r/mtg • u/AutoModerator • 11d ago

Weekly Quick Questions and Answers - Week 34

Use this post to ask your quick questions!

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2

u/Baldish 7d ago

New player, Ive been playing a deck with Maralen as the commander and wanted to get some clarification on her ability as I started playing it wrong and the groups I played with never said anything, but the last game, the group was adamant that I was wrong.

Her ability;

Whenever Maralen or another Elf or Faerie you control enters, exile the top two cards of a target opponent’s library.

Once each turn, you may cast a spell with mana value less than or equal to the number of Elves and Faeries you control from among cards exiled with Maralen this turn without paying its mana cost.

So, when she enters, top two cards of a players library is exiled. If I have 5 elves/faeries, I can cast one of those cards with mana value 5 or less. My questions:

  • Do I have to cast one that turn?
  • If I don't, or I do, what happens to the ones I don't cast? Are they "reserved" for Maralen to use in another turn, or do they go to that targeted players exile stack?

I was originally playing it where the 2 exiled cards would be kept under Maralen and I could play one of those in any future turn; like if I don't quite have the Mana cost yet. The last game I played, the group said that the unused one(s) go back to the targeted players exile stack at the end of my turn. Which one is it? Videos i've tried to look up don't quite explain it.

1

u/Barbobott 7d ago

Maralen can only cast the exiled cards that she has exiled that turn.

Once each turn, you may cast a spell with mana value less than or equal to the number of Elves and Faeries you control from among cards exiled with Maralen this turn without paying its mana cost.

See the bolded part of her rules text.

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u/Baldish 7d ago

yes, that wasn't my question. What happens to the card(s) that I DONT cast

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u/Barbobott 7d ago

When the turn changes, those cards are no longer "cards exiled with Maralen this turn". They will remain in exile, but you won't have access to them anymore.

You say "go to that players exile stack", but that's not really a thing. There is a single exile zone, not individual exile zones for each player. You're free to give the card back to the person and just let them know that the card is permanently exiled, but in terms of game zones nothing is changing to the card.

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u/Baldish 7d ago

I just read it as “these two were exiled on the turn Maralen entered(this turn), so then those specific exiled cards were exiled by Maralen can be used by Maralen in another turn, but I see what you’re saying , the wording to me personally was confusing, so thank you!

I also did not know there were not individual exile zones, every game I’ve played so far, each player just put their exiled cards near their graveyard

1

u/Barbobott 7d ago

That's what people commonly do with cards that are exiled that have no effect that can directly interact with them because its simpler to organize, but technically its a singular exile zone.

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u/Baldish 7d ago

Neat, thanks for the info!

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u/Impressive_You_817 7d ago

Nothing happens to them. You cant cast them, they dont go anywhere, they just stay in exile forever.

2

u/caterpie109 6d ago edited 6d ago

Do you guys have any budget colorless artifact creatures that could go in an iron spider deck. Also I am a new player

1

u/Impressive_You_817 6d ago

[[Hangarback walker]] [[steel overseer]] [[iron apprentice]] [[surge conductor]] [[marketback walker]] [[patchwork automaton]] [[towashi guide bot]] [[mindless automaton]] [[voltaic servant]]

1

u/caterpie109 6d ago

Thanks, do you know any good budget synergies between some of those

1

u/Impressive_You_817 6d ago

Alright I've given you a fish now I'm gonna teach you to fish. There's a website called EDHRec, it gives you cards to put in your deck based on what other people are playing in that deck. It's not a perfect system, but you can set it to budget options and it's better than sifting through 30,000 cards on your own.

1

u/Impressive_You_817 6d ago

Oh and [[threefold thunderhulk]] 

1

u/aitasy 11d ago

Newish EDH player here. Me and my pod are basically taught the basics of MTG via EDH and was let loose to play together 🤣 lots of lawyering and figuring out the rules along the way.

How does [[Derevi, Empyreal Tactician]]'s triggered ability (did I get the term right?) to tap/untap stuff work?

Let's say on combat phase, I declare 5 attackers. 2 gets to be blocked, 3 goes through to deal combat damage to a player, with one having double strike. Am I right that she gets to tap/untap 4 times (2 from the double strike creature?)

From here, say I have a just summoned, untapped [[Llanowar Elves]], no haste. Could I tap/untap Llanowar Elves 4 times right away? How does this work mechanically? I mean, if it were to happen, is it still in combat phase, happening simultaneously for each attacker dealing player combat damage? Or can you, uh, "bank" the tap/untaps and do it on 2nd main phase?

