Rules Tip of the Day: Unless the text on a card specifies otherwise, abilities of artifacts, creatures, lands and enchantments are only applied when those cards are in play.
Q: Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker is in play, along with Bile Urchin. During the controller's second main phase, he sacrifices Bile Urchin, doing 1 to the opponent. The opponent then plays Otherworldly Journey on Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker. The question being, will Shirei come back in time at the end of the turn for Bile Urchin to come back, or is Bile Urchin gone forever?
A: Yes, Shirei will be back in play, but the Bile Urchin will not return to play. At the beginning of this end of turn step we have two triggered abilities that try to go on the stack at the same time. When this happens, they go on the stack in APNAP order, meaning those controlled by the active player go on the stack first followed by those controlled by the non-active player. This means that Shirei's delayed triggered ability will go on the stack first followed by Otherworldly Journey's delayed triggered ability. Otherworldly Journey will resolve first and return the Shirei card to play with a +1/+1 counter on it. However when a card goes from one zone to another it is treated as a new object. This means that this Shirei will not be the same one that was in play earlier in the turn. The delayed triggered ability created by Shirei refers to that particular creature in play , and not any card with the name Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker. This means when this delayed triggered ability resolves the Bile urchin will not be returned to play.
Q: Lets say I play First Volley on my opponent's Frostling, Splicing Glacial Ray targeting my opponent. If he sacrifices his Frostling in response, does he still take the one damage from the Volley?
A: Yes he will. If Glacial Ray was not Spliced onto this FIrst Volley then First Volley would have become countered on resolution as it would have had only one target and this target would have been illegal. However, as Glacial Ray's target is still legal, the spell will resolve and do as much as possible. As Frostling is no longer a legal target, the game will use last known information about the Frostling and deal a point of damage to whoever was its controller when it left play.
Q: I am active player and I play First Volley with Glacial Ray Spliced onto
it. My opponent plays Sideswipe in response. What does he choose now? Does Sideswipe change target for both spells (First Volley and Glacial Ray) or he must choose one spell ( First Volley or Glacial Ray ) to change target from it?
A: This is still only a single spell, even though it has text Spliced onto it. This means that he can change all of the targets; the target of the First Volley portion and the target of the spliced on text.
Q: I have Night of Soul's Betrayal and Toshiro Umezawa in play. I tap Forbidden Orchard for mana. Do I get to play an instant in my graveyard with Toshiro?
A: Yes, this token comes into play and it does go to your opponent's graveyard, because of this Toshiro's ability will trigger.
Q: I have Horobi, Death's Wail and Soilshaper in play. If I play a Spirit or Arcane spell, can I animate my opponent's land and then destroy it because it was targeted (via Horobi)?
A: No, Horobi's abitliy only triggers when a creature is targeted. This targeted land does not become a creature until after the Soilshaper's ability has resolved. However it will be destroyed if you target after it has become a creature.
Q: My question is about Lifespinner in combination with Floating-Dream Zubera.
If I activate Lifespinner's ability and sacrifice one or more Floating-Dream Zubera, do I have to draw cards before I search my library for a Legendary Spirit card? This could be bad in some situations, like if I draw the Legend I wanted to search for and put into play.
A: Yes, because the Floating-Dream Zubera has a triggered ability and this ability goes on the stack on top of the Lifespinner's ability, you will draw card(s) before you search your library for a Legendary spirit.
Q: Summoner's Egg is in play, with a creature Imprinted on it. The opponent uses a control magic-type spell to steal the Egg. I play Wrath of God. The Imprinted creature comes into play, but under whose control? His, because he controlled the Egg, or mine, because the imprinted creature was placed into my removed-from-game zone when the Egg was played?
A: You do not have your own removed from game zone, it is shared by both players like the in play zone. Because of this, if the removed card was a creature card it will come into lay under your opponent's control.
Q: I have a question about Meddling Mage and Boseiju, Who Shelters All. If I have Intuition in my hand and my opponent has played Meddling Mage naming Intuition, can I play the Intuition using Boseiju?
A: No, Meddling Mage's ability prevents the named from nonland card from being played, it does not counter it when it is played. Even if you have mana from Boseiju available, you can't play Intuition in this example.
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