Rules Tip of the Day: Know your state-based effects—The "Legend Rule" is a state-based effect. When two or more legendary permanents with the same name are in play they will both go to the graveyard. Keep in mind that they must have the exact same name. This rule was changed with the release of Champions of Kamigawa. Prior to that, only the newer Legendary permanent would go to the graveyard.

Q: Player A has a Krosan Vorine and attacks. Player B has an untapped Oraxid, which A Provokes, and a Hollow Warrior. Can B declare Hollow Warrior as the blocker, tapping Oraxid as the cost, or must he block with the Oraxid?

A: No, that does not work. When you declare a blocking creature you make your declarations, check if the block is legal, and then pay any costs associated with blocking. In this example, when B chooses blocking creatures, the Oraxid is untapped, a legal blocker, and it has a blocking requirement placed on it from the Vorine's Provoke ability. So attempting to block with the Hollow Warrior is an illegal block, and not allowed. If you did attempt this, you'd have to back up and redeclare blockers.

Q: In a Two-Headed Giant game, will Hidetsugu's Second Rite deal ten damage to a player if their team is at either 19 or 20 life?

A: Yes, that is what happens. Hidetsugu's Second Rite deals ten damage to a single player, not a team. Also, it only cares about the life total that the targeted player has. Because an individual's life total is one half of the team's life total, rounded up, a player will have an individual life total of ten if the team total is 19 or 20. After the Second Rite has resolved, the life total of the team with the targeted player will be either nine or ten.

Q: If Erayo, Soratami Ascendant goes to my graveyard, can I return it to my hand with Skull of Orm? I am confused because is it both an enchantment and a creature at the same time. Or it is only an enchantment after it flips?

A: No, that does not work. Regardless of what permanent type this card was when it left play, when in any zone other than in play, flip cards have the characteristics of their unflipped versions. This means that this Erayo card will be a creature card only when it is in your graveyard.

Q: Even after reading the Oracle Text for Camel, I found it a bit ambiguous. It says, "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to Camel or to creatures banded with Camel by Deserts." Is the Camel protected from all damage, or merely from damage by Deserts?

A: Camel's ability can only prevent damage from Deserts. When this card was originally designed flavor had about as much influence on how things worked as the rules did. While I almost never recommend looking to flavor to figure out how an ability works, I think that this case is an exception. Any traveler (creature) with (banded with) the Camel will have an easier time getting across the Desert (receive no damage from the Desert.)

Q: In a group game, the active player is in his combat phase. Damage is on the stack, and a Solemn Simulacrum has lethal damage. Another player targets the Simulacrum with his Adarkar Valkyrie. I respond by doing the same. Which one of us will get the Simulacrum?

A: Who gets this Simulacrum depends on the turn order. In a multiplayer game, when multiple triggered abilities go on the stack at the same time, these triggered abilities go on the stack according to turn order, with those controlled by the active player first, followed by each other player according to turn order. In this example, the players whose turn is "furthest" away will have the Simulacrum returned to play under his control, as the delayed triggered ability from his Adarkar Valkyrie's ability will be put on the stack last and resolve first.

Q: We recently had a game where we were wondering if you have a chance to respond to Adarkar Valkyrie's effect of returning a creature to play. For example, I target a creature that is going to die, my opponent has a Withered Wretch in play, and tries to remove the creature I targeted with the Valkyrie's ability. Would this be possible or does it create a replacement effect, meaning that the creature never hits the graveyard?

A: Adarkar Valkyrie's ability creates a delayed triggered ability that does use the stack. When the targeted creature goes to the graveyard, the delayed triggered ability will go on the stack. At this point, each player in the game will receive priority and can respond to this triggered ability. So this creature card can be removed from the game before it can be returned to play.

Q: During a Shahrazad subgame, I Suspend an Errant Ephemeron. The subgame ends before the final time counter is removed from Ephemeron. When we go back to the main game, what happens? Someone told me that this card will continue to have its counters removed and I can play it in the main game. Is this correct?

A: Yes. Cards that are outside the subgame are also outside the main game and vice versa. When you Suspend a card in the subgame, or the main game, it will continue to be a card owned by you. This means that the Suspend ability will continue to trigger when you move from the subgame to the main game.

Q: My opponent asks me how many of a certain card I have in my deck in conversation (not due to the effect of a card). Can I tell him I have fewer or more of that card than I really have in my deck? Similarly, my opponent plays Meddling Mage, naming a certain card he saw me play in a previous game. Can I chuckle and say I sideboarded all of those cards out even when I didn't? Are either of these examples considered unsportsmanlike conduct, even if my opponent is foolish enough to believe his opponent?

A: Neither of these situations are unsporting behavior. Players are only required to speak truthfully to each other regarding the public game state. Which cards are in your deck, either before or after sideboarding, is not part of the game state and therefore not something that you need to tell your opponent. In the first situation your opponent should not expect an honest answer. And the second is an example of gamesmanship; implying how you are strategically affected by the game state, good or bad, is not something you have to be honest about.