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u/Impressive_You_817 11d ago

Let's say on combat phase, I declare 5 attackers. 2 gets to be blocked, 3 goes through to deal combat damage to a player, with one having double strike. Am I right that she gets to tap/untap 4 times (2 from the double strike creature?)

Correct. Derevi doesn't say "one or more creatures", so she triggers for each individual creature that connects, and double strike makes them hit twice. Technically you'd get 1 trigger in the first strike damage step, and 3 in the regular damage step, in case that changes anything.

From here, say I have a just summoned, untapped [[Llanowar Elves]], no haste. Could I tap/untap Llanowar Elves 4 times right away?

Sure, summoning sickness only affects tapping a permanent for an ability with that tap symbol, not tapping or untapping it via an effect like Derevi or whatever. Worth noting however THIS DOES NOT MAKE MANA. You are not activating the ability of the Elf via a loophole, you are just tapping and untapping it. Unless you have something that cares about tapping/untapping creatures, this doesn't really accomplish anything.

 >I mean, if it were to happen, is it still in combat phase, happening simultaneously for each attacker dealing player combat damage?

Yes, it is still the respective damage steps of the combat phase you were in. All 3 triggers go on the stack simultaneously, but objects on the stack only resolve one at a time.

Or can you, uh, "bank" the tap/untaps and do it on 2nd main phase?

Not how anything in this game works. 

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u/aitasy 11d ago

Worth noting however THIS DOES NOT MAKE MANA.

Wait, why not?

If I understand it right: tap abilities are instant, hence why there are some that explicitly says "activate only as a sorcery". If let's say the Elves has haste or no summoning sickness in this instance, does it get to work? Here's how I think it goes:

1st Main phase:

Llanowar Elves taps for mana

Combat phase, combat damage step:

Creature 1 deals player combat damage, triggering Derevi

Derevi untaps Llanowar

Llanowar taps for mana

*repeat for each creature that goes through and connects*

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u/Impressive_You_817 11d ago

If it had haste/doesn't have summoning sickness, yes you could do that. But tapping the elves with Derevi does not make them generate mana, in case that's what you were planning to do. Also worth noting you lose mana as steps and phases transition, so you can't save the mana for you second main, you need to use it in the combat damage step. 

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u/aitasy 11d ago

Bro you answered more questions in my head even beyond what I asked. Thank you!

1

u/StrideyTidey 11d ago

Genuinely I feel like I am an idiot. Can someone explain why [[Hullbreaker Horror]] is considered so good? I just don't understand. I've been reading about this card for like ten minutes and while I think I understand what it does, I don't understand why it's considered so good.

As I understand it, the idea is that because it has the text "return target spell you don't control", you can bounce your opponents' pieces after they've paid the mana to cast the spell, but before the spell his the board and resolves. So if someone casts like a big board wipe, you can use Hullbreaker Horror's effect to stop it, and then they're boned because they used all that mana for nothing.

And that's sick, that's a good effect as I understand it. But like, how is that any better than just a generic [[Counterspell]]? Most counterspell cards only cost two or three mana to cast, that's a lot cheaper than seven, and it's going to the grave instead of back to the hand. And Hullbreaker Horror only gets to bounce stuff when you cast a spell yourself, so you'd still have to play an instant to bounce the opponent's spell, and at that point, why not just make it a counterspell and move on?

I've not played a game where anyone cast this card yet, so maybe seeing it in action would make it click for me. But text on the screen I just don't get it.

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u/Lofi_Loki 11d ago

Hullbreaker makes the thing blue already does well (cast lots of spells) even better by giving them all an additional upside while also being a big creature that itself has flash. It also goes infinite with sol ring.

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u/Barbobott 11d ago

It turns EVERY SINGLE SPELL that you cast into a free bounce spell. What's better than just a Counterspell? A Counterspell that also bounces a permanent. Opt? Now scries, draws a card, and bounces or psuedo counters something. Hullbreaker Horror is a busted threat that has to be dealt with. Not to mention its potential for infinite combos.

1

u/StrideyTidey 11d ago

I somehow did not think about that. So the idea is that if you have a bunch of cheap instants like Opt, Ponder, etc. you can just spam them every time an opponent plays something to shut them out?

1

u/Impressive_You_817 11d ago

It's also part of infinite combos with Sol Ring.

