_Odyssey_(TM) Frequently Asked Questions Compiled by Paul Barclay, David DeLaney and Jeff Jordan This FAQ has two sections, each of which serves a different purpose. The first section (GENERAL NOTES) explains the new mechanics and concepts in the set. The second section (CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES) contains answers to the most important questions players might ask about a given card. Items in the CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES section include full rules text for your reference. Not all cards in the set are listed. GENERAL NOTES Flashback The official rules for the flashback ability are as follows: 502.22. Flashback 502.22a Flashback is a static ability of some instant and sorcery cards that functions while the card is in a player's graveyard. The phrase "Flashback [cost]" means "You may play this card from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost. If you do, remove this card from the game instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack." Playing a spell using its flashback ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 409.1b and 409.1f. * When you play a spell from your graveyard by paying its flashback cost, its mana cost doesn't change. You just pay the flashback cost instead. * Effects that cause you to pay more or less for a spell will cause you to pay that much more or less for its flashback cost, too. That's because they affect the total cost of the spell, not just its mana cost. * When a spell played with flashback resolves, it never goes to its owner's graveyard, so abilities that trigger on cards being put in a graveyard won't trigger. The card is removed from the game instead. Countered spells played with flashback are removed from the game, too. * Cards with the flashback ability have a gray tombstone icon in the upper left corner. This icon makes it easier for you to see which cards in your graveyard can be played again. ----- Threshold The official rules for the threshold ability are as follows: 502.23. Threshold 502.23a Threshold is a static ability, written "Threshold -- [text]." The text can be a static ability, activated ability, triggered ability, characteristic- setting text, spell text, or any combination of the five. The phrase "Threshold -- [text]" means "As long as you have seven or more cards in your graveyard, this card has '[text].'" 502.23b Cards and permanents with threshold have the threshold text only if their controller has seven or more cards in his or her graveyard. Otherwise, the text after "Threshold --" is treated as though it did not appear on the card or permanent. 502.23c An instant or sorcery card with threshold has the threshold text only while the card is on the stack (that is, while it's a spell). An artifact, creature, enchantment, or land card with threshold, or any permanent with threshold, has the threshold text only if the card or permanent is in play. * Instants and sorceries with threshold check if seven or more cards are in your graveyard when they resolve, not when they're played or put on the stack. * Activated and triggered abilities that permanents have at threshold check the number of cards in your graveyard only when the abilities are played or triggered. Even if you have fewer than seven cards in your graveyard when an ability resolves, that ability will resolve normally. * Static threshold abilities are simply "on" when you have seven or more cards in your graveyard and "off" when you don't. ----- Protection There are four new protection abilities in the Odyssey set. * Protection from all colors: This grants a creature five different protection abilities. These are protection from white, from blue, from black, from red, and from green. * Protection from creatures: A creature with this ability can't be blocked by creatures, it can't be the target of abilities from creatures, and all damage that would be dealt to it from creatures is prevented. * Protection from enchantments: A creature with this ability can't be blocked by creatures that are also enchantments. It can't be the target of enchantment spells or abilities from enchantments. All damage that would be dealt to it from enchantments is prevented. The creature can't be enchanted by enchantments. * Protection from instant spells and from sorcery spells: A permanent with this ability can't be the target of instant spells or sorcery spells. If the permanent is a creature, all damage that would be dealt to it from instant spells and sorcery spells is prevented. ----- Shrines and Bursts * The five Shrines and five Bursts all have effects that depend on the number of cards with a certain name in all graveyards. A Shrine looks for cards with the same name as a spell on the stack. A Burst looks for cards with the same name as itself. Dwarven Shrine 1RR Enchantment Whenever a player plays a spell, Dwarven Shrine deals X damage to that player, where X is twice the number of cards in all graveyards with the same name as that spell. Flame Burst 1R Instant Flame Burst deals X damage to target creature or player, where X is 2 plus the number of Flame Burst cards in all graveyards. * Two cards, Diligent Farmhand and Pardic Firecat, are also counted by Bursts. Muscle