Can Phoebe, Head of S.N.E.A.K. steal a commander's ability multiple times?

Asked by The_Epic_Dog 5 years ago

Say my commander is Etrata, the Silencer. Over the course of a few turns, I repeatedly play her, use Phoebe to steal her ability, and get her killed. Can I do that, or would Etrata permanently have a blank text box after the first time? Also, if Phoebe had three of Etrata's ability, could she instantly kill a player?

Kogarashi says... Accepted answer #1

From the Unstable FAQAWASLFAQPAFTIDAWABIAJTBT:

"Say a creature with no text box leaves the battlefield and then returns. Does it have its own text box again?

Yes. Once the creature leaves the battlefield, the one that returns is a new creature and comes complete with its standard text box. This won't affect Phoebe, who presumably still has the one she stole from the original creature."

So each time Etrata, the Silencer returns, it has its text box back (it's a new permanent with no memory of losing its text box, after all). Meanwhile Phoebe would have duplicate copies of Etrata's text box from stealing them multiple times. The duplicate copies of the "can't be blocked" ability are redundant, but duplicate copies of the second ability do stack due to it being a triggered ability. (You can stack any triggered abilities this way, similar to enchanting a single creature with multiple copies of Spirit Loop.)

So yes, three copies of Etrata's text box on Phoebe will allow her to instantly kill a player, assuming they have three non-token creatures for Phoebe to exile with hit counters in order to meet the alternate lose condition.

October 13, 2018 11:45 a.m.