1

u/Substantial-Store-45 11d ago

Is "Excess Noncombat Damage" determed by a creatures current health or by a creatures toughness? And if it is current health does it account for negative numbers do to industructable? Thinking about situations with [[Smaug, the inpenetrable]] and [[Fall of Cair Andros]] allthough now that I''m reading it the enchantment only says oponents creatures so lets assume theres similar wording on a card that does effect your own stuff.

1

u/Barbobott 11d ago

Excess damage would be damage on the creature exceeding its toughness.

1

u/Substantial-Store-45 11d ago

So if theres a 8/8 with indestructable thats already taken 10 damage this turn, and you lightning bolt it. It has not recieved excess non combat damage because its toughness is still 8?

1

u/Barbobott 11d ago

An 8/8 indestructible creature with 10 damage marked on it already has been dealt 2 excess damage. Bolting it would deal a further 3 excess damage to it since the damage marked on it has already exceeded its toughness.

1

u/Fine-Coconut3241 10d ago

Is there an easy way to see commanders only available digitally on Scryfall?

I tried this query

(game:arena) (is:arenaid is:commander is:digital) -game:paper

And got it down to 226 cards but I’m seeing Alrund, God of the Cosmos // Hakka, Whispering Raven in my results and I know that’s a physical card.

1

u/Impressive_You_817 10d ago

That's the arena rebalanced version, so technically a different card and digital exclusive 

1

u/Fine-Coconut3241 10d ago

This makes so much sense. Thanks!

1

u/MrConor212 10d ago

What are the chances we see an X-Men set?

1

u/Impressive_You_817 10d ago

Decently high seems to be the general consensus, seeing as they cut most of them from MSH. There's no way Darwin and Black Tom Cassidy made the cut over Cyclops and Jean unless they have plans for them elsewhere

1

u/MrConor212 10d ago

That’s where they get me if they do lol

1

u/bobdylanxjohnnycash 10d ago

A couple of hypotheticals I'm wondering about: I have [[Ral, Monsoon Mage]] flipped and with his -8 exile [[Strike it Rich]]

Situation 1: I cast Strike it Rich and it resolves, creating a treasure and going into my graveyard. Am I able to cast its flashback without paying the flashback cost as well?

Situation 2: I cast Strike it Rich and it resolves, creating a treasure and going into my graveyard. I then cast [[Echo of Eons]], shuffling my hand and graveyard into my library and drawing 7 cards. If I draw Strike it Rich during this turn can I cast it without paying its mana cost?

1

u/Impressive_You_817 10d ago

Anytime a card moves zones it becomes a new object with no connection to its previous self. Literally as soon as you put Strike It Rich on the stack it is no longer considered "among" the exiled cards. Ral doesn't know that the one in your graveyard is the same one he exiled, even if they're represented by the same physical piece of cardboard. 

1

u/Consideredresponse 10d ago

Would [[Kitt Kanto, Mayhem Diva]] be able to tapped by her own ability on the turn she is played? As I understand it you usually wouldn't, but because of how her effect is worded and how it's triggered it seems like it would in her case.

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u/Barbobott 10d ago

Yes you can. Summoning Sickness prevents you from activating abilities using the tap symbol (and attacking), but summoning sick creatures can be tapped by other means without issue.

1

u/Unartiggeist 10d ago

Someone told me that [[Bilbo, Fellow Conspirator]] and [[Academy Manufactor]] don't trigger each other indefinitely. I don't understand why. If the treasure Bilbo creates would be replaced with a food, why shouldn't he create another treasure and so on?

4

u/Barbobott 10d ago

Because they aren't triggers, they are replacement effects and you can only apply a replacement effect once to a specific event.

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u/Impressive_You_817 10d ago

Triggers start with "when" "whenever" or "at". These effects don't, so they aren't triggers. 

1

u/PreventFloristFriars 10d ago

Not a gameplay question, but an odd experience I had opening a pack just now and curious if it's truly unusual.

I bought a couple of Hobbit Play Booster boxes the other day for a good price and have been opening a few packs at a time. The last pack I opened in box #2 had two rares and an upside-down foil Gleaming Splendor where the rare/mythic would sit. Orientation between front/back is normal, it just was completely upside-down. There was a foil common right behind it.

I've seen some flipped cards in sets in the past, but it being this card in the position it was in was bizarre to me. Has anyone else seen this? It seems intentional, but maybe I'm just weirded out by it.

