trinket mage and X mana casting spells

[Phil]

Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules (More info?)

Just a thought can I search for say engineers explosive if I promise I
will use it as a 0 or 1 caster or must the mana cost state 0 or 1.
I will be pleased if I am thinking of the wrong answer to this


regards

phil

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules (More info?)

Phil <phil@giltharn.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> Just a thought can I search for say engineers explosive if I promise I
> will use it as a 0 or 1 caster or must the mana cost state 0 or 1.
> I will be pleased if I am thinking of the wrong answer to this

Trinket Mage
{2}{U}
Creature -- Human Wizard
2/2
When Trinket Mage comes into play, you may search your library for an
artifact card with converted mana cost 1 or less, reveal that card, and
put it into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library.

Engineered Explosives
{X}
Artifact
Sunburst (This comes into play with a charge counter on it for each
color of mana used to pay its cost.)
{2}, Sacrifice Engineered Explosives: Destroy each nonland permanent
with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on
Engineered Explosives.

X
If a cost has an "X" in it, the value of X must be announced as part of
playing the spell or ability. (See rule 409, "Playing Spells and
Activated Abilities.") While the spell or ability is on the stack, the
{oX} in its mana cost equals the amount announced as part of playing the
spell or ability. If a card in any other zone has {oX} in its mana cost,
the amount is treated as 0. If you're playing a spell that has X in its
mana cost and an effect lets you play it without paying any cost that
includes X, the only legal choice for X is 0. This does not apply to
effects that only reduce a cost, even if they reduce it to zero. See
rule 409, "Playing Spells and Activated Abilities."
In triggered abilities, X is defined when the ability resolves. It
may be defined by the text of the ability, by a keyword ability of the
card, or by the trigger event. See rule 410, "Handling Triggered
Abilities."
In other cases, X is defined by the text of a spell or ability. If
X isn't defined, the controller of the spell or ability chooses the
value of X. All Xs on an object have the same value.

An Engineered Explosives card anyplace other than the stack (e.g., the
library) has a mana cost of {0}, making it just as valid a Trinket Mage
selection as Paradise Mantle or one of the Baubles. The mana cost does
not depend on any promise you may or may not make about your plans for
the card.
--
Daniel W. Johnson
panoptes@iquest.net
http://members.iquest.net/~panoptes/
039 53 36 N / 086 11 55 W

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules (More info?)

phil@giltharn.demon.co.uk (Phil) writes:
> Just a thought can I search for say engineers explosive if I promise
> I will use it as a 0 or 1 caster or must the mana cost state 0 or 1.
> I will be pleased if I am thinking of the wrong answer to this

Neither, really. An X that isn't on an object on the stack is 0. So
you can use Trinket Mage (assuming I'm correctly deciphering your
question from looking at your subject line) to get it from your
library just fine.

Aside: If you think about it, a promise like the one you mention
really wouldn't work. For example, you could have another Explosives
already in your hand. So if after pulling an Explosives out of your
library, you tried to play one with X=2, how would your opponent know
if you were playing the one you searched for or one you might already
have in your hand? That is, your opponent couldn't tell if you were
cheating or not without looking at your hand. Which would be bad.

--
Peter C.
"The IPng WG has selected a packet format which includes 1696 bytes of
address space."
-- RFC 1776, "The Address is the Message"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules (More info?)

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 20:49:53 GMT, Phil <phil@giltharn.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>Just a thought can I search for say engineers explosive if I promise I
>will use it as a 0 or 1 caster or must the mana cost state 0 or 1.
>I will be pleased if I am thinking of the wrong answer to this

I think you're thinking of TWO wrong answers, actually. You may get
Engineered Explosives with Trinket Mage, with no conditions attached.

This is because EE's mana cost is X. And an X in a mana cost anywhere else
but on the stack is? Seen as zero, that's correct. ("X", Glossary) So anywhere
else but on the stack, EE's converted mana cost is 0, so Trinket Mage can
effortlessly extract one from your library.

So no, you don't have to "promise to later cast it for 0 or 1"; Trinket Mage
doesn't care what you actually _pay later to cast the spell_. And no, the
mana cost need not state "0" or "1"; a mana cost of X, XX, X1, or XX1 (or
more-X variations on these) is also perfectly acceptable to Trinket Mage.

Dave
--
\/David DeLaney posting from dbd@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules (More info?)

Phil sez:

<<
>Just a thought can I search for say engineers explosive if I promise I
>will use it as a 0 or 1 caster or must the mana cost state 0 or 1.
>I will be pleased if I am thinking of the wrong answer to this
>
>>

Anywhere other than the stack, X is treated as 0. Which means an Engineered
Explosives can be retrieved by Trinket Mage just fine. Even if you decide to
later play it for 5, you can still get it with the TM.


----
If [Michael Moore] makes a mistake in [F 9/11], it's not that he's careless
with the facts ... It's that he suggests Bush is the cause of our problems,
when, in fact, Bush is just the result.
--The Libertarian Lessons of Fahrenheit 9/11