_Scourge_(TM) Frequently Asked Questions
Compiled by Paul Barclay, David DeLaney, and Jeff Jordan
This FAQ has two sections, each of which serves a different purpose.
The first section ("General Notes") explains the new mechanics and concepts in
the set. The second section ("Card-Specific Notes") contains answers to the
most important questions players might ask about a given card.
Items in the "Card-Specific Notes" section include full rules text for your
reference. Not all cards in the set are listed.
GENERAL NOTES
Landcycling
The official rules for the landcycling ability are as follows:
502.18c Landcycling is a variant of the cycling ability. The phrase "[Land
type]cycling [cost]" means "[Cost], Discard this card from your hand: Search
your library for a [land type] card, reveal it, and put it into your hand.
Then shuffle your library." Any cards that trigger when a player cycles a card
will trigger when a card's landcycling ability is played.
* Unlike the normal cycling ability, landcycling doesn't allow the player to
draw a card, but instead lets the player search his or her library for a land
card of the appropriate type.
* Any ability that triggers on a card being cycled also triggers on a card
being landcycled.
* Any ability that stops a cycling ability from being played also stops a
landcycling ability from being played.
* See the _Onslaught_(TM) FAQ for information about the cycling ability.
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Storm
The official rules for the storm ability are as follows:
502.30. Storm
502.30a Storm is a triggered ability that functions while the card is on the
stack. "Storm" means "When you play this spell, put a copy of it onto the
stack for each other spell that was played before it this turn. If the spell
has any targets, you may choose new targets for any number of the copies."
502.30b If a spell has multiple instances of storm, each triggers separately.
* The number of copies is set when the storm spell is played. Count only
spells that were played (by any player) before the storm spell was played.
* The copies are *put* directly onto the stack -- they aren't *played*. That
means the copies aren't counted by other storm spells played later during the
turn.
* Each storm spell with a target allows you to change the target for each copy
of that spell. You make that choice for each copy individually.
* When counting spells played in a turn, you do count spells that were played
face down and spells played from zones other than a hand.
* A copy of a spell can be countered, just like any other spell, but each copy
has to be countered individually. Countering a storm spell won't counter the
copies of it.
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Morph
* See the Onslaught FAQ for information about the morph ability.
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CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES
Ageless Sentinels
3W
Creature -- Wall
4/4
(Walls can't attack.)
Flying
When Ageless Sentinels blocks, its creature type becomes Giant Bird. (It's no
longer a Wall. This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)
* The triggered ability changes this creature's creature types to Giant and
Bird. Ageless Sentinels loses all its old types, including Wall, so it is then
able to attack.
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Alpha Status
2G
Enchant Creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 for each other creature in play that shares a
creature type with it.
* Alpha Status counts the number of creatures that share a type with the
enchanted creature, not the number of *types* that those creatures share with
it.
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Ambush Commander
3GG
Creature -- Elf
2/2
Forests you control are 1/1 green Elf creatures that are still lands.
1G, Sacrifice an Elf: Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
* Ambush Commander gives the forests creature type Elf. They still have the
land type forest, but they don't have the creature type forest. Land types and
creature types are not interchangeable.
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Ancient Ooze
5GG
Creature -- Ooze
*/*
Ancient Ooze's power and toughness are each equal to the total converted mana
cost of other creatures you control.
* Add up the converted mana costs of all other creatures you control to figure
out Ancient Ooze's power and toughness. Remember that tokens and face-down
creatures have converted mana cost 0.
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Call to the Grave
4B
Enchantment
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a non-Zombie
creature.
At end of turn, if no creatures are in play, sacrifice Call to the Grave.
* You must sacrifice a non-Zombie creature if you have one.
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Carbonize
2R
Instant
Carbonize deals 3 damage to target creature or player. That creature can't be
regenerated this turn. If the creature would be put into a graveyard this
turn, remove it from the game instead.
* Even if Carbonize doesn't deal lethal damage to a creature, that creature
can't be regenerated this turn and will be removed from the game if it would
be put into a graveyard later this turn.
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Consumptive Goo
BB
Creature -- Ooze
1/1
2BB: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Put a +1/+1 counter on
Consumptive Goo.
* If the target creature leaves play before the ability resolves, the ability
is countered and the Goo doesn't get a +1/+1 counter.
