#trinisphere

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Trinisphere

Artist: AKQA TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[magicjudge]

How does Trinisphere interact with Assist?

Unspectacularly.

Trinisphere doesn’t care who’s paying the mana to cast a spell, just that at least 3 mana is paid for it. When another player Assists in casting a spell, that mana is still being paid to cast the spell and so Trinisphere will be satisfied just as if the spell’s controller paid all the mana themself.

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Trinisphere

Artist: Tim Hildebrandt TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[magicjudge]

Pardon me, judge? How does the interaction between Trinisphere and Delve work? Would a player be force to pay at least three ACTUAL mana for their spell?

Delve is one of the few things that can get around Trinisphere's ability. This is because Delve (along with Improvise and Convoke) is a payment mechanic and not a cost-reduction mechanic. The total cost of a spell is determined before any cards are delved away from your graveyard, and so Trinisphere has to just look on in disgust as your opponent casts their Gurmag by paying {B} and exiling six cards from their graveyard.

[magicjudge]

Oddball scenario: If I have an Inspiring Statuary, a mountain and a Trinisphere in play, am I able to cast Krenko's Command normally by tapping the Trinisphere to Improvise it? Or would I still have to pay the full 3?

You’ll still have to pay 2R for Krenko’s Command.

Improvise is a payment mechanic, so you tap the artifacts as part of paying for the spell. Paying for the spell happens after determining its cost, which is after Trinisphere has applied its effect already.

[magicjudge]

Can you explain the interaction between Trinisphere, delve, and Phyrexian mana? I'm given to understand that delve gets around Trinisphere but Phyrexian mana doesn't and was wondering if you could explain why that is.

When you cast a spell with Trinisphere on the battlefield, it will look at the spell's cost once any alternate costs, cost increases, and cost reductions have been applied and then increase the total cost to three mana if it's not already three mana or more.

Phyrexian mana falls afoul of Trinisphere because the choice for whether to pay mana or life for each Phyrexian mana symbol in a spell's cost is made before its final cost is determined. This means that if you choose to pay 2 life instead of U to cast your Gitaxian Probe, Trinisphere isn't going to like that and will make you pay 3 in addition to the 2 life. If you had chosen to pay U, then it would increase the total cost to 2U.

Delve, convoke, and improvise get around Trinisphere's shenanigans because they're payment mechanics that aren't applied until after the total cost of the spell has been determined. So when you cast Gurmag Angler, Trinisphere sees that its total cost is seven and leaves it alone, even if you end up paying for it by only spending B and by exiling six cards from your graveyard.

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Trinisphere

"This exhibition of Nehra's Threshold Principle must be expropriated and examined for its potential applications in enforcement." —Confiscation directive

Artist: Daniel Ljunggren TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Trinisphere

Designed to restrain petty thoughts, but used to repress entire empires.

Artist: Tim Hildebrandt TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link