Burst's effect counts both Muscle Burst cards and Diligent Farmhand cards in all graveyards. Flame Burst's effect counts both Flame Burst cards and Pardic Firecat cards. Pardic Firecat 3R Creature -- Cat 2/3 Haste If Pardic Firecat is in a graveyard, Flame Burst's effect counts it as a Flame Burst. * The Shrines are Aven Shrine, Cabal Shrine, Cephalid Shrine, Dwarven Shrine, and Nantuko Shrine. * The Bursts are AEther Burst, Flame Burst, Life Burst, Mind Burst, and Muscle Burst. ----- Rites * Each of the five Rites allows you to discard any number of cards from your hand to get a varying effect from the spell. The cards are discarded when the Rites spell resolves, so you don't discard any cards if the spell is countered. Sacred Rites W Instant Discard any number of cards from your hand. Creatures you control get +0/+1 until end of turn for each card discarded this way. * The Rites are Last Rites, Rites of Initiation, Rites of Refusal, Rites of Spring, and Sacred Rites. ----- Spheres * The five Spheres prevent 2 damage to you each time a source of the appropriate color would deal damage to you. If a source would deal damage to you more than once in a turn, the Sphere prevents 2 of that damage each time the source deals damage to you. Sphere of Duty 3W Enchantment If a green source would deal damage to you, prevent 2 of that damage. * The Spheres are Sphere of Duty, Sphere of Grace, Sphere of Law, Sphere of Reason, and Sphere of Truth. ----- "Punisher" cards * Three red spells, nicknamed "punisher" spells, force players to choose how the spells will affect them. When a punisher spell resolves, the player whose creature, land, or spell would be affected must choose whether to take damage or allow the spell's normal effect to work. Lava Blister 1R Sorcery Destroy target nonbasic land unless its controller has Lava Blister deal 6 damage to him or her. * Damage that the punisher spell would deal to the player may be prevented. * The punisher cards are Blazing Salvo, Lava Blister, and Molten Influence. ----- CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor 4UU Creature -- Cephalid Legend 3/3 Tap an untapped Cephalid you control: Tap target permanent. UUU: Tap all creatures without flying. * Aboshan's abilities don't include the T symbol. You can play them even if you haven't controlled Aboshan since the beginning of your most recent turn. * The first ability can tap any type of permanent, including enchantments. Tapped enchantments work just like untapped enchantments. ----- Aegis of Honor W Enchantment 1: The next time an instant or sorcery spell would deal damage to you this turn, that spell deals that damage to its controller instead. * This effect only redirects damage that would have been dealt to you. It doesn't affect damage that the instant or sorcery would deal to creatures or any other player. ----- AEther Burst 1U Instant Return up to X target creatures to their owners' hands, where X is one plus the number of AEther Burst cards in all graveyards as you play AEther Burst. * If more AEther Burst cards are put into a graveyard after AEther Burst has been played (and before it resolves), you don't get to choose additional targets for AEther Burst. ----- Aura Graft 1U Instant Move target enchantment that's enchanting a permanent to another permanent it can enchant. Gain control of that enchantment. #(This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)# * Because of the unintuitive interaction of the printed wording with enchantments that "can enchant only a creature you control," Aura Graft has received errata. Its new wording is as follows: Gain control of target enchantment that's enchanting a permanent. Move that enchantment to another permanent it can enchant. #(This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)# * When Aura Graft resolves, you gain control of the enchantment. Then, you choose another permanent to move the enchantment to. You can choose only a permanent that the enchantment can enchant. * Because you gain control of the enchantment, you can play any abilities it has. * When Aura Graft resolves, you must move the enchantment if there's another permanent for the enchantment to legally enchant, even if one of your opponent's creatures is the only legal choice. ----- Balancing Act 2WW Sorcery Each player chooses a number of permanents he or she controls equal to the number of permanents controlled by the player who controls the fewest, then sacrifices the rest. Each player discards cards from his or her hand the same way. * When Balancing Act resolves, count each player's permanents and find the smallest number of permanents controlled by one player. Each player chooses that many of his or her permanents and sacrifices the rest of them. Then count the number of cards in each player's hand and find the smallest number of cards. Each player discards all but that many cards. ----- Beloved Chaplain 1W Creature -- Cleric 1/1 Protection from creatures * See "protection" in the GENERAL NOTES section. ----- Bomb Squad 3R Creature -- Dwarf 1/1 T: Put a fuse counter on target creature. At the beginning of your upkeep, put a fuse counter on each creature with a fuse counter on it. Whenever a creature has four or more fuse