_Zendikar_(TM) Frequently Asked Questions Compiled by Mark L. Gottlieb, with contributions from Laurie Cheers, Jeff Jordan, Lee Sharpe, Eli Shiffrin, and Thijs van Ommen Document last modified September 24, 2009 _Zendikar_ Prerelease tournaments: September 26-27, 2009 _Zendikar_ official release date: Friday, October 2, 2009 _Zendikar_ Launch Parties: October 2-4, 2009 Go toto find an event or store near you. The _Zendikar_ set becomes legal for sanctioned Constructed play on its official release date. -- At that time, the following card sets will be permitted in the Standard format: _Shards of Alara_(R), _Conflux_(R), _Alara Reborn_(TM), _Magic 2010_, and _Zendikar_. -- At that time, the following card sets will be permitted in the _Zendikar_ Block Constructed format: _Zendikar_. The _Zendikar_ set contains 249 cards (101 common, 60 uncommon, 53 rare, 15 mythic rare, 20 basic land). 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 in the set. Items in the "Card-Specific Notes" section include full rules text for your reference. Not all cards in the set are listed. ----- GENERAL NOTES ***Theme: Full-Art Basic Lands*** The _Zendikar_ set features basic land cards that have been printed without a text box. These lands appear in booster packs and in the fat pack. Full-art basic lands function the same way as any other basic lands, since each land with a basic land type intrinsically has the mana ability associated with that type. (_Zendikar_ intro packs contain basic land cards with normal card frames. The collector numbers of those cards contain the letter "a.") ----- ***Returning Keyword Ability: Kicker*** Kicker is an ability originally seen in the _Invasion_(TM) block. It represents an additional cost, and may appear on any type of card that can be cast as a spell. Goblin Ruinblaster 2R Creature -- Goblin Shaman 2/1 Kicker R (You may pay an additional R as you cast this spell.) Haste When Goblin Ruinblaster enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, destroy target nonbasic land. Marsh Casualties BB Sorcery Kicker 3 (You may pay an additional 3 as you cast this spell.) Creatures target player controls get -1/-1 until end of turn. If Marsh Casualties was kicked, those creatures get -2/-2 until end of turn instead. The official rules for the kicker ability are as follows: 702.30. Kicker 702.30a Kicker is a static ability that functions while the spell is on the stack. "Kicker [cost]" means "You may pay an additional [cost] as you cast this spell." The phrase "Kicker [cost 1] and/or [cost 2]" means the same thing as "Kicker [cost 1], kicker [cost 2]." Paying a spell's kicker cost(s) follows the rules for paying additional costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2e-g. 702.30b If a spell's controller declares the intention to pay any of that spell's kicker costs, that spell has been "kicked." See rule 601.2b. 702.30c Objects with kicker have additional abilities that specify what happens if it was kicked. These abilities are linked to the kicker abilities printed on that object: they can refer only to those specific kicker abilities. See rule 606, "Linked Abilities." 702.30d Objects with more than one kicker cost have abilities that each correspond to a specific kicker cost. They contain the phrases "if it was kicked with its [A] kicker" and "if it was kicked with its [B] kicker," where A and B are the first and second kicker costs listed on the card, respectively. Each of those abilities is linked to the appropriate kicker ability. 702.30e If part of a spell's ability has its effect only if that spell was kicked, and that part of the ability includes any targets, the spell's controller chooses those targets only if that spell was kicked. Otherwise, the spell is cast as if it did not have those targets. See rule 601.2c. * You kick a spell as you cast it. You declare whether you're going to pay a kicker cost at the same time you'd choose a spell's mode, and then you actually pay it at the same time you pay the spell's mana cost. Kicking a spell is always optional. * You can pay any particular kicker cost only once. You can't pay it multiple times to "pump up" the effect. * Some instant and sorcery spells have an additional effect if they were kicked. Other instant and sorcery spells have a different effect if they were kicked. Read these cards carefully: If they include the word "instead," the second effect replaces the first. If they don't include the word "instead," both the first and second effects occur. * Some permanents with kicker enter the battlefield with counters on them if they were kicked. Other permanents with kicker have "enters the battlefield" triggered abilities that check whether they were kicked. These look at whether they were kicked when cast as a spell. If not, the ability doesn't trigger at all. If such a permanent is put onto the battlefield as the result of a spell or ability, there's no opportunity to kick them. * If a permanent has a targeted "enters the battlefield" ability that triggers if it was kicked, the target isn't chosen until the permanent enters the battlefield and the ability triggers (as opposed to when that permanent was cast). That means that sometimes you may wind up targeting something you don't want to. For example, say you cast a kicked Heartstabber Mosquito, which has the ability "When Heartstabber Mosquito enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, destroy target creature." In response to the Heartstabber Mosquito spell, your opponent sacrifices his or her only creature. When the Mosquito enters the battlefield, its ability triggers, and you must choose a target for it. If no one else controls any creatures, you must target one of your own -- possibly Heartstabber Mosquito itself. * Kicker costs don't change a spell's mana cost or converted mana cost. * If a kicked spell is copied, the copy is also kicked. * Older cards with kicker were printed with abilities that had the text "if you paid the kicker cost" or "if its kicker cost was paid." Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now say "if it was kicked." The cards work the same way they always did; these abilities have their effects if the player decided to pay the kicker cost, not necessarily if the listed cost was actually paid. ----- ***Keyword Ability: Intimidate*** Intimidate is an ability that makes attacking creatures hard to block. Bladetusk Boar 3R Creature -- Boar 3/2 Intimidate (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it.) The official rules for the intimidate ability are as follows: 702.11. Intimidate 702.11a Intimidate is an evasion ability. 702.11b A creature with intimidate can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it. (See rule 509, "Declare Blockers Step.") 702.11c Multiple instances of intimidate on the same creature are redundant. * Intimidate looks at the current colors of a creature that has it. Normally, Bladetusk Boar can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or red creatures. If it's turned blue, then it can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or blue creatures. * If an attacking creature has intimidate, what colors it is matters only as the defending player declares blockers. Once it's blocked, changing its colors won't change that. * Artifact creatures can block creatures with intimidate no matter what colors either of them are. * A multicolored creature with intimidate can be blocked by any creature that shares a color with it, in addition to artifact creatures. For example, a white-blue creature with intimidate can be blocked by white creatures and/or blue creatures, no matter what other colors they are. * A colorless creature with intimidate can be blocked only by artifact creatures. It can't be blocked by colorless nonartifact creatures. In fact, a colorless nonartifact creature can't block a creature with intimidate at all. ----- ***Ability Word: Landfall*** Landfall is an ability word. It appears in italics at the beginning of an ability that triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control. (An ability word has no rules meaning.) Emeria Angel 2WW Creature -- Angel 3/3 Flying Landfall -- Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a 1/1 white Bird creature token with flying onto the battlefield. * A landfall ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control for any reason. It triggers whenever you play a land, as well as whenever a spell or ability (such as Rampant Growth) causes you to put a land onto the battlefield under your control. It will even trigger when a spell or ability causes another player to put a land onto the battlefield under your control (as can happen with Yavimaya Dryad's ability, for example). * When a land enters the battlefield under your control, each landfall ability of the permanents you control will trigger. You can put them on the stack in any order. The last ability you put on the stack will be the first one that resolves. ----- ***Theme: Allies*** Ally (rhymes with "shall I") is a new creature type. Allies are good at teamwork: Nearly every Ally has an ability that triggers whenever it or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control. Nimana Sell-Sword 3B Creature -- Human Warrior Ally 2/2 Whenever Nimana Sell-Sword or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Nimana Sell-Sword. * Some Allies, such as Nimana Sell-Sword, have abilities that put +1/+1 counters on them. These abilities trigger when they enter the battlefield themselves, so even though Nimana Sell-Sword will enter the battlefield as a 2/2 creature, it will become a 3/3 creature almost immediately. But they'll be more vulnerable to instants and abilities while their triggered abilities wait to resolve. * Some Allies have abilities that, when they resolve, grant an ability to all Allies you control. These affect only Allies you control at the time the ability resolves. * Some Allies have abilities that, when they resolve, do something based on the number of Allies you control. These count the number of Allies you control as they resolve. * When an Ally enters the battlefield under your control, each applicable triggered ability of the Allies you control will trigger. You can put them on the stack in any order. The last ability you put on the stack will be the first one that resolves. * If more than one Ally enters the battlefield under your control at the same time due to some spell or ability, they'll all see each other enter the battlefield. For example, if two Nimana Sell-Swords enter the battlefield at the same time, each one's ability will trigger twice (once for itself and once for the other one), and they'll each wind up as 4/4 creatures. ----- ***Theme: Traps*** Trap is a new subtype that appears on instants. Although the subtype Trap has no specific rules meaning, each Trap has an alternative cost you can pay to cast it if a certain condition has been met. Baloth Cage Trap 3GG Instant -- Trap If an opponent had an artifact enter the battlefield under his or her control this turn, you may pay 1G rather than pay Baloth Cage Trap's mana cost. Put a 4/4 green Beast creature token onto the battlefield. Arrow Volley Trap 3WW Instant -- Trap If four or more creatures are attacking, you may pay 1W rather than pay Arrow Volley Trap's mana cost. Arrow Volley Trap deals 5 damage divided as you choose among any number of target attacking creatures. * You may ignore a Trap's alternative cost condition and simply cast it for its normal mana cost. This is true even if its alternative cost condition has been met. * Casting a Trap by paying its alternative cost doesn't change its mana cost or converted mana cost. The only difference is the cost you actually pay. * Effects that increase or reduce the cost to cast a Trap will apply to whichever cost you chose to pay. This is true even if the Trap's alternative cost is 0. * The alternative cost condition of most Traps checks for an action that has happened in the past. For example, Baloth Cage Trap checks to see if an opponent had an artifact enter the battlefield under his or her control this turn. It doesn't matter if that permanent is still on the battlefield or is still an artifact, and it doesn't matter if that opponent is still in the game. If that action happened at some point during the turn, Baloth Cage Trap can be cast for its alternative cost. * If the alternative cost condition of a Trap checks to see if a number of actions have happened involving an opponent over the course of the turn (such as "if an opponent had three or more cards put into his or her graveyard from anywhere this turn"), those actions may have occurred separately. In this case, the three cards don't need to have been put into the opponent's graveyard all at once; it's okay if they were put there for different reasons at different times. All such actions must have involved the same single opponent, though. * If a Trap checks to see if multiple events have happened over the course of a turn, it will individually count different events involving the same physical card if that card has changed zones between events. That's because it becomes a new object, with no relation to its previous existence, when it changes zones. For example, if the same physical creature card entered the battlefield, left the battlefield, then returned to the battlefield all in the same turn and all under an opponent's control, that opponent had two creatures enter the battlefield under his or her control that turn. * The alternative cost condition of some Traps checks the number of creatures that are attacking as the spell is cast. For example, Arrow Volley Trap checks to see if four or more creatures are attacking. Once you cast a Trap like this, it doesn't matter whether its condition remains true. For Arrow Volley Trap and the other Traps like it, it doesn't matter how many creatures were declared as attackers, only how many are attacking as you cast it. It doesn't matter if all the attacking creatures are controlled by the same player. It also doesn't matter who controls the attacking creatures, so you can cause their alternative cost conditions to be true . . . but that means they'll affect your own attacking creatures. ----- ***Theme: "Quests"*** "Quests" is the nickname for a set of _Zendikar_ enchantments that reward you for certain achievements while playing the game. Quest for the Holy Relic W Enchantment Whenever you cast a creature spell, you may put a quest counter on Quest for the Holy Relic. Remove five quest counters from Quest for the Holy Relic and sacrifice it: Search your library for an Equipment card, put it onto the battlefield, and attach it to a creature you control. Then shuffle your library. * Not all quests have the word "quest" in their names. * Each quest has two abilities. The first ability triggers whenever a certain condition happens and puts a quest counter on the enchantment as a result. The second ability works only if there are a certain number of quest counters on the enchantment. * The second ability of each common and uncommon quest requires you to remove a certain number of quest counters from it and sacrifice it as a cost. You can activate this ability only if it has the appropriate number of quest counters on it, since otherwise you couldn't remove enough of them. Also, you may activate this ability only once, since you can sacrifice the enchantment only once. You can't search for two Equipment cards if Quest for the Holy Relic has ten quest counters on it, for example. * The second ability of each rare quest doesn't require you to remove any counters from it or sacrifice it. The counters and the enchantment will just stay put. * Once there are enough counters on a quest for its second ability to work, there's usually no particular need to add more counters to it with its first ability, though you are free to do so. ----- ***Theme: Caring about Basic Land Types*** The _Zendikar_ set contains a number of cards that refer to Plains, Islands, Swamps, Mountains, and/or Forests, including a cycle of "fetch lands" such as Arid Mesa. Arid Mesa Land T, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Arid Mesa: Search your library for a Mountain or Plains card and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library. * If a spell or ability refers to a specific basic land type (that is, it says "Plains," "Island," "Swamp," "Mountain," or "Forest"), it's referring to lands with those land types, not necessarily lands with those names. For example, you could find a Snow-Covered Mountain, a Stomping Ground, a Savannah, or a Mistveil Plains, among other options, with Arid Mesa's ability. Of course, you could simply find a card named Mountain or a card named Plains if you like. ----- ***Theme: Bloodthirsty Vampires*** The _Zendikar_ set contains a number of Vampires that get better if an opponent has 10 or less life. Guul Draz Vampire B Creature -- Vampire Rogue 1/1 As long as an opponent has 10 or less life, Guul Draz Vampire gets +2/+1 and has intimidate. (It can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it.) * These creatures check each opponent's life total. As long as any one of them has 10 or less life, the Vampire will get the bonus. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, this checks a single opponent's share of the opposing team's life total. (A player's share is considered to be the team's life total divided by two, rounded up.) That means these Vampires get better if the opposing team's life total is 20 or less. ----- CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES Adventuring Gear 1 Artifact -- Equipment Landfall -- Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, equipped creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Equip 1 (1: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.) * The landfall ability gives +2/+2 to the creature that's equipped by Adventuring Gear at the time that ability resolves. It doesn't matter what creature Adventuring Gear was attached to (if any) when it triggered. That bonus remains with that creature even if Adventuring Gear leaves the battlefield or becomes attached to a different creature later in the turn. * If Adventuring Gear leaves the battlefield before its landfall ability resolves, the creature it was attached to at the time it left the battlefield gets +2/+2. If it wasn't attached to a creature at that time, nothing gets the bonus. ----- Archive Trap 3UU Instant -- Trap If an opponent searched his or her library this turn, you may pay 0 rather than pay Archive Trap's mana cost. Target opponent puts the top thirteen cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard. * Archive Trap checks only whether an opponent searched his or her library. It doesn't matter whether that player found a card during the search. * A spell or ability causes a player to search his or her library only if it specifically contains the word "search" in its text. For example, if a spell or ability lets a player look at the top four cards of his or her library and do something with one of those cards, that's not a search. * If a search effect is affected by Aven Mindcensor's ability (which causes a player to search the top four cards of his or her library instead), that still counts as searching that library. * The opponent you target doesn't have to be the opponent who searched his or her library. * If the targeted opponent has fewer than thirteen cards in his or her library, that player puts his or her entire library into his or her graveyard. ----- Archmage Ascension 2U Enchantment At the beginning of each end step, if you drew two or more cards this turn, you may put a quest counter on Archmage Ascension. As long as Archmage Ascension has six or more quest counters on it, if you would draw a card, you may instead search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle your library. * Archmage Ascension's first ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." It won't trigger at all unless you've already drawn two or more cards by the time the end step begins. * If an effect would cause you to draw multiple cards while Archmage Ascension has six or more quest counters on it, each individual draw may be replaced by Archmage Ascension's effect. Process the draws one at a time. Even if you use the reasonable shortcut of finding all of the cards at once and only physically shuffling once, the game will consider you to have searched and shuffled once per card. * If a spell or ability causes you to put cards in your hand without specifically using the word "draw," Archmage Ascension's abilities ignore it. * If two or more replacement effects would apply to a card-drawing event, the player who's drawing the card chooses what order to apply them. It's possible that after applying one of them, the others will no longer be applicable because the player would no longer draw a card. For example, if you control more than one Archmage Ascension with six quest counters on it and you would draw a card, each Archmage Ascension's replacement effect could apply. Once you use one, the rest are no longer applicable. ----- Arrow Volley Trap 3WW Instant -- Trap If four or more creatures are attacking, you may pay 1W rather than pay Arrow Volley Trap's mana cost. Arrow Volley Trap deals 5 damage divided as you choose among any number of target attacking creatures. * The number of targets must be at least 1 and at most 5. You divide the damage as you cast Arrow Volley Trap, not as it resolves. Each target must be assigned at least 1 damage. ----- Bala Ged Thief 3B Creature -- Human Rogue Ally 2/2 Whenever Bala Ged Thief or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, target player reveals a number of cards from his or her hand equal to the number of Allies you control. You choose one of them. That player discards that card. * If the number of Allies you control as the ability resolves is greater than the number of cards in the targeted player's hand, that player reveals his or her entire hand. You choose one of the cards revealed this way and that player discards it. ----- Beast Hunt 3G Sorcery Reveal the top three cards of your library. Put all creature cards revealed this way into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. * If there are three or fewer cards in your library, you'll reveal all of them. ----- Beastmaster Ascension 2G Enchantment Whenever a creature you control attacks, you may put a quest counter on Beastmaster Ascension. As long as Beastmaster Ascension has seven or more quest counters on it, creatures you control get +5/+5. * If you attack with multiple creatures, Beastmaster Ascension's first ability triggers multiple times. ----- Blade of the Bloodchief 1 Artifact -- Equipment Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on equipped creature. If equipped creature is a Vampire, put two +1/+1 counters on it instead. Equip 1 * Blade of the Bloodchief's ability triggers regardless of who controlled the creature and whose graveyard it was put into. * The +1/+1 counters are put on the equipped creature, not Blade of the Bloodchief. If Blade of the Bloodchief is moved to a different creature, the +1/+1 counters will stay where they are. * The creature that gets the counters is the one that's equipped by Blade of the Bloodchief at the time the ability resolves. It doesn't matter what creature Blade of the Bloodchief was attached to (if any) when it triggered. * If Blade of the Bloodchief leaves the battlefield before its triggered ability resolves, the counters are put on the creature it was attached to at the time it left the battlefield. If it wasn't attached to a creature at that time, nothing gets the counters. * If the equipped creature itself is put into a graveyard, Blade of the Bloodchief's ability will trigger. However, it won't do anything when it resolves unless a spell or ability has caused it to become attached to another creature by that time. (Remember that you may activate an equip ability only as a sorcery.) * If the equipped creature and another creature are dealt lethal damage at the same time, the equipped creature will be put into a graveyard before it would receive any counters. ----- Blazing Torch 1 Artifact -- Equipment Equipped creature can't be blocked by Vampires or Zombies. Equipped creature has "T, Sacrifice Blazing Torch: Blazing Torch deals 2 damage to target creature or player." Equip 1 * If a Blazing Torch controlled by one player somehow winds up equipping a creature a different player controls, the damage ability can't be activated by either player. Only the creature's controller may activate the ability -- but since that player can't sacrifice Blazing Torch (a permanent he or she doesn't control), the ability's cost can't be paid. * The source of the damage is Blazing Torch, not the equipped creature. However, the equipped creature's ability is what targets the creature or player. If Blazing Torch is equipped to a red creature, for example, the ability couldn't target a creature with protection from red. It could target a creature with protection from artifacts, but all the damage would be prevented. ----- Blood Tribute 4BB Sorcery Kicker--Tap an untapped Vampire you control. (You may tap a Vampire you control in addition to any other costs as you cast this spell.) Target opponent loses half his or her life, rounded up. If Blood Tribute was kicked, you gain life equal to the life lost this way. * You can tap a creature that hasn't been under your control since your most recent turn began to pay the kicker cost. ----- Bloodchief Ascension B Enchantment At the beginning of each end step, if an opponent lost 2 or more life this turn, you may put a quest counter on Bloodchief Ascension. (Damage causes loss of life.) Whenever a card is put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, if Bloodchief Ascension has three or more quest counters on it, you may have that player lose 2 life. If you do, you gain 2 life. * Bloodchief Ascension's first ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." It won't trigger at all unless an opponent has already lost 2 or more life by the time the end step begins. * Bloodchief Ascension's first ability checks how much life was lost by each opponent over the course of the entire turn, even if Bloodchief Ascension wasn't on the battlefield the whole time. * For the first ability to trigger, a single opponent must have lost 2 life. Two opponents each losing 1 life won't cause it to trigger. It will trigger a maximum of once per turn, no matter how many opponents have lost 2 or more life. * Bloodchief Ascension's first ability checks only whether life was lost. It doesn't care whether life was also gained. For example, if an opponent lost 4 life and gained 6 life during the turn, that player will have a higher life total than he or she started the turn with -- but Bloodchief Ascension's first ability will still trigger. * Bloodchief Ascension's second ability doesn't behave like a leaves-the-battlefield triggered ability, since the card put into an opponent's graveyard may come from anywhere. If a Bloodchief Ascension with three quest counters on it and a permanent an opponent owns are destroyed at the same time, for example, the game will not "look back in time" at the game state, and Bloodchief Ascension's second ability won't trigger. ----- Bloodghast BB Creature -- Vampire Spirit 2/1 Bloodghast can't block. Bloodghast has haste as long as an opponent has 10 or less life. Landfall -- Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may return Bloodghast from your graveyard to the battlefield. * Bloodghast's landfall ability triggers only if it's already in your graveyard at the time a land enters the battlefield under your control. ----- Bold Defense 2W Instant Kicker 3W (You may pay an additional 3W as you cast this spell.) Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. If Bold Defense was kicked, instead creatures you control get +2/+2 and gain first strike until end of turn. * Only creatures you control as Bold Defense resolves are affected. * If a creature doesn't have first strike, granting it first strike after combat damage has been dealt in the first combat damage step won't prevent it from dealing combat damage. It will still assign and deal its combat damage in the second combat damage step. ----- Brave the Elements W Instant Choose a color. White creatures you control gain protection from the chosen color until end of turn. * You choose a color as Brave the Elements resolves. Once the color is chosen, it's too late for players to respond. * Only white creatures you control at the time Brave the Elements resolves gain the protection ability. Creatures that come under your control later in the turn, or that turn white later in the turn, won't have it. ----- Celestial Mantle 3WWW Enchantment -- Aura Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +3/+3. Whenever enchanted creature deals combat damage to a player, double its controller's life total. * At the time the ability triggers, determine which creature Celestial Mantle is enchanting. As the ability resolves, determine who currently controls that creature (or, if it's no longer on the battlefield, determine who controlled it when it left). That's the player whose life total is doubled. It doesn't matter who controls Celestial Mantle, who controlled the creature at the time the ability triggered, or what creature Celestial Mantle enchants at the time the ability resolves. * If a creature dealing combat damage at the same time as the enchanted creature has lifelink, the life gained due to lifelink happens before Celestial Mantle's triggered ability resolves. * If the enchanted creature's controller has a life total below 0 (which is possible if that player controls Platinum Angel, for example), Celestial Mantle's triggered ability multiplies that number by two. For example, if the player had -4 life, that player's life total becomes -8. * If a player's life total is doubled, that player actually gains or loses the necessary amount of life. For example, if the life total of the enchanted creature's controller is 14 when Celestial Mantle's triggered ability resolves, the ability causes that player to gain 14 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, Celestial Mantle's triggered ability will affect one player's share of the team's life total. (A player's share is considered to be the team's life total divided by two, rounded up.) The team's life total is adjusted by the amount of life the player gains or loses as a result of this ability. Suppose a creature enchanted by Celestial Mantle deals combat damage to an opponent, and that creature's controller's team has 11 life. That player's share of the life total is 6, so it's doubled to 12, for a net gain of 6 life. The team's life total becomes 17 (11 + 6). ----- Chandra Ablaze 4RR Planeswalker -- Chandra 5 [+1]: Discard a card. If a red card is discarded this way, Chandra Ablaze deals 4 damage to target creature or player. [-2]: Each player discards his or her hand, then draws three cards. [-7]: Cast any number of red instant and/or sorcery cards from your graveyard without paying their mana costs. * If you activate Chandra Ablaze's first ability, you don't discard a card until the ability resolves. You may activate the ability even if your hand is empty. You choose a target as you activate the ability even if you have no red cards in hand at that time. * As the first ability resolves, nothing happens if your hand is empty. But if you have any cards in hand, you must discard one. If you discard a nonred card, Chandra doesn't deal any damage. * If the creature targeted by the first ability is an illegal target by the time it resolves, the entire ability is countered. You won't discard a card. * You may activate Chandra's second ability even if your hand is empty. As it resolves, a player whose hand is empty simply draws three cards. * You cast red instant cards and red sorcery cards from your graveyard as part of the resolution of Chandra Ablaze's third ability. You don't choose which ones to cast until you're actually doing so as the ability resolves. You cast only the ones you want to, and you may cast them in any order. Timing restrictions based on the card's type (if it's a sorcery) are ignored. Other restrictions are not (such as "Cast [this card] only during combat"). Each card you cast this way is put on the stack, then the ability finishes resolving. Those spells will then resolve as normal, one at a time, in the opposite order that they were put on the stack. They'll go back to the graveyard as they resolve. * If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," you can't pay any alternative costs. You can pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. ----- Cobra Trap 4GG Instant -- Trap If a noncreature permanent under your control was destroyed this turn by a spell or ability an opponent controlled, you may pay G rather than pay Cobra Trap's mana cost. Put four 1/1 green Snake creature tokens onto the battlefield. * A spell or ability destroys a permanent only if that spell or ability specifically contains the word "destroy" in its text. If a spell or ability an opponent controls exiles a noncreature permanent you control, causes you to sacrifice a noncreature permanent, removes all loyalty counters from a planeswalker you control, or causes an ability you control to trigger (and then that ability destroys a permanent you control), Cobra Trap's alternative cost condition hasn't been met. ----- Cosi's Trickster U Creature -- Merfolk Wizard 1/1 Whenever an opponent shuffles his or her library, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Cosi's Trickster. * Cosi's Trickster's ability triggers when an opponent shuffles his or her library because that player was instructed to do so by a spell or ability that specifically contains the word "shuffle" in its text or (in the case of a keyword ability) in its rules. * The cascade ability doesn't cause a player to shuffle his or her library, even if that player revealed his or her entire library. The revealed cards are put on the bottom of their owner's library in a random order, but they're not "shuffled." * If an opponent's library is empty or has just a single card in it when a spell or ability instructs that player to shuffle his or her library, Cosi's Trickster's ability will still trigger. ----- Desecrated Earth 4B Sorcery Destroy target land. Its controller discards a card. * If the targeted land is an illegal target by the time Desecrated Earth resolves, the entire spell is countered. No one discards a card. ----- Devout Lightcaster WWW Creature -- Kor Cleric 2/2 Protection from black When Devout Lightcaster enters the battlefield, exile target black permanent. * Devout Lightcaster's triggered ability isn't optional. When it enters the battlefield, if you're the only player that controls a black permanent, you'll have to target a black permanent you control. ----- Eldrazi Monument 5 Artifact Creatures you control get +1/+1, have flying, and are indestructible. At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature. If you can't, sacrifice Eldrazi Monument. * If you control any creatures as the triggered ability resolves, you must sacrifice one. You can't choose to sacrifice Eldrazi Monument instead. You sacrifice the Monument only if you had no creatures to sacrifice. * Lethal damage and effects that say "destroy" won't cause an indestructible creature to be put into the graveyard. However, an indestructible creature can be put into the graveyard for a number of reasons. The most likely reasons are if it's sacrificed, if it's legendary and another legendary creature with the same name is on the battlefield, or if its toughness is 0 or less. ----- Electropotence 2R Enchantment Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may pay 2R. If you do, that creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature or player. * You target a creature or player when the ability triggers. You decide whether or not to pay 2R as the ability resolves. * Once you decide to pay 2R, it's too late for anyone to respond (such as by activating a regeneration ability the targeted creature has). * If you pay 2R, the creature that entered the battlefield deals damage equal to its current power to the targeted creature or player. If it's no longer on the battlefield, its last known existence on the battlefield is checked to determine its power. * Electropotence is the source of the ability, but the creature is the source of the damage. The ability couldn't target a creature with protection from red, for example. It could target a creature with protection from creatures, but all the damage would be prevented. Since damage is dealt by the creature, lifelink, deathtouch, and wither are taken into account, even if the creature has left the battlefield by the time it deals damage. ----- Elemental Appeal RRRR Sorcery Kicker 5 (You may pay an additional 5 as you cast this spell.) Put a 7/1 red Elemental creature token with trample and haste onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step. If Elemental Appeal was kicked, that creature gets +7/+0 until end of turn. * If Elemental Appeal was kicked, it creates a 7/1 token with trample and haste that gets +7/+0 until end of turn. It doesn't create a 14/1 token. This matters in case something copies that token (the copy will be just 7/1), or in case Elemental Appeal is somehow cast during an end step (in which case the +7/+0 lasts just for that turn). ----- Emeria, the Sky Ruin Land Emeria, the Sky Ruin enters the battlefield tapped. At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control seven or more Plains, you may return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. T: Add W to your mana pool. * Emeria, the Sky Ruin's triggered ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless you control seven or more Plains as your upkeep starts, and (2) the ability will do nothing if you control fewer than seven Plains by the time it resolves. ----- Eternity Vessel 6 Artifact Eternity Vessel enters the battlefield with X charge counters on it, where X is your life total. Landfall -- Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may have your life total become the number of charge counters on Eternity Vessel. * Eternity Vessel's landfall ability cares only about how many charge counters are on it, not what its controller's life total was as it entered the battlefield. The number of charge counters may be changed by other spells and abilities. * For your life total to become the number of charge counters on Eternity Vessel, you actually gain or lose the necessary amount of life. For example, if your life total is 4 when Eternity Vessel's landfall ability resolves and Eternity Vessel has 12 charge counters on it, the ability will cause you to gain 8 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, Eternity Vessel enters the battlefield with a number of charge counters on it equal to its controller's share of the team's life total. (A player's share is considered to be the team's life total divided by two, rounded up.) When its landfall ability resolves, it affects its controller's share of the team's life total, and the team's life total is adjusted by the amount of life the player gains or loses as a result of this ability. Suppose Eternity Vessel has 15 charge counters on it when its landfall ability resolves, and its controller's team has 11 life. That player's share of the life total is 6, which becomes 15, for a net gain of 9 life. The team's life total becomes 20 (11 + 9). ----- Expedition Map 1 Artifact 2, T, Sacrifice Expedition Map: Search your library for a land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. * You may find any land card, not just a basic land card. ----- Feast of Blood 1B Sorcery Cast Feast of Blood only if you control two or more Vampires. Destroy target creature. You gain 4 life. * Whether you control two or more Vampires is checked only as you try to move Feast of Blood to the stack as the first step of casting it. It doesn't matter whether you still control two or more Vampires as you finish casting Feast of Blood (in case you somehow sacrifice one to produce mana) or as Feast of Blood resolves. * If the targeted creature is an illegal target by the time Feast of Blood resolves, the entire spell is countered. You don't gain life. ----- Felidar Sovereign 4WW Creature -- Cat Beast 4/6 Vigilance, lifelink At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have 40 or more life, you win the game. * Felidar Sovereign's triggered ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless you have 40 or more life as your upkeep starts, and (2) the ability will do nothing if your life total is less than 40 by the time it resolves. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, Felidar Sovereign checks your share of your team's life total. (A player's share is considered to be the team's life total divided by two, rounded up.) Your team will need to have 79 or more life for the ability to work. ----- Gigantiform 3GG Enchantment -- Aura Kicker 4 Enchant creature Enchanted creature is 8/8 and has trample. When Gigantiform enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, you may search your library for a card named Gigantiform, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library. * If the creature targeted by the Gigantiform spell is an illegal target by the time Gigantiform resolves, the spell is countered. It won't enter the battlefield, so you won't get to search your library for another Gigantiform. * Gigantiform overwrites all previous effects that set the enchanted creature's power and toughness to specific values. Other effects that set its power or toughness to specific values that start to apply after Gigantiform becomes attached to it will overwrite Gigantiform. * Effects that modify the enchanted creature's power or toughness, such as the effects of Giant Growth or Glorious Anthem, will apply to it no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature's power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters) and effects that switch its power and toughness. * Although the Gigantiform cast as a spell targets a creature, the Gigantiform put onto the battlefield as a result of the first one's triggered ability does not. It may be attached to a creature with shroud, for example. However, it may not be attached to a creature that couldn't be enchanted by it, such as a creature with protection from green. You don't choose which creature it will be attached to until it enters the battlefield. Once you choose which creature to attach it to, it's too late for players to respond. ----- Goblin Bushwhacker R Creature -- Goblin Warrior 1/1 Kicker R (You may pay an additional R as you cast this spell.) When Goblin Bushwhacker enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain haste until end of turn. * Only creatures you control as Goblin Bushwhacker's ability resolves are affected. This includes Goblin Bushwhacker itself, unless it already left the battlefield by then. ----- Gomazoa 2U Creature -- Jellyfish 0/3 Defender, flying T: Put Gomazoa and each creature it's blocking on top of their owners' libraries, then those players shuffle their libraries. * Gomazoa's ability can be activated any time its controller has priority. It doesn't need to be blocking any creatures. * If Gomazoa isn't blocking a creature at the time its ability resolves, only Gomazoa is put on top of its owner's library, and only that player shuffles his or her library. ----- Grappling Hook 4 Artifact -- Equipment Equipped creature has double strike. Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may have target creature block it this turn if able. Equip 4 * If you control the triggered ability, you decide whether to have the targeted creature block the attacking creature at the time the ability resolves, not at the time blockers are declared. * If you choose to have the targeted creature block, the creature it must block is the one that was equipped by Grappling Hook at the time the ability triggered. It doesn't matter if Grappling Hook leaves the battlefield or somehow becomes attached to another creature. * If you choose to have the targeted creature block the creature that was equipped with Grappling Hook, but it isn't able to do so as blockers are declared (for example, because the attacking creature has flying and the targeted creature doesn't), the requirement to block does nothing. The targeted creature is free to block whichever creature its controller chooses, or block no creatures at all. * Tapped creatures, creatures that can't block as the result of an effect, creatures with unpaid costs to block (such as those from War Cadence), and creatures that aren't controlled by the defending player are exempt from effects that would require them to block. Such creatures can be targeted by the ability, but the requirement to block does nothing. ----- Halo Hunter 2BBB Creature -- Demon 6/3 Intimidate (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it.) When Halo Hunter enters the battlefield, destroy target Angel. * Halo Hunter's triggered ability isn't optional. When it enters the battlefield, if you're the only player that controls an Angel, you'll have to target an Angel you control. ----- Hellfire Mongrel 2R Creature -- Elemental Hound 2/2 At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has two or fewer cards in hand, Hellfire Mongrel deals 2 damage to him or her. * Hellfire Mongrel's triggered ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless the opponent whose turn it is has two or fewer cards in hand as his or her upkeep starts, and (2) the ability will do nothing if that player has three or more cards in hand by the time it resolves. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, this ability will potentially trigger twice at the beginning of the opposing team's upkeep -- once for each player on that team. ----- Hellkite Charger 4RR Creature -- Dragon 5/5 Flying, haste Whenever Hellkite Charger attacks, you may pay 5RR. If you do, untap all attacking creatures and after this phase, there is an additional combat phase. * You decide whether to pay 5RR as Hellkite Charger's ability resolves. * If you pay 5RR, the new combat phase immediately follows the current combat phase. There is no main phase in between. * Hellkite Charger's ability may trigger multiple times in the same turn, since its own ability gives it multiple chances to attack. Each time it resolves, you may create an additional combat phase. * If two Hellkite Chargers attack at the same time, both of their abilities trigger. If you pay 5RR for each, two new combat phases will be created. However, all attacking creatures untap as those abilities resolve, not as the combat phases start. Any creature that attacks in the second combat phase will remain tapped during the third combat phase. ----- Hideous End 1BB Instant Destroy target nonblack creature. Its controller loses 2 life. * If the targeted creature is an illegal target by the time Hideous End resolves, the entire spell is countered. No one loses life. ----- Inferno Trap 3R Instant -- Trap If you've been dealt damage by two or more creatures this turn, you may pay R rather than pay Inferno Trap's mana cost. Inferno Trap deals 4 damage to target creature. * Inferno Trap's alternative cost condition checks for any damage, not just combat damage. * The alternative cost condition doesn't check who controlled the creatures that dealt damage to you. Damage dealt to you by your own creatures counts. * The alternative cost condition is satisfied only if two different creatures dealt damage to you, not if one creature dealt damage to you twice. The damage may have been dealt to you simultaneously (as with combat damage), or at separate times. * You may target any creature, not just one that dealt damage to you this turn. ----- Into the Roil 1U Instant Kicker 1U (You may pay an additional 1U as you cast this spell.) Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand. If Into the Roil was kicked, draw a card. * If the targeted permanent is an illegal target by the time Into the Roil resolves, the entire spell is countered. You don't draw a card. ----- Iona, Shield of Emeria 6WWW Legendary Creature -- Angel 7/7 Flying As Iona, Shield of Emeria enters the battlefield, choose a color. Your opponents can't cast spells of the chosen color. * Iona's third ability includes permanent spells (artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and planeswalkers), not just instant and sorcery spells. It does not include lands or abilities (such as cycling or unearth). * Once the color is chosen, it's too late for opponents to respond by casting spells of that color. Iona is not yet in the battlefield at the time the color is chosen, so, for example, there's no way for an opponent to destroy it by casting Doom Blade if the chosen color is black. ----- Journey to Nowhere 1W Enchantment When Journey to Nowhere enters the battlefield, exile target creature. When Journey to Nowhere leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to the battlefield under its owner's control. * If Journey to Nowhere leaves the battlefield before its first ability has resolved, its second ability will trigger and do nothing. Then its first ability will resolve and exile the targeted creature forever. ----- Kabira Evangel 2W Creature -- Human Cleric Ally 2/3 Whenever Kabira Evangel or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may choose a color. If you do, Allies you control gain protection from the chosen color until end of turn. * You choose a color (or choose not to) as the triggered ability resolves. Once the color is chosen, it's too late for players to respond. ----- Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet 5BB Legendary Creature -- Vampire Warrior 5/5 BBB, T: Destroy target creature. If that creature is put into a graveyard this way, put a black Vampire creature token onto the battlefield. Its power is equal to that creature's power and its toughness is equal to that creature's toughness. * You get the token, not the player who controlled the creature. * If the targeted creature is indestructible or regenerates, you won't get a Vampire token. Similarly, if the targeted creature is destroyed but a replacement effect moves it to a different zone instead of its owner's graveyard, you won't get a Vampire token. * The power and toughness of the token are based on the destroyed creature's last existence on the battlefield. The token doesn't have any of the destroyed creature's other characteristics. ----- Kazuul Warlord 4R Creature -- Minotaur Warrior Ally 3/3 Whenever Kazuul Warlord or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a +1/+1 counter on each Ally creature you control. * Unlike other Allies with similar abilities, Kazuul Warlord's ability lets you put +1/+1 counters on all your Ally creatures, not just itself. ----- Khalni Gem 4 Artifact When Khalni Gem enters the battlefield, return two lands you control to their owner's hand. T: Add two mana of any one color to your mana pool. * If you don't control any lands by the time Khalni Gem's triggered ability resolves, nothing happens. If you control just one, you'll have to return it to its owner's hand. Khalni Gem isn't affected in either case. ----- Kor Hookmaster 2W Creature -- Kor Soldier 2/2 When Kor Hookmaster enters the battlefield, tap target creature an opponent controls. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. * You may target any creature an opponent controls. It's okay if it's already tapped. * If the targeted creature is untapped at the time its controller's next untap step begins, this ability has no effect. It won't apply at some later time when the targeted creature is tapped. * If the affected creature changes controllers before its old controller's next untap step, this ability will prevent it from being untapped during its new controller's next untap step. ----- Kor Outfitter WW Creature -- Kor Soldier 2/2 When Kor Outfitter enters the battlefield, you may attach target Equipment you control to target creature you control. * You may target Kor Outfitter with its ability. * If either target is illegal by the time the ability resolves, the ability won't do anything. If both targets are illegal, the ability is countered. ----- Kor Skyfisher 1W Creature -- Kor Soldier 2/3 Flying When Kor Skyfisher enters the battlefield, return a permanent you control to its owner's hand. * The triggered ability doesn't target a permanent. You choose which one to return to its owner's hand as the ability resolves. No one can respond to the choice. * If Kor Skyfisher is still on the battlefield as its triggered ability resolves, you may return Kor Skyfisher itself. ----- Lavaball Trap 6RR Instant -- Trap If an opponent had two or more lands enter the battlefield under his or her control this turn, you may pay 3RR rather than pay Lavaball Trap's mana cost. Destroy two target lands. Lavaball Trap deals 4 damage to each creature. * You may target any two lands, not just ones that entered the battlefield this turn. * All creatures are dealt damage, not just ones controlled by the targeted lands' controller(s). * If both targeted lands are illegal targets by the time Lavaball Trap resolves, the entire spell is countered. No creatures are dealt damage. ----- Lorthos, the Tidemaker 5UUU Legendary Creature -- Octopus 8/8 Whenever Lorthos, the Tidemaker attacks, you may pay 8. If you do, tap up to eight target permanents. Those permanents don't untap during their controllers' next untap steps. * You may target any eight (or fewer) permanents. It's okay if any of them are already tapped, and it's okay if any of them are controlled by someone other than the defending player. * If a targeted permanent is untapped at the time its controller's next untap step begins, this ability has no effect on it. It won't apply at some later time when the targeted permanent is tapped. * If an affected permanent changes controllers before its old controller's next untap step, this ability will prevent it from being untapped during its new controller's next untap step. ----- Lullmage Mentor 1UU Creature -- Merfolk Wizard 2/2 Whenever a spell or ability you control counters a spell, you may put a 1/1 blue Merfolk creature token onto the battlefield. Tap seven untapped Merfolk you control: Counter target spell. * A spell or ability counters a spell only if it specifically contains the word "counter" in its text. If a spell or ability you control causes all the targets of a spell to become illegal, that spell is countered by the game rules, not the spell or ability you control. For example, if you control Lullmage Mentor and cast Doom Blade to destroy a creature targeted by Giant Growth, you do not get a Merfolk token when the game rules counter Giant Growth. * Lullmage Mentor's second ability will cause its first ability to trigger. * Since the second ability doesn't have a tap symbol in its cost, you can tap creatures (including Lullmage Mentor itself) that haven't been under your control since your most recent turn began to pay the cost. ----- Luminarch Ascension 1W Enchantment At the beginning of each opponent's end step, if you didn't lose life this turn, you may put a quest counter on Luminarch Ascension. (Damage causes loss of life.) 1W: Put a 4/4 white Angel creature token with flying onto the battlefield. Activate this ability only if Luminarch Ascension has four or more quest counters on it. * Luminarch Ascension's first ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." It checks whether you've lost life during the turn both as it would trigger and as it resolves. * Life lost during the end step after Luminarch Ascension's first ability resolves has no bearing on it. * Luminarch Ascension's first ability checks only whether life was lost. It doesn't care whether life was also gained. For example, if you lost 4 life and gained 6 life during the turn, you'll have a higher life total than you started the turn with -- but Luminarch Ascension's first ability won't trigger. * Luminarch Ascension's second ability checks how many quest counters are on it only at the time you activate the ability. Once activated, the ability will resolve as normal even if quest counters are removed from Luminarch Ascension. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, Luminarch Ascension's first ability will trigger twice at the beginning of the opposing team's end step if you didn't lose life that turn. If both abilities resolve, it will get two quest counters. (It doesn't matter whether your teammate lost life or not.) ----- Magosi, the Waterveil Land Magosi, the Waterveil enters the battlefield tapped. T: Add U to your mana pool. U, T: Put an eon counter on Magosi, the Waterveil. Skip your next turn. T, Remove an eon counter from Magosi, the Waterveil and return it to its owner's hand: Take an extra turn after this one. * As Magosi's third ability resolves, you'll skip your next turn even if you don't put an eon counter on Magosi (because it's left the battlefield by then, perhaps). * You can activate Magosi's fourth ability only if it has an eon counter on it. * You return Magosi to its owner's hand as part of the cost to activate its fourth ability. If Magosi has more than one eon counter on it, you can't activate the ability, untap it, then activate it again. * If you somehow activate Magosi's third and fourth abilities during the same turn, the effects will cancel each other out. The turn you skip is the next one you would take, which is the turn created by Magosi's fourth ability. It doesn't matter in which order the abilities resolved. * If you take an extra turn in a Two-Headed Giant game, you entire team takes the extra turn. ----- Mark of Mutiny 2R Sorcery Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Put a +1/+1 counter on it and untap it. That creature gains haste until end of turn. * You may target a creature you already control. You may target a creature that's already untapped. * The +1/+1 counter remains on the creature after the control-changing effect ends. ----- Merfolk Wayfinder 2U Creature -- Merfolk Scout 1/2 Flying When Merfolk Wayfinder enters the battlefield, reveal the top three cards of your library. Put all Island cards revealed this way into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. * If there are three or fewer cards in your library, you'll reveal all of them. ----- Mindbreak Trap 2UU Instant -- Trap If an opponent cast three or more spells this turn, you may pay 0 rather than pay Mindbreak Trap's mana cost. Exile any number of target spells. * Mindbreak Trap's alternative cost condition checks whether an opponent cast three or more spells this turn, not whether those spells have resolved. * If a spell is exiled, it's removed from the stack and thus will not resolve. The spell isn't countered; it just no longer exists. This works on spells that can't be countered, such as Terra Stomper. ----- Mindless Null 2B Creature -- Zombie 2/2 Mindless Null can't block unless you control a Vampire. * Whether you control a Vampire matters only at the time you declare blockers. Once Mindless Null blocks a creature, that won't change, even if all the Vampires you control leave the battlefield. ----- Mire Blight B Enchantment -- Aura Enchant creature When enchanted creature is dealt damage, destroy it. * Mire Blight's ability triggers when the enchanted creature is dealt any kind of damage, not just combat damage. * If Mire Blight's ability triggers, the creature it was enchanting at that time is the one that will be destroyed when the ability resolves. It doesn't matter if Mire Blight leaves the battlefield or somehow becomes attached to another creature by that time. ----- Murasa Pyromancer 4RR Creature -- Human Shaman Ally 3/2 Whenever Murasa Pyromancer or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may have Murasa Pyromancer deal damage to target creature equal to the number of Allies you control. * You target a creature when the ability triggers. You decide whether to have Murasa Pyromancer deal damage to that creature as the ability resolves. ----- Narrow Escape 2W Instant Return target permanent you control to its owner's hand. You gain 4 life. * If the targeted permanent is an illegal target by the time Narrow Escape resolves, the entire spell is countered. You won't gain life. ----- Needlebite Trap 5BB Instant -- Trap If an opponent gained life this turn, you may pay B rather than pay Needlebite Trap's mana cost. Target player loses 5 life and you gain 5 life. * Needlebite Trap's alternative cost condition checks only whether life was gained. It doesn't care whether life was also lost. For example, if an opponent gained 4 life and lost 6 life during the turn, that player will have a lower life total than he or she started the turn with -- but you can still cast Needlebite Trap by paying B. ----- Nissa Revane 2GG Planeswalker -- Nissa 2 [+1]: Search your library for a card named Nissa's Chosen and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library. [+1]: You gain 2 life for each Elf you control. [-7]: Search your library for any number of Elf creature cards and put them onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library. * You may activate Nissa's first ability even if you know you have no cards named Nissa's Chosen in your library. You must still shuffle your library in that situation. * You may activate Nissa's second ability even if you control no Elves. ----- Obsidian Fireheart 1RRR Creature -- Elemental 4/4 1RR: Put a blaze counter on target land without a blaze counter on it. For as long as that land has a blaze counter on it, it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, this land deals 1 damage to you." (The land continues to burn after Obsidian Fireheart has left the battlefield.) * As the reminder text indicates, whether the targeted land has the triggered ability that's been granted to it depends only on whether it has a blaze counter on it, not on whether Obsidian Fireheart is still on the battlefield. * The ability gained by the land triggers at the beginning of the upkeep of the land's controller, not the beginning of the upkeep of Obsidian Fireheart's controller. The player who controls the land at the time the ability triggers is the one who's dealt damage. * A land with a blaze counter on it is an illegal target for this ability. You may activate the ability targeting a land, then activate the ability in response to itself targeting the same land. Although the first ability to resolve will put a blaze counter on that land, the second ability to resolve will be countered. * If all blaze counters on a land are moved to a different land, the triggered ability doesn't follow them. The first land no longer has the ability because it no longer has a blaze counter on it. The second land doesn't have the ability because Obsidian Fireheart didn't target it. * If a land ends up with more than one blaze counter on it (thanks to Doubling Season or Gilder Bairn, for example), the ability still only causes it to deal 1 damage to its controller each turn. ----- Oracle of Mul Daya 3G Creature -- Elf Shaman 2/2 You may play an additional land on each of your turns. Play with the top card of your library revealed. You may play the top card of your library if it's a land card. * As you play a land, announce whether it's your normal land play for the turn or you're playing it as the result of Oracle of Mul Daya's first ability (or another such effect that exists). * If you control more than one Oracle of Mul Daya, the effects of their first abilities are cumulative. If you control two, for example, you can play three lands on your turn. * When playing with the top card of your library revealed, if an effect tells you to draw several cards, reveal each one before you draw it. * If the top card of your library changes during the process of casting a spell or activating an ability, the new top card won't be revealed until the process of casting the spell or activating the ability ends (all targets are chosen, all costs are paid, and so on). * Oracle of Mul Daya doesn't change the times when you can play a land card from the top of your library. You can play a land only during your main phase when you have priority and the stack is empty. Doing so counts as one of your land plays for the turn (either your normal one, the additional one Oracle of Mul Daya grants you, or an additional one from some other effect). * If you play your first land of the turn from the top of your library, and the new top card is another land card, you can play that one too. * Oracle of Mul Daya doesn't allow you to activate the activated abilities (such as cycling) of a land card on top of your library. ----- Oran-Rief, the Vastwood Land Oran-Rief, the Vastwood enters the battlefield tapped. T: Add G to your mana pool. T: Put a +1/+1 counter on each green creature that entered the battlefield this turn. * Oran-Rief's third ability cares about permanents' characteristics at the time the ability resolves, not their characteristics at the time they entered the battlefield. For example, if a blue creature enters the battlefield, then is turned green by a spell or ability, then Oran-Rief's second ability resolves, you'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature. * Oran-Rief's second ability affects all permanents that are green creatures that entered the battlefield this turn, not just the ones you control. ----- Paralyzing Grasp 2U Enchantment -- Aura Enchant creature Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step. * Paralyzing Grasp may target, and may enchant, an untapped creature. If it does, it will have no effect unless that creature becomes tapped somehow. ----- Predatory Urge 3G Enchantment -- Aura Enchant creature Enchanted creature has "T: This creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature. That creature deals damage equal to its power to this creature." * The controller of the enchanted creature may activate the ability, not the controller of Predatory Urge. * If the enchanted creature's ability is activated, that creature is the one that will deal and be dealt damage when the ability resolves. It doesn't matter if Predatory Urge leaves the battlefield or somehow becomes attached to another creature by that time. * If the targeted creature leaves the battlefield (or otherwise becomes an illegal target) before the ability resolves, the ability is countered. The enchanted creature isn't dealt damage. * On the other hand, if the enchanted creature leaves the battlefield before the ability resolves, the ability continues to resolve. The enchanted creature deals damage to the targeted creature equal to the power the enchanted creature had as it last existed on the battlefield. * You may have the enchanted creature target itself with its own ability. If you do, it will deal damage to itself equal to its power, then immediately do it again. ----- Punishing Fire 1R Instant Punishing Fire deals 2 damage to target creature or player. Whenever an opponent gains life, you may pay R. If you do, return Punishing Fire from your graveyard to your hand. * Punishing Fire's triggered ability triggers only if it's already in your graveyard at the time an opponent gains life. For example, you can cast it in response to a spell or ability that will cause an opponent to gain life. In that case, Punishing Fire will resolve first, so it will be in the graveyard by the time the opponent gains life. However, if you wait until an opponent actually gains life and then cast Punishing Fire, you won't be able to return it to your hand at that time. * You choose whether to pay R as the triggered ability resolves. * If Punishing Fire has left your graveyard by the time its triggered ability resolves, you may still pay R, but you won't return it to your hand. This is true even if Punishing Fire has left your graveyard and returned to it by the time its triggered ability resolves. ----- Pyromancer Ascension 1R Enchantment Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that has the same name as a card in your graveyard, you may put a quest counter on Pyromancer Ascension. Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell while Pyromancer Ascension has two or more quest counters on it, you may copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. * If either of Pyromancer Ascension's abilities triggers, it will go on the stack on top of the spell that caused it to trigger. The ability will resolve first. If it's Pyromancer Ascension's second ability that triggered, the copy it creates will also resolve before the original spell. The copy is created even if the original spell has been countered. * If Pyromancer Ascension's first ability triggers, you'll put a quest counter on it even if the card in your graveyard leaves your graveyard by the time the ability resolves. * If you cast an instant or sorcery spell from your graveyard (due to an ability such as retrace, for example), Pyromancer Ascension's first ability won't trigger unless another card with the same name is in your graveyard. * The second ability triggers only if Pyromancer Ascension already has two quest counters on it at the time you cast an instant or sorcery spell. This means a spell can't both cause the second counter to be put on Pyromancer Ascension and become copied. * If you copy a spell, the copy will have the same targets as the spell it's copying unless you choose new ones. You may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them. * You may copy an instant or sorcery spell that has no targets. * If the original spell was kicked, the copy is kicked too. Other decisions made for the original spell, such as the value of X or the mode, are also copied. ----- Quest for Pure Flame R Enchantment Whenever a source you control deals damage to an opponent, you may put a quest counter on Quest for Pure Flame. Remove four quest counters from Quest for Pure Flame and sacrifice it: If any source you control would deal damage to a creature or player this turn, it deals double that damage to that creature or player instead. * Both of Quest for Pure Flame's abilities interact with any kind of damage, not just combat damage. * The source of combat damage is the creature that dealt it. * If a spell causes damage to be dealt, that spell will always identify the source of the damage. In most cases, the source is the spell itself. For example, Lightning Bolt says "Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to target creature or player." * If an ability causes damage to be dealt, that ability will always identify the source of the damage. The ability itself is never the source. However, the source of the ability is often the source of the damage. For example, Prodigal Pyromancer's ability says "Prodigal Pyromancer deals 1 damage to target creature or player." * If the source of the damage is a permanent, Quest for Pure Flame checks whether you control that permanent at the time that damage is dealt. If the permanent has left the battlefield by then, its last known information is used. If the source of the damage is a spell, whether you control it is obvious. If the source of the damage is a card in some other zone (such as a cycled Jund Sojourner), Quest for Pure Flame checks whether you're the card's owner, rather than whether you're its controller. * When the first ability resolves, you may put just one quest counter on Quest for Pure Flame. It doesn't matter how much damage the source dealt. * The first ability will trigger multiple times if multiple sources you control deal damage to a single opponent at once, or if a single source you control deals damage to multiple opponents at once. * The second ability affects all sources you control that would deal damage to a creature or player at any point in the rest of the turn. * If multiple effects modify how damage will be dealt, the player who would be dealt damage or the controller of the creature that would be dealt damage chooses the order to apply the effects. For example, Mending Hands says, "Prevent the next 4 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn." Suppose a spell controlled by a player who has activated Quest for Pure Fire's second ability would deal 5 damage to a player who has cast Mending Hands targeting him or herself. The player who would be dealt damage can either (a) prevent 4 damage first and then let Quest for Pure Fire's effect double the remaining 1 damage, taking 2 damage, or (b) double the damage to 10 and then prevent 4 damage, taking 6 damage. * Combat damage that a source you control would deal to a planeswalker is not doubled. However, if a source you control would deal noncombat damage to that player, and that player chooses to apply Quest for Pure Fire's replacement effect before applying the planeswalker redirection effect, the damage will be doubled before you choose whether to deal it to a planeswalker that player controls. (If your opponents always apply the planeswalker redirection effect first, Quest for Pure Fire's effect will never double damage that a source you control would deal to a planeswalker.) * If a spell or ability divides damage among multiple recipients (such as Arrow Volley Trap does), the damage is divided before Quest for Pure Fire's effect doubles it. The same is true for combat damage. * If you activate the second ability of more than one Quest for Pure Flame in the same turn, the effects are cumulative. Two such effects will cause damage from sources you control to be multiplied by four; three such effects will cause damage from sources you control to be multiplied by eight. ----- Quest for the Gemblades 1G Enchantment Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a creature, you may put a quest counter on Quest for the Gemblades. Remove a quest counter from Quest for the Gemblades and sacrifice it: Put four +1/+1 counters on target creature. * When the first ability resolves, you may put just one quest counter on Quest for the Gemblades. It doesn't matter how much damage the source dealt. * The first ability will trigger multiple times if a creature you control deals combat damage to multiple creatures, and/or if multiple creatures you control each deal combat damage to a single creature. * If there are no counters on Quest for the Gemblade yet, and simultaneously a creature you control deals combat damage to a creature and a creature you control is dealt lethal combat damage, the first ability will trigger too late for you to be able to activate the second ability and save your creature. ----- Quest for the Gravelord B Enchantment Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may put a quest counter on Quest for the Gravelord. Remove three quest counters from Quest for the Gravelord and sacrifice it: Put a 5/5 black Zombie Giant creature token onto the battlefield. * Quest for the Gravelord's first ability triggers regardless of who controlled the creature and whose graveyard it was put into. ----- Quest for the Holy Relic W Enchantment Whenever you cast a creature spell, you may put a quest counter on Quest for the Holy Relic. Remove five quest counters from Quest for the Holy Relic and sacrifice it: Search your library for an Equipment card, put it onto the battlefield, and attach it to a creature you control. Then shuffle your library. * If you cast a creature spell, Quest for the Holy Relic's triggered ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of it. The triggered ability will resolve before the spell does. * The activated ability doesn't target the creature the Equipment will be attached to. It may be attached to a creature with shroud, for example. You don't choose which creature it will be attached to until you actually attach it. Once you choose which creature to attach it to, it's too late for players to respond. * You may activate Quest for the Holy Relic's activated ability even if you control no creatures, or you control no creatures that can be equipped. In that case, you'll simply put the Equipment card you find onto the battlefield without attaching it to anything. ----- Rite of Replication 2UU Sorcery Kicker 5 (You may pay an additional 5 as you cast this spell.) Put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of target creature. If Rite of Replication was kicked, put five of those tokens onto the battlefield instead. * If the targeted creature is an illegal target by the time Rite of Replication resolves, the entire spell is countered. You won't get any tokens. * As the token or tokens are created, they check the printed values of the creature they're copying -- or, if that creature is itself a token, the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that put it onto the battlefield -- as well as any copy effects that have been applied to it. It won't copy counters on the creature, nor will it copy other effects that have changed the creature's power, toughness, types, color, or so on. * The tokens see each other enter the battlefield. If they have a triggered ability that triggers when a creature enters the battlefield, they'll all trigger for one another. ----- Roil Elemental 3UUU Creature -- Elemental 3/2 Flying Landfall -- Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may gain control of target creature for as long as you control Roil Elemental. * If Roil Elemental leaves the battlefield, you no longer control it, so all of its control-change effects end. * If Roil Elemental ceases to be under your control before its ability resolves, you won't gain control of the targeted creature at all. * You may target a creature you already control with Roil Elemental's ability. This will usually have no visible effect, but it will overwrite any previous control-change effects. For example, if you gain control of Roil Elemental until the end of the turn (with Mark of Mutiny, perhaps), then its landfall ability triggers and you target Roil Elemental itself, you'll gain control of it indefinitely (since its control-change effect will last for as long as you control it). ----- Ruinous Minotaur 1RR Creature -- Minotaur Warrior 5/2 Whenever Ruinous Minotaur deals damage to an opponent, sacrifice a land. * Ruinous Minotaur's ability triggers when it deals any kind of damage to an opponent, not just combat damage. * You sacrifice a land, not the opponent who was dealt damage. ----- Runeflare Trap 4RR Instant -- Trap If an opponent drew three or more cards this turn, you may pay R rather than pay Runeflare Trap's mana cost. Runeflare Trap deals damage to target player equal to the number of cards in that player's hand. * The player you target with Runeflare Trap doesn't have to be the opponent that drew three or more cards this turn. ----- Savage Silhouette 2G Enchantment -- Aura Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has "1G: Regenerate this creature." * The controller of the enchanted creature may activate the regeneration ability, not the controller of Savage Silhouette. ----- Scute Mob G Creature -- Insect 1/1 At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control five or more lands, put four +1/+1 counters on Scute Mob. * Scute Mob's ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless you control five or more lands as your upkeep starts, and (2) the ability will do nothing if you control fewer than five lands by the time it resolves. ----- Slaughter Cry 2R Instant Target creature gets +3/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn. * If a creature doesn't have first strike, granting it first strike after combat damage has been dealt in the first combat damage step won't prevent it from dealing combat damage. It will still assign and deal its combat damage in the second combat damage step. ----- Sorin Markov 3BBB Planeswalker -- Sorin 4 [+2]: Sorin Markov deals 2 damage to target creature or player and you gain 2 life. [-3]: Target opponent's life total becomes 10. [-7]: You control target player's next turn. * If the targeted creature or player is an illegal target by the time Sorin's first ability resolves, the entire ability is countered. You won't gain life. * For a player's life total to become 10, what actually happens is that the player gains or loses the appropriate amount of life. For example, if the targeted opponent's life total is 4 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to gain 6 life; alternately, if the targeted player's life total is 17 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to lose 7 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, Sorin's second ability causes the targeted opponent's share of his or her team's life total (which is considered to be that team's life total divided by two, rounded up) to become 10. That team's life total is adjusted by the amount of life that player gains or loses as a result of this. For example, if that team's life total is 15, the targeted player's share of the life total would go from 8 to 10, and that team's life total would end up at 17. * Sorin's third ability allows you to control another player's turn. This effect applies to the next turn that the affected player actually takes. The entire turn is controlled; the effect doesn't end until the beginning of the next turn. * While controlling another player's turn, you can see all cards that player can see. This includes cards in that player's hand, face-down cards that player controls, and any cards in that player's library that an effect lets him or her look at. * The player whose turn is being controlled is still the active player. * While controlling another player's turn, you also continue to make your own choices and decisions. * While controlling another player's turn, you make all choices and decisions that player is allowed to make or is told to make during that turn. For example: -- You choose which lands the other player plays. -- You choose which spells the other player casts, and make all decisions as those spells are cast and as they resolve. For example, you choose the value of X for that player's Earthquake, the target for that player's Lightning Bolt, what mana that player spends to cast Day of Judgment, and what card that player gets with Diabolic Tutor. -- You choose which activated abilities the other player activates, and make all decisions as those abilities are activated and as they resolve. For example, you can have your opponent sacrifice his or her creatures to his or her Vampire Aristocrat or have your opponent's Caller of Gales give one of your creatures flying. -- You make all decisions for the other player's triggered abilities, including what they target and any decisions made when they resolve. -- You choose which creatures controlled by the other player attack, who or what they attack, and how they assign their combat damage. -- You make any choices and decisions that player would make for any other reason. For example, you could cast Fact or Fiction, choose that player to divide the revealed cards into piles, and thus divide those cards into piles yourself. * You can't make the affected player concede. That player may choose to concede at any time, even while you're controlling his or her turn. * You can't make any illegal decisions or illegal choices -- you can't do anything that player couldn't do. You can't make choices or decisions for that player that aren't called for by the game rules or by any cards, permanents, spells, abilities, and so on. If an effect causes another player to make decisions that the affected player would normally make (such as Master Warcraft does), that effect takes precedence. (In other words, if the affected player wouldn't make a decision, you wouldn't make that decision on his or her behalf.) You also can't make any choices or decisions for the player that would be called for by the tournament rules (such as whether to take an intentional draw or whether to call a judge). * You can use only the affected player's resources (cards, mana, and so on) to pay costs for that player; you can't use your own. Similarly, you can use the affected player's resources only to pay that player's costs; you can't spend them on your costs. * Only the control of the turn changes. You don't control any of the other player's permanents, spells, or abilities. * Controlling a player's turn won't let you look at that player's sideboard under any circumstances. During a tournament, if you have that player cast a card such as Glittering Wish that lets that player choose a card with certain characteristics from outside the game, no card can be chosen. * If the player affected by Sorin's third ability skips his or her next turn, the ability will wait. You'll control the next turn the affected player actually takes. * Multiple turn-controlling effects that affect the same player overwrite each other. The last one to be created is the one that works. * In a Two-Headed Giant game, Sorin's third ability causes you to control the affected player's team's turn. * You could gain control of your own turn using Sorin's third ability, but unless you do so to overwrite someone else's turn-controlling effect, this doesn't do anything. ----- Sphinx of Jwar Isle 4UU Creature -- Sphinx 5/5 Flying, shroud You may look at the top card of your library. (You may do this at any time.) * Essentially, Sphinx of Jwar Isle lets you play with the top card of your library revealed only to you. Knowing what that card is becomes part of the information you have access to, just like you can look at the cards in your hand. You may look at the top card of your library whenever you want, even if you don't have priority. This action doesn't use the stack. * If the top card of your library changes during the process of casting a spell or activating an ability, you can't look at the new top card until the process of casting the spell or activating the ability ends (all targets are chosen, all costs are paid, and so on). ----- Sphinx of Lost Truths 3UU Creature -- Sphinx 3/5 Kicker 1U (You may pay an additional 1U as you cast this spell.) Flying When Sphinx of Lost Truths enters the battlefield, draw three cards. Then if it wasn't kicked, discard three cards. * Sphinx of Lost Truths behaves differently than other cards with kicker. Its enters-the-battlefield ability always triggers, and it checks whether it *wasn't* kicked. The two possible results are as follows: -- When an unkicked Sphinx of Lost Truths enters the battlefield, you draw three cards, then discard three cards. -- When a kicked Sphinx of Lost Truths enters the battlefield, you draw three cards. ----- Spreading Seas 1U Enchantment -- Aura Enchant land When Spreading Seas enters the battlefield, draw a card. Enchanted land is an Island. * The enchanted land loses its existing land types and any abilities printed on it. It now has the land type Island and has the ability to tap to add U to its controller's mana pool. Spreading Seas doesn't change the enchanted land's name or whether it's legendary, basic, or snow. ----- Summoner's Bane 2UU Instant Counter target creature spell. Put a 2/2 blue Illusion creature token onto the battlefield. * If the targeted spell is an illegal target by the time Summoner's Bane resolves, the entire spell is countered. You won't get a creature token. * You get the token creature, not the controller of the creature spell. ----- Summoning Trap 4GG Instant -- Trap If a creature spell you cast this turn was countered by a spell or ability an opponent controlled, you may pay 0 rather than pay Summoning Trap's mana cost. Look at the top seven cards of your library. You may put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. * If there are seven or fewer cards in your library, you'll look at all of them. ----- Tajuru Archer 2G Creature -- Elf Archer Ally 1/2 Whenever Tajuru Archer or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may have Tajuru Archer deal damage to target creature with flying equal to the number of Allies you control. * You target a creature when the ability triggers. You decide whether to have Tajuru Archer deal damage to that creature as the ability resolves. ----- Tanglesap 1G Instant Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn by creatures without trample. * Tanglesap prevents combat damage that would be dealt by all creatures without trample, regardless of whether they're attacking or blocking. * Creatures are checked to see whether they have trample at the time they'd deal combat damage, not at the time Tanglesap resolves. ----- Tempest Owl 1U Creature -- Bird 1/2 Kicker 4U (You may pay an additional 4U as you cast this spell.) Flying When Tempest Owl enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, tap up to three target permanents. * If Tempest Owl was kicked, you may target zero, one, two, or three permanents. They don't have to be untapped. ----- Terra Stomper 3GGG Creature -- Beast 8/8 Terra Stomper can't be countered. Trample * Terra Stomper can be targeted by spells that try to counter it (such as Cancel). Those spells will resolve, but the part of their effect that would counter Terra Stomper won't do anything. Any other effects those spells have will work as normal. ----- Turntimber Basilisk 1GG Creature -- Basilisk 2/1 Deathtouch (Creatures dealt damage by this creature are destroyed. You can divide this creature's combat damage among any of the creatures blocking or blocked by it.) Landfall -- Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may have target creature block Turntimber Basilisk this turn if able. * You decide whether to have the targeted creature block Turntimber Basilisk this turn if able at the time the landfall ability resolves, not at the time Turntimber Basilisk attacks. * Deciding to have the targeted creature block doesn't force you to attack with Turntimber Basilisk that turn. If Turntimber Basilisk doesn't attack, the targeted creature is free to block whichever creature its controller chooses, or block no creatures at all. * If you choose to have the targeted creature block but that creature isn't able to block Turntimber Basilisk (for example, because the targeted creature can block only creatures with flying), the requirement to block does nothing. The targeted creature is free to block whichever creature its controller chooses, or block no creatures at all. * Tapped creatures, creatures that can't block as the result of an effect, creatures with unpaid costs to block (such as those from War Cadence), and creatures that aren't controlled by the defending player are exempt from effects that would require them to block. Such creatures can be targeted by Turntimber Basilisk's landfall ability, but the requirement to block does nothing. * If Turntimber Basilisk's landfall ability triggers multiple times during the same turn, you can have multiple creatures block it that turn if able. ----- Unstable Footing R Instant Kicker 3R (You may pay an additional 3R as you cast this spell.) Damage can't be prevented this turn. If Unstable Footing was kicked, it deals 5 damage to target player. * Unstable Footing's effect causes damage from all sources to be unpreventable, not just damage from Unstable Footing itself. * If damage can't be prevented, damage prevention shields don't have any effect. If a prevention effect has an additional effect, the additional effect will still work (if possible). Spells that create prevention effects can still be cast, and abilities that create prevention effects can still be activated. * If damage can't be prevented, static abilities that prevent damage (including protection abilities) don't do so. If they have additional effects that don't depend on the amount of damage prevented, those additional effects will still work. Such effects are applied only once per source of damage. * Effects that replace or redirect damage without using the word "prevent" are not affected by Unstable Footing. * If a creature is dealt lethal damage, it can still regenerate. If it does, the damage marked on it will be removed from it. * If Unstable Footing is kicked and the targeted player is an illegal target by the time it resolves, the entire spell is countered. Damage can still be prevented. ----- Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle Land Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle enters the battlefield tapped. Whenever a Mountain enters the battlefield under your control, if you control at least five other Mountains, you may have Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle deal 3 damage to target creature or player. T: Add R to your mana pool. * Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle's triggered ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless, at the time a Mountain enters the battlefield under your control, you control five or more Mountains other than that new one, and (2) the ability will do nothing if you control fewer than five Mountains other than that new one by the time it resolves. * If a Mountain you control leaves the battlefield between the time Valakut's second ability triggers and the time it resolves, be aware if that was the Mountain that caused Valakut's ability to trigger or not. If it was, Valakut's count isn't affected; if it wasn't, Valakut's count goes down by one. * If multiple Mountains enter the battlefield under your control at the same time, Valakut's second ability could trigger that many times. Each ability takes into consideration the other Mountains that entered the battlefield at the same time as the one that caused it to trigger. * You target a creature or player when the ability triggers. You decide whether to have Valakut deal damage to that creature or player as the ability resolves. ----- Vampire Hexmage BB Creature -- Vampire Shaman 2/1 First strike Sacrifice Vampire Hexmage: Remove all counters from target permanent. * Any permanent can be targeted by the second ability, not just one with counters on it. * If all loyalty counters are removed from a planeswalker, that planeswalker is put into its owner's graveyard as a state-based action. ----- Vampire Lacerator B Creature -- Vampire Warrior 2/2 At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life unless an opponent has 10 or less life. * Whether an opponent has 10 or less life is checked only as the ability resolves. ----- Warren Instigator RR Creature -- Goblin Berserker 1/1 Double strike Whenever Warren Instigator deals damage to an opponent, you may put a Goblin creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. * Warren Instigator's ability triggers when it deals any kind of damage to an opponent, not just combat damage. * If Warren Instigator attacks an opponent and isn't blocked, its double strike ability will cause it to deal combat damage to that opponent twice, once during each combat damage step. Its triggered ability will thus trigger twice: Warren Instigator deals first-strike combat damage, its ability triggers and resolves, it deals regular combat damage, and its ability triggers and resolves again. ----- Whiplash Trap 3UU Instant -- Trap If an opponent had two or more creatures enter the battlefield under his or her control this turn, you may pay U rather than pay Whiplash Trap's mana cost. Return two target creatures to their owners' hands. * You must target two creatures as you cast Whiplash Trap. If you can't (because just one creature is on the battlefield, perhaps), you can't cast the spell. * You can target any two creatures, not just ones that entered the battlefield this turn. ----- Windborne Charge 2WW Sorcery Two target creatures you control each get +2/+2 and gain flying until end of turn. * You must target two creatures you control as you cast Windborne Charge. If you can't (because you control just one creature, perhaps), you can't cast the spell. ----- World Queller 3WW Creature -- Avatar 4/4 At the beginning of your upkeep, you may choose a card type. If you do, each player sacrifices a permanent of that type. * You may choose any card type, including instant or sorcery. Choosing instant or sorcery will result in no permanents being sacrificed, though, since no permanents have those card types. * You don't choose a card type until the ability resolves. Once you choose a type, it's too late for players to respond. * First you choose which permanent you'll sacrifice (if you control any of the chosen type), then each other player in turn order does the same, then all chosen permanents are sacrificed at the same time. ----- All trademarks are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. (c)2009 Wizards.