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I have a few related questions about Medomai's Prophecy, which has the relevant Chapter abilities:

II - Choose a card name.

III - When you cast a spell with the chosen name for the first time this turn, draw two cards.

  1. Suppose the second Chapter ability triggers twice, perhaps through clockspinning, and that I name the same card both times. Later, the third Chapter ability triggers and cast a spell with the chosen name. Do I draw two cards or four?
  2. Same setup as question 1, except I choose different names. Later, the third Chapter ability triggers again. How many cards would I draw if I cast just a spell with the first name? Just a spell with the second name? Both?
  3. Does copying the second Chapter ability, such as with Strionic Resonator, have the same end result as 1 and 2?
  4. Suppose I have already named a card for Medomai's Prophecy's second ability, and then have Copy Enchantment enter as a copy of it. Does the new enchantment 'remember' the named card?

2 Answers 2

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Partial answer...

  1. Yes. There is no meaningful difference between an ability triggering twice because of Clockspinning, and a triggered ability being copied because of Strionic Resonator. Either way, the triggered ability has resolved 2 separate times. Note that the choice of card name is only made when the ability resolves, so it will not have been made yet while the ability is on the stack and being copied.

  2. No, the chosen value is not a copyable attribute of Medomai's Prophecy:

706.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object’s characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether it was kicked, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on). The “copiable values” are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty), as modified by other copy effects, by its face-down status, and by “as . . . enters the battlefield” and “as . . . is turned face up” abilities that set power and toughness (and may also set additional characteristics). Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.

For 1 and 2, the relevant rules are in 607, Linked Abilities. The 2 abilities are linked:

607.2d If an object has an ability printed on it that causes a player to “choose a [value]” and an ability printed on it that refers to “the chosen [value],” “the last chosen [value],” or similar, those abilities are linked. The second ability refers only to a choice made as a result of the first ability.

However, while rule 607.3 deals with what happens when an ability refers to "the exiled card", and multiple cards have been exiled; there does not seem to be a similar rule to deal with "the chosen value" when multiple values have been chosen.

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    I'm 100% sure that the answer to #1 is that you only draw two cards since even though you've chosen names twice, there is only one chosen name and one delayed trigger. My hunch to #2 is that it only triggers once but will trigger on either one, but like you I don't think the rules are 100% clear. The release notes aren't any help, either. I get the feeling this will be clarified with the update bulletin.
    – CALEB F
    Jan 14, 2020 at 16:11
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1. Suppose the second Chapter ability triggers twice, perhaps through clockspinning, and that I name the same card both times. Later, the third Chapter ability triggers and cast a spell with the chosen name. Do I draw two cards or four?

2. Same setup as question 1, except I choose different names. Later, the third Chapter ability triggers again. How many cards would I draw if I cast just a spell with the first name? Just a spell with the second name? Both?

Two.

There is no difference in meaning between "the thing" and "a thing". "The" merely indicates that we are referring to a thing that was just referenced. In other words, "the chosen name" means "a name chosen for the linked ability".

Every time you cast a spell, you ask yourself if the spell has a name chosen for the linked ability. If the answer is yes, you have cast a spell with the chosen name, and you must then ask yourself if it's the first time has happened this turn. If so, the ability is placed on the stack.

As such, the ability can resolve at most once per turn (unless it gets copied somehow), so you get to draw at most two cards per turn.

(The only other remotely possible alternative would be that the spell would have to have all of the chosen names, leading to zero cards drawn if different names were picked. But that is not the case.)


3. Does copying the second Chapter ability, such as with Strionic Resonator, have the same end result as 1 and 2?

It doesn't matter how you managed to get the second ability to resolve twice.


4. Suppose I have already named a card for Medomai's Prophecy's second ability, and then have Copy Enchantment enter as a copy of it. Does the new enchantment 'remember' the named card?

No, the chosen value is not a copyable attribute of Medomai's Prophecy.

706.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object’s characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether it was kicked, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on). The “copiable values” are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty), as modified by other copy effects, by its face-down status, and by “as . . . enters the battlefield” and “as . . . is turned face up” abilities that set power and toughness (and may also set additional characteristics). Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.

706.7a If an ability causes a player to “choose a [value]” and a second, linked ability refers to that choice, the second ability is the only ability that can refer to that choice. An object doesn’t “remember” that choice and use it for other abilities it may copy later. If an object copies an ability that refers to a choice, but either (a) doesn’t copy that ability’s linked ability or (b) does copy the linked ability but no choice is made for it, then the choice is considered to be “undefined.” If an ability refers to an undefined choice, that part of the ability won’t do anything.
Example: Voice of All enters the battlefield and Unstable Shapeshifter copies it. Voice of All reads, in part, “As Voice of All enters the battlefield, choose a color.” and “Voice of All has protection from the chosen color.” Unstable Shapeshifter never had a chance for a color to be chosen for it, because it didn’t enter the battlefield as a Voice of All card, so the protection ability doesn’t protect it from anything at all.
Example: A Vesuvan Doppelganger enters the battlefield as a copy of Voice of All, and the Doppelganger’s controller chooses blue. Later, the Doppelganger copies Quirion Elves, which has the ability, “{T}: Add one mana of the chosen color.” Even though a color was chosen for the Doppelganger, it wasn’t chosen for the ability linked to the mana ability copied from the Elves. If that mana ability of the Doppelganger is activated, it will not produce mana.

The first example given by 706.7a is pertinent here.

[Partial credit to @GendoIkari for the answer to this fourth question.]

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    Like CALEB F, I'm pretty sure this is right; but is there any comprehensive rule that leads to the first answer? It seems very strange that 607.3 would go into specific detail about how to treat what "the exiled card" if more than one card has been exiled, but be completely silent on how to treat "the chosen name" if more than one name was chosen.
    – GendoIkari
    Jan 15, 2020 at 0:54
  • @Gendolkari, I wasn't able to find a rule, but there's no need for one. Edited my answer to improve the explanation.
    – ikegami
    Jan 15, 2020 at 8:39
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    @Gendolkari, According to English, "the exiled card" means "a card that was exiled by the linked ability". 607.3 is required because it changes that. It causes "the exiled card" mean "all of the cards exiled by the linked ability" in some circumstances. In the OP's case, standard English meaning applies because there are no rules to the contrary. (Clarification would have been nice, though.)
    – ikegami
    Jan 15, 2020 at 8:53

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