Rules Tip of the Day: Creatures are unable to tap to activate their own ability that has the tap symbol and are unable to attack unless their current controller has controlled them since the beginning of their most recent turn. It does not matter if this creature has been in play for several turns; if it changes controllers, it will be affected by what used to be called "summoning sickness."

Q: How long are the cards from Brilliant Ultimatum available to be played without paying the cost?

A: Only during the resolution of Brilliant Ultimatum. When this spell resolves, you reveal the top five cards of your library; your opponent puts them into two piles; you choose a pile and then play any number of cards from the chosen pile right then. Any you do not play will remain in the removed from game zone with those cards from the pile you did not choose.

Q: With Ethersworn Canonist, it says "Each player who has played a nonartifact spell this turn can't play additional nonartifact spells." Does that apply to each turn, or only the turn that it comes into play? The phrase "this turn" is throwing me off.

A: It applies to all turns. The Canonist has a static ability that applies as long as it is in play.

Q: If you unearth something while River Kelpie is in play, do both of his triggered abilities trigger, causing you to draw two cards?

A: No, only River Kelpie's second ability will trigger when this creature comes into play. Unearth is an activated ability; it is not an alternate play cost. When you play an unearth ability, you are not playing a spell from the graveyard, so River Kelpie's first ability will not trigger.

Q: I have a question about Cruel Ultimatum. When I play the spell, I obviously have to be able to target an opponent, but do I have to have a creature in my graveyard which I can return to my hand?

A: No. Cruel Ultimatum does not target any cards in a graveyard. When it resolves, you choose a creature card in your graveyard to put in your hand if there is one there. If there is not then that portion of the spell will do nothing, but the rest will still be applied.

Q: Can you Swerve a Cryptic Command that is countering a spell you've played, changing the "counter target spell" to counter the Cryptic Command itself, since the spell is now on the stack?

A: You can only do that if this Cryptic Command has just a single target. If the 'bounce target permanent' mode has also been chosen, then this spell will not have just one target, and therefore cannot be targeted by Swerve. If either of the other two non-targeted modes have been chosen, then yes, what you want to do works. In these instances, the Cryptic Command will end up being countered on resolution.

Q: You have Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder in play, and there are no Thrull tokens are in play. You play a Tar Fiend. Will the six Thrull tokens from Endrek's triggered ability come into play before the Tar Fiend, thus providing free food for the Fiend's devour ability?

A: Yes. Endrek Sahr's ability triggers when you play a creature spell. These token Thrulls will enter play before this creature spell resolves. As you choose which creatures to sacrifice to a devour ability when the creature with devour comes into play, they will be in play and ready and waiting to be devoured.

Q: Does Cradle of Vitality work with Invincible Hymn?

A: Yes. If, when Invincible Hymn resolves, your life total goes up, you will be gaining life. This means that Cradle of Vitality's ability will trigger.

Q: Does Prince of Thralls ability activate on token creatures?

A: The ability will trigger (it is a triggered ability, not an activated one). However, token creatures cannot be returned to play once they leave play, and will cease to exist when state-based effects are checked. So the controller of the Prince of Thralls will not get this token creature, even if the three life is not paid.

Q: I have Death Baron in play, who grants my 1/1 Skeleton token +1/+1 and deathtouch. The skeleton token attacks and is blocked by Opal-Eye, Kondo's Yojimbo, currently a 3/10 enchanted with Ward of Piety. The defending player spends 1W to redirect the damage Opal Eye takes to my Death Baron. Does the deathtouch ability affect Opal-Eye or Death Baron?

A: If he only activated the ability of this Ward of Piety once, then it will affect both. This attacking Skeleton is dealing two points of damage. If only one point of this damage is redirected, then one point will be dealt to Opal-Eye and the other to the redirected creature, Death Baron. As this attacking creature has deathtouch, this ability will trigger once for each creature that is dealt damage.

Q: I have a Portcullis in play and I have played more than the alloted two creatures (so they are piling up in the removed from game zone) and I want to play Wrath of God. Do the RFG creatures come back to play two at a time after the Wrath resolves, or are all the creatures destroyed?

A: Only those two creatures in play will be destroyed; in any other zone, including the removed from game zone, they are just creature cards. The creature cards that were removed from the game by Portcullis will remain removed from the game. They will stay there as long as Portcullis remains in play.