Ask the Judge, 8/12/2008
Rules Tip of the Day: Unless specified, an activated ability can be played as many times as it can be paid for.
Q: Can I return a Primalcrux to play with Reveillark's ability?
A: Yes, but only if permanents you control have two or fewer green mana symbols in their mana cost. Primalcrux's ability dos not count its own mana cost until it is play. If you have no green mana symbols in any permanents you control, then Primalcrux will have a power and toughness of 0/0 in your graveyard. It does not matter that it will enter play as a 6/6.
Q: If I were facing an opponent playing a Sanity Grinding deck, and had only three cards left in my library, but proceeded to play Memory Plunder a Sanity Grinding in his graveyard, how would I reveal the top ten cards? Would they cycle to the bottom of the deck and be revealed again? Would I lose the game, despite not actually drawing? Or would it simply fizzle the spell?
A: This Sanity Grinding will resolve, it just won't do as much as it normally does. When it does resolve, you'd do as much as possible, which means you'd only reveal the three cards that are there. You do not put cards on the bottom of your library until after you reveal ten cards (or as much as you can) and mill your opponent, so you won't reveal the same cards over and over again.
Q: I have Evershrike in my graveyard and Daybreak Coronet in my hand. Am I able to use Evershrike's ability and return it play and attach the Daybreak Coronet to it?
A: No. You can return Evershrike to play, but only very briefly. Daybreak Coronet will not be able to be attached to the Evershrike, so you will not be able to put the Coronet into play. If you do not put an Aura into play attached to the Evershrike when its ability resolves, then it will be removed from the game.
Q: How does Moonhold interact with Hypergenesis? If I play Moonhold, paying both red and white mana, before the suspended Hypergenesis comes into play, will they be unable to play land or creatures?
A: When Hypergenesis resolves, players take turns putting permanent cards into play. They are not played, but are put directly into play. Because of this, the effect from Moonhold will not do anything. There is not really any interaction at all.
Q: I was wondering how the retrace abilities in Eventide interact with Crucible of Worlds. Do the retrace cards essentially gain infinite flashback?
A: No. In order to play a retrace cost, you must discard a land card in your hand as an additional cost. You cannot discard cards in your graveyard. Crucible of Worlds only allows you to play land cards in your graveyard; you do not treat them as though they are in your hand.
Q: When Forced Fruition is in play and named by the controller of Runed Halo, will they have to draw the cards from the Fruition effect?
A: Yes. Protection for a player from a source does three things: this player cannot be damaged by this source; he cannot be enchanted by this source; and he cannot be targeted by this source. Forced Fruition does none of those things, so having protection from Forced Fruition will not prevent a player from being forced to draw cards.
Q: If a planeswalker is declared as the target for an attack that would result in lethal damage being done to it, can a regenerate permanent effect, like Reknit, be played in response to save the planeswalker?
A: No. Regeneration replaces what happens when a permanent is destroyed, including if it is destroyed by lethal damage. Planeswalkers that have no loyalty counter on them are not destroyed, so regeneration will not replace what happens.
Q: If I hit my opponent with Intet, the Dreamer and I pay for its ability and remove a land, will I be able to play a land from my hand and the removed land on the same turn?
A: No, the restriction that you can only play one land a turn applies. The fact that you are playing one from the removed from game zone via an alternate method does not change this.
Q: With Sisters of Stone Death's ability, can you wait for the defending player to declare blockers and then, while this is all going on, target creatures that must block Sisters, or do you have to activate the Sisters' ability before the declare blockers step?
A: In order to force a creature to block, you must use that ability before blockers are declared. Using that ability after blockers have been declared will not do anything (and using the ability during the declaration of blockers is impossible).
Q: How does Exiled Doomsayer's ability affect things when Ixidor, Reality Scupltor is in play? Will it now cost 4U to turn a face-down creature face up?
A: No, not if you are using Ixidor's ability. Ixidor's ability is not a morph cost, so it is not affected by Exiled Doomsayer's ability. Using Ixidor's ability to turn a face-down creature face up will still cost just 2U.





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