counters on it, remove all fuse counters from it and destroy it. That creature deals 4 damage to its controller. * Even if the destroyed creature is regenerated, the fuse counters are removed from it and the regenerated creature deals 4 damage to its controller. ----- Cease-Fire 2W Instant Target player can't play creature spells this turn. Draw a card. * Cease-Fire can't counter a creature spell on the stack. It stops the player from playing creature spells only after Cease-Fire resolves. ----- Chamber of Manipulation 2UU Enchant Land Enchanted land has "T, Discard a card from your hand: Gain control of target creature until end of turn." * The creature doesn't gain haste, so it normally can't attack or use abilities with T in the activation cost when you gain control of it. ----- Chance Encounter 2RR Enchantment Whenever you win a coin flip, put a luck counter on Chance Encounter. At the beginning of your upkeep, if Chance Encounter has ten or more luck counters on it, you win the game. * If one of your opponents loses a coin flip, you win that flip and put a luck counter on Chance Encounter. ----- Charmed Pendant 4 Artifact T, Put the top card of your library into your graveyard: For each colored mana symbol in that card's mana cost, add one mana of that color to your mana pool. Play this ability only any time you could play an instant. #(For example, if the card's mana cost is 3UUB, you add UUB to your mana pool.)# * Charmed Pendant's ability doesn't use the stack. Even though it can be played only when you could play an instant, this is a mana ability. ----- Cultural Exchange 4UU Sorcery Choose any number of creatures target player controls. Choose the same number of creatures another target player controls. Those players exchange control of those creatures. #(This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)# * You choose the creatures when Cultural Exchange resolves. The number of creatures you choose can't be greater than the number of creatures a player controls. For example, if one of the two players controls four creatures and the other controls eight, you can choose to exchange up to four creatures. ----- Decimate 2RG Sorcery Destroy target artifact, target creature, target enchantment, and target land. * You can't play this spell without four legal targets, and all the targets must be different permanents. ----- Delaying Shield 3W Enchantment If you would be dealt damage, put that many delay counters on Delaying Shield instead. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove all delay counters from Delaying Shield. For each delay counter removed this way, you lose 1 life unless you pay 1W. * The first ability replaces damage rather than preventing it, so Delaying Shield will affect Urza's Rage with kicker. * If Delaying Shield leaves play before its upkeep-triggered ability resolves, you won't be able to remove any counters from Delaying Shield and you won't lose any life. ----- Devoted Caretaker W Creature -- Cleric 1/2 W, T: Target permanent you control gains protection from instant spells and from sorcery spells until end of turn. * See "protection" in the GENERAL NOTES section. ----- Ghastly Demise B Instant Destroy target nonblack creature if its toughness is less than or equal to the number of cards in your graveyard. * You check the number of cards in your graveyard only when Ghastly Demise resolves. (The Ghastly Demise won't be in a graveyard yet.) ----- Gorilla Titan 3GG Creature -- Ape 4/4 Trample Gorilla Titan gets +4/+4 as long as there are no cards in your graveyard. * If you have no cards in your graveyard, Gorilla Titan is an 8/8 creature. If one or more cards are in your graveyard, the Titan is a 4/4 creature. ----- Haunting Echoes 3BB Sorcery Remove all cards in target player's graveyard other than basic land cards from the game. Search that player's library for all cards with the same name as cards removed this way and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library. * Haunting Echoes doesn't affect basic land cards at all. Any basic land cards in the player's graveyard and library stay where they are. ----- Hint of Insanity 2B Sorcery Target player reveals his or her hand. That player discards from it all nonland cards with the same name as another card in his or her hand. * If the player has two or more nonland cards with the same name in his or her hand, that player discards all those cards. * Cards in that player's hand that don't share a name with other cards are unaffected. ----- Holistic Wisdom 1GG Enchantment 2, Remove a card in your hand from the game: Return target card from your graveyard to your hand if it shares a type with the card removed this way. #(The card types are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, and sorcery.)