Rules Tip of the Day: An object with a hybrid mana symbol in its mana cost is both of the colors of the hybrid symbol; it does not matter if only one color of mana was paid to play the spell.

Q: I was wondering if you can use Malevolent Awakenings to fetch Garza's Assassin from your graveyard without having to remove it from the game because of the Recover ability?

A: No, that doesn't work. When you sacrifice a creature to activate Malevolent Awakening's ability, the Recover ability of Garza's Assassin will trigger and go on the stack on top of Malevolent Awakening's ability. The Recover ability will resolve first and remove Garza's Assassin from the game unless you pay half your life rounded up. If you don't pay the necessary life, then Malevolent Awakening's ability will be countered on resolution, as the targeted Assassin will no longer be in your graveyard when this ability tries to resolve.

Q: Please explain what happens if I play Tendrils of Agony with a Storm count of four with a Thrumming Stone in play. If I reveal another Tendrils, does that one Storm as well?

A: When you play Tendrils of Agony, both the Storm ability and the Ripple ability will trigger. When the Storm ability resolves, four copies of Tendrils of Agony will be put on the stack. When the Ripple ability resolves, you will reveal the top four cards of your deck. If you reveal another Tendrils of Agony as one of these four, you can play it and put the other three on the bottom of your library in any order. When you play a revealed Tendrils, both the Storm ability and the Ripple ability will trigger for this spell. However, the Storm count will be at five, due to the Tendrils of Agony you played previously.

Q: Can the mana from Braid of Fire be used to pay other Cumulative Upkeep costs, such as that of Earthen Goo?

A: Yes. At the beginning of your upkeep, you can choose the order that Cumulative Upkeep triggered abilities go on the stack. To do what you want, put the Braids of Fire cumulative upkeep trigger on the stack last. This way, it will resolve first, and give you mana to use to pay for other Cumulative Upkeep abilities.

Q: I have Djinn Illuminatus in play. I play Electrolyze, targeting a single creature for two points of damage. I Replicate Electrolyze twice. Is it possible with the copies created by Replicate to deal one damage to two targets? And if the original Electrolyze deals one damage to two targets, can the copies deal two damage to one target?

A: The copies of Electrolyze created by the Replicate ability will have the same number of targets as the original. The Replicate ability allows you to change what each of these copies targets, but you cannot choose to change the number of targets. So if the original Electrolyze targeted two creatures, then the copies will also have to target two different creatures.

Q: I use Vanish into Memory targeting a Cytoplast Root-Kin with five counters on it. I draw five cards. How many cards do I discard when the Root-Kin returns, four or zero?

A: This Root-Kin will return to play will four +1/+1 counters on it, so it will have a toughness of four. Assuming that no other effects are applied to adjust its toughness, you will discard four cards.

Q: If I play an Arcane Denial and I have a Bottomless Pit in play does the player that got the spell countered draw his cards and then discard, or discard and then draw the cards?

A: It is up to you. You are the controller of Bottomless Pit's triggered ability and the delayed triggered ability of Arcane Denial, so you can determine the order that these two abilities go on the stack.

Q: I have "Ach Hans Run" in play. Can you keep the card from being removed from the game with any of the following methods? Getting the card back into your hand (a la Unsummon); destroy it (so that it's in your graveyard); somehow get it back into your library; or by destroying "Ach Hans Run"?

A: The first three options do work, but the last one does not. When "Ach Hans Run"'s upkeep triggered ability resolves, you put a creature into play and a delayed triggered ability is created. This delayed trigger will go on the stack at the end of the current turn. If the creature card that is searched for is not in play when this delayed triggered ability resolves, then the ability will do nothing. However, it does not matter if "Ach Hans Run" is no longer in play at this point; the delayed triggered ability was created, and it will still go on the stack and resolve.

Q: I am playing in a Two-Headed Giant game, and I attack with Rakdos the Defiler. If he deals combat damage to my opponents, what happens? Do they add the total of all their permanents together, or do I have to target just one of them?

A: When assigning combat damage in a Two-Headed Giant game, you must choose one player or the other to receive the combat damage from an individual creature. So this Rakdos will deal damage to just one of the opposing heads, and that player will have to sacrifice half of his non-Demon permanents, rounded up.