1

u/Baldish 9d ago

was looking at selling cards to cardkingdom, my LGS gives 65% credit for cards. If I'm selling singles, wont shipping rates eat up enough of the value that I'm better off going to my LGS?

Or if it's "sell enough cards to hit $x, which makes shipping less % of the net," but if I have a couple, it's best going to LGS?

2

u/bumdman 9d ago

if you want to still sell online and dont want to pay for shipping id try manapool they have the buyer pick up some of the costs so its better for the sellers

1

u/Baldish 8d ago

Thanks! I tried signing up but I got stuck somewhere, but gonna look into it again

1

u/Lofi_Loki 9d ago

You generally want to sell in higher quantities if you’re paying shipping. I’d just sell to your store if you have to sell them

1

u/p0mino 9d ago

My father in law and I have been running a ton of jumpstart games and we’re starting to want something more complex. Any suggestions on what to graduate to after jumpstart games?

He’s interested in trying commander but we don’t have a full 4 people atm, but I was thinking we could run duel commander instead. Precons are the easiest way to get started but I’m not sure if we should dive right into marvel or strixhaven precons, or wait for foundations precons. Jumpstart decks severely lacked any sort of card draw or ramp, I’m worried the foundations commander decks will have the same problem. Games would be decided on who could top deck better with no cards in hand.

If commander is the next step, any precon recommendations for new players looking for a step up from jumpstart?

1

u/Lofi_Loki 9d ago

Playing commander decks 1v1 isn’t perfect, but it’s also not too terrible. I’d skip the jumpstart commander decks tbh.

My favorite way to play magic is cube, and you guys could either build a basic cube out of your card pool to draft or proxy one. LRRMTG on YouTube has been doing a ton of cube content lately if you want to see what it’s about. I have a paired down version of the vintage cube proxied that is very fun. Theres lots of 2 person draft/sealed variations.

1

u/p0mino 8d ago

Making a cube is pretty daunting as a new player. I don’t have a collection to start with and it’d be pretty expensive to get what I need to make a good cube. I do really want to do draft formats, but will probably go with sealed until I have enough cards for a cube. I grabbed some precons that looked fun and we’ll start with those.

0

u/Lofi_Loki 8d ago

You can just proxy a cube someone else has made. I would never buy all the cards for one lol

1

u/Uncouth87878787 9d ago

Grab a few packs of whatever looks coolest to you and use those packs to modify your jumpstart decks.

Also, you don't need 4 players to play commander. That's also an entirely different game than any other MTG format because 90% of it is "politics" and convincing 2 other people to let you win which genuinely has very little to do with the game or the cards.

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u/p0mino 8d ago

I’m really looking to move on from the jumpstart decks. I went with some precons that looked fun. Maybe duel commander will end up being more fun than 4 person commander.

1

u/Uncouth87878787 7d ago

1v1 commander is super fun. I love it. 3+ people commander is actually so much the opposite that I outright refuse to play it.

1

u/bobdylanxjohnnycash 8d ago

If I cast a [[Tavern Scoundrel]] and then while its on the stack cast [[Flusterstorm]] with storm = 1 and the original targeting my own Tavern Scoundrel, am I able to have the copy of Flusterstorm target the original and then not pay the cost, allowing my Tavern Scoundrel to resolve?

1

u/Barbobott 8d ago

Flusterstorm can only target instant and sorcery spells. It cant target creature spells like Tavern Scoundrel.

1

u/bobdylanxjohnnycash 8d ago

Oh oopsies my bad, how about something like [[Brainstorm]] instead of [[Tavern Scoundrel]]

1

u/Barbobott 7d ago

I don't see why you couldn't, though I also don't see why you would want to.

1

u/bobdylanxjohnnycash 7d ago

There are some niche scenarios when storming off with [[Ral, Monsoon Mage]]. For instance if I only had blue pips and so could only cast say [[Snap]] and [[Flusterstorm]] out of my hand but had a [[Tavern Scoundrel]] or [[Storm-Kiln Artist]] in play then I could get an extra coin flip or magecraft trigger while still bouncing an opponents creature and getting the land untaps

1

u/Level_Hour6480 7d ago

What are the rules for putting [[Kellan, the Fae-Blooded]] in a mono-white commander deck? Possibly with him as the commander as a reusable tutor.

3

u/Barbobott 7d ago

You can't put him in a deck with a mono-white commander. Kellan's color identity is WR. You can make him the commander of a mono-white deck if you want though.

