I totally get how Chains of Mephistopheles works with pretty much any card in any situation with any amount of chains in play except for the Sylvan Library interaction. I find it gets pretty complicated because of the fact that you can discard a card drawn with sylvan library which then would make it impossible for you to put back on top of the deck if you do decide not to pay 4 life.
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I suspect this question: boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/43618/… will answer your question for you. Also, COM is very complicated, this question helps with that: boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/38686/…– JohnCommented Jun 16 at 2:54
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I don't think that first linked question fully covers this interaction.– murgatroid99 ♦Commented Jun 16 at 2:56
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@john it doesn't answer the question because underrealm lich replaces drawing with something else entirely, while the chains replacement still possibly includes a draw, so the interaction is far more complicated.– AndrewCommented Jun 16 at 13:18
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1Worth noting that players usually keep the cards drawn this turn and the cards already in their hand separate until after Library has finished resolving for exactly this reason, to be able to prove which cards are required to be among the choices for Library, or if any need to be chosen at that point at all.– AndrewCommented Jun 16 at 18:01
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1 Answer
Here's what happens during the resolution of Sylvan Library's ability with Chains of Mephistopheles on the battlefield:
- "you may draw two additional cards." If you choose not to draw the cards, the ability does nothing. If you do choose to draw, the cards are drawn sequentially, so this breaks down further:
- You draw a card. This is modified by Chains, so instead you either discard a card and then draw a card, or you just mill a card.
- You draw another card. This is again modified by Chains, so instead you either discard a card and then draw a card, or you just mill a card.
- "choose two cards in your hand drawn this turn." In Magic, instructions do as much as possible, and no more. If you have fewer than two cards in your hand that you drew that turn, you can only choose the ones that are there. That can happen in this situation, depending whether you started with any cards in hand and on which cards you discarded.
- "For each of those cards, pay 4 life or put the card on top of your library." This instruction only applies to the cards you chose in the previous step. If you could only choose zero or one cards, then you perform this process zero or one times.
answered Jun 16 at 3:07
