David Zaslavsky

2,137 reputation

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bio	website	ellipsix.net
	location	State College, PA
	age	27
visits	member for	1 year, 10 months
	seen	May 15 at 17:05
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I'm a fifth year graduate student in physics at Penn State University, doing research in high-energy particle phenomenology. I also have a hobby interest in computer programming.

	2,137 reputation	bio	website	ellipsix.net	visits	member for	1 year, 10 months
617 badges		location	State College, PA		seen	May 15 at 17:05

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May 11	comment	Glaring Spotlight anti-hexproof work on enchantments Well, Glaring Spotlight refers to hexproof specifically. If a creature would be untargetable for some other reason (e.g. it has shroud), that other reason would continue to apply and would not be affected by Glaring Spotlight.
Apr 17	comment	Does the first spell from Possibility Storm go on the stack before being exiled? Wait, in scenario 1 of the second part of the post, wouldn't Possibility Storm's ability resolve before replicate, since it went on the stack last? And in scenario 2, did you mean to say "he casts Gigadrowse on your turn"?
Apr 5	comment	Would Pillar of Flames get rid of a Blightsteel Colossus? Tragic Slip doesn't put any counters on the creature it targets. And even if you did use a Tragic Slip with morbid on a Blightsteel Colossus, you'd still have the issue WLPhoenix brought up, that there are two competing replacement effects, so the Colossus' controller would get to choose whether it gets exiled or shuffled into its owner's library.
Apr 5	comment	Can I sacrifice a permanent to pay an ability cost while the permanent's spell is still on the stack? @Michael Pretty much everything has changed since 5th edition. The 6th edition rules update almost reinvented the game. (Not really, but it was a very drastic change.) See e.g. this. Although the answer to this particular question would be the same under 5th edition rules.
Mar 12	comment	Are counters (noun) physical things? Yeah, those would be Angel tokens. (Of course the part on the back doesn't matter)
Mar 12	comment	Are counters (noun) physical things? Incidentally, Beckon Apparition isn't actually an example of what you're asking about because it creates a token, not a counter. A token represents a permanent of its own, whereas counters have to be placed on a permanent. You can use the same physical objects to represent counters and tokens, but there are also actual token cards you can get that come out of booster packs.
Mar 9	comment	Can I save my spark trooper with a delayed flicker? Actually, if you blink the Spark Trooper with Mistmeadow Witch in response to its trigger, it would return the Trooper to the battlefield at the beginning of your opponent's end step, which means it wouldn't be sacrificed again until the end step of your next turn. But you're right about Voidwalk of course.
Mar 8	comment	Looking for the “magic'al” formula Yep, all about playtesting. It may be worth noting that Wizards designs cards years in advance so they have ample time to test their balance.
Mar 6	comment	Do cards that say “Each player…” target me? or "when the enchantments are being cast" or something. In any case I think it would be a useful clarification.
Feb 6	comment	At what point does a spell 'target' its target? As the answers say, not only can you wait, but you must wait until targets are chosen (and later) before you choose to counter it. In other words, even if you wanted to counter the spell before its targets were chosen, you cannot do so. The announcement of intent to play the spell, placing on the stack, choosing of modes and targets, and payment of costs are all part of a single sequence that cannot be interrupted.
Jan 13	comment	Can I respond to Cloudshift bringing something back into play? Note that DoJ is a sorcery, so you can't ordinarily cast it in response to anything.
Dec 25	comment	Do face-down creatures with death trigger activate normally? Ixidron doesn't give anything a "When this dies ..." ability...
Dec 13	comment	Can I use Naturalize to “counter” an activated ability? There are no triggers involved in this scenario.
Nov 25	comment	Does a Angel of Glory's Rise and a Fiend Hunter combo work like I think it does? Oh right, I forgot that the ability was targeted. I'll edit.
Nov 11	comment	How has the rise of limited formats affected MTG set design? IIRC Mirage block was the first to be designed with limited formats in mind, and that was released in 1997, so it's going to take someone with a good memory to describe in any detail how limited affected the design. (Or good Google-fu, I guess - I'm sure there are some discussions about it on the web)
Oct 15	comment	When is a creature's toughness calculated ah, looks like I forgot to finish writing before I submitted :-P
Sep 26	comment	What happens if Genesis Wave puts Fists of Ironwood onto a battlefield with no creatures? Update to my last comment: the latest rules update (603.2d) has some wording that may be relevant to that - it suggests that in fact if an aura entered the battlefield attached to a permanent, it would not have been considered to become attached to that permanent.
Sep 3	comment	What happens if I use Sudden Disappearance? And in particular, only abilities that actually use the tap symbol in their cost.
Jul 27	comment	Why do cards have different rarity levels in Magic: The Gathering? I wouldn't say "often." There are a few mistakes, but the majority of expensive cards are just normal cards that are in high demand.
Jul 16	comment	Can Dismember kill my Gloryscale Viashino after I cast Armadillo Cloak? @Nick The triggered ability is not linked in any way to the spell. So if Armadillo Cloak is countered, that doesn't automatically have any effect on the triggered ability.