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So Quicksilver Fountain is a pretty unique card that an ability to override land types with flood counters. However, I was wondering about how it interacts with Magical Hack.

Say that I choose Swamp for the basic land type for Magical Hack. From my own thoughts and looking around, it seems like there are 2 possibilities:

  1. All flood counters instantly switch to using the other land type: All flooded Islands become Swamps instead. New counters also turn lands into Swamps.

  2. Previously placed flood counters are unchanged (The respective lands remain as Islands), but newly placed ones will turn lands into Swamps. You can override the older counter by placing a new one on the respective Island.

I was wondering which of these was the case.

In addition, what happens when Quicksilver Fountain leaves the battlefield after being hacked?

Do the flooded lands remain as Swamps, or do they revert to Islands due to Quicksilver Fountain not being on the field anymore?

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    FWIW: [mtg:Cyclopean Tomb] is a similar card.
    – John
    Commented Jan 17, 2019 at 15:59

1 Answer 1

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Lands with flood counters on them retain their latest type even if Quicksilver Fountain is hacked or leaves the battlefield.

That is because the Fountain's first ability is not a static effect itself, but a triggered ability that creates a one-shot effect that in turn creates a continuous effect. Each flood counter has its individual effect at the time it's placed on a land. As an analogy, you can think of flood counters as token enchantments, except it's a counter instead.

That means your option 2) is correct. Lands that got a flood counter before the Fountain was hacked remain islands after the hack, flood counters after the hack turn lands into swamps, and all lands with flood counters retain their respective type after the Fountain has left the battlefield.

  1. Continuous Effects

611.1. A continuous effect modifies characteristics of objects, modifies control of objects, or affects players or the rules of the game, for a fixed or indefinite period.

611.2. A continuous effect may be generated by the resolution of a spell or ability.

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  • Minor nitpick: It's not really accurate to say that the triggered ability "creates a one-shot effect that in turn creates a continuous effect". The triggered ability just creates a continuous effect directly. The rules don't say anything about one-shot effects creating continuous effects, and it does say that resolving spells and abilities can create continuous effects.
    – murgatroid99 ♦
    Commented Jan 17, 2019 at 5:30
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    @"Hack"worth is an expert on the nuances of "Magical Hack". Coincidence? I think not.
    – Zags
    Commented Jan 17, 2019 at 12:09
  • If it were to work the other way, Quicksilver Fountain would need to have a separate ability that says "lands with flood counters on them are Islands".
    – GendoIkari
    Commented Jan 17, 2019 at 15:16

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