Can Elite Arcanist activate its ability if there is no card exiled?

Asked by Emzed 5 years ago

So if the card exiled with Elite Arcanist leaves the exile zone (maybe some Eldrazi could make that happen) or I turn a creature into a copy of Elite Arcanist via Cytoshape , can I still activate the second ability? I know it won't do anything, but is it possible to tap the Elite Arcanist? (assuming summoning sickness is not a factor)

PlatinumOne says... #1

if the exiled card leaves exile, or you turn another creature into a copy with Cytoshape , you basically won't be able to use the ability. i'm not sure if you can pay the cost or not, but even if you can the ability will fizzle.

March 8, 2019 8:51 p.m.

PlatinumOne says... #2

if the copy is entering play as it is made however, (for example a card that says "create a token copy", or you play a Phantasmal Image ) then those will still get the ETB of Elite Arcanist , allowing them to use the 2nd ability as well.

March 8, 2019 8:53 p.m.

Emzed says... #3

Thanks, but I already know both of those things, and that's not what I'm asking. I want to know if Elite Arcanist can be tapped for its ability even if there is no exiled card.

March 8, 2019 9:20 p.m.

PlatinumOne says... #4

why would you want to tap it for no reason? you're just losing a potential attacker/blocker that way.

March 8, 2019 9:40 p.m.

Emzed says... #5

It's more of a thought-experiment and not a situation I expect to encounter in a regular game. The goal is to build a 60-card deck that can deal as much damage as possible within one turn without going infinite (inspired by this). At this point the whole thing is extremely convoluted, but one possible problem is that I don't want tapped creatures since Rowan Kenrith can deal damage to those. Rowan is in the deck for her -8 ability, but her -2 could produce an infinite loop which I don't want.

March 8, 2019 10:17 p.m.

PlatinumOne says... #6

Rowan Kenrith also targets a player. target your opponent and she won't deal damage to your creatures. or if you're trying to damage your own creatures, and don't want certain creatures taking damage, then just don't tap those creatures.

March 8, 2019 10:46 p.m.

Emzed says... #7

Okay, let me try again: As soon as my deck can form an infinite loop, I've failed the challenge. Obviously, in a regular game, I could just choose not do go for that loop or stop it whenever I want but that doesn't matter here. In this specific context the goal is to find 60 cards that, when used optimally, deal as much damage as possible within one turn to my opponent, but without ever forming an infinite loop of any kind.

Whether that makes sense to you or not, I still want to know if Elite Arcanist can be tapped for its ability without having an exiled card. Does someone have a reference to rules text that could explain this?

March 9, 2019 5:58 a.m.

Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #8

You can activate the ability as long as you're able to pay the cost and there aren't any issues with summoning sickness or timing restrictions coming from another card. X in this example would be 0. CMC is calculated based on the mana cost, and an undefined/empty mana cost has a CMC of 0.

202.3a The converted mana cost of an object with no mana cost is 0, unless that object is the back face of a double-faced permanent or is a melded permanent.

March 9, 2019 2:09 p.m.

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