Rules Tip of the Day: All counters put on permanents in Magic have names. Counters generated by different effects that have the same name are interchangeable. Some abilities refer to specific counters by name, some do not. Those abilities that do not refer to specifically named counters (like Clockspinning) can affect any counter.

Q: How does Light from Within work with Figure of Destiny if the Figure became an 8/8? Do the five white mana from its ability count, or just the mana I spent when I initially played the Figure?

A: The mana cost of an object appears in the upper right corner of the card. What mana you spend to change the characteristics of a card does not matter. Figure of Destiny only has one white mana symbol in its mana cost (the red/white hybrid mana symbol), so Light from Within will only give +1/+1 to Figure of Destiny. Also the bonus from Light From Within is due to a static ability, so it is applied after the power- and toughness-setting abilities of Figure of Destiny. This means that in this example, the Figure of Destiny will be a 9/9.

Q: Can I play Counterbore targeting Vexing Shusher just to search my opponents hand, library, and graveyard for more Vexing Shushers to remove them from the game, or can I not even target a Vexing Shusher with a counterspell?

A: Yes, you can target a Vexing Shusher spell with Counterbore. The fact that the Shusher spell cannot be countered does not matter. When Counterbore resolves, it will not counter the spell, but the other portions will be applied. This means you will be able to look through the player's hand, library, and graveyard for additional copies of Vexing Shusher and remove them from the game.

Q: I have Quillspike and Kitchen Finks in play, and my opponent has a Godhead of Awe. When my Kitchen Finks dies, will I be able to remove the -1/-1 counter before the Finks goes back into the graveyard from being a 0/0?

A: No. The Kitchen Finks will be returned to play as a 0/0 creature. Immediately after its persist ability resolves, state-based effects will be checked. At this time, the Finks will go to the graveyard before anyone can play any spells or abilities.

Q: If I play Inside Out on my Wee Dragonauts, do the effects resolve in the order that they go to the stack, do I get to choose the order, or is the bonus always added to damage? In other words, will my 1/3 Dragonauts get the +2/+0 bonus for my playing an instant and then switch power and toughness, making it a 3/3, or does the +2 always apply to the current power of the creature making him a 5/1, or do I get to choose which one happens?

A: When you play Inside Out, Wee Dragonaut's ability will trigger and go on the stack on top of Inside Out. This triggered ability will resolve first. But regardless of the order that these spells and abilities resolve, you always apply 'switch' effects last when calculating the power and toughness of a creature. The Wee Dragonaut's will always end up as a 3/3, as the +2/+0 effect from its own ability is applied before its P/T is switched.

Q: Can Drove of Elves be countered by a counterspell?

A: Yes, its ability that makes it untargetable by spells and abilities controlled by an opponent only applies when it is in play, not when it is a spell on the stack.

Q: I have Heritage Druid and Imperious Perfect in play and my opponent plays a Firespout. Then I play a Cauldron Haze targeting both of my Elves. When the Imperious Perfect and Heritage Druid come back into play, does the Imperious Perfect's ability keep the Heritage Druid alive, or does it die as soon as he hits play?

A: It depends on which is returned to play first. As you are the controller of these creatures, you can determine the order that they return to play. Assuming that you want the Heritage Druid to return and stay in play you need to put its persist triggered ability on the stack first, so it resolves last. This way, when it does return to play, the Imperious Perfect will already be in play. The Perfect's ability will effectively counter the effect from the -1/-1 counter and the Druid will remain in play as a 1/1 creature.

Q: I have a Cairn Wanderer and creatures in the graveyard with first strike and doublestrike. How do I resolve having both abilities on the Wanderer?

A: Having both is somewhat redundant. Having both first strike and double strike is treated the same as just having double strike.

Q: I have a question about Primitive Etchings and Abundance. If I have both in play, and when I draw a card during my draw phase, I choose to draw a nonland card and get a creature card, then do I get to draw another card with the ability of Primitive Etchings?

A: No. If you replace your draw by taking advantage of Abundance's ability then you do not actually draw a card. As you are not drawing anything, Primitive Etching's ability will not have you reveal anything, and Primitive Etching's ability cannot trigger.

Q: When using Mana Leech, if I use Puppeteer's ability to untap it, and then tap it again to tap another land, will both lands stay tapped?

A: No, only the one targeted by the ability the second time will stay tapped. The effect created by Mana Leech ends as soon as Mana Leech becomes untapped. If it is untapped before its ability resolves, then the effect is never applied.