# * Artifact creature cards share a type with artifact cards, creature cards, and artifact creature cards. ----- Impulsive Maneuvers 2RR Enchantment Whenever a creature attacks, flip a coin. If you win the flip, the next time that creature would deal combat damage this turn, it deals double that damage instead. If you lose the flip, the next time that creature would deal combat damage this turn, prevent that damage. * You flip a coin for each attacking creature, not once for each attack. ----- Iridescent Angel 5WU Creature -- Angel 4/4 Flying, protection from all colors * See "protection" in the GENERAL NOTES section. ----- Karmic Justice 2W Enchantment Whenever a spell or ability an opponent controls destroys a noncreature permanent you control, you may destroy target permanent that opponent controls. * Spells and abilities that force players to sacrifice permanents won't trigger Karmic Justice's ability. ----- Kirtar's Wrath 4WW Sorcery Destroy all creatures. They can't be regenerated. Threshold -- Instead destroy all creatures, then put two 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying into play. Creatures destroyed this way can't be regenerated. #(You have threshold if seven or more cards are in your graveyard.)# * As Kirtar's Wrath resolves, the destroyed creatures don't count towards the number of cards in your graveyard; neither does Kirtar's Wrath. ----- Master Apothecary WWW Creature -- Cleric 2/2 Tap an untapped Cleric you control: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn. * Master Apothecary's ability doesn't include the T symbol. You can play the ability even if you haven't controlled Master Apothecary since the beginning of your most recent turn. ----- Mirari 5 Legendary Artifact Whenever you play an instant or sorcery spell, you may pay 3. If you do, put a copy of that spell onto the stack. You may choose new targets for that copy. * This ability triggers only once for each instant or sorcery you play, so you can't use Mirari to copy the same spell twice. * The copy will be the same as the original spell, except that you can choose different targets for it if you want to. If the original spell is countered, that has no effect on the copy. * If a kicker cost was paid for the spell, the kicker cost of the copy has also been paid. You don't have to (and can't) pay the kicker cost again. * If the spell was played without kicker, the copy is also put on the stack without kicker. You can't pay the kicker cost for the copy. * The copy of the spell isn't played -- it's just put onto the stack -- so it won't trigger any ability that triggers when a spell is played. * Once the copy of the spell is on the stack, it works just like any other spell. It can be countered by spells and abilities that "counter target spell." ----- Nantuko Mentor 2G Creature -- Insect Druid 1/1 2G, T: Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is that creature's power. * The value of X is set when Nantuko Mentor's ability resolves. The effect won't change if the creature's power changes later in the turn. ----- Nefarious Lich BBBB Enchantment If you would be dealt damage, remove that many cards in your graveyard from the game instead. If you can't, you lose the game. If you would gain life, draw that many cards instead. When Nefarious Lich leaves play, you lose the game. * Your life total will still change if you pay life or lose life. Nefarious Lich won't stop you from losing the game if you have 0 or less life. * If you're dealt damage and can't remove enough cards from your graveyard, you lose the game immediately. You don't wait until state-based effects are checked. ----- Obstinate Familiar R Creature -- Lizard 1/1 If you would draw a card, you may skip that draw instead. * If you would draw multiple cards, you can choose to draw some, all, or none of those cards. ----- Pardic Miner 1R Creature -- Dwarf 1/1 Sacrifice Pardic Miner: Target player can't play lands this turn. * Pardic Miner's ability won't stop lands from coming into play as part of an effect. It just stops the player from playing lands. * Playing a land doesn't use the stack. ----- Patriarch's Desire 3B Enchant Creature Enchanted creature gets +2/-2. Threshold -- Enchanted creature gets an additional +2/-2. #(You have threshold as long as seven or more cards are in your graveyard.)# * If you aren't at threshold, this card gives the enchanted creature +2/-2. If you are at threshold, the card gives the enchanted creature +4/-4 instead. ----- Patron Wizard UUU Creature -- Wizard 2/2 Tap an untapped Wizard you control: Counter target spell unless its controller pays 1. * Patron Wizard's ability doesn't include the T symbol. You can play its ability even if you haven't controlled Patron Wizard since the beginning of your most recent turn. ----- Puppeteer 2U Creature -- Wizard 1/2 U, T: Tap or untap target creature. * You don't choose whether you will tap or untap the creature until Puppeteer's ability resolves. * You can choose to tap a creature that's already tapped, or untap one that's already untapped. If you do, nothing happens. ----- Recoup 1R Sorcery Target sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. Its flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. #(Mana cost includes color.)# Flashback 3R #(You may play this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then remove it from the game.)