Rules Tip of the Day: Tapping a blocking creature will not remove it from combat, make the attacking creature unblocked, or cause the blocking creature to not deal combat damage.

Q: My friend seems to think that if he has three copies of Figure of Destiny in play that are all 1/1s, he can activate the one-mana ability of one of them to cause all three to become 2/2s. is this true?

A: No. Activating the ability of one Figure of Destiny will not change the power and toughness or creature types of any other Figure of Destiny in play. In order for these other Figures to have their power and toughness changed, your opponent will have to activate and pay for their abilities.

Q: Can I use Gilder Bairn to double the loyalty counters on a planeswalker?

A: Yes. Planeswalkers are permanents, and you can use Gilder Bairn's ability to double the number of loyalty counter on one.

Q: Can two copies of Cinder Pyromancer create an endless loop with conspire if the conspired spell is red?

A: No. First of all, you can only pay conspire costs as you play a spell with conspire. You cannot pay the cost at any other time, and you cannot pay this cost when a copy of a conspire spell is put on the stack. In this example, you can play Burn Trial and tap two Pyromancers to conspire it. Each Pyromancer's ability will trigger, as you played a red spell, but that's it.

Q: When I play Hallowed Burial, will token creatures be destroyed because they cannot go to the library?

A: No, but the effect is basically the same. Token creatures are not destroyed by Hallowed Burial, and they can go to the library. However, after Hallowed Burial resolves, these tokens will cease to exist, as they are not in play. When resolving Hallowed Burial, its best to just put the actual creature cards on the bottom of your libraries and not put the tokens there.

Q: If I play a Puncture Blast and target a 1/1 creature with regenerate, and that creature regenerates, does it lose all three -1/-1 counters?

A: No. First of all, when a creature regenerates, it does not lose any counters on it. Also, if this creature has its toughness lowered to zero or below due to the -1/-1 counters, it cannot regenerate. Regeneration replaces what happens when a creature is destroyed, either by an effect or from receiving lethal damage. When a creature has its toughness lowered to zero or below, it is not destroyed. This is true even if it has received -1/-1 counters from damage from a source with wither. In this example, this creature will end up as a -2/-2 creature, so it will not regenerate.

Q: When I play Runed Halo and name Pillory of the Sleepless, will I still be affected by Pillory of the Sleepless and continue to lose one life per upkeep?

A: Yes. Pillory of the Sleepless' ability does not target or deal damage, so you will continue to lose one life each turn. Runed Halo will not be able to prevent this.

Q: How do the cards Rain Of Gore and Everlasting Torment work together when a player gains life?

A: Both Rain of Gore and Everlasting Torment have replacement effects that try to affect what happens whenever a spell or ability would cause its controller to gain life. When two or more replacement effects would apply to one event, the controller of the affected permanent—or the affected player—chooses which of these effects to apply first. Once one of these effects is applied, the other is applied, if it still can (in this case, it cannot). This means that the player that would gain life can choose to either A) not gain life, or B) lose life equal to the amount they would have gained instead. I'm guessing that the first option is the one that is chosen more often.

Q: I was confused by a recent ruling about who controls the triggered ability of Pandemonium. How is this different from who controls the activated ability of Oona's Prowler in the Dodecapod example in your archives?

A: Pandemonium's ability is not an activated ability; nobody played it. The controller of an activated ability is whoever played it. The controller of a triggered ability, like the ability on Pandemonium, is whoever controlled its source when the ability triggered.

Q: If I target Epochrasite with Vision Charm, will it come into play as a 4/4 when it phases back in?

A: No. Epochrasite only comes into play with three +1/+1 counters if it enters play and it was not played from your hand. When a permanent phases into play, it is not treated as though it is entering play, so it will not enter play with any counters other than counters that were on it as it left play.