Cursed Totem Question
Erin Riddick
Hi all,
I know this has been asked before, but I don't remember the answer: Does
Cursed Totem (CT) prevent you from tapping a creature to use its ability
(like Orcish Artillery)? I think the tap is considered an activation
cost, but want to make sure. If so, does a Living Plane/Cursed Totem
combo prevent mana from being drawn from lands, or since it is a mana
source effect, does it still work? That's all.
Thank you in advance.
Erin Riddick
Jeff Hall
can't be used, as for the living lands/cursed totem combo, no they
wouldn't be able to be used for mana, cursed totem doesn't say "counter"
it just says "you CAN'T do this", so it's irrelevant that it's a mana
source
Ingo Warnke
Erin Riddick (erid...@nwu.edu) wrote:
: I know this has been asked before, but I don't remember the answer: Does
: Cursed Totem (CT) prevent you from tapping a creature to use its ability
: (like Orcish Artillery)? I think the tap is considered an activation
: cost, but want to make sure.
You are correct. Anything before a colon is an activation cost.
: If so, does a Living Plane/Cursed Totem
: combo prevent mana from being drawn from lands, or since it is a mana
: source effect, does it still work? That's all.
It will prevent the announcment of any activation cost ability of a land, so
you can not tap those lands for mana.
Ingo Warnke
Ingo Warnke
Mark McEvoy (mmc...@chat.carleton.ca) wrote:
: What *I* want to know is, what happens if the Totem is tapped when
: a creature ability <let's say Orcish Artillery> is announced, but in
: response, the Totem is Twiddled/Jolted/otherwise untapped? I would assume
: that once the cost of the creature's effect has been paid, it will go off.
: But one could argue that, when the effect is scheduled to occur, there's
: a Totem which prevents the creature effect from happening;
The Cursed Totem says nothing about effects. It simply prevents you from
playing (=announcing) creature abilities. So after the effect is legally
announced, the Curesed Totem doesn't care anymore about that effect. If it
comes to life (untaps) after the annoncment, it doesn't matter.
Ingo Warnke
Ad Rovers
In article <5ca9uv$c...@bertrand.ccs.carleton.ca>, mmc...@chat.carleton.ca says...
>Ingo Warnke (nfa...@hp1.uni-rostock.de) wrote:
>> : I know this has been asked before, but I don't remember the answer: Does
>> : Cursed Totem (CT) prevent you from tapping a creature to use its ability
>> : (like Orcish Artillery)? I think the tap is considered an activation
>> : cost, but want to make sure.
>> You are correct. Anything before a colon is an activation cost.
> What *I* want to know is, what happens if the Totem is tapped when
>a creature ability <let's say Orcish Artillery> is announced, but in
>response, the Totem is Twiddled/Jolted/otherwise untapped? I would assume
>that once the cost of the creature's effect has been paid, it will go off.
>But one could argue that, when the effect is scheduled to occur, there's
>a Totem which prevents the creature effect from happening; IE, it fizzles
>the effect.
The Cursed Totem doesn't prevent creature effects to happen. It prevents players
from playing the abilities. If the Totem untaps, it prevents players from
playing any more abilities, but effects of abilities already played still resolve
as normal.
Just as an effect that prevents spells from being cast doesn't counter spells
already cast but not yet resolved.
> Exactly what happens in this case? (This situation has come
>up in my Icy/Orgg/Totem deck: Tapped the Totem so I could activate my lone
>activateable creature, a Reckless Embermage. Opponent untapped it in
>response to my first activation. I know I could respond to the Twiddle
>with subsequent activations that'd succeed guaranteed, but I want to know if
>the first should have fizzled or not. And I want to know the general case,
>especially for non-repeating effects like Artilleries)
IMO it shouldn't have fizzled.
'Nuff Said
Ad Rovers
Jordan_Pinche
In article <5ca9uv$c...@bertrand.ccs.carleton.ca>, mmc...@chat.carleton.ca
says...
>
>Ingo Warnke (nfa...@hp1.uni-rostock.de) wrote:
>> : I know this has been asked before, but I don't remember the answer: Does
>> : Cursed Totem (CT) prevent you from tapping a creature to use its ability
>> : (like Orcish Artillery)? I think the tap is considered an activation
>> : cost, but want to make sure.
