Published on 06/16/2025
A Fantasy Fulfilled
By Carsten Haese, Nathan Long, and Justin Hovdenes
This Article from: Nathan Long
Cranial Translation
Deutsch
Just a flower peddler living in the slums.
To say that this set means a lot to me is an understatement.
If you have a question about any cards from this set or other Magic sets, feel free to send it in. We'll send you 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: If I cast Ice Magic, choosing the Blizzaga mode and paying
to cast it, what is Ice Magic's mana value on the stack?A: Still just 2. The mode you choose doesn't add to the mana cost of Ice Magic, it adds to the total cost you pay to cast the spell. Since its mana cost isn't changing, that means the mana value of Ice Magic is still two, even though you're paying more to cast it.
Q: How exactly does Vincent's Limit Break work? If I cast it targeting a 1/1 with the Hellmasker mode chosen, does my creature return as a 7/2, or it is a 7/2 before it dies?
A: It's the second one. It's formatted a little strange, but setting the power and toughness of the creature isn't within the quotation marks, so the power and toughness modification happens when the spell resolves and won't affect the creature once it returns to the battlefield. When it dies and returns, it will be back to its normal power and toughness.
So it's useful if you want to block a larger creature with your small creature so they can trade in combat, but it's not going to make your smaller creature larger once it dies and returns to the battlefield.
Q: I have a Wizard token created by Cornered by Black Mages that I cast earlier. If I cast Vayne's Treachery kicked and sacrificing the Wizard token, does the Wizard's ability still trigger?
A: No, it will not trigger. When we cast a spell, we pay costs first, before the spell finally becomes cast and cast abilities can trigger. Since you sacrificed the Wizard token before the spell became cast, the triggered ability of the Wizard token will not trigger and you won't deal 1 damage to each opponent.
Q: If I have Vivi Ornitier and a Quicksilver Elemental in play, can I make infinite mana?
A: As long as the Elemental's power is 2 or more, yes. You can pay one blue mana to activate the Elemental's ability targeting Vivi, and the Elemental gains Vivi's activated ability. Activating that ability while the Elemental is a 3/4 will give you three mana. Then you activate the Elemental's ability targeting Vivi again, and the Elemental gains a second instance of the ability. While Vivi's ability can only be activated once each turn, each new instance of the ability is an instance that hasn't been activated yet, so the Elemental can activate the second instance of the ability. You can effectively do this as much as you want during your turn, and end up with as much red and blue mana as you want.
This can also work if, after acquiring at least one instance of Vivi's ability, the Elemental targets itself with its own ability. Each time you resolve its activated ability targeting itself, it gains more and more instances of the activated abilities it already has, including the ability it gained from Vivi.
Q: I control Sidequest: Hunt the Mark. I have three Treasures in play, but no creatures have died this turn. Can I still transform my Sidequest into Yiazmat, Ultimate Mark?
A: No you cannot. The entire trigger is an "intervening if" trigger - if a creature hasn't died under an opponent's control this turn, the ability doesn't trigger at all. Even if you have enough Treasures in play, if an opponent's creature hasn't died this turn, you won't get the end step trigger and won't be able to transform your Sidequest.
Q: If I cast Pre-War Formalwear and target Cloud, Midgar Mercenary with its enter trigger, will I get two instances of Cloud's enter trigger or just one?
A: Just one trigger. Cloud doesn't return to the battlefield with the Formalwear attached to him - Cloud returns to the battlefield, then the Formalwear becomes attached. When we're checking for triggers after Cloud enters, the Formalwear isn't attached yet, so Cloud's last ability won't cause his own enters ability to trigger an additional time.
Q: My opponents controls Raubahn, Bull of Ala Mhigo who is currently a 2/2. I cast Sephiroth's Intervention targeting Raubahn to destroy it. In response to the ward trigger, my opponent casts Blitzball Shot targeting Raubahn. How much life do I need to pay when the ward trigger resolves?
A: You'll have to pay 5 life to prevent the Intervention from being countered. The ward trigger won't check Raubahn's power until the trigger is resolving to determine how much life you have to pay, not what its power was when the ward trigger was put on the stack. Since its power is now 5, you'll have to pay 5 life to prevent the Intervention from being countered.
Anyone ready for some blitzball?
Q: I have an Aerith Gainsborough with two +1/+1 counters on her. My opponent cast a spell to put five -1/-1 counters on Aerith. Do I still get to put +1/+1 counters on my legendary creatures?
A: You do! After Aerith gets the five -1/-1 counters, we check state-based actions. Aerith has two +1/+1 and five -1/-1 counters, so we have a state-based action that wants to remove two of each counters. But at the same time, Aerith is dying because she is a -1/-1. Both of these state-based actions happen at the same time. Since there's never a point where Aerith is in play without the +1/+1 counters on her (she's dying at the same time the counters would be removed), her dies trigger will still add two +1/+1 counters to your legendary creatures.
Q: How does Edgar, King of Figaro work with Yusri, Fortune's Flame?
A: They work very well together. As long as Yusri's trigger is the first time you're flipping a coin that turn, Edgar's ability will apply to all of the flips from Yusri's trigger, not just the first one, since they're all happening at the same time. You can ensure drawing five cards and being able to cast spells for free for the rest of the turn each time Yusri attacks, by choosing to flip five coins, and Edgar will have you win all five of their flips.
Q: I have Jaws of Defeat in play. Can I cast a 1/1 creature, then in response to the Jaws's trigger, cast Overkill targeting my 1/1 and cause my opponent to lose a ton of life?
A: Yep, you can do that. When the Jaws's trigger resolves, it looks at the difference between the creature's power and toughness to determine how much life they lose. If your creature isn't on the battlefield when the trigger resolves, we use its last-known information about its power and toughness to determine how much life the opponent loses. When it was last on the battlefield, the creature was a 1/-9998. The difference between those two numbers is 9999, so your opponent will lose 9999 life to the Jaws's triggered ability.
Q: Does that mean Overkill works with Tree of Perdition as well? Can I activate the Tree's ability, then cast Overkill targeting the Tree to make my opponent's life total -9986?
A: No, that one doesn't work. In order for the Tree's ability to work, the Tree has to be on the battlefield when the ability resolves - if it's not, the exchange doesn't happen. Since the Tree dies when Overkill resolves, it won't be on the battlefield when its activated ability resolves, and your opponent's life total won't be affected.
Q: If I enchant Ancient Adamantoise with One with the Stars, will its damage redirection ability still work even though it's not a creature?
A: No. In order for the Admantoise's ability to work, it has to be a creature, planeswalker, or battle. You can't redirect damage to a permanent that's not one of those types. If the Admantoise isn't one of those types, then its damage redirection ability does not work and you and your permanents take damage like normal.
Q: Can I use Fang, Fearless l'Cie and Vanille, Cheerful l'Cie as my two commanders, since they can meld with each other?
A: You cannot. While they can form a melded pair, they don't have an ability that states that both can be your commander, like a partner variant. Vanille's color identity is black and green, since it has both mana symbols in its text box, so you could run Vanille as your commander and include Fang in your main deck, but since they don't have partner, you can't use both as your commanders.
Leaving our fate to a toss of the coin.
Q: I control Tellah, Great Sage. If I cast Worldfire, can I stack it so Worldfire resolves first, then Tellah's ability so I can deal 9 damage to each opponent after Worldfire has set their life total to 1?
A: No, that won't work. Tellah's trigger will always go on the stack above the spell that triggered it and will resolve first. You'll end up sacrificing Tellah and dealing 9 damage to each of your opponents first, then Worldfire resolves and sets their life total to 1.
Q: Vincent Valentine is my commander, and he's currently transformed into Galian Beast. If the Beast dies, what happens - do I move him to the command zone, or can I return him to the battlefield?
A: It's your choice as to what happens with Vincent. When the Beast dies, its dies ability will trigger. Before we put that dies trigger on the stack, we check state-based actions and you have the option of moving Vincent to the command zone. If you do, nothing happens when the dies trigger resolves since Vincent isn't in the graveyard anymore. But if you leave Vincent in the graveyard, he can return to the battlefield tapped when the dies trigger resolves.
More than likely, you're going to want to leave Vincent in the graveyard so he returns without you needing to recast him. But if you need an untapped blocker for some reason, don't be afraid to move Vincent to the command zone so you can recast him and have him return untapped.
Q: I control G'raha Tia, Scion Reborn and an Anointed Procession. If I cast a noncreature spell with a mana value of 4 and choose to use G'raha's ability, which token do I put the counters on?
A: Both of them! The Procession doesn't make tokens, it causes your other spells and abilities that would make tokens to make twice as many tokens instead. Both Hero creature tokens are created by G'raha's triggered ability, so when you're instructed to put counters on the token it created, you'll put counters on both of the tokens, so you put four +1/+1 counters on both of the Hero tokens you just created.
Q: Zidane is in a multiplayer game with Tidus and Squall. Zidane casts Unexpected Request and gains control of Rinoa Heartilly from Squall, then activates the ability of Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant and gives control of Rinoa to Tidus. What happens at the end of turn?
A: Tidus will still control Rinoa. The effect from the Request will end at the end of Zidane's turn, but that effect ending doesn't affect the change of control effect from Stiltzkin. That effect is still there and giving control of Rinoa to Tidus. After the turn is over, Tidus will control Rinoa, not Squall.
Q: I have Tifa, Martial Artist, three 7/7 creatures, and three opponents. It's my first combat phase of the turn and I attack each of my opponents with a 7/7 and they go unblocked. How many extra combat phases do I get?
A: You get a total of three extra combats. Tifa's last ability will trigger three times since three different players were dealt combat damage by a creature with power 7 or greater. When each trigger resolves, you untap your creatures, and since it's the first combat phase of the turn, you get an additional combat phase that turn. All three triggers are resolving during your first combat phase of the turn, so all three of Tifa's triggers will give you an extra combat phase, not just one of the triggers.
If you deal combat damage again during those extra combat phases, you get more Tifa triggers and your creatures will untap, but since you're not resolving the trigger during your first combat phase of the turn, you won't get any additional combat phases.
Q: I'm in a multiplayer game, and one of my opponents controls Shinryu, Transcendent Rival, which has chosen me as the opponent. I cast Act of Treason to gain control of Shinryu, but I lose the game. But since I control Shinryu, will the trigger cause me to win the game instead?
A: No it will not. You'll lose the game, which would cause the ability to trigger. But since you're not in the game, you can't put the trigger from Shinryu onto the stack. The trigger won't go on the stack at all, and you won't win the game instead of losing the game.
Q: I'm in a four player game, and I have Tataru Taru and a Temple Bell in play. If I activate the Bell's ability on my turn, how many instances of Tataru Taru's last triggered ability do I get?
A: Only one trigger. The ability can only trigger once each turn. When the Bell's ability resolves, each player draws a card, but you'll draw first, and then we go in turn order drawing cards. When your first opponent draws, Tataru Taru will trigger, but since it's triggered already this turn, it won't trigger from your other two opponents drawing, and you'll only create one tapped Treasure.
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