[Card] Chronatog Totem

[Wallace]

Chronatog Totem reads:

http://resources.wizards.com/magic/images/symbols/tap.gif: Add http://resources.wizards.com/magic/images/symbols/blue_mana.gif to your mana pool.
http://resources.wizards.com/magic/images/symbols/Symbol_1_mana.gifhttp://resources.wizards.com/magic/images/symbols/blue_mana.gif: Chronatog Totem becomes a 1/2 blue Atog artifact creature until end of turn.
http://resources.wizards.com/magic/images/symbols/Symbol_0_mana.gif: Chronatog Totem gets +3/+3 until end of turn. You skip your next turn. Play this ability only once each turn and only if Chronatog Totem is a creature.

If I was to turn Chronatog Totem into a creature, skip my next turn to give it it +3+3, then turn it into a creature again, could I give it another +3+3?

[Sanguine Voyeur]

No. The way it's worded you can only use it once per turn and only if you turn it into a creature.

[Wallace]

No. The way it's worded you can only use it once per turn and only if you turn it into a creature.

Yes, but if you turn it into a creature again does it forget the first activation?

[ClearSkies]

Yes, but if you turn it into a creature again does it forget the first activation?

Yes. It forgets the first inactivation of being a creature and becomes a 1/2 again.

You still can only use the 2nd ability once though.

I think what you are getting confused with is stuff that grants the ability. If that card says 1U: It becomes a 1/2 and gains the second ability, then you can pay 1U and then get +3/+3 multiple times.
However, that is not what the card says. The people who designed that card known about this loop, and that is why they designed it this way.

[Sanguine Voyeur]

Yes, but if you turn it into a creature again does it forget the first activation?No. It's the same ability. If it said "1U: Chronatog Totem becomes a 1/2 blue Atog artifact creature with "Chronatog Totem gets +3/+3 until end of turn. You skip your next turn. Play this ability only once each turn and only if Chronatog Totem is a creature.
" until end of turn." Then it would gain the ability multiple time and would allow multiple activations.

Similar to why Genju of the Fields gets multiple Spirit Links with multiple activations.

[Wallace]

Cool, got it, thanks guys, gonna have some fun with the Totem anyway. (Insert the proper sexual innuendo please)

[Tacosnape]

Actually, none of these explanations are terribly dead on, despite that they all have the right answer.

The reason Chronatog Totem's "0: Giant Growth and Skip a Turn blah blah" ability remains is because changing a permanent's type doesn't make it an entirely new permanent.

Therefore, regardless of whether Chronatog Totem's an artifact, a creature, an artifact creature, an enchantment, a land, or a planeswalker, it's still the same Chronatog Totem, and will remain as such unless it's removed from play at some point. Therefore without doing something along the lines of Flicker, Chronatog Totem's going to remember that you did the skip a turn/giant growth ability that turn.

[Wallace]

Actually, none of these explanations are terribly dead on, despite that they all have the right answer.

The reason Chronatog Totem's "0: Giant Growth and Skip a Turn blah blah" ability remains is because changing a permanent's type doesn't make it an entirely new permanent.

Therefore, regardless of whether Chronatog Totem's an artifact, a creature, an artifact creature, an enchantment, a land, or a planeswalker, it's still the same Chronatog Totem, and will remain as such unless it's removed from play at some point. Therefore without doing something along the lines of Flicker, Chronatog Totem's going to remember that you did the skip a turn/giant growth ability that turn.


We got it man, all figured out, forgot that totem still had the abality even after changing into a creature. Thanks though...