#askraindropsdash

[babycharmander]

Merybirthmas!

XD That’s one way to put it! Thank you!

[mtgtutorials]

During the Declare Blockers step, if you declare blockers (or no blockers) and your opponent plays an instant or flash creature, can you change your blockers?

Short answer: No, you can’t.

Longer answer: Combat is broken up into several different steps, and players have the opportunity to play spells or use other effects in between each step. Once you’ve moved to a new step, it’s too late to go back in time and change your decisions from previous steps. 

For a quick primer on the steps of combat, I recommend checking out MTG Tutorials #13: What Are The Steps Of Combat?

[mtgtutorials]

Can you flicker a creature brought back from Whip if Erbos's ability?

Yes!

Whip of Erebos has two effects that will try to exile the returned creature. It has a delayed triggered ability (“Exile it at the beginning of the next end step…”) which will attempt to exile the creature if it’s still on the battlefield at that time; and it has a replacement effect (“If it would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else”) which will replace the creature being put anywhere other than the exile zone from the battlefield.

If you’re not sure about the differences between triggered abilities and replacement effects, I recommend reviewing these presentations about them:

MTG Tutorials #3: All About Triggered Abilities

MTG Tutorials #24: All About Replacement Effects

Now, say you attempt to “flicker” the returned creature (with Cloudshift, for example) before the Whip’s delayed trigger resolves.

The Whip will “see” the creature leaving the battlefield, and try to apply its replacement effect — but remember, the Whip’s replacement effect says "exile it instead of putting it anywhere else". The creature isn’t being put “anywhere else” because it IS still being exiled — and exiling it instead of exiling it wouldn’t change anything.

So: The creature will be exiled. Later, the effect that tries to return the creature to the battlefield will successfully do so (as long as it’s still in the exile zone at that point).

Once the creature returns to the battlefield, the Whip’s delayed trigger and replacement effect will no longer be hanging over it because it’s treated by the game as a new object, with no memory of its previous existence. In other words — this “new” creature doesn’t remember being returned with the Whip. That was somebody else.

Note that all of this is the same way flicker effects interact with the unearth keyword. You can flicker unearthed creatures to save them as well.

[mtgtutorials]

If I were to Slave if Bolas an opponent's creature, then played Switcheroo on it to gain control of a different creature they control, is the first creature still Sacrificed?

No. Per the ruling on Slave of Bolas’s Gatherer page,

5/1/2009 — If you don’t control the targeted creature when the “at end of turn” ability resolves, it won’t be sacrificed. 

Basically what happens is, at the beginning of the next end step, the delayed triggered ability set up by Slave of Bolas triggers and goes on the stack. However, when it resolves, you no longer control the thing it’s telling you to sacrifice, and you can’t sacrifice permanents other players control. As a result, the trigger won’t have any effect.

Note that this wouldn’t be true if Slave of Bolas were worded differently. For example, if it said “that creature’s controller sacrifices it at the beginning of the next end step,” then the creature would be sacrificed no matter who controls it.

However, since the card says “Sacrifice it” (meaning you), it’s trying to make you perform an impossible action, so the creature will survive.

[mtgtutorials]

When I fuse two spells with a Goblin Elctromancer out, how would it;s ability affect the mana cost? Are they two separate costs I'm paying? Thank you for this blog and your help.

They are not two separate costs. When you cast a fused spell, you are only casting one spell. Goblin Electromancer will make a fused spell cost 1 less to cast.

[mtgtutorials]

If Ashmouth Hound gets blocked by a creature with one toughness, (x/1) because of it's ability, does it assign damage to the player/planeswalker or to the blocking creature?

Unless Ashmouth Hound has trample, it won’t assign combat damage at all.

Here’s how it works out step-by-step:

During the Declare Blockers Step, the defending player declares the X/1 creature blocking Ashmouth Hound (and nothing else). As a result, Ashmouth Hound’s triggered ability will trigger and go on the stack.

(Players have the chance to use spells or abilities in response to the trigger.)

Ashmouth Hound’s trigger resolves, dealing 1 damage to the blocking creature. The creature is destroyed by the lethal damage. However, Ashmouth Hound is still considered blocked.

(Players have the chance to use spells or abilities before moving to the next step of combat.)

The Combat Damage Step begins. Ashmouth Hound is blocked, and it doesn’t have trample, so it won’t assign any damage to the defending player/planeswalker. However, none of Ashmouth Hound’s blockers are still in combat, so it has nothing to assign damage to.

As a result, Ashmouth Hound doesn’t deal any combat damage this combat.

[mtgtutorials]

If a 2/2 creature blocks two 1/1 creatures, does the 22 deal damage to the both of those creatures, or just one of those creatures?

(I’m assuming the 2/2 has some sort of Echo Circlet ability that lets it block an additional creature.)

The answer to your question is: the blocking creature’s controller makes that decision.

During the Declare Blocker step, when the 2/2 is declared blocking both creatures, its controller announces what order it will assign damage to them.

Later, when it comes time to assign the 2/2 creature’s combat damage, its controller has a choice between assigning 1 damage to each 1/1 creature, or assigning 2 damage to whichever 1/1 he or she chose to be first.

(Note that this is the same set of steps described in the deathtouch tutorial posted earlier today, even though that describes one attacker with multiple blockers instead of vice/versa.)

The rule for damage assignment is: You always have to assign at least lethal damage to creature A (the first creature in the order you announced) before you can assign any damage to creature B, and so on; but you’re always allowed to assign more than lethal damage to creature A if you want.