Rules Tip of the Day: It used to be that all artifacts lost their abilities when tapped. That was changed with the introduction of the 6th Edition rules just over 6 years ago. Now there are only a few artifacts whose effects 'turn off' when they are tapped.

The artifacts like this are Howling Mine, Winter Orb, Static Orb, Storage Matrix, Watchdog, Voodoo Doll, Trinisphere, Blinkmoth Urn, and Farsight Mask.

Q: I have Sands of Time in play (or Stasis) that got phased out by Teferi's Realm. At the beginning of my next untap step all phased out permanents phase in including the Sands of Time. And what exactly happens next? I mean right at this moment I'm in the middle of my untap step when a permanent enters play that tells me to skip my untap step. Do I have to skip the rest of the untap step?

A: You won't skip your untap step as you are already in it. If an effect tells you to skip the step or phase you are already in, you ignore that instruction. However if the effect said to skip the next instance of that step or phase you will skip the next occurrence of it. In order to skip a step or phase the effect must be in place before the step or phase would begin.

Q: If I activate Æther Vial with 2 counters on it and my opponent destroys it in response, before the ability resolves, can I still put a creature with a cost of 2 into play? Or is the number of counters now considered to be 0?

A: When the Æther Vial ability resolves it will use the last know information about the Æther Vial when it was in play. At that time it had 2 counters on it so you will be able to put a creature into play with a converted mana cost of 2.

Q: In a creatureless red burn deck, can I declare an attack phase with 0 creatures and then play Gorilla War Cry so that I would get the bonus of drawing an extra card next turn?

A: Yes, that is legal. You will have a combat phase even if you do not attack. Just play the Gorilla War Cry in the beginning of combat step.

Q: What happens if I target Firestorm with Desperate Gambit? Let's say I discard 5 cards for Firestorm, win the Desperate Gambit flip targeting the Firestorm. Do I deal 10 damage to 5 targets?

A: If you win the flip then yes, this Firestorm will deal 10 points of damage to its 5 targets.

Q: When the ability of Oath of Druids triggers and my creatures are in my graveyard and Gaea's Blessing goes to the graveyard, I shuffle my deck and graveyard. Do I keep doing the Oath of Druids ability until a creature is revealed?

A: This can not happen as you have described. You do not shuffle your graveyard and the Gaea's Blessing back into your library until after the Oath of Druids ability resolves completely. If you put your entire library into your graveyard without revealing a creature card then the Oath of Druids ability will stop as it can not do anything further. Then the Gaea's Blessing ability will go on the stack and when it resolves it will shuffle your graveyard back into your library.

Q: Does Darksteel Forge give its ability to itself? Can you just destroy it if it is out in play with Echoing Ruin?

A: Darksteel Forge does make itself indestructible. You can target it with Echoing Ruin, but it will not destroy it.

Q: Could you explain the rules of Soul Barrier in a game that has more than two players? Does every opponent become the"target opponent" when they play a creature, or do I choose one opponent to be the permanent target, and if so when that opponent gets knocked out does Soul Barrier become obsolete or do I reselect a target?

A: Here is the Oracle text for Soul Barrier:

Soul Barrier 2U Enchantment Whenever an opponent plays a creature spell, Soul Barrier deals 2 damage to that player unless he or she pays 2.

As you can see this ability does not target. It will be applied to each of your opponents in this game.

Q: If I have control of an Elf with Callous Oppressor and then an effect makes me gain control of all Elves (like Peer Pressure), can I now untap my Callous Oppressor but keep control of that Elf?

A: Yes, you can safely untap your Oppressor as the more recent effect that gives you control of the Elf will be applied.

Q: My friend and I disagree about how a play should work. If I play Ray of Command to control his Nightmare but have no Swamps does it die? I think it would die, since it has a power and toughness equal to zero, thus killing it, but he thinks it would just not be able to do anything, or revert to his hand.

A: You are correct. If you Ray of Command your opponent's Nightmare and you do not control any Swamps, then this Nightmare will go to the graveyard as soon as the Ray of Command has finished resolving.

Q: It is my turn; I pass priority during my end step. My opponent chooses to pool mana (for the purpose of mana burning). Can I then pool mana, even though I do not have priority?

A: Yes you can generate mana, because you will gain priority again. You do not advance to the next step or phase unless both players pass priority on an empty stack without doing anything. Tapping a land for mana may not use the stack, but it does count as performing an action. Because your opponent has done this when he passes priority it will pass back to you before advancing to the next step or phase. If you then pass priority then the game will advance to the step or phase. If you also generate mana then your opponent will gain priority again.