# * See "flashback" in the GENERAL NOTES section. * If the sorcery already has flashback, it gains a second flashback ability. You can play that spell by paying either flashback cost. ----- Repentant Vampire 3BB Creature -- Vampire Flying Whenever a creature dealt damage by Repentant Vampire this turn is put into a graveyard, put a +1/+1 counter on Repentant Vampire. Threshold -- Repentant Vampire is white and has "T: Destroy target black creature." * At threshold, Repentant Vampire is only white; it isn't white and black. ----- Seton, Krosan Protector GGG Creature -- Centaur Druid Legend 2/2 Tap an untapped Druid you control: Add G to your mana pool. * Seton's ability doesn't include the T symbol. You can play the ability even if you haven't controlled Seton since the beginning of your most recent turn. ----- Shadowmage Infiltrator 1UB Creature -- Wizard 1/3 Shadowmage Infiltrator can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures. Whenever Shadowmage Infiltrator deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card. * If Shadowmage Infiltrator's combat damage is prevented, you don't get to draw a card. * Jon Finkel created this card as his prize for winning the 2000 _Magic_(R) Invitational in Sydney, Australia. He is featured in the card's art. ----- Shifty Doppelganger 2U Creature -- Shapeshifter 1/1 3U, Remove Shifty Doppelganger from the game: Put a creature card from your hand into play. That creature gains haste until end of turn. At end of turn, sacrifice that creature. If you do, return Shifty Doppelganger to play. * If you have any creature cards in your hand when Shifty Doppelganger's ability resolves, you must put one of them into play. * If the creature you put into play is still in play under your control at the end of the turn, you must sacrifice that creature. ----- Spellbane Centaur 2G Creature -- Centaur 3/2 Creatures you control can't be the targets of blue spells or abilities from blue sources. * Spellbane Centaur's ability won't remove blue enchantments from creatures you control. An enchantment that's already in play isn't a spell or ability and doesn't target anything. ----- Standstill 1U Enchantment When a player plays a spell, sacrifice Standstill. If you do, each of that player's opponents draws three cards. * If Standstill is in play when its ability resolves, it must be sacrificed and each opponent of the player who played the spell draws three cards. If Standstill isn't in play when its ability resolves, nothing happens. ----- Steam Vines 1RR Enchant Land When enchanted land becomes tapped, destroy it and Steam Vines deals 1 damage to that land's controller. That player moves Steam Vines to a land of his or her choice. * The controller of the destroyed land chooses where to move Steam Vines. * Moving Steam Vines to another land doesn't target that land. * If no lands are in play after Steam Vines' ability resolves, Steam Vines will be put in its owner's graveyard the next time a player has priority. * If Steam Vines isn't in play when its ability resolves, it will still destroy the land that was tapped and deal 1 damage to that land's controller, but Steam Vines won't be moved onto another land. ----- Tattoo Ward 2W Enchant Creature Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has protection from enchantments. This effect doesn't remove Tattoo Ward. Sacrifice Tattoo Ward: Destroy target enchantment. * See "protection" in the GENERAL NOTES section. ----- Traumatize 3UU Sorcery Target player puts the top half of his or her library, rounded down, into his or her graveyard. * To resolve Traumatize, first count how many cards the player has in his or her library and divide that number by two. (If the player has an odd number of cards, subtract one before dividing by two.) Then count out that many cards from the top of the player's library. That player put those cards into his or her graveyard in any order he or she chooses. ----- Traveling Plague 3BB Enchant Creature At the beginning of each player's upkeep, put a plague counter on Traveling Plague. Enchanted creature gets -1/-1 for each plague counter on Traveling Plague. When enchanted creature leaves play, that creature's controller returns Traveling Plague from its owner's graveyard to play. * A plague counter is put on Traveling Plague at the beginning of every player's upkeep. * If the enchanted creature has 0-toughness, both the enchanted creature and the Traveling Plague are put into their owners' graveyards. Then the Traveling Plague (with no counters on it) is returned to play by the player whose creature it last enchanted. * The player whose creature was enchanted by Traveling Plague when the creature left play chooses which creature the Plague will enchant when it returns. ----- Wayward Angel 4WW Creature -- Angel Horror Flying Attacking doesn't cause Wayward Angel to tap. Threshold -- Wayward Angel gets +3/+3, is black, has trample, and has "At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature." #(You have threshold as long as seven or more cards are in your graveyard.)# * At threshold, Wayward Angel is only black; it isn't white and black. ----- Wild Mongrel 1G Creature -- Hound 2/2 Discard a card from your hand: Wild Mongrel gets +1/+1 and becomes the color of your choice until end of turn. * The Mongrel's ability can make it only one color at a time. You can change that color each time you play its ability. ----- All trademarks, including character names, are property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (Copr.)2001 Wizards.