Copy Artifact, Tangle Wire, and Explosives

[Sanguine Voyeur]

Two questions spawned from the Mesmeric Gaea thread;

If you 'Copy Artifact' a Pithing Needle, what is the converted mana cost of Copy Artifact while it's in play?

If you copy a Tangle Wire, does it come into play with four counters?

If you copy an Engineered Explosives, does it come into play with zero counters, the same number of counters as Explosives, or up to two counters depending on what mana was used to play Copy Artifact?

[cdr]

Copy Artifact 1U
Enchantment
As Copy Artifact comes into play, you may choose an artifact in play. If you do, Copy Artifact comes into play as a copy of that artifact. It's still an enchantment.


503.1. Some objects become or turn another object into a "copy" of a spell, permanent, or card. Some effects put a token into play as a copy of another object. (Certain older cards were printed with the phrase "search for a copy." This section doesn't cover those cards, which have received new text in the Oracle card reference.)

503.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object's characteristics (name, mana cost, color, card type, supertype, subtype, expansion symbol, rules text, power, toughness, loyalty) ... The "copiable values" are the values that are printed on the object, as modified by other copy effects, by "as . . . comes into play" and "as . . . is turned face up" abilities that set characteristics, and by abilities that caused the object to be face down. Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.

503.5. An object that comes into play "as a copy" of another object becomes a copy as it comes into play. It doesn't come into play, and then become a copy of that permanent. If the text that's being copied includes any abilities that replace the comes-into-play event (such as "comes into play with" or "as [this] comes into play" abilities), those abilities will take effect. Also, any comes-into-play triggered abilities of the copy will have a chance to trigger.

1) Mana cost is a copiable value. Only what's printed on the card - plus other copy effects - are copiable values.
2) See 503.5.
3) Again, 503.5.

[Nihil Credo]

If you 'Copy Artifact' a Pithing Needle, what is the converted mana cost of Copy Artifact while it's in play?
Mana cost is a copiable value, so 1.


If you copy a Tangle Wire, does it come into play with four counters?
Yes. "As CARDNAME comes into play" effectively means "Right before CARDNAME comes into play".


If you copy an Engineered Explosives, does it come into play with zero counters, the same number of counters as Explosives, or up to two counters depending on what mana was used to play Copy Artifact?

The last one you said, since that is what the Sunburst ability checks.

As usual, if you increase the cost somehow (Trinisphere, Thorn, etc.) you can get more than two counters.

[stalkerzero]

Glad to see we played everything out properly.