* If you target Consumptive Goo with its own ability while it's a 1/1
creature, it gets -1/-1 and then it gets a +1/+1 counter. Since state-based
effects such as a creature with 0 toughness being put into a graveyard aren't
checked until after the Goo's ability finishes resolving, the Goo survives.
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Day of the Dragons
4UUU
Enchantment
When Day of the Dragons comes into play, remove all creatures you control from
the game. Then put that many 5/5 red Dragon creature tokens with flying into
play.
When Day of the Dragons leaves play, sacrifice all Dragons you control. Then
return the removed cards to play under your control.
* The creatures are removed from the game face up and return to play face up.
This effect doesn't trigger abilities that trigger when a creature is turned
face up.
* When Day of the Dragons leaves play, you sacrifice every creature you
control with creature type Dragon. If an effect changes the creature type of
your Dragons, you won't have to sacrifice them.
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Decree of Justice
XX2WW
Sorcery
Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying into play.
Cycling 2W
When you cycle Decree of Justice, you may pay X. If you do, put X 1/1 white
Soldier creature tokens into play.
* The "XX" in the mana cost means that you pay two mana for each Angel you
want to create, in addition to the 2WW.
* When you cycle this card, you choose X and pay X when the cycle trigger
resolves.
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Dimensional Breach
5WW
Sorcery
Remove all permanents from the game. As long as any of those cards remain
removed from the game, at the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player
returns one of the removed cards he or she owns to play.
* Each player chooses which of his or her removed cards returns to play at the
beginning of each of his or her upkeeps.
* A creature that returns to play this way won't be able to attack that turn
unless it has haste.
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Dragon Mage
5RR
Creature -- Dragon Wizard
5/5
Flying
Whenever Dragon Mage deals combat damage to a player, each player discards his
or her hand and draws seven cards.
* All players discard their hands and draw seven cards, not just the player
who was dealt damage.
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Dragonstorm
8R
Sorcery
Search your library for a Dragon card and put it into play. Then shuffle your
library.
Storm (When you play this spell, copy it for each spell played before it this
turn.)
* A Dragon card is a card with creature type Dragon. A card with "Dragon" in
its name isn't a Dragon card unless it also has creature type Dragon.
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Edgewalker
1WB
Creature -- Cleric
2/2
Cleric spells you play cost WB less to play. This effect reduces only the
amount of colored mana you pay. (For example, if you play a Cleric with mana
cost 1W, it costs 1 to play.)
* Edgewalker's ability reduces what you pay only if the total cost of the
Cleric spell includes W and/or B. Unlike previous cost reducers, it doesn't
affect the generic mana portion of costs, even if you choose to pay that
portion with white and/or black mana.
* If the cost to play a Cleric spell includes either W or B, you don't pay
that part. If a cost includes W and B, you don't pay either of them.
* Multiple Edgewalkers are cumulative. If you control two of them, they reduce
the amount you pay for Cleric spells by WWBB.
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Eternal Dragon
5WW
Creature -- Dragon Spirit
5/5
Flying
3WW: Return Eternal Dragon from your graveyard to your hand. Play this ability
only during your upkeep.
Plainscycling 2 (2, Discard this card from your hand: Search your library for
a plains card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your
library.)
* You can't play the Dragon's first activated ability unless it's in your
graveyard.
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Faces of the Past
2U
Enchantment
Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard from play, tap or untap all
creatures that share a creature type with it.
* You can either tap all creatures that share a type with that creature or
untap all those creatures. You can't tap some and untap others.
* You choose whether to tap or untap the creatures when the ability resolves.
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Final Punishment
3BB
Sorcery
Target player loses life equal to the damage already dealt to him or her this
turn.
* Damage that's prevented doesn't count toward the total.
* The _Seventh Edition_(TM) card Worship reads, "If you control a creature,
damage that would reduce your life total to less than 1 reduces it to 1
instead." Worship doesn't prevent damage. If you control Worship, you'll lose
life equal to the amount of damage dealt to you this turn, regardless of how
much your life total changed.
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Force Bubble
2WW
Enchantment
If damage would be dealt to you, put that many depletion counters on Force
Bubble instead.
When there are four or more depletion counters on Force Bubble, sacrifice it.
At end of turn, remove all depletion counters from Force Bubble.
* Force Bubble doesn't "prevent" damage, but the results are very similar. The
damage never happens, so anything that triggers off damage being dealt won't
trigger.
* Force Bubble can stop more than 4 damage at one time, but then its second
ability will trigger and cause it to be sacrificed.
