Rules Tip of the Day: Combat damage is only dealt as a result of creatures attacking and blocking. Activated abilities, even played during the combat phase, are not combat damage.

Q: If, at the end of my opponents turn, I unmorph a creature, does my opponent get priority back? I know Morph doesn't use the stack and he cannot respond to it, but does that mean that both players have passed on an empty stack.

A: Taking any action, even one that doesn't use the stack, breaks the"players pass in succession" chain. You'll still have priority; your opponent will get priority back after you've passed it to him. If he passes, then the game moves forward.

Q: I have Talon of Pain and Pentavus in play with three Pentavites. I attack with all the Pentavites and the Pentavus. My Pentavus gets blocked by Tangle Spider. With damage on the stack, I sacrifice my Pentavites to save my Pentavus. Does the Talon of Pain still get counters?

A: Yes. Talon of Pain triggers on a source you control dealing damage, and the damage was dealt by a source you controlled. That the Pentavites weren't in play when the damage resolved isn't important. A source is also a card or permanent referred to by a spell or ability on the stack (rule 419.8a).

Q: I play Exhume and return Visara the Dreadful from my graveyard. My opponent returns Clone and chooses Visara. What happens?

A: He can't choose Visara for the Clone. Visara and Clone return to play simultaneously. Clone can only copy something that was in play before it was. If there's nothing else to copy, the Clone will be 0/0 and put into the graveyard.

Q: If I play Beacon of Immortality, will my Ageless Entity get tokens equal to my life total, even thought Beacon does not say"gain life", but instead it says"double target player's life total?"

A: Ageless Entity will trigger. Any time your life total changes it's considered gaining or losing life, even if the gain/loss is a variable amount or the ability sets your life to a particular value (like with Form of the Dragon). If you were at 20 life, your Ageless Entity is going to be huge.

Q: If I have have Salvaging Station, Ornithopter, and Grinding Station in play, can I sacrifice my Ornithopter to Grinding Station, untapping Salvaging Station, and tap Salvaging Station to return my Ornithopter to play, so I can repeat it all and deck my opponent? Does this also work with Blasting Station instead of Grinding Station?

A: No, it doesn't work, because Salvaging Station will only return a noncreature artifact to play. It would work if Salvaging Station let you return an artifact creature.

Q: If Synod Sanctum has already been tapped to remove the creature, am I able to activate the sacrifice ability while it is tapped, or is the artifact considered"turned off" and abilities are not allowed?

A: Artifacts in general are not"turned off" when they're tapped, unless the card specifically says so (like Howling Mine and Winter Orb, among a few others). You can indeed use the sacrifice ability of Synod Sanctum when it's tapped because the activation cost doesn't include tapping it, just paying mana and sacrificing it.

Q: Am I allowed to announce the activated ability for an artifact like Goblin Charbelcher, then sacrifice it for the mana for that ability to Krark-Clan Ironworks?

A: Yes, you are. The first thing you do when you announce an ability is put it on the stack (rule 409.1a). That ability will remain on the stack until it either resolves or is countered, regardless of whether the permanent is still in play. Later during announcement, you can play mana abilities (409.1g) and then pay costs (rule 409.1h). That being said, it doesn't work with an artifact that you have to tap as part of it's activation cost (like the aforementioned Charbelcher) because it's not around to be tapped at (409.1h).

Q: Endless Whispers in is play and I play Blistering Firecat face up. We're going to have Hasty Firecats every turn aren't we?

A: Yes. You'll be able to attack with it every other turn. Blistering Firecat goes away at your EOT, so Endless Whispers triggers. The delayed triggered ability will go on the stack at the end of your opponent's turn, putting it into play, so he won't have to sacrifice it until the end of yours. When he does, Endless Whispers will bring it back under your control at the end of his. You can attack with it that turn, and then the cycle starts over.