>> You are correct. Anything before a colon is an activation cost.
>
> What *I* want to know is, what happens if the Totem is tapped when
>a creature ability <let's say Orcish Artillery> is announced, but in
>response, the Totem is Twiddled/Jolted/otherwise untapped? I would assume
>that once the cost of the creature's effect has been paid, it will go off.
>But one could argue that, when the effect is scheduled to occur, there's
>a Totem which prevents the creature effect from happening; IE, it fizzles
>up in my Icy/Orgg/Totem deck: Tapped the Totem so I could activate my lone
>activateable creature, a Reckless Embermage. Opponent untapped it in
>response to my first activation. I know I could respond to the Twiddle
>with subsequent activations that'd succeed guaranteed, but I want to know if
>the first should have fizzled or not. And I want to know the general case,
>especially for non-repeating effects like Artilleries)
>
Totem is tapped. You would first have to twiddle it and let that resolve
before doing any critter abilities.
David DeLaney
mmc...@chat.carleton.ca (Mark McEvoy) writes:
> What *I* want to know is, what happens if the Totem is tapped when
>a creature ability <let's say Orcish Artillery> is announced, but in
>response, the Totem is Twiddled/Jolted/otherwise untapped?
Nothing much. It stops you from "playing", which is to say announcing,
abilities' use. It doesn't do anything to one already in progress; that
would be "countering" it.
Dave
--
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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://enigma.phys.utk.edu/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.
J. Andrew Lipscomb
In article <eriddick-220...@newmac.birl.nwu.edu>,
erid...@nwu.edu (Erin Riddick) wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I know this has been asked before, but I don't remember the answer: Does
> Cursed Totem (CT) prevent you from tapping a creature to use its ability
> (like Orcish Artillery)? I think the tap is considered an activation
> cost, but want to make sure. If so, does a Living Plane/Cursed Totem
> combo prevent mana from being drawn from lands, or since it is a mana
> source effect, does it still work? That's all.
Orcish Artillery is stopped by Cursed Totem. (Note that even (0) is an
activation cost; thus, it will stop Blinky from blinking.) Under 4E rules,
CT/LP would keep land from being tapped for mana; don't know under MG/5E
rules.
J. Andrew Lipscomb <ew...@chattanooga.net, them...@delphi.com>
PGP keys by request
Jim Hamp
On Sun, 26 Jan 1997, J. Andrew Lipscomb wrote:
> Orcish Artillery is stopped by Cursed Totem. (Note that even (0) is an
> activation cost; thus, it will stop Blinky from blinking.) Under 4E rules,
> CT/LP would keep land from being tapped for mana; don't know under MG/5E
> rules.
It should prevent it even under 5th ed rules. It's not attempting to
counter it, it's preventing it from even being announced.
If it said "Any creature abilities...are countered" lands that are alive
and mana elves &c could be used.
>
> J. Andrew Lipscomb <ew...@chattanooga.net, them...@delphi.com>
> PGP keys by request
>
>
Hampster
David DeLaney
erid...@nwu.edu (Erin Riddick) writes:
>I know this has been asked before, but I don't remember the answer: Does
>Cursed Totem (CT) prevent you from tapping a creature to use its ability
>(like Orcish Artillery)? I think the tap is considered an activation
>cost, but want to make sure.
Tapping as part of the cost is considered to be an activation cost, yes.
[All newer cards with tapping in the cost are written with activation costs;
only a few older cards still have the "Tap to..." wording _and_ haven't been
reissued.]
>If so, does a Living Plane/Cursed Totem
>combo prevent mana from being drawn from lands,
Yep.
>or since it is a mana source effect, does it still work?
Being a mana source, and uninterruptable/uncountereable, doesn't help if
you're not allowed to use the effect in the first place. Living Plane/Cursed
Totem shuts down basically all mana drawing from lands, except possibly
Mishra's Workshop/Desert/Library of Alexandria/Elephant Graveyard.
Dave "noted in passing: Urza's Hedgehog and the Lawn Ornament. Very funny, guys"
DeLaney