Q: I have Sadistic Glee on a Nantuko Husk, which has gotten it one counter so far. I sacrifice a Cabal Trainee to give the Nantuko Husk +2/+2 until end of turn. Since the Cabal Trainee is being sacrificed, doesn't it go the graveyard before combat ends, so that the Nantuko Husk will get the +1/+1 counter?

A: Yes. The Sadistic Glee triggers as soon as you sacrifice the Trainee and goes on the stack as soon as you get priority.

Q: I have a Sphere of Resistance and another five artifacts out, for a total of six artifacts. How much would Thoughtcast cost to play - U or 1U? Affinity says that a spell costs one less for each artifact in play, and Sphere of Resistance says that spells cost one more to play. And is Defense Grid's effect affected in the same way?

A: It's like a little math problem. You add all the extra costs (Sphere of Resistance) and subtract all the discounts (Affinity) to come up with the final cost to play the spell. It would cost (4+U+1-6) =U. Same with the others; all you need to do is a little arithmetic.

Q: My opponent targets an artifact of mine with Deconstruct, and in response I sacrifice the artifact - does he get the three green mana? How do I know when a spell fails on resolution and the rest of the card doesn't resolve, versus the card trying to resolve as much as possible?

A: If the spell has targets and all the targets are illegal or invalid on resolution, then the spell is countered. Deconstruct has only one target, so it's countered and you don't get mana.

Q: If I have Repercussion in play, would a Circle of Protection: Red protect me from it?

A: Yes, it's a triggered ability from a red source.

Q: My friend cast a Mirror Golem and he removed a Rock Jockey from my graveyard. Will his Golem gain protection from all creatures or on all Goblins or on Rock Jockeys only?

A: Mirror Golem looks at card types - so in this case, it would be all creatures.

Q: I've got a Dawn of the Dead in play, an Undead Gladiator in the graveyard, and a Devouring Strossus in my hand ('cause the poor thing doesn't get nearly enough press). Is there any way for me to use the Gladiator to get the Strossus into the graveyard in time to return it with Dawn and provide my opponent with Strossus-ey beats the likes of which he has never seen before?

A: No, because when Dawn of the Dead triggers and goes on the stack, you must target a creature card that's currently in the graveyard. The Strossus isn't there yet, because you don't get priority to activate the Gladiator's ability until after all beginning-of-upkeep triggers have gone on the stack.

Q: If you use Proteus Staff to shuffle Bottle Gnomes into your deck, then could you sacrifice the Gnomes in response? If Proteus Staff has two separate effects, then why could one not fizzle, and the other resolve? It works with combat damage...

A: No, you can't. When an ability is countered due to the target being invalid, the entire ability is removed from the stack; you follow none of its instructions.

And it doesn't work with combat damage. If the creature that's due to receive damage is no longer in play when the damage resolves, no damage is dealt.