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Q: If I play Grab the Reins on my opponent's creature at the end of their turn (after end-of-turn abilities have already gone on stack), do I then control that creature until the end of my turn? I know that with Astral Slide, if you activate at that point during the phase, the creature wouldn't return until the end of my turn, but I'm wondering if there's a difference because of the wording difference in"at end of turn" and"until end of turn."
A: No. Grab the Reins lasts"until end of turn," which is during your Cleanup Step. Astral Slide triggers"at end of turn," which is during the End Step. The End Step happens first.
Q: If there is a Chalice of the Void in play set at zero, can anyone else play another Chalice?
A: Yes - unless you're playing the second Chalice for zero, because while on the stack (and only while on the stack), Chalice has a mana cost XX.
Q: I have a question concerning True Believer's effect; does it apply to me as well as my opponents? Can I play Entomb or Zombify when True Believer is out? Entomb targets me but if I cannot be the target of spells Entomb cannot be played.
A: True Believer applies to all spells and abilities. The good news is that you can still play Entomb, because it doesn't target you. If you read Entomb carefully, you'll see that it doesn't use the word"target," it just says"you."
Q: This is a stupid question, but my friends can't figure out if artifact lands have a casting cost of zero. This is because Glissa Sunseeker can be very evil if so. I don't think so because you never cast a land. Just let me know the ruling and such.
A: Artifact Lands, like all Lands, have a mana cost of zero. Glissa is a beating for Artifact Lands.
Q: According to your affinity ruling. If you have five artifacts in play....The casting cost for Assert Authority is two or less, thus you can imprint this card onto the Isochron Scepter. After the card is imprinted onto the card it stays, even if you have less than five artifacts in play. Right?
A: Wrong? Affinity doesn't change the converted mana cost of Assert Authority. It's always seven and can't be Imprinted on Isochron Scepter; I'm not sure how you gathered otherwise from past rulings.
Q: I need to know if Copy Artifact targets the artifact in play?
A: It doesn't target. During the resolution of the Copy Artifact spell, you simply choose an artifact in play to copy.
Q: I have an Energy Field out and my opponent attacks with two creatures. They then want to use Stifle on my Energy Field to allow the creatures to deal damage... Is that possible?
A: No. Energy Field's damage prevention isn't a triggered ability. He could, however, Stifle the sacrifice ability when a card goes to your graveyard (I don't know why he'd want to, but you might).
Q: I have an Arcane Laboratory out and my opponent plays something and I Counterspell it, can they cast another spell and add it to the stack - or does Arcane Laboratory stop that?
A: Arcane Lab stops him from playing a second spell. Even if his first spell was countered, it was still played.
Q: If I play Mana Short on a player, can he then tap his land in response and play something with the mana he gains from his response?
A: Yes he can. The best time to Mana Short him is during his Upkeep Step. That way he won't have the ability to use the mana during his Main Phase, which is the only time he can play Sorceries, Creatures, Artifacts, and Enchantments.
Q: What effects does Damping Matrix prohibit?
- Imprint (argument is that you have the choice of imprinting)
- Sacrificing a creature to Skirk Prospector (is this a mana ability?)
- Sacrificing a creature to Goblin Sledder
- Using mana to activate a Siege-Gang Commander's ability
- Plainscycling an Eternal Dragon
- Buying back anything from the graveyard (Undead Gladiator/Eternal Dragon/Hammer of Bogardan)
- Regenerating a Duskworker upon the Duskworker becoming blocked
- Any Slith's ability when it deals damage to an opponent.
I realize this is a rather lengthy list, but the main question I think is"what constitutes a triggered vs. an activated ability" since it seems like some things are oddly worded (imprint with the fact that you can choose to imprint or not) to cause confusion. Thanks.
A: Good question, and you've gotten to the heart of it: what's triggered and what's activated. Basically, if you initiate the action, it's activated; if something else causes it to happen, it's triggered. A triggered ability that requires an optional payment is still a triggered ability.
- Imprint. Triggered ability; not prohibited.
- Skirk Prospector. Mana ability; not prohibited.
- Goblin Sledder. Activated ability; prohibited.
- Siege-Gang Commander. Activated ability; prohibited.
- Plainscycling. Activated ability, but of a card not in play; not prohibited.
- Bringing back cards from the graveyard. Activated ability, but of a card not in play; not prohibited.
- Duskworker. Triggered ability; not prohibited.
- Slith. Triggered ability; not prohibited.
