A rules note for split cards
General forum
Posted on May 5, 2017, 3:49 p.m. by Argy
I was reading the oracle text for Cut / Ribbons and thought I'd point something out to people that I picked up.
After you cast the first half of the card PRIORITY STAYS WITH YOU IF YOU WANT TO ALSO CAST THE AFTERMATH HALF.
What that means is that you cast the first half then you can move to cast the second half straight away.
The Opponent can't say, "before you do that ..."
I THINK this means they can't Exile it from the Graveyard with something like Scarab Feast, before you cast it. Someone better with rules pick me up on that, if I've gotten it wrong.
They can still Counter it, though.
In short you cast cut. It resolves. You have priority still you can then cast ribbons and they can't stop that other than countering the spell.
May 5, 2017 4:34 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #4
This is only the case for the ones that turn from sorceries to instants, or just the aftermath half is an instant.
You cannot hold priority to cast a sorcery.
May 5, 2017 4:46 p.m.
Incorrect DevoidMage.
From the Cut / Ribbons (both half Sorceries) Oracle text:
"If you cast the first half of a split card with aftermath during your turn, youll have priority immediately after it resolves. You can cast the half with aftermath from your graveyard before any player can take any other action if its legal for you to do so."
May 5, 2017 4:52 p.m. Edited.
Gidgetimer says... #6
DevoidMage: False. As Dan8080 said if the stack is empty and it is your main phase (when you could cast a sorcery) you can cast a sorcery aftermath card without having to pass priority first. This is because after each spell and ability resolves the active player receives priority. At this time if it is legal to cast a sorcery they can do so.
May 5, 2017 4:53 p.m.
the.beanpole says... #7
Note the "if it is legal to do so" clause. You can't cast Cut to kill a Doomed Dissenter for example, and then immediately cast Ribbons - the Dissenter's dies effect is on the stack, which eliminates casting Ribbons due to its Sorcery-speed timing restriction until after the zombie token effect resolves. In this instance, the opponent would have a window to Scarab Feast Ribbons. If Ribbons was an instant, you would have priority after Cut resolves, even with another effect on the stack, and could cast it before the opponent gets a crack at exiling it. I think that's kind of what DevoidMage was getting at. You often, or even usually, can play it like the OP suggests, but it's important to know why it works that way so that you don't get got in the 0.1% corner cases.
May 5, 2017 5:21 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #8
"What he was getting at" doesn't matter. What he said is "you can't hold priority to cast a sorcery". That implies that you have to pass priority before you cast the sorcery if your opponent would like to cast an instant which is plain wrong. OFC you can't cast a sorcery if anything else is on the stack. That is "Casting restrictions 101".
May 5, 2017 9:26 p.m.
Another thing that's awesome about the Aftermath cards is:
- "While not on the stack, the characteristics of a split card are the combination of its two halves. For example, Destined / Lead is ... both an instant card and a sorcery card ..."
- "If another effect allows you to cast a split card with aftermath from a graveyard, you may cast either half ..."
So Torrential Gearhulk can allow you to cast cards like Memory, Rubble, and Comply form the 'yard.
May 5, 2017 10:25 p.m. Edited.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #10
Isn't this essentially just the case for anything though? If everything on the stack resolves during a main phase, the active player receives priority again.
If I hardcast Unburial Rites, it resolves, brings back its target, then the stack is empty and I gain priority, I can flashback it (assuming I have the mana) before my opponent would get a chance to Surgical Extraction it, because I have priority, and they never gained it while Unburial Rites was in my graveyard, only while it was on the stack, no?
May 5, 2017 11:19 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #11
You're right Tyrant. When the stack is empty and it's your main phase nobody is allowed to do anything until you do something.
May 6, 2017 12:05 a.m.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #12
I mean, it's a good thing to know, but it's no different than Flashback ever was.
May 6, 2017 12:28 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #14
As far as I can tell it is just in a ruling, not erata like stated in the OP. Rulings are commonly used for this sort of thing. Making clarifications in natural language on questions they see arising.
dan8080 says... #2
You got it right if I understand what you are saying. What that line is saying is that after cut resolves you have priority (it's a sorcery so in just about every case when it resolves it is the bottom of the stack and it's your turns main phase) so you can immediately okay ribbons out of the yard. I'm honestly surprised it's there as Oracle text but I think it's there in order to emphasize how priority works on spells since you can't exile it on the stack with a "exile from the graveyard" effect because it's on the stack not in the graveyard and then once it does resolve to the yard it's in most cases a situation where you should have priority anyways because that's how the rules work in general. I hope that made sense.
May 5, 2017 4:33 p.m.