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Rules Tip of the Day: Trample changes how combat damage is assigned, not how it is dealt.
Q: If I have Sculpting Steel in play and my opponent uses Splinter on it, would all instances of Sculpting Steel be removed from my hand, graveyard, and library or would the card Sculpting Steel is copying be removed?
A: As long as Sculpting Steel is copying something, then it will have the name of what it is copying. In this example your opponent will be able to search for cards with the same name as the name of whatever Sculpting Steel was copying.
Q: I have a Swamp enchanted by Genju of the Fens. My opponent targets the Swamp with Befoul and in response I use the Genju ability to animate the swamp and make it a black creature. What happens?
A: The Befoul will resolve and destroy this permanent. All that matters is that the targeted permanent is a land or a nonblack creature when it is played and when it resolves. Even if it is one of those two and something else, it will still be destroyed.
Q: I have a Legendary Shrine Honden in play with a divinity counter on it from That Which Was Taken. Then I play a Mirror Gallery, and then a second of the same shrine, and put a divinity counter on that one too. If Wear Away or some kind of artifact destruction destroys the Mirror Gallery (I know, I should have made the Gallery indestructible), would the divinity counters protect the Legendary Shrines?
A: No. The Legend Rule does not cause permanents to be destroyed, when two legendary permanents with the same name are in play at the same time they go to the graveyard without being destroyed. Because of this making a Legendary permanent indestructible will not cause it to remain in play. If it did then you could have any number of Konda, Lord of Eiganjo in play without anything like Mirror Gallery.
Q: If you have Sacred Ground and a Genju-enchanted land in play, in which of the following situations would the Sacred Ground return the enchanted land to play? Your opponent plays a spell that deals damage (Example, Electrostatic Bolt). What about an effect like Echoing Decay on a land that has a blue Genju on it? Or how about combat damage?
A: The enchanted land will not be returned to play in any of those instances. In all of those examples the land/creature goes to the graveyard because of state-based effects (which are game rules) and not due to an effect controlled by an opponent.
Q: If my opponent uses Aether Vial, and I Stifle the ability, where does the creature that he was going to Vial in go? Does it go to graveyard or just remain in his hand?
A: He does not choose or reveal a card to put into play until Æther Vial's ability resolves. If this ability is countered, then this card never leaves his hand.
Q: If there is Cowardice and Morphling in play, and the Morphling is targetted can the Morphling's controller pay 1 blue to make it untargettable to avoid it getting bounced?
A: The Morphling will still be returned to its owner's hand, even if Morphling's ability is used. Cowardice's ability triggers when a creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, but this ability is not contingent on the targeted spell or ability resolving. Additionally, Cowardice's ability does not target. This means that even if the targeted creature later become untargetable, Cowardice's ability will still resolve and return it to its owner's hand.
Q: I have a creature in play with +1/+1 counters on it. My opponent plays Humble targeting that creature. Does Humble do as it says, or do the counters remain making the creature a 0/1 plus whatever counters are on it?
A: I'll be a 0/1 creature. The effect from the Humble is applied after the bonus from the +1/+1 counters is. This is because when figuring out the power and toughness of a creature you start with the base power and toughness or any characteristic setting abilities, factor in the effect from counters and finally all other power and toughness effects.
Q: I control Choke. Can I then use Whim of Volrath to change the word ‘Island’ to ‘Swamp’ on it?
A: Yes, but it doesn't do you much good. Whim or Volrath's effect only last until the end of the current turn. You can change the word 'island' to some other basic land type on Choke, but the effect will wear off before the next untap step.
