Regionals Tip of the Day: Contrary to popular opinion, there are no universally banned sleeves. It is up to the tournament organizer and head judge of an event to determine what sleeves are and are not appropriate. However, as a general rule it is not a good idea to use sleeves that have a pattern or are overly reflective. For large important events like Regionals I highly recommended that you use new unmarked uniform opaque sleeves.

Q: I have Cloudhoof Kirin in play. My opponent plays a spell with a converted mana cost three. Can I respond by playing Disrupting Shoal, paying mana two blue and five other mana (or converting mana cost 7) to target that spell? My goal is not to counter that spell but only playing a large Arcane spell that will trigger the ability from my blue Kirin in play. Can I do that?

A: Yes, you can do that. The value of X does not have to be equal to the converted mana cost of the targeted spell, however if it is not equal then the spell won't be affected when the Shoal resovles. In this example the targeted spell will not be countered, but the Kirin's ability will trigger and 7 cards will be milled from your opponents' deck.

Q: How does Aether Vial work with creatures that have "X" in their mana cost? For instance, if I want to play Mago, Traitor to Mortals with Aether Vial, and the Vial has 6 counters on it, does Mago come into play with 3 counters on it? If it does, will my opponent lose 3 life even if Mago comes into play via the Vial?

A: Except when played and on the stack, the value of X in the mana cost of a card is equal to zero. Because of this the converted mana cost of Maga, Traitor to Mortals is three. The only way to put Maga into play with Æther Vial is if there are 3 counters on the Æther Vial. Keep in mind that Maga will come into play with zero +1/+1 counters.

Q: I'm wondering about the interaction between 8 and a half Tails and a "Channeled" Jiwari, Earth Aflame. Can I use Eight-and-a-Half Tails' abilities to save my creatures from this damage?

A: No, you cannot use Eight-and-a-Half Tail's ability to prevent the damage from a Channeled Jiwari, the Earth Aflame. Eight-and-a-Half tails second activated ability can only target a permanent or spell. The source of this ability is Jiwari's, but it is a card and not a permanent or a spell.

Q: I have a Swamp enchanted with Genju of the Fens.  I make the Swamp a creature and it goes through to my opponent unblocked.  I then use a Ninjitsu ability returning this creature to my hand. What gets returned to my hand?  Is it only the swamp, only the enchantment or both?  If it is only the Swamp, do I then lose the enchantment because the Swamp did not go to the graveyard?

A: Just the swamp will be returned to your hand, and not the enchantment. Then after this happens the Genju enchantment will not be returned to your hand as the swamp it was enchanting did not go to your graveyard.

Q: I have no cards in hand, my opponent has Skull Collector, Aether Vial with three counters in play, and Chittering Rats in hand. Can he Vial Chittering Rats into play at the beginning of my pre-combat main phase to prevent me from ever getting to use a card again. I know if the card is an Instant, I could play it in response. But say, I draw a land, creature, or sorcery. Am I locked in this situation?

A: Yes that is a lock, but only if he uses the Vial to return the Chittering Rat to play in your draw step. It does not work if he waits until your first main phase, as you will have priority at the beginning of that phase.

Q: If Volrath's Shapeshifter is copying Konda, Lord of Eiganjo and it is blocked, I can discard Phyrexian Dreadnought in response and end up with a 17/17 creature, right? Would the answer be different if I waited until after the Bushido bonus was added to Konda?

A: You are correct, the attacking Shapeshifter will be a 17/17 in this example. It does not matter if you use the Shapeshifter ability to put the Dreadnought into your graveyard before or after the Bushido triggered ability resolves.

Q: My opponent controls Tainted AEther and I have Lin-Sivvi in play. Do the phrases 'comes into' and 'put into' mean the same action and will AEther ability be activated?

A: Tainted Æther's ability will trigger whenever a creature comes into play; it does not matter if this creature is played and the creature spell resolves or if a creature is put into play without being played. So yes, Tainted Æther's ability will trigger when you put a Rebel into play with Lin-Sivvi's ability.

Q: Could you please explain what happens if Shared Fate is in play and someone plays Brainstorm?

A: Sure, it's a weird interaction but what happens is pretty simple. When Brainstorm resolves you will remove the three top cards in your opponent's library from the game face down. You will then be able to play these three cards as thought they were in your hand for as long as Shared Fate remains in play. Then you will take two of the cards that are actually in your hand (not those that are removed from the game) and put them on top of your library. Then the next two times you opponent draws a card he will remove these cards, one at a time, from the game face down and will be able to play them a though they were in his hand.