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Forgotten Ancient
3G
Creature -- Elemental
0/3
Whenever a player plays a spell, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Forgotten
Ancient.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may move any number of +1/+1 counters
from Forgotten Ancient onto other creatures.
* You can choose to not put a counter on Forgotten Ancient when a spell is
played.
* Forgotten Ancient gets only one +1/+1 counter when a spell with storm is
played; it doesn't get counters for the copies.
* Moving the counters to other creatures is not a targeted effect.
* You can move some, none, or all of the counters. You don't have to decide
how many to move, or to which creatures, until the ability resolves.
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Form of the Dragon
4RRR
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, Form of the Dragon deals 5 damage to target
creature or player.
At the end of each turn, your life total becomes 5.
Creatures without flying can't attack you.
* If your life total was above 5 at the end of a turn, you lose life so that
it becomes 5. If your life total was below 5 at the end of a turn, you gain
life so that it becomes 5. This happens at the end of each player's turn.
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Frontline Strategist
W
Creature -- Soldier
1/1
Morph W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up
any time for its morph cost.)
When Frontline Strategist is turned face up, prevent all combat damage
non-Soldiers would deal this turn.
* The ability waits until combat damage would actually be dealt and prevents
damage from anything that's not a Soldier at that time.
* If a creature leaves play before its combat damage is dealt, use its
creature type at the time it left play.
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Goblin Psychopath
3R
Creature -- Goblin Mutant
5/5
Whenever Goblin Psychopath attacks or blocks, flip a coin. If you lose the
flip, the next time it would deal combat damage this turn, it deals that
damage to you instead.
* The Psychopath's ability triggers when it attacks or blocks, not when it
deals damage. You know the result of the coin flip before combat damage is put
onto the stack.
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Grip of Chaos
4RR
Enchantment
Whenever a spell or ability is put onto the stack, reselect its target at
random if it has a single target. (Select from among all legal targets.)
* Because the printed wording of Grip of Chaos causes an infinite loop, it has
been given errata. Its new _Oracle_(TM) wording is as follows:
Whenever a spell or ability is put onto the stack, if it has a single target,
reselect its target at random. (Select from among all legal targets.)
* You reselect the target randomly from among all the legal targets that exist
at the time (including the current target). The spell or ability might end up
being the same target again. If there are no other legal targets available,
the spell or ability keeps its current target.
* If a spell or ability can have a variable number of targets, Grip of Chaos
triggers only if you choose exactly one target.
* Reselecting a target at random doesn't trigger any abilities that trigger on
choosing targets, such as a Flagbearer's ability. It does trigger abilities
that trigger on something becoming the target of a spell or ability.
* Reselecting a target at random can be tricky. The simplest fair way to do it
is to find a die with at least as many sides as the number of legal targets.
Give each potential target a different number, and roll the die to choose the
new target. Reroll any number that's higher than the number of legal targets.
(Don't start counting again at the beginning or the selection will be biased
toward the lower-numbered targets.)
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Karona's Zealot
4W
Creature -- Cleric
2/5
Morph 3WW (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face
up any time for its morph cost.)
When Karona's Zealot is turned face up, all damage that would be dealt to it
this turn is dealt to target creature instead.
* The damage is redirected only if the targeted creature is still in play when
damage would be dealt.
* All the damage that would be dealt to the Zealot this turn will be
redirected as long as the targeted creature is still in play.
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Lingering Death
1B
Enchant Creature
The controller of enchanted creature sacrifices it at the end of his or her
turn.
* This is a triggered ability, even though it doesn't start with "when,"
"whenever," or "at."
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Long-Term Plans
2U
Instant
Search your library for a card, shuffle your library, then put that card third
from the top.
* You put the card under the top two cards of your library.
* If there are fewer than three cards in your library, put the card you
searched for on the bottom of your library.
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Mind's Desire
4UU
Sorcery
Shuffle your library. Then remove the top card of your library from the game.
Until end of turn, you may play it as though it were in your hand without
paying its mana cost. (If it has X in its mana cost, X is 0.)
Storm (When you play this spell, copy it for each spell played before it this
turn.)
* The cards are removed from the game face up.
* Any removed cards that you don't play this turn remain removed from the
game.
* You can play any or all of the removed cards over the course of the turn,
but this effect doesn't let you play spells or lands you couldn't normally
play. For example, you can't play a removed land if you've already played a
land this turn.
* Additional costs of the removed cards must still be paid.
* You can't play a removed creature card with morph face down.
* Playing a removed nonland card counts as playing a spell, so a storm card
played later in the turn will count that spell. Playing a land never counts as
playing a spell.
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Parallel Thoughts
3UU
Enchantment
When Parallel Thoughts comes into play, search your library for seven cards,
remove them from the game in a face-down pile, and shuffle that pile. Then
shuffle your library.
If you would draw a card, you may instead put the top card of the pile you
removed into your hand.
* You have to remove seven cards from the game if you can. If you have fewer
than seven cards in your library, remove them all from the game.
* You can't look at cards while they're removed from the game face down.
* You can choose to either draw a card or put the top card of the pile into
your hand. You can choose to not draw a card even if no cards are left in the
pile.
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Primitive Etchings
2GG
Enchantment
Reveal the first card you draw each turn. Whenever you reveal a creature card
this way, draw a card.
* If you don't draw a card (due to Parallel Thoughts, for example), you don't
reveal any cards.
* If you control more than one Primitive Etchings, each of them causes the
same card to be revealed. If you reveal a creature card, the ability of each
Primitive Etchings triggers.
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Riptide Survivor
2U
Creature -- Wizard
2/1
Morph 1UU (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face
up any time for its morph cost.)
When Riptide Survivor is turned face up, discard two cards from your hand,
then draw three cards.
* Unlike many similar cards, Riptide Survivor's ability causes you to discard
cards first and then draw cards. If you have fewer than two cards in hand,
discard your entire hand and then draw three cards.
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Rock Jockey
2R
Creature -- Goblin
3/3
You can't play Rock Jockey if you played a land this turn.
You can't play lands if you played Rock Jockey this turn.
* The first ability applies whenever you could play Rock Jockey. The second
ability applies only while Rock Jockey is in play.
* Putting Rock Jockey into play without playing it as a spell won't stop you
from playing lands. Putting lands into play without playing them won't stop
you from playing Rock Jockey.
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Soul Collector
3BB
Creature -- Vampire
3/4
Flying
Whenever a creature dealt damage by Soul Collector this turn is put into a
graveyard, return that card to play under your control.
Morph BBB (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face
up any time for its morph cost.)
* For its ability to trigger, Soul Collector must be face up when the creature
is put into a graveyard.
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Stabilizer
2
Artifact
Players can't cycle cards.
* Nobody can play cycling or landcycling abilities while Stabilizer is in
play.
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Stifle
U
Instant
Counter target activated or triggered ability. (Mana abilities can't be
countered.)
* An activated ability has a colon (:) between its cost and its effect.
Triggered abilities include the words "when," "whenever," or "at."
* Stifle must be played while the activated or triggered ability you want to
target is on the stack.
* The Onslaught card Astral Slide reads: "Whenever a player cycles a card, you
may remove target creature from the game. If you do, return that creature to
play under its owner's control at end of turn." This is a triggered ability
that creates a delayed triggered ability when it resolves. You can use Stifle
to counter the triggered ability that removes the creature from the game, or
you can let that resolve and later counter the triggered ability that returns
it to play.
* Your normal card draw during your draw step can't be countered.
* Cycling is an activated ability. When a player cycles a card with a cycle
trigger, you can use Stifle to counter either the triggered ability or the
card-drawing ability, but not both.
* You can't counter turning a face-down creature face up, but you can counter
an ability that triggers on that creature being turned face up.
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Trap Digger
3W
Creature -- Soldier
1/3
2W, T: Put a trap counter on target land you control.
Sacrifice a land with a trap counter on it: Trap Digger deals 3 damage to
target attacking creature without flying.
* Trap Digger has the "sacrifice a land" ability; if it leaves play, you can't
use that ability again until you get another Trap Digger into play.
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Uncontrolled Infestation
1R
Enchant Land
Uncontrolled Infestation can enchant only a nonbasic land.
When enchanted land becomes tapped, destroy it.
* The ability triggers only if the land *becomes* tapped while Uncontrolled
Infestation is enchanting it. It doesn't destroy a land that's already tapped.
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Upwelling
3G
Enchantment
Mana pools don't empty at the end of phases or turns. (This effect stops mana
burn.)
* Players can keep mana in their mana pools indefinitely while Upwelling is in
play. Once it leaves play, they have until the end of the current phase to
spend the mana.
* It's a good idea to track the amount and color of mana in your mana pool
with counters or with pen and paper.
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