Does a card played with a cascade ability count for "casting" a spell?

Question

I recently added Fires of Invention and Maelstrom Nexus to one of my decks.

Fires of Invention:
Enchantment. You can cast spells only during your turn and you can cast no more than two spells each turn. You may cast spells with mana value less than or equal to the number of lands you control without paying their mana costs.

Maelstrom Nexus:
Enchantment. The first spell you cast each turn has cascade. (When you cast your first spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom of your library in a random order.)

So, if I cast my first card for the turn with Fires of Invention and then play a spell with the Maelstrom Nexus cascade effect, will that count for my second spell cast this turn?

Answer 1

Yes. Cast has a very specific meaning in the comprehensive rules:

Cast
To take a card from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

and both cards refer to that specific definition. The trigger (you deliberately choosing a card from your hand, semi-automatic casting from an ability like cascade, etc.) does not matter.

If you didn't cast another spell this turn, the card cast with Fires of Invention itself counts as the first one, and the one cast with Maelstrom Nexus' ability counts as the second one (which is fine - Fires of Invention allows two spells per turn). That means you cannot cast another spell this turn. If you did already cast another spell this turn, Fires of Invention would prevent you from casting a revealed card with Maelstrom Nexus' ability, because that would be the third one (but the revealed cards are still put on the bottom of your library).

Conclusion: Fires of Invention and Maelstrom Nexus are not an ideal combination. Of course, if you find both cards fun to play, we won't stop you from playing them together ...

Answer 2

Yes.

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When you have a question that concerns a keyword ability, it's best to lookup the definition of that keyword.

702.85a Cascade is a triggered ability that functions only while the spell with cascade is on the stack. “Cascade” means “When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card whose mana value is less than this spell’s mana value. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost if the resulting spell’s mana value is less than this spell’s mana value. Then put all cards exiled this way that weren’t cast on the bottom of your library in a random order.”

The part that's relevant is You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Note that it permits you to take the cast action. This has a few implications because of Fires of Invention:

• You can't choose to cast it if it's not your turn.^{[CR 101.2][CR 608.2d]}
• You can't choose to cast it if you've already cast two spells that turn.^{[CR 101.2][CR 608.2d]}
• It would indeed count as a spell you cast it you choose to cast it. Fires of Invention counts the spells you cast, no matter how they were cast.

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I'm trying to understand the confusion since both Fires of Invention and the reminder text for Cascade clearly say cast.

Perhaps it's because you didn't use the alternative cost provided by Fires of Invention to cast the card found using Cascade. That's not relevant.

Perhaps it's because it's an effect that allows you to cast the spell rather than the priority rules. That's not relevant.

Fires of Invention counts the spells you cast, no matter how they were cast.

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101.2. When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t” effect takes precedence.
Example: If one effect reads “You may play an additional land this turn” and another reads “You can’t play lands this turn,” the effect that precludes you from playing lands wins.

608.2d [...] The player can’t choose an option that’s illegal or impossible, with the exception that having a library with no cards in it doesn’t make drawing a card an impossible action (see rule 121.3). [...]

Answer 3

Yes. The rules and reminder text for cascade clearly say "cast". There are ways of using a card that don't count as "casting", but those ways will not use the term "cast". Examples are playing a land, creating a copy of a spell (which is why an Epic spell can both tell you that you can't cast spells, and instruct you to copy itself), and putting a card onto the battlefield (for instance, using Protean Hulk's triggered ability does not count as casting a spell, even though you're putting creature(s) onto the battlefield). Once you cast a spell, it counts as casting a spell even if it's countered.