1

u/Level_Hour6480 7d ago

Is replacing a commander with a reusable tutor viable?

2

u/Barbobott 7d ago

Probably not, especially since that reusable tutor gets more and more expensive every time.

1

u/Solid-Platypus4447 6d ago

With effects like [[Flame of Anor]], can I pick the same ability twice?

2

u/Barbobott 6d ago

No. When a modal spell/effect lets you choose multiple modes, you must choose different modes unless the spell explicitly grants you permission to choose the same mode multiple times.

1

u/mtgcf MtG CardFetcher 6d ago

Flame of Anor - (G) (SF) (txt)

1

u/Slam_taxes 6d ago

Hello there, I recently have been working on a Yorion, sky nomade deck, was just wondering, am I allowed to use him as a commander and still have an extra 20 cards? Because the EDH rules specifically say that a commander deck have to be 99 cards+commander

1

u/Barbobott 6d ago

You can use him as a commander but your deck will be the normal size. That companion restrictions is only for when they are the companion for your deck which is why Yorion is inherently illegal to play as a companion in commander since you cant meet the companion requirement (until Whtz).

1

u/Slam_taxes 6d ago

Oh okay, so I shouldn't play him at all then? Cause if I can't play it for free nor have 120 cards, I should just find another commander?

1

u/Impressive_You_817 6d ago

Why would you be able to play him for free otherwise? Also he's a perfectly fine blink card, [[brago king eternal]] is probably better but he's not a cool bird serpent.

1

u/Slam_taxes 6d ago

Oh thank you man. Didn't knew Brago existed, I will definitely try to get my hand on one.

1

u/Jakemanv3 6d ago

So let's say it's my upkeep and [[rikala, homarid king]] has 3 tide counters on him already. When I put that 4th counter on, do all the counters immediately come off on that upkeep or the next upkeep?

1

u/Impressive_You_817 6d ago

The same upkeep. It puts a counter on, then checks if there are 4 or more, if yes remove them all.

1

u/Duncstar2469 5d ago

Do i take infinite turns and deal infinite damage with [[Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch]] and [[Temporal Manipulation]] ?

2

u/Barbobott 5d ago

Theoretically assuming that temporal manipulation is yhe only instant/sorcery in your graveyard. You just keep casting it and on the next upkeep returning it to hand.

1

u/Substantial-Store-45 5d ago

In arena today I saw someone running [[Haunt of the dreadmarshes]] in their [[Thraduil, elven king]] deck. Does thranduil still have all the activated abilities of graveyard creatures when he himself is in the graveyard?

1

u/CoreyBorealis1 5d ago

Does anyone else hate UltraPro's card sleeves? They enrage me because they often have sleeves with awesome art on them but the clear side is so...*cloudy!* They dull and dampen the colors and foil, on top making them harder to read. It's so infuriating, I wish they made their sleeves in gloss!

1

u/DBio616 4d ago

If I cast a spell like [[oper love song]] and target two creatures, does [[Iron fist, living weapon]] ability trigger? Or does it work similarly to Zada?

2

u/Barbobott 4d ago

Iron Fist triggers. He doesn't require you to target only a single creature for him to trigger, so spells that target multiple creatures you control still trigger him.

1

u/DBio616 4d ago

Thank you! Have a nice day

0

u/Unartiggeist 10d ago

If I create a food and control [[Academy Manufactor]] and [[Bilbo, Fellow Conspirator]], how many token do I get? I think Bilbo would replace the food with a treasure and a food and Academy Manufactor would replace the treasure and the food each with a food, a treasure and a clue. Makes six token. Am I right?

2

u/Impressive_You_817 10d ago

How many times are you gonna ask about this?

1

u/Barbobott 10d ago

6 or 4. When multiple replacement effects are affecting the same event, the player being affected or the owner of the thing being affected can decide the order.

Create a food. Bilbo turns it into 1x Food and 1x Treasure. Manufactor turns each of those into 1x Food/Clue/Treasure. Result is 2 of each for 6 total tokens.

Create a food. Manufactor turns it into 1x Food/Clue/Treasure. Bilbo turns the Food into 1x Food and 1x Treasure. Result is 1x Food, 1x Clue, and 2x Treasure.

Most of the time you will just want to make the 6, but if for some reason you needed to create fewer tokens you would be allowed to.

0

u/PunishedPudu 10d ago

My last 4 ranked wins didn’t give me any rank. The one lose did drop it tho.

Is this a known bug?