11

Myr Superion is a 2 mana 5/6 that comes with the following casting restriction:

Spend only mana produced by creatures to cast Myr Superion.

Under most circumstances this wouldn't be ambiguous, but I'm not sure how it interacts with type-changing effects. Specifically, I want to know whether Myr Superion could be cast with mana produced in the following ways:

  • Blinkmoth Nexus is tapped for mana, then animated using some other mana.
  • Palladium Myr is tapped for mana, then stops being a creature e.g. due to Song of the Dryads.
  • Deathrite Shaman is tapped to activate its first ability, which goes on the stack because it is not a mana ability, and then stops being a creature before that ability resolves.

I wasn't able to find any lands which could produce mana using an ability that is not a mana ability, but I suspect I will be able to deduce that hypothetical outcome based on the others listed.

In other words, when casting Myr Superion does a mana source need to be a creature when the ability was activated, when the ability resolved, or when the Superion is cast?

4
  • This question was discussed here, but nothing that sounds like an official answer.
    – GendoIkari
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 21:04
  • @DarkCygnus Why did you replace Inkmoth Nexus with Blinkmoth Nexus? Both are lands that tap for mana and animate themselves.
    – murgatroid99 ♦
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 23:30
  • I merely "corrected" the broken link, the first wording appeared broken to me and no card seemed to have that name
    – DarkCygnus
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 23:31
  • Huh. Inkmoth Nexus is a real card, but the link that is getting generated doesn't work, so I guess we might as well keep the change.
    – murgatroid99 ♦
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 1:53

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
9

The ability checks what produced the mana. This means that, to be used to cast Myr Superion, the source of the ability that produced the mana must have been a creature at the time the mana was produced (i.e. when the ability resolved).

As @Natedogg2 of #magicjudges-rules said, "Producing the mana, then making the source into a creature does not count."

2
  • So, in the case of Deathrite Shaman activating its first ability, then stops being a creature while the ability is on the stack, the mana would not be usable? That's interesting, and not what I would have guessed. The more you know, I suppose
    – Belgabad
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 21:26
  • 6
    @Belgabad, If the Shaman simply ceased to exist (e.g. because it was destroyed) before the mana was created, then the mana would be considered created by a creature (because of LKI). If the Shaman still exists but lost the creature type before the mana was created, then the mana would be considered created by a non-creature.
    – ikegami
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 21:28
5

Yes, the mana source would need to be a creature on the battlefield when the mana was created. Mana is not tied to the object that created it, but has some characteristics based on that object when the mana was created, just most things in magic, the source stops mattering once the effect goes on stack and/or resolves.

Myr Superion does not check the source of the mana in the way you're thinking, but looks for the characteristics of that mana, and the mana "remembers" it's characteristics until it is spent or it empties from the pool, we know this because mana with conditions that is prevented from emptying from the pool by effects like Omnath, Locus of Mana or Kruphix, God of Horizons still keeps any restrictions or other characteristics from turn to turn, even after modified by Kruphix's ability, as seen in the ruling on Kruphix:

If unused mana in your mana pool has any restrictions or riders associated with it (for example, if it was produced by Cavern of Souls), those restrictions or riders will remain associated with that mana when it becomes colorless.

13
  • Do you have a source for this? I think the answer is the opposite, but I can't find anything conclusive either way.
    – murgatroid99 ♦
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 20:32
  • 1
    @murgatroid99, I'm inclined to agree with Andrew's conclusion. The ability checks how it was produced.
    – ikegami
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 20:38
  • 1
    @KamilDrakari That would only care when the ability was put on the stack, not when it resolved I would say, when abilities go onto the stack, unless they specify otherwise they are no longer connected directly to what put the ability on stack (exceptions like fight).
    – Andrew
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 20:39
  • 1
    Re "That would only care when the ability was put on the stack", Ok, that makes absolutely no sense to me. The mana is only created resolution. It shouldn't matter what the source of the ability was when the ability was activated.
    – ikegami
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 20:40
  • 1
    I have sent a question to the "Ask a Magic Judge" tumblr blog. We'll see if we get a response.
    – murgatroid99 ♦
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 20:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .