Prophecy Frequently Asked Questions GENERAL QUESTIONS Q: Some cards have abilities that work only if I control no untapped lands. Do they work if I don't control _any_ lands (after Armageddon, for example)? A: Yes. If you control no lands, you certainly don't control any untapped lands. Q: Some cards say to do some effect _unless_ a particular player pays some cost. For example, Excise reads, "Remove target attacking creature from the game unless its controller pays X." Exactly when does X have to be paid? A: All "unless" costs are paid when the spell or ability resolves, not when it's played. The exception is mana abilities. Because those are played and resolve in one step, the cost must be paid immediately. If a static ability includes an "unless" cost, it will tell you when the cost has to be paid. CARD-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS Barbed Field -------------------- Q: Does the damage dealt by the enchanted land have a color? (Can I prevent it with a Circle of Protection: Red?) A: No, the land deals the damage--not the enchantment--so the damage is colorless. It can't be prevented by effects that prevent damage of a particular color. Blessed Wind -------------------- Q: When this effect sets my life total to 20, does it count as gaining life (or losing life if my life total goes down)? A: Yes. Abilities that trigger on gaining life will trigger if your life total goes up, and those that trigger on losing life will trigger if it goes down. Calming Verse -------------------- Q: How does this card work? A: If you're tapped out when Calming Verse resolves, you destroy all enchantments except the ones you control. If you're not, you destroy all enchantments--even your own. Coffin Puppets -------------------- Q: If I sacrifice my only two lands, will Coffin Puppets still come into play? A: Yes. The "only if you control a swamp" part applies only when determining whether you can play the ability. Dual Nature -------------------- Q: How does this interact with Clone and Vesuvan Doppelganger? A: Clone comes into play as a copy of a creature, so the token will be a copy of whatever creature Clone is copying. Unlike Clone, Doppelganger retains its abilities, so the token will also have those abilities, enabling you to choose a new target for the token to copy when it comes into play. A token that's a copy of Doppelganger will also gain the Doppelganger's second ability, "At the beginning of your upkeep, you may have Vesuvan Doppelganger become a copy of target creature, except it retains its color and gains this ability." This means you can change what the Doppelganger token copies during each of your upkeeps. Elephant Resurgence -------------------- Q: If more creatures go to graveyards after my opponent and I put the Elephant tokens into play, do the tokens readjust their power and toughness? A: Yes. Their power and toughness can change because the spell gives the _tokens_ the ability that determines their power and toughness. If the spell determined power and toughness, they would be "locked in" when the spell resolved. Flay -------------------- Q: If an opponent plays Flay on me, can I see my first random discard before deciding to pay the 1 mana to prevent the second discard? A: Yes. Payments such as the one on Flay are made just before the relevant part of the effect would occur. Heightened Awareness -------------------- Q: Why would anyone play with Heightened Awareness? I get to draw a card in my draw step anyway. A: *Magic*(R) rules let you draw a card at the beginning of your draw step. Heightened Awareness lets you draw another one. In other words, you get its effect in addition to your normal draw. If you had two Heightened Awarenesses in play, you could draw three cards a turn: your normal draw and one card for each Heightened Awareness you control. Mercenary Informer -------------------- Q: Can I use its second ability to put a Mercenary card from my _graveyard_ on the bottom of my library? A: No. *Magic* rules say that a spell or ability affects only the in-play zone unless otherwise specified, so you can't target a Mercenary card in your graveyard. Noxious Field -------------------- See Barbed Field. Psychic Theft -------------------- Q: Let's say I played this on an opponent and chose an instant. Can I wait for the "at end of turn, return it to owner's hand" part to trigger and then play the chosen card in response? A: Yes. The triggered part goes on the stack, and before it resolves you can play the instant. Rebel Informer -------------------- See Mercenary Informer. Shield Dancer -------------------- Q: If I activate its ability twice, does the attacking creature deal its combat damage to itself twice? A: No. You can activate the ability twice, but that would just make the effect occur the next two times the creature would deal combat damage to Shield Dancer that turn. And because creatures almost always deal combat damage only once each turn (with the exception of Relentless Assault), activating the ability a second time won't do anything. Shrouded Serpent -------------------- Q: If Shrouded Serpent is attacking me, when can I pay the 4 mana to stop it from becoming unblockable? A: Whenever Shrouded Serpent attacks, its ability triggers. You can pay the 4 mana only when that ability resolves. After that, it's too late. © 2009 Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a division of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved.