Published on 05/26/2025
The Answer is 42
The Question is: How old is Nathan?
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, and Justin Hovdenes
This Article from: Nathan Long
Cranial Translation
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If Knowledge is Power, and Age leads to
Knowledge, that means Age is Power, right?
Knowledge, that means Age is Power, right?
And remember - if you have Magic rules questions of your own, feel free to send them in. We'll send an answer back, and we may even use your question in a future article. If you have a short question, reach out to us at @CranialTweet, and if you have a longer question, you can send us an e-mail at moko@cranialinsertion.com .
Q: My library is empty, and I'm about to untap for my turn. In my hand is a Purging Stormbrood. Do I get a chance to cast it before I draw for my turn?
A: Yes you do. As long as there's a creature in play, you'll be able to cast Absorb Essence during your upkeep, before you move to the draw step. When the Essence resolves, it will shuffle itself into your empty library, and when you move to the draw step, you'll draw Purging Stormbrood from your library and you'll avoid losing the game.
Q: I control Narset, Jeskai Waymaster and I've managed to cast four spells this turn, leaving me with an empty hand. Can I still choose to discard my hand when Narset's end step trigger resolves?
A: You sure can. You always have a hand, even if your hand is empty. When Narset's trigger resolves during your end step, you can choose to discard your empty hand and draw four cards. There's no requirement that you have to discard at least one card to Narset's trigger, you can discard your empty hand and still draw the cards.
Q: I control Barrensteppe Siege with the "Mardu" mode chosen. If I had three creatures die during my turn, will the Siege's triggered ability cause my opponent to sacrifice three creatures?
A: No, they only sacrifice one creature. The Siege doesn't care how many creatures died during your turn, just that at least one creature died under your control this turn. Even though you had three creatures die that turn, the Siege only triggers a single time and only makes your opponent sacrifice a single creature, not a creature for each creature you control that died that turn.
Q: I control Barrensteppe Siege with the "Mardu" mode chosen and my only creature is a Dragonback Lancer. I attack with the Lancer and my opponent does not block the Lancer or the 1/1 Warrior token. During my end step, can I stack the triggers so I sacrifice the Warrior token first so it counts for the Siege trigger and makes my opponent sacrifice a creature?
A: No, that doesn't work. The Siege has an intervening if-clause — the ability will only trigger if a creature has died under your control as the end step begins. In this case, by the time your end step begins, a creature hasn't died this turn, so the Siege doesn't trigger. It doesn't matter that you'll be sacrificing the mobilize token during your end step, that token is being sacrificed too late to enable the Siege trigger.
Q: I have two creatures in play, namely a Stadium Headliner and a Legion Loyalist. If I attack with both, can I stack my triggers so I create the token first and enable the Loyalist's Battalion trigger?
A: No, this won't work. You need to declare an attack with the Loyalist and at least two other creatures for the ability to trigger. It won't count creatures that are put onto the battlefield attacking, like the token from the Headliner's mobilize trigger. Since you only attacked with the Loyalist and one other creature, the Loyalist's battalion trigger won't trigger.
Q: I control an Abhorrent Oculus and a manifested creature. If I activate the renew ability of Naga Fleshcrafter targeting my Oculus, what happens to my manifested creature?
A: Your manifested creature is still a face down 2/2. Copy effects and face down effects are both applied in layer 1, but copy effects are applied first, then we apply the effect that makes the manifested creature a 2/2 creature. If you could find a way to turn it face up, it would become an Oculus for the turn, but as long as it's face down, it's still a 2/2 with no abilities and not a copy of the Oculus.
Q: Can I activate Steel Hellkite's last ability with X=0 to destroy my opponent's tokens, or does X have to be at least 1?
A: You sure can. Nothing on the Hellkite says you can't activate it with X=0, so you're free to activate it with X=0. When the ability resolves, all of that player's nonland permanents with a mana value of 0 will be destroyed - this will include tokens that don't have a mana cost since their mana value is 0.
Q: My opponent is at 2 life. I cast Hopeless Nightmare, and when its enter the battlefield trigger resolves, they discard Obstinate Baloth. Will my opponent gain 4 life in time, or will they lose the game?
A: They will lose the game. The trigger from the Baloth can't go on the stack until after the Nightmare's trigger is completely done resolving. But before we can put that trigger on the stack, we check state-based actions. Your opponent is at 0 life thanks to the last part of the Nightmare's trigger, so they'll lose the game, before the trigger from the Baloth can even go on the stack.
So long and thanks for all the fish!
Q: If I have Tinybones Joins Up in play and I ninjutsu in Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, will Tinybones Joins Up trigger?
A: Yep, you'll get a trigger. Since it's your turn, Kaito is a legendary creature, and since a legendary creature entered the battlefield under your control, Tinybones Joins Up will trigger. It doesn't matter that it's not naturally a creature, since it's your turn, Kaito enters as a legendary creature, so Tinybones Joins Up triggers from Kaito entering.
Q: I control Tatsunari, Toad Rider and their Frog token Keimi. If I cast Grafted Identity sacrificing Keimi, do I get a new Frog token, or do I drain my opponent for one life?
A: You'll get a replacement Keimi token. The token's ability would trigger once the spell becomes cast, but you sacrifice the token as an additional cost to casting Grafted Identity, and since the token isn't on the battlefield when the Identity becomes cast, it doesn't trigger. But since you don't control a Keimi token once the Identity is cast, Tatsunari will trigger and you'll get a replacement Keimi token for the one you just sacrificed.
Q: What happens if I cast Phthisis targeting my opponent's Darksteel Colossus?
A: Your opponent will lose 22 life. Phthisis destroys the target creature when it resolves, but since the Colossus is indestructible, it won't be destroyed and stays on the battlefield. But the second part of Phthisis's effect doesn't care if the creature was destroyed or not. Your opponent is still going to lose life equal to its combined power and toughness, so your opponent will lose 22 life.
Q: I attack my opponent with Guiltfeeder. Before blockers are declared, my opponent targets my Guiltfeeder with Maze of Ith. Will my opponent still lose life from Guiltfeeder's trigger?
A: If they don't block it, they'll still lose life from the trigger. Maze of Ith doesn't remove the creature from combat. It just untaps the creature and prevents all combat damage that would be dealt to it and by it. Even if they use Maze of Ith on Guiltfeeder, if it isn't blocked, its ability will still trigger and they'll still lose life.
Q: How does The Sibsig Ceremony interact with a mutate spell?
A: It works out very favorably for the mutate player. When you cast a spell for its mutate cost, you are still casting a creature spell, so The Sibsig Ceremony will reduce what you pay by
. But when the mutate spell resolves and it merges with the targeted creature, nothing is entering the battlefield, so The Sibsig Ceremony's triggered ability won't trigger - you won't destroy the merged permanent and you won't make the 2/2 Zombie tokens (and while missing out on the 2/2 token is not ideal, keeping your mutated creature around is likely more important).Q: I attack with Ureni of the Unwritten, and with its attack trigger, I put Glorybringer onto the battlefield. Since Glorybringer has haste, can I also attack with Glorybringer this combat?
A: You cannot. All attackers are declared at the same time - at the beginning of the declare attackers step. Ureni's trigger will go on the stack after you've declared attackers. But since we're already past the point of declaring attackers, Glorybringer won't be able to attack that combat.
This is how black's creatures used to be - large,
expensive, and with with an upkeep trigger.
And we liked it!
expensive, and with with an upkeep trigger.
And we liked it!
Q: I have Wyll, Blade of Frontiers in play and Mr. House, President and CEO in play. I activate Mr. House's last ability, rolling one six-sided die, which Wyll replaces with rolling two dice and ignoring the lowest one, and I roll a "4" and a "6". How many Mr. House triggers do I get?
A: You only get one trigger. While Wyll has you roll two dice instead of one, Wyll also tells you to ignore the lowest roll, so we pretend the lowest roll didn't happen at all. We only consider the "6 that you ended up rolling and ignore the "4" that you rolled, so Mr. House will only trigger once, using the "6" result.
Q: If my opponent casts Cryptic Command with the "counter target spell" and "draw a card" modes chosen, and I cast Wyll's Reversal, can I choose different modes for my opponent's Cryptic Command? If I rolled high enough so I make a copy of Cryptic Command, could I choose different modes for my copy?
A: No and no. You're not allowed to change the modes chosen for the original spell, only the targets. And if you're making a copy of Cryptic Command spell on the stack, then your copy has the same modes chosen as the original spell - you can't choose different modes for your copy. So your copy also has the "counter target spell" and "draw a card" modes chosen.
Q: I have a 1/1 Squirrel token in play, along with a Muraganda Petroglyphs. If I play Jaheira, Friend of the Forest, will my Squirrel lose the bonus from the Petroglyphs?
A: Yes it will. Jaheira gives your tokens an ability - the ability to tap for any color of mana. Since your Squirrel token now has an ability, it's no longer a creature without any abilities, which means that it's no longer getting +2/+2 from the Petroglyph's ability.
Q: My opponent currently controls my commander Xantcha, Sleeper Agent. If I play Agent of the Shadow Thieves, will Xantcha still get the trigger from my background?
A: Yep, it still gets the trigger. The Agent gives the ability to commander creatures you own, not control. You own Xantcha, since it started the game as your commander, so it will still benefit from backgrounds you control, despite being under an opponent's control. You can still play backgrounds in your Xantcha commander deck, even though you probably won't control your commander very often, and Xantcha will still benefit from your backgrounds.
Q: I'm in a four player Commander game, and I cast Gifts Ungiven targeting one of my opponents. Before my spell can resolve, another player kills the player I targeted with the Gifts. What happens when Gifts Ungiven goes to resolve?
A: Same thing as any other spell that targets but loses all of its targets before it resolves - the spell does nothing. Gifts Ungiven targets an opponent, but if that opponent isn't a legal target when Gifts Ungiven goes to resolve, the entire spell does nothing. So you won't search your library for any cards since Gifts Ungiven doesn't resolve.
Q: I control Farid, Enterprising Salvager and a bunch of scrap tokens, but my hand is empty. Can I still activate Farid's ability, choosing the last mode, and draw a card?
A: You can do that. If you choose the last mode, when the ability resolves, you're instructed to discard a card, then draw a card. Unlike similar effects that require you to discard a card to then draw a card, if you have no cards in your hand, you just ignore that part of the instruction, but you still get to draw a card. If you can make sure your hand is empty each time you activate it, you can effectively activate Farid's ability to draw a card without having to discard anything.
That's all we have for this week. See you again next week!
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