Magic the Gathering: Ask a Judge

[AdmiralMemo]

Does arresting a facedown creature negate the ability to morph it? The morph ability isn't part of the 2/2 so I'm not sure how to go about it.

ALSO if Ashcloud phoenix is killed while morphed does it still return to the battlefield?

Not a judge but I'd say No and No.

A face-down creature doesn't have any abilities. Thus, I don't think Arrest can't "deactivate" an ability the creature doesn't have.

If Ashcloud Phoenix is face-down, it isn't "Ashcloud Phoenix" at that time. It's a creature with no name. So, if it dies, "Ashcloud Phoenix" didn't die. The unnamed creature died. Since "Ashcloud Phoenix" didn't die, it doesn't return.

[korvys]

Morph is not an activated ability anyway, so Arrest wouldn't affect it.

[phlip]

If Ashcloud Phoenix is face-down, it isn't "Ashcloud Phoenix" at that time. It's a creature with no name. So, if it dies, "Ashcloud Phoenix" didn't die. The unnamed creature died. Since "Ashcloud Phoenix" didn't die, it doesn't return.

Right answer, but not quite the right reasoning... the name doesn't matter, when a card names itself in an the text, it just means "this permanent/spell/card"... even if its name is different because of some effect, it still refers to itself (eg, if you have Lazav, Dimir Mastermind copying Ashcloud Phoenix and Lazav does, it'll still trigger and come back face-down even though its name isn't "Ashcloud Phoenix").

The reason the phoenix doesn't come back if you kill it while facedown is that the creature you're killing is just a 2/2 with no abilities... it doesn't have the "when this dies, bring it back face-down" ability.

[ElFuzzy]

Cool that's what I figured on both accounts. I don't see why the pheonix is mythic then but w/e.

[korvys]

To get into some rules minutia, leaves-the-battlefield triggers (and a few others, see CR603.6d) look at the state of the board right before the thing died to see if it triggers. Right before the face-down Phoenix died, it was face down, and didn't have a triggered ability, so it doesn't trigger.

This is only true for abilities that trigger on leaving the battlefield, though. If you managed to get Kozilek face down, and he died, his shuffle ability will still work, even though he didn't have his trigger when he was put into the graveyard.

[phlip]

Yeah, it's a pretty unintuitive difference between "When a thing is put into the graveyard from the battlefield" and "When a thing is put into the graveyard from anywhere"...

If your animated Mutavault dies, it will trigger your Athreos but not your opponent's Profane Memento... because it was a creature on the battlefield, but not a creature card in the graveyard. Similarly, if someone Naturalises your bestowed creature, the reverse will happen, because it's an Aura card on the battlefield, but a creature card in your yard.

Certain rules are weird.

[ElFuzzy]

If I rip a strive card out of a deck with Villainous Wealth may I target any number of plausible targets since I cast it for free? I know that if you get an X spell X is 0 but strive is different from what I remember.

[Tinfish]

Not a judge, but I'd suspect not - you're playing it for free on the first target, but subsequent targets would incur the strive cost.

[tamaness]

You still have to pay the strive cost for additional targets, but the first target is free.

[korvys]

That is correct. You can play it, and pay the strive to get more targets. This is as it is an additional cost, not an alternative cost, or part of the mana cost.

[Thatguybehindyou]

What happens if someone casts a meandering towershell, passes the turn, and the opponent casts act of treason on it, and attacks? Does it go back to the opponent because the turn ended, or since it's exiled, does it become permanently under the opponent's control? You have created a paradox, lrr.

[jkefka]

Permanently under opponent's control. Tabak has answered this one on tumblr. The text on Towershell says "returns under your control" not "under owner's control". So, act of treason A+ sideboard tech against the towershell.

[Atifexe]

You don’t choose whether the spell is going to be an Aura spell or not until the spell is already on the stack. Abilities that affect when you can cast a spell, such as flash, will apply to the creature card in whatever zone you’re casting it from. For example, an effect that said you can cast creature spells as though they have flash will allow you to cast a creature card with bestow as an Aura spell anytime you could cast an instant.

Unless I'm mistaken, this means that casting a Bestow creature as an aura will not trigger things that look for noncreature spells, like Prowess or Goblinslide. Is this correct?

[korvys]

Incorrect.

At the time the spell is cast (you've done all the steps to cast it) it's a non-creature spell and will trigger Prowess, etc.

That ruling says that at the time during the casting process that you determine if the spell *can* be cast, it's a creature spell. It changes in a later step when you decide the mode, and have to pay the alternative cost.

Casting a spell takes a few steps. The first one is putting it on the stack, and things that trigger on a spell being cast only trigger at the end. Bestow cards are Creature Spells when they're first put on the stack, but Non-creature Aura spells when they are finally cast.

Yes, it's weird.

[Atifexe]

Alright, thanks! My deck idea lives again.

[tamaness]

steps to cast a spell:
Announce the spell
Determine modes
Declare targets (any spell with targets cannot be cast if it has no legal targets)
Determine costs (alternate costs, bestow, kicker, trinisphere)
Activate mana abilities
Pay costs

The spell has now been cast, and is on the stack. Effects (like prowess) tha look for casting of a particular type of spell look at the spell now.

[Utilitarian]

Question a friend asked me:

If I exile a morph card with an effect like Villainous Wealth, can I play it as a Morph, or may I only play it face up?

[AdmiralMemo]

From Gatherer for that card.: Because you’re already casting the cards using an alternative cost (by casting them without paying their mana costs), you can’t pay any other alternative costs for the cards, including casting them face down using the morph ability.

[ElFuzzy]

Do you get a goblin token for each attacking creature with Mardu Ascendancy or just 1 total?

[korvys]

1 for each creature attacking.

[AdmiralMemo]

Consecrated Sphinx...

"Whenever an opponent draws a card, you may draw two cards."

Can you choose to draw 1 card? It's a may... Though... I'm not sure, depending on the specific rules. It might be just 0 or 2.

[Duckay]

The Gatherer ruling says you may choose only to draw 2 or not to draw at all.

[ElFuzzy]

It would be worded, "Whenever an opponent draws a card, you may draw UP TO 2 cards"

[Aaron9797]

if my opponent has a platnum emperion and i attack with zombies with unead alchemist in play will nothing happen or will my opponent mill

[Duckay]

I'm guessing that they will still mill based on these Gatherer rulings on Platinum Emperion:

The ability doesn't prevent damage. Rather, it changes the results of that damage. For example, if a creature with lifelink deals damage to you, you won't lose any life, but its controller will still gain that much life. Similarly, if a creature you control with lifelink deals damage to another player, that player will lose life but you won't gain any life. Notably, if a creature with infect deals damage to you, you'll get that many poison counters

Abilities that trigger whenever damage is dealt to you will still trigger because that damage is still dealt, even though your life total doesn't change as a result.

So because the combat damage would still be "dealt" (though it wouldn't do anything), I can't imagine why Undead Alchemist's ability wouldn't happen. That being said, I am not a judge.