Rules Tip of the Day: Damage from sources with wither is dealt in -1/-1 counters. This damage can lower a creature's toughness to zero or below. When state-based effects are checked, and a creature's toughness is zero or below, it goes to the graveyard. This is not the same as a creature being destroyed. This means that an indestructible creature can go to the graveyard this way.

Q: I play Chaotic Backlash while my oponent control Sygg, River Guide, Lord of Atlantis, and Augury Adept. How much damage does Chaotic Backlash deal? My opponent control three different permanents, but he has three blue permanents and two white permanents. Does it deal six or ten damage?

A: Just six. It does not matter that some of these permanents are both white and blue. Chaotic Backlash counts permanents that are white, blue, or white and blue, it does not count the number of colors that they have.

Q: If Cauldron of Souls gives Eternal Witness persist, and it comes back into play and immediately goes to the graveyard, will it still put its comes-into-play trigger on the stack?

A: Yes, it will come back into play as a 1/0 creature, and its ability will trigger. Then, after the persist ability finishes resolving, state-based effects are checked, and the Witness will go to your graveyard. After this happens, the comes-into-play trigger will go on the stack, and you will choose a target for this ability. This means that you can target the Witness itself with its own ability.

Q: How many times can you activate Intimidator Initiate's ability after a red spell has been cast?

A: That ability is not activated; it is a triggered ability. When you play a red spell, this ability triggers, goes on the stack, and you choose a target for it. Then, when the ability resolves, you can pay one mana to prevent the targeted creature from blocking this turn. This means that for each red spell you play, you can only prevent one creature from blocking.

Q: I have Glen Elendra Pranksters and two other Faeries in play. My opponent plays a two-mana creature, and I respond with Spellstutter Sprite. Can I bounce my Sprite back into my hand with the Pranksters before he activates a Prodigal Sorcerer and kills my Sprite?

A: No. The Pranksters' ability triggers when you play the Sprite. When you choose a target for this ability, the Sprite spell is on the stack. It's not a creature in play, so you cannot target it.

Q: If I play Condemn on a token, what happens?

A: The token is put on the bottom of its owner's library; that player gains life equal to its toughness, and then, after Condemn has completely resolved, the token will cease to exist.

Q: The second sentence on Rally the Righteous reads "those creatures get ..." Does "those" refer to the untapped creatures, or the creatures that share a color with the target creature?

A: It means those creatures that share a color with the targeted creature; it does not matter if they became untapped.

Q: Does Ambush Commander have any effect on dual lands that produce green mana, like Tropical Island?

A: Yes, as long as that land has the basic land type Forest. It will not animate those lands that can generate green mana but are not Forests. Tropical Island is a Forest, so it will become a creature.

Q: May I use Rings of Brighthearth's ability to copy the activated ability from Regeneration to regenerate a different creature than the one that is enchanted, as it says, "you may choose new targets for the copy"?

A: No, the ability on Regeneration does not target at all; it only affects the enchanted creature.

Q: Is it possibe to play Haakon, Stromgald Scourge as the general in a Elder Dragon Highlander deck? By that, I mean: can you actually put him in play?

A: You can make him your General, but you cannot play him when he is in the removed from game zone. You could play something like Pull from Eternity to get it into your graveyard, and then play it from there. The only problem here is that Pull from Eternity is white, and can't be in your Haakon deck. You'd need to find some other way, like bribing an opponent, to get it into your graveyard. It is potentially possible, but difficult.