#activated abilities

[magicjudge]

Regarding "crew" and using creatures with tapped abilities to "crew". tapped abilities will activate when crewing and will resolve first, then crew. creatures with summoning sickness cannot activate tapped abilities but as creatures with summoning sickness can crew vehicles does that mean their tapped abilities can now activate or no?

When you tap creatures to activate a Crew ability, you're tapping them to crew, not for their own ability. You're not activating those abilities and they won't happen. Tapping is a cost of both Crew and their own ability, so you can't pay both of those costs with the same creature on the same turn.

For example, you can either tap your Elvish Mystic for its own ability to add G or to crew Brute Suit, but not both with the same tap.

[daisukitoo]

Gamer Trance - activated ability

While in Gamer Trance, you cannot perceive enemy intents or the passage of time.

While in Gamer Trance, you do not suffer negative effects from physical debuffs such as fatigue, hunger, discomfort, or wounds. Negative effects still accumulate and are applied cumulatively when you exit Gamer Trance. You cannot perceive the presence or severity of these debuffs until you exit Gamer Trance.

You can still die in Gamer Trance. If damage or the cumulative negative effects of physical debuffs would render you unconscious or kill you, you immediately exit Gamer Trance and suffer all negative effects.

[magicjudge]

If I control Yawgmoth and Archfiend of Ifnir and I activate Yawgmoth's proliferate ability, will archfiend's trigger resolve before or after the proliferation?

Before.

Discarding a card is part of the cost of Yawgmoth’s proliferate ability, so Archfiend of Ifnir will trigger when you pay that cost and its trigger will go on the stack above the Proliferate ability. 

Yes, this means that all your opponents’ creatures will have -1/-1 counters on them for you to proliferate.

[magicjudge]

Hi, the emblem of Rowan Kenrith would trigger my creatures with ETB?

No, it won’t.

Rowan’s emblem will copy activated abilities (other than mana abilities), but it doesn’t have any interaction with triggered abilities such as ETB triggers.

An activated ability is always formatted as “[COST]: [EFFECT]” and is something you choose to have happen by paying a cost. For example, a planeswalker’s loyalty ability is an activated ability and Rowan’s emblem would copy that ability when you activate it. (You don’t pay double the cost though.)

[magicjudge]

Does cycling renewed faith trigger fire song and sun speaker?

No.

Gaining life from an activated or triggered ability of an Instant or Sorcery card, or from a delayed triggered ability created by an instant or sorcery spell, isn’t the same as the instant or sorcery spell causing you to gain life. The activated or triggered ability is causing you to gain the life, and so Firesong and Sunspeaker won’t trigger.

This is why the much touted “combo” of Firesong and Sunspeaker with Spiritualize doesn’t actually go infinite. Or do anything other than cause you to gain a bit of extra life, really.

[magicjudge]

What is the interaction between Gideon of the Trials and Thunderbreak Regent? Is the damage from the Regent's ability prevented as soon as Gideon pokes it, or does the Regent get a bolt off?

You're going to get zapped.

Whenever something triggers from a spell being cast or an ability being activated, that triggered ability goes on the stack above the spell or ability that triggered it and resolves first. So when Gideon goes to put that bubble around Thunderbreak Regent, the Regent gets mad and gets off a shot at you before Gideon can work his magic.

[magicjudge]

Can you explain how to properly use Yavimaya Elder activated and triggered abilities together. Thanks, geozak.

Sure thing!

When you sacrifice Yavimaya Elder to activate its “2, Sacrifice Yavimaya Elder: Draw a card.” ability, its triggered ability triggers. The trigger goes on the stack above of the activated ability and resolves first. Only after you’ve searched your library for basic lands and reshuffled will the activated ability be able to resolve.

TL;DR: Search first, then draw.

[magicjudge]

First, thank you for all that you do for the community. You are a role model for aspiring judges! My question is: if Mairsil the Pretender gains the activated ability of Riptide Replicator, and acquired some charge counters through other means, will Riptide Replicator's ability be able to produce tokens, even though a creature type and color were never chosen?

Mairsil doesn’t have Riptide Replicator’s “choose a color and creature type” ability. When Mairsil uses Riptide Replicator’s ability, there’s no color or type chosen and so the token will be colorless with no creature types.