did not leave play; it just had its characteristics changed.

Q: I was wondering about the card Tyrannize. If an opponent does not have a hand, do they automatically lose 7 life?

A: No, they can still choose to discard their hand. Players always have a hand of cards, even if the number of cards is zero.

Q: Are creatures targeted by Reprieve in the graveyard long enough to be targeted? For example, I evoke Shriekmaw, then use Graceful Reprieve on it. Can my opponent discard Faerie Macabre to remove it and another card from the game before it comes back from the graveyard?

A: Yes. Graceful Reprieve creates a delayed triggered ability when it resolves. This delayed triggered ability will wait around this turn for the targeted creature to go to the graveyard. As it is a triggered ability, it uses the stack, and can be responded to. So after this ability is on the stack, your opponent can remove the Shriekmaw before it is returned to play.

Q: My opponent has Guile in play, and I play Haakon, Stromgald Scourge. If my opponent Counterspells my Haakon, it will go to the removed from game zone. Could my opponent play Haakon with Guile's second ability, since it is removed from game instead of in his graveyard?

A: No. Hakkon's ability that prevents it from being played from any zone other than the graveyard will 'win.' This is because when two effect contradict each other, the one that states that something cannot happen will prevail.

Q: I have a Contested Cliffs in play and I cast a Shivan Wumpus. Am I able to use the Cliffs with my Wumpus before my opponent sacrifices a land?

A: Yes; the ability that allows your opponent to sacrifice a land and put the Wumpus on top of your library is a triggered ability that uses the stack. You can activate and resolve Contested Cliffs' ability before this triggered ability resolves.

Q: I have a Bladewing's Thrall and a Ryusei, the Falling Star in play. If Ryusei is put into the graveyard, leaving me with no Dragons to keep the Thrall airborne, is it bound to death, or is there some way I can save it via the stack?

A: When Ryusei's ability resolves, your Bladewing's Thrall will not have flying and it will be dealt damage. This is because Bladewing's Thrall's ability that gives it flying is a static ability. The Thrall will lose flying immediately if you lose control of your only Dragon. This is not something that uses the stack.

Q: Is it possible to use Belbe's Portal to circumvent a Chalice of the Void to bring creatures into play?

A: Yes. Belbe's Portal puts creature cards into play; they are not played. Because they are not played, Chalice of the Void's ability will not trigger.