Rules Tip of the Day: Just as when in any zone other than in play tokens cease to exist, when in any other zone other than the stack, copies of Instants and Sorceries cease to exist.

Q: My opponent attacks me with Phage, the Untouchable. I respond by redirecting 1 damage to my opponent using Shining Shoal. Does my opponent lose the game?

A: It depends, was Phage blocked? If so, then yes he will lose the game. However if Phage is unblocked and deals damage to you as well then you will most likely lose the game. This is because when Phage deals damage to both you and its controller at the same time Phage's ability that causes players to lose the game will trigger twice. The controller of Phage will then be able to determine the order that these triggered abilities go on the stack. If he is smart he will put the triggered ability that causes you to lose the game on the stack last, so it will resolve first and cause you to lose the game before he does.

Q: Does Orb of Dreams affect itself and thus come into play tapped?

A: No. That ability is a static ability that changes how permanents come into play at the moment they come into play. Assuming that there is not already an Orb of Dreams in play, then when an Orb of Dreams spell resolves and it enters play the effect from this static ability is not in effect yet. This also means that if Orb of Dreams and other permanents would come into play at the same time that those other permanents will come into play untapped.

Q: If I have a 3/3 creature attacking me and I let it go through unblocked and play Shining Shoal before combat damage, I have to pay 3WW to redirect this damage. But can I pay more than 3? And if so does that mean that I can discard Yosei, Morning Star to do 6 damage to the player?

A: No that doesn't work. You can only redirect as much damage as the chosen source would deal. You can still pay more for X, or discard a white card with a higher converted mana cost than the amount that would be dealt, but that does not mean the amount of damage increases.

Q: If I were to have Fangren Firstborn and Kira, Great Glass Spinner in play and attack, would my creatures get the counters put on them, or would Kira's ability counter it?

A: The ability of Fangren Firstborn does not target your attacking creatures, so they will get the +1/+1 counters.

Q: I have Questing Phelddagrif, Toshiro Umezawa, and Night of Soul's Betrayal in play and Counterspell in my graveyard. My opponent plays Wrath of God, can I activate Questing Phelddagriff ability to put a +1/+1 counter on Toshiro, and then get the chance to play Counterspell and counter his Wrath of God?

A: Yes that works. When the Pheldagriff's ability resolves, your opponent will get a Hippo token. Because of Night of Soul's Betrayal this token will go to the graveyard. Because of this, Toshiro's ability will trigger. When this triggered ability resolves you can play the Counterspell in your graveyard and counter the Wrath of God on the stack.

Q: With the new Defender ability does the card Rolling Stones still work since it says wall can attack wouldn’t the defender ability cancel it out and stop it from attacking?

A: Functionally the card works the same as it did before as its official Oracle text now reads; 'All Walls lose defender.'

Q: If I play Word of Command and force my opponent to play Tendrils of Agony, who will choose targets for the storm copies? I suspect it is my opponent, but just wanted to be sure.

A: You are correct. While the Word of Command allows you to choose the target of the original Tendrils, it does not grant you any control over the decisions regarding the Storm triggered ability or the copies made by this ability. In other words your opponent will be able to choose the targets for the Storm copies.

Q: I was playing a PTQ yesterday and my opponent played Duress targeting me. He saw my hand that I had Death Wish but he wrote in his notes "Black Wish." Then a turn after, he played Cabal Therapy, and said "Black Wish." I said that this card didn't exist, so he must name another card. Then he asked the nearest judge, ‘What's the name of the "Black wish" card?’ and the judge told him the real name. I said that this is not valid, that at least my opponent must name the text of the card and its cost. But the judge said that I was wrong. Is that true? Was I wrong?

A: A player does not have to give the exact text, including mana cost of the card he is thinking of in order for the judge to provide assistance. As long a he gives an adequate description of the card in question to the judge I see no reason why the judge should not tell him the name of the card he is thinking of. Since there aren't any other Black Wishes, what he said was reasonable.