Rules Tip of the Day: Unless specified or the ability cannot work anywhere else, static abilities of a card are only applied when that card is in play.

Q: What kind of ability is the one given by Channel? How does it interact with Pithing Needle?

A: When Channel resolves it creates a continuous effect that lasts until the end of the current turn. Taking advantage of this effect is not playing an activated ability, it is just taking advantage of this effect. Because of this you cannot prevent a player from paying life and getting mana with Pithing Needle.

Q: My opponent attacks with a 2/3 Samurai with Bushido 1. I block with Shape Stealer. Does Shape Stealer's power and toughness equal 2/3 or does it also get the +1/+1 his Samurai gained through Bushido?

A: In this example, when you block the abilities of the Shape Stealer and the Samurai will both trigger. As you are the non-active player the ability of the Shape Stealer will go on the stack last and resolve first. This means that the Shape Stealer's power and toughness will become 2/3, as the Bushido ability will not have resolved yet and given the Samurai +1/+1.

Q: My opponent attacks me with Adamaro. I have four cards in hand. Can I play Terashi's Verdict targeting Adamaro? My reasoning for thinking I can is that according to rule 409.1a, the spell leaves your hand right away, and targets aren't chosen until step c, when the spell would no longer be in your hand.

A: Yes you can, and for the reason you gave. When you play a spell the first thing that happens is the card goes on the stack. Because of this, when you choose a target for Terashi's Verdict you only have three cards in your hand and Adamaro is a legal target for this spell.

Q: I have Night of Soul's Betrayal in play, and the next turn my opponent plays Undead Warchief. I was thinking it goes to the graveyard, because the Night of Souls' Betrayal was already in play, but please prove me wrong.

A: The continuous effects of the Night of Souls' Betrayal and the Undead Warchief's will be applied one at a time according to timestamp order, but state-based effect will not be checked in-between when they are applied. Because of this the Warchief will end up being a 2/1 creature and remain in play.

Q: If Orb of Dreams doesn't affect itself, then why does Crusade come into play as a 3/3 when Opalescence is in play?

A: While both have static abilities, the static ability of Crusade is applied at all times that Crusade is in play, where the static ability of Orb of Dreams creates a replacement effect that is only applied when a permanent comes into play. If Orb of Dreams is not in play, then you cannot apply this replacement effect to the event that puts the Orb into play.

Q: During a Shahrazad sub-game I play and resolve an Epic spell. Am I prohibited from playing further spells and abilities in the main game? Or if I play an Epic spell in the main game and my opponent plays Shahrazad, can I play spells in the subgame?

A: The Epic effect is only applied to the game or subgame you are currently in. No, you will still be able to play spells in the main game. Effects from a subgame will not carry over into the main game, and an Epic spell that has resolved in the main game will nto prevent you from playing spells in a subgame.

Q: Say if somebody Psychic Spears me and when it resolves there is only one spirit or arcane card for him to choose, but he does not notice it and thinks there are no valid cards in my hand. Am I required to tell him hey this is a card in my hand for him to choose?

A: Yes you do need to point out that there is indeed a Spirit or Arcane card in your hand that can be discarded. Failure to do so is cheating.

Q: Also, if he controls Infernal Kirin, and plays a spirit or arcane spell with a converted mana cost of four, when the Kirin’s ability resolves and I required to point out that I should discard the Cranial Extraction in my hand?

A: Definitely. When Infernal Kirin's ability resolves you are to discard all cards with the same converted mana cost as the spell that triggered Infernal Kirin's ability. It is not up to your opponent to seek and find these cards. Failing to discard the appropriate cards is cheating.

Q: I was under the impression that the above situations are similar to the fact that if I controlled my opponent’s turn, due to Mindslaver, I could sacrifice his Sakura tribe-Elder and fail to find a basic land even though there is one there.

A: No,this is not similar. Sakura Tribe-Elder's ability has you search through a hidden zone and the definition of 'search 'has a very specific meaning in Magic. Psychic Spear has you choose a card, and you must choose a card if there is one available. If your opponent does not realize that he does have a valid choice, then you are cheating by allowing him to make this mistake. (This is not a play mistake, but a procedural mistake.) And Infernal Kirin's ability is different in that there is no choice involved at all.