Rules Tip of the Day: Anything that triggers during the resolution of a spell or ability will wait until after this spell or ability has completely resolved before going on the stack.
Q: Can Leech Bonder's ability be used if there are targets in play with no counters, just to untap him?
A: Yes. The only targeting requirements Leech Bonder's ability has is that it targets two creatures. Neither of these creatures has to have a counter on it. However, if the first targeted creature does have a counter on it, it will be moved when Leech Bonder's ability resolves; this is not a choice.
Q: My opponent puts a Runed Stalactite on one of his Slivers and says that the Sliver gets twice the benefits, since it's a Sliver twice. Is he right?
A: That is incorrect. Giving a creature a creature subtype more than once is redundant. In other words, making a Sliver into a Sliver does not do anything.
Q: If my opponent has Enchanted Evening and two copies of Greater Auramancy in play, can I play Spring Cleaning, target nothing, then win the clash and destroy all enchantments she controls?
A: No, that is not a legal play. In order to play a targeted spell or ability, you must choose a legal target.
Q: Can Mutavault's ability be used more then once, so that you can increase its toughness and strength?
A: It can be used more than once, but doing so will not increase its power and toughness. Each time the ability resolves, the power and toughness of Mutavault is set to 2/2. This effect does not create a cumulative result.
Q: I have a Field Marshal in play. My opponent has a Body Double in play copying Reveillark and a Mirror Entity. My opponent has a Mulldrifter and a Venser, Shaper Savant in his graveyard. If my opponent tries to go off by making all of his creatures 0/0, will they die, or does my Field Marshal make them 1/1?
A: Field Marshal's ability will prevent your opponent's combo from working, as he will be unable to use Mirror Entity's ability to make his creatures have a toughness of zero. This is because the effect from Field Marshal's static ability is applied after the power- and toughness-setting effect from Mirror Entity's ability.
Q: My opponent blocked my attacking first-striking 2/1 with his 3/3. Can I kill it with Witch's Mist before it deals damage to my creature so that it will survive?
A: Yes. After first strike combat damage resolves and before normal combat damage is put on the stack, both players will receive priority to play spells and abilities. At this time, you can activate Witch's Mist's ability and target the 3/3 creature that just received damage in the first strike combat damage step.
Q: I attack with Isperia the Inscrutable and deal damage to a player. If I name Forest, and they have multiple Forests in hand, will Isperia's ability trigger for every Forest they reveal, allowing me to search for multiple creatures?
A: No. Isperia's ability only triggers once when it deals combat damage to player. When this triggered ability resolves, you name a card and look at the hand of the player that was dealt damage by Isperia. If the named card is there, then you can search your library for a creature with flying, reveal it and put it into your hand. The number of revealed cards that match the card you choose does not matter; all that matters is that at least one matches.
Q: Can I play a Pithing Needle to prevent my opponent from using his or her Pithing Needle?
A: No. Pithing Needle's ability is not an activated ability. It has two static abilities. the first has you choose a card when the Needle comes into play, the second prevents activated abilities of the named card from being played as long as the Needle remains in play.
Q: Player A controls a Grizzly Bears, Simic Guildmage, and a Shielding Plax attached to the Guildmage. Player B plays Wear Away targeting the Plax and splices Glacial Ray, targeting the Grizzly Bears. In response, Player A uses the Guildmage to move the Plax to the Grizzly Bears. The stack is then allowed to resolve. The spliced up spell will destroy the Plax, but at the time resolution started, the Bears were an illegal target; does the fact that it becomes legal during resolution have any bearing? I know that cards like Primal Command follow instructions in the order they appear.
A: While it is true that you do follow the instructions in the order written, when this spell starts to resolve, the Grizzly Bears is an illegal target, so it will not be dealt any damage. The check for the legality of a target is made when the spell first starts to resolve. It does not matter that it later becomes a legal target as the spell resolves.
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