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Say I have Rhythm of the Wild out and I cast Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle. How do they interact?

My understanding is that riot and the slumber counters are both replacement effects and I can choose the order to apply them. So if I choose to apply riot first, then Arixmethes can enter with a +1/+1 counter, even though it ultimately ETBs as a land, not a creature. Is this correct?

Edit: I asked a judge and they said that riot always applies to Arixmethes, regardless of the order. So I guess that settles that.

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From the rulings on Arixmethes (emphasis mine):

Arixmethes isn’t a land until after it has entered the battlefield. Effects such as that of Blood Moon won’t affect its enters-the-battlefield ability. Similarly, replacement effects that modify how creatures you control enter the battlefield will see Arixmethes entering as a creature rather than a land. However, triggered abilities (such as landfall abilities) will see that a land entered the battlefield and not a creature.

So Rhythm of the Wild will see it as a creature and give it riot. Then Arixmethes will get a counter (or haste if you want).

Arixmethes's other ETB effect (getting slumber counters) is irrelevant. The static ability making Arixmethes a land only applies once Arixmethes is on the battlefield. Gaining riot happens before that.

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    Jinx!
    – BJ Myers
    Jan 31, 2019 at 17:03
  • @BJMyers hahaha.
    – Becuzz
    Jan 31, 2019 at 17:04
  • How does this interact with rule 614.12? "To determine which replacement effects apply and how they apply, check the characteristics of the permanent as it would exist on the battlefield, taking into account replacement effects that have already modified how it enters the battlefield (see rule 616.1), continuous effects from the permanent's own static abilities that would apply to it once it's on the battlefield, and continuous effects that already exist and would apply to the permanent."
    – Antimony
    Feb 1, 2019 at 2:39
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    @Antimony The counters won't be there until Arixmethes is already on the battlefield. Therefore, that continuous effect won't do anything until Arixmethes is on the battlefield. Rythm doesn't get to look ahead and see what Arixmethes will be in the future.
    – Becuzz
    Feb 1, 2019 at 12:12
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Slumbering Isle will get a counter.

...but for a different reason than you described.

From the rulings on Arixmethes (emphasis mine):

Arixmethes isn’t a land until after it has entered the battlefield. Effects such as that of Blood Moon won’t affect its enters-the-battlefield ability. Similarly, replacement effects that modify how creatures you control enter the battlefield will see Arixmethes entering as a creature rather than a land. However, triggered abilities (such as landfall abilities) will see that a land entered the battlefield and not a creature.

This means that Rhythm of the Wild's replacement effect activates (and resolves) before Arixemethes' static ability has any effect - you don't need to (or get to) make a choice about the order in which they are applied.

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  • How does Arixmethes's triggered ability play into this at all? (If you are referring to the ability that makes it a land, that's a static ability, not a triggered one.)
    – Becuzz
    Jan 31, 2019 at 17:04
  • Yup, my mistake. Fixed.
    – BJ Myers
    Jan 31, 2019 at 17:05
  • How does this interact with rule 614.12? "To determine which replacement effects apply and how they apply, check the characteristics of the permanent as it would exist on the battlefield, taking into account replacement effects that have already modified how it enters the battlefield (see rule 616.1), continuous effects from the permanent's own static abilities that would apply to it once it's on the battlefield, and continuous effects that already exist and would apply to the permanent."
    – Antimony
    Feb 1, 2019 at 2:39
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    At the point in time you are determining replacement effects, Arixmethes hasn't entered the battlefield yet. That means it doesn't have any slumber counters, so its static ability doesn't make it a land. Basically, Rhythm of the Wild isn't allowed to "predict" that it will turn into a land after it enters the battlefield - based on the information available when the spell is being cast, it doesn't have any slumber counters and therefore won't ETB as a land.
    – BJ Myers
    Feb 1, 2019 at 6:28

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