Basic Questions- Oath, Phasing, Stifle

[Scrabble]

Hi, I have a few very basic questions I need answers for before I play in a tourny coming up. Thank you for any help you can give.

Can I block with a Rainbow Efreet, have it deal damage, then phase it out before it dies? Also, in general, when does the phased out creature return to play? Beginning of upkeep? Upkeep? And it will have summoning sickness, correct?

On a very related note, can a Mogg Fanatic block, deal damage, then sac for 1 more?

Can you stifle cycling? What are common targets of stifle (Wasteland, Phyrexian Dreadnaught I know. I'm wondering though if I should use them in MUC, IE, if there will be enough targets to make them worthwhile.)

I use Oath of Druids to flip through my deck. I have no creatures. I come across a Gaea's Blessing. I read that the flipping continues and at the end the shuffling takes place. Is this true? And say I don't have a Blessing in the deck. Do I lose the game when the Oath can no longer reveal cards? Or do I lose when I have to draw during the draw step?

If I have a standstill in play and the opponent plays a spell, can I draw three cards and then counter the spell? An article from a very popular website had me believing that you couldn't. Though I may have misinterpretted what was being conveyed.

Thank you!

- I tried autocarding but couldn't get it to work, sorry

[Nihil Credo]

Can I block with a [Rainbow Efreet, have it deal damage, then phase it out before it dies?
Yes. More precisely, you put combat damage on the stack, phase out Efreet, and afterwards combat damage will resolve and be dealt.


Also, in general, when does the phased out creature return to play? Beginning of upkeep? Upkeep?During your untap step, at the same time as you untap your permanents


And it will have summoning sickness, correct?No, it will not have it and it will be able to tap or attack. Phasing creatures out does not behave like removing them from the game: in general, they remember "who" they are and are considered the same object as before.


On a very related note, can a Mogg Fanatic block, deal damage, then sac for 1 more?Yes. More precisely, you put combat damage on the stack, sacrifice Mogg Fanatic for 1 damage, and afterwards combat damage will resolve and be dealt.


Can you stifle cycling?Yes.


What are common targets of stifle (Wasteland, Phyrexian Dreadnaught I know. I'm wondering though if I should use them in MUC, IE, if there will be enough targets to make them worthwhile.)Fetchlands are probably the most common Stifle targets. Then there's Goblin Matron, Goblin Ringleader, Pernicious Deed, Engineered Explosives, Decree of Justice (the triggered ability that creates Soldiers), etc...

Anything that is either written as "[Cost]: [Effect]" (activated ability) or that starts with "When", "Whenever" or "At" (triggered ability) can be Stifled.


I use Oath of Druids to flip through my deck.Remember that Oath of Druids is banned in Legacy.


I have no creatures. I come across a Gaea's Blessing. I read that the flipping continues and at the end the shuffling takes place. Is this true?Yes. Gaea's Blessing has a triggered ability; after the Oath ability has finished resolving (i.e. you have hit a creature or emptied your deck), the Blessing ability goes on the stack, both players get a chance to respond (for example with a Stifle), and then, assuming nobody interferes, it it will resolve and shuffle your graveyard back in your library.


And say I don't have a Blessing in the deck. Do I lose the game when the Oath can no longer reveal cards? Or do I lose when I have to draw during the draw step?The second. More precisely, you lose as you next try to draw a card (so an Ancestral Recall targeting you would kill you).


If I have a standstill in play and the opponent plays a spell, can I draw three cards and then counter the spell?Yes. In fact, if you try to play a Counterspell before drawing the cards, it means you are playing the spell while Standstill is still in play, so it will trigger again off of your Counterspell and your opponent will draw the three cards (and afterwards, when the older trigger resolves, you won't draw anything because the enchantment is no longer there to be sacrificed, which is a necessary condition to draw the cards).

So, you really, really should draw those cards before doing anything.


An article from a very popular website had me believing that you couldn't. Though I may have misinterpretted what was being conveyed. I hope so, if that site is so popular.


Thank you!You're welcome.

I tried autocarding but couldn't get it to work, sorryThere's no autocard on this forum.

[Scrabble]

Thank you for the quick reply! I realize that Oath is banned in Legacy, but I have a casual deck that runs it so I wanted to make sure I was playing it correctly. Also I just thought of two situations that happened to me recently that I was unsure of.

If I were to use a Icy Manipulator on an opponent's land during combat, and they tapped it in response for mana, they would have to use that mana during the combat phase or else take mana burn, correct?

One more question, hopefully the last. Can a player play spells during their discard phase? What about during their opponent's, such as a Lightning Bolt during my opponent's discard phase?

[Dan Turner]

Thank you for the quick reply! I realize that Oath is banned in Legacy, but I have a casual deck that runs it so I wanted to make sure I was playing it correctly. Also I just thought of two situations that happened to me recently that I was unsure of.

If I were to use a Icy Manipulator on an opponent's land during combat, and they tapped it in response for mana, they would have to use that mana during the combat phase or else take mana burn, correct?

Mana has to be used during the phase in witch it was produced or it will cause mana burn unless you have an effect in play stopping mana burn from happening

One more question, hopefully the last. Can a player play spells during their discard phase? What about during their opponent's, such as a Lightning Bolt during my opponent's discard phase?

To answer all of this yes, but to clarify discard phase is at CLEAN UP/END OF TURN as long as you have priority you can or in response to something going on

[Scrabble]

Thank you for clearing all of that up!

[Locutus]

During your untap step, at the same time as you untap your permanents
Actually, it's right before you untap anything, because things that phased out tapped will phase in still being tapped, so they can untap with the rest of your permanents.

For your other question, in general you can't do anything during anyones "discard phase" (more corectly the cleanup phase), rather than discarding if it's your own, obviously. Players only get priority during the cleanup phase if "something happens", i.e. if some triggered ability has to be put on the stack (Megrim) or such...but before the cleanup step there's always the end of turn step, where you can play your Lightning Bolt without your opponent being able to play sorcerys etc. afterwards. If you let your opponent discard (and nothing "happens"), however, it will be too late to play anything, and your turn will start.

[Seriously]

so if you played a card at the end of an opponents turn, would it have to be before their discard phase ?

[Outlaw (SLO)]

so if you played a card at the end of an opponents turn, would it have to be before their discard phase ?

Yes.