Rules Tip of the Day: Some spells and abilities allow you to choose "up to" a specified number of targets. In these instances, you can choose zero targets.

Q: I have Shrewd Hatchling in play. If I attack and my opponent blocks, can I activate Shrewd Hatchling's ability and make it so his creature is not blocking?

A: No. That ability prevents a creature from being declared as blocking Shrewd Hatchling. Once a block has been legally made, making it an illegal choice will not do anything. In order to prevent this creature from blocking, you have to activate Shrewd Hatchling's ability before blockers are declared.

Q: I'm playing a game with four copies of Demigod of Revenge in my graveyard. I play [[Body Double]. If I choose a Demigod of Revenge to copy, do all the copies enter play?

A: No. You did not play a Demigod of Revenge spell; you played a Body Double spell that became a Demigod of Revenge as it entered play. Demigod of Revenge's ability triggers when you play a Demigod of Revenge spell.

Q: Does Soul Warden and two copies of Flickerwisp allow me to gain arbitrary amounts of life?

A: Not really. A creature that is removed from the game by Flickerwisp's ability in the end of turn step of one turn will not return to play until the end of turn step of the next turn. You can gain life from this combination, but it will be slowly, over the course of several turns. In order to get as much life as you want, you'd have to go through that many turns.

Q: I have a Gilt-Leaf Archdruid in play and I take my opponent's Mosswort Bridge. How is the land treated when it comes into play under my control? Do I get his removed card to play or do I remove my own card to play under it?

A: This Mosswort Bridge does not come into play again, so its hideaway ability will not trigger. Because of this, you will not remove a different card. This removed card can be looked at by both you and your opponent at any time, as the hideaway ability allows anyone who has controlled this land at any point to see it. As you are now the controller of this land, you can play its activated ability and you can play the removed card, as long as the appropriate condition is met.

Q: I have Sensei's Devining Top and Hoofprints of the Stag in play. Does using the 'look' ability of the Top add counters to the Stag or are 'look' and 'draw' different?

A: They are different. Many effects, like the one created by Sensei's Divining Top's first ability, allow you look at the top cards of your library. Doing so is not the same thing as drawing a card.

Q: Can I use Undertaker's ability in response to Cyclopean Giant's triggered ability and return Cyclopean Giant to my hand, preventing it from bring removed from the game?

A: Yes, that does work. You can respond to Cyclopean Giant's leaves-play triggered ability by removing the Giant from your graveyard. If you do, the Giant will be in your hand when the ability resolves and it will not be removed from the game. However, the targeted land will still become a Swamp.

Q: I have a Reckless Embermage and a Mephidross Vampire in play. I activate the Embermage's ability once, targeting the Vampire. Does Reckless Embermage get two counters for dealing one damage to itself and one to the Vampire, or one just counter for using its abilty once?

A: It will end up gaining two counters. When its ability resolves, it deals a point of damage to two different creatures: itself and the Vampire. This will cause the ability that is given to it by the Vampire to trigger twice.

Q: Shifting Sky is in play making all non-land permanents red. Shyft is also in play. Will Shyft be able to change to a non-red color at the beginning of the controller's upkeep?

A: Yes. The effect from these two abilities are applied in the same layer according to timestamp order. The timestamp from Shyft's own riggered ability will be after the timestamp from the Shifting Sky in play, so Shyft's ability will determine its color.

Q: In a three-player game, player A playes Braids, Cabal Minion, then player B plays Braids, Conjurer Adept. On player C's turn, which Braids triggers first?

A: Technically, these triggered abilities both trigger at the same time. What you are asking is: what order do these abilities resolve? It depends on the turn order. The turn order here goes A, B, C, and it is player C's turn. In a two-player game, when multiple abilities trigger at the same time, they go on the stack in APNAP (Active Player, Non-Active Player) order. This means that those controlled by the active player go on the stack in whatever order he wants, followed by those controlled by the non-active player in whatever order he wants. In a multiplayer game this pattern continues according to turn order, so the ability of A's Braids, Cabal Minion will go on the stack first, followed by the B's Braids, Conjurer Adept. Then these triggered abilities will resolve in LIFO (Last In, First Out) order. In other words, the last item added to the stack will resolve first.