Q: My question concerns Meddling Mage and Humility. I'm aware that if Humility is in play, Meddling Mage's"comes into play" ability isn't triggered. If Meddling Mage is out before Humility, though, wouldn't it still prevent the named card from being played? Or does Humility remove the static effect, effectively acting the same as if the Mage left play? If Meddling Mage is out, and Humility comes out after, what happens if Humility leaves play? Would the static effect the Mage produces begin"working" again?

A: He names a card during the resolution of Meddling Mage. Once the Mage comes into play, it doesn't have the static ability - but it does remember what the named card was. If Humility leaves play, the named card now can't be played. It doesn't matter in which order the Mage/Humility come into play.

Q: Can I play Oblation on my Decree of Silence before I would have to sacrifice it, and what would be the correct timing so I can have the Decree counter my opponent's third spell and then Oblation the Decree back into my deck? Or is this not possible and do I have to make the decision to either let the spell be countered and lose my Decree or play Oblation on my Decree but have my opponent's spell resolve?

A: The sacrifice because of a third counter is part of the resolution of the triggered ability; if it has two counters on it and your opponent plays a spell, you can respond to the triggered ability by playing Oblation. The spell will still be countered, and you'll draw two cards. Pretty good for 2W.

Q: When you play a Celestial Dawn, do non-basic lands lose their non-basic status by becoming plains... And if so, are they then immune to cards like Blood Moon and Back to Basics?

A: They become Plains, but don't gain the supertype"Basic" (rule 212.1d), so they would become non-basic Plains. They would then be affected by Blood Moon and Back to Basics.

Q: I control Battlefield Medic and a face-down Karona's Zealot. I attack with the Zealot; my opponent blocks with a morph. We put damage on the stack and I use the Medic's ability, targeting the Zealot for one; this ability resolves. With damage still on the stack, he unmorphs a Zombie Cutthroat, and I unmorph the Zealot, redirecting the damage to the Cutthroat. Will the Cutthroat take one from the redirection or two?

A: When two different replacement effects attempt to modify the same event, the controller of the affected permanent chooses which one applies. The Medic's ability has set up a damage prevention shield on the Zealot. The Zealot's ability has set up a damage redirection ability. Damage is assigned - two to the Zealot and two to the Cutthroat. When that damage goes to resolve, you can choose to have the Zealot's ability apply, redirecting two to the Cutthroat; the Medic's ability now has nothing to prevent or replace.

Q: I believe the current ruling on Chains of Mephistopheles is that it is a replacement effect. Once you choose to Millstone yourself for one card thanks to the Chains, any further draws currently on the stack are replaced with that single mill effect - in other words, if you Stroke of Genius someone for a thousand cards with a Chains in play, you need only mill one card off of your library and the other nine hundred and ninety-nine draws are nullified.

You could, of course, replace a number of those draws equal to the amount of mana you have to gain five life each with Words of Worship, and then mill yourself for one card to stop the rest of the draws...Right?

A: Although you're right that Chains of Mephistopheles has a replacement effect, you're not right about the right. When you draw multiple cards, you apply the Chains' (or any other) replacement effect to each card you would draw. If you were Stroked for a thousand, you'd end up milling until your library emptied. Words of Worship works similarly; one activation only replaces a single card draw. If you have both Chains and Words in play, you would choose which replacement effect would apply to any particular draw.

Q: If an opponent plays Control Magic on my 0/1 face-down creature cast under Illusionary Mask, can he flip it over by removing the counters even if he doesn't control the Mask? What if the Mask was removed from play? Will I still be allowed to flip the creature over by removing the counters?

A: He can turn it face-up by removing the counters. The ability that allows a permanent to be face down may also allow the permanent's controller to turn it face-up (rule 504.3). If the Mask leaves play, you can still turn it over by removing the counters.

Q: If I cast Replenish and return Living Lands and Natural Emergence to play from the graveyard - assuming I return something else for the Emergence's gating effect, of course - how do I figure out what happens to my Forests?

A: Since neither of those enchantments create dependencies, you get to determine their timestamps (rule 418.5e). You can apply Living Lands first and then Natural Emergence. Your lands will be 2/2 creatures with First Strike.

Q: Does a goblin in the out-of-play zone count as a goblin - in other words, can I kill a Foothill Guide with a Gempalm Incinerator? I know a cycled Incinerator counts as a red source and cannot harm a Silver Knight - but does it also count as a red goblin, even though its not in the in-play zone?

A: A card has all its characteristics in whatever zone it's in, although it doesn't have its abilities other than in play, unless the card specifically says so. The cycled Gempalm Incinerator can't destroy a Foothill Guide.

As always, thanks to Alex Charsky and Chris Wong for proofreading and feedback.