Casting a morph with Herald of Kozilek...

Asked by UpperDeckerTaco 8 years ago

Are you able to cast a morph for 1 less mana for its morph cost if Herald of Kozilek is on your side of the battlefield? Because the creature itself, such as a Den Protector is not colorless while in your hand?

UpperDeckerTaco says... #1

Same question for Shrine of the Forsaken Gods...would a Creature with Morph be able to cost 2 less to cast for its morph ability with this land?

December 9, 2015 5:10 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #2

The only characteristics that a face-down creature spell has is that it's a 2/2 creature. It's colorless, so it will interact with anything that cares about colorless spells and creatures.

The designers and developers like to have something in the mechanics of side-by-side blocks that will allow them to link up and interact. Morph in KTK block and "colorless matters" in BFZ block are meant to play well with one another.

December 9, 2015 5:24 p.m.

Raging_Squiggle says... Accepted answer #3

Short answer:
Yes, it would reduce the cost.

Long answer:
Yes, because at the point you are officially casting it, you have decided whether or not you are going to cast it as a morph or not.

702.36a Morph is a static ability that functions in any zone from which you could play the card itson, and the morph effect works any time the card is face down. Morph [cost] means You may cast this card as a 2/2 face-down creature with no text, no name, no subtypes, and no mana cost by paying 3 rather than paying its mana cost. (See rule 707, Face-Down Spells and Permanents.)

The bolded sums up to the morph creature having no color, therefore being colorless while determining the payment.

Mana Cost/Alternative Cost + Addition Costs - Cost Reductions = Total mana to pay

The above equation is the basis for determining what to pay for a spell.

For morph:
Morph Cost() + - (via Herald of Kozilek because the morph is colorless at this point) = left to pay.

For Regular:
Den Protector() + - (because Den Protector is not colorless) = left to pay.

As for Shrine of the Forsaken Gods I'm not sure what you're asking. It doesn't further reduce the cost like Herald of Kozilek does. It merely adds to your mana pool to use to cast colorless spells. Which you can use to cast a Morph because at the time you pay the costs, the card is considered colorless.

December 9, 2015 5:33 p.m.

UpperDeckerTaco says... #4

Ok thank you Raging_Squiggle because on MTGOnline, Shrine of the Forsaken Gods mana will not allow me to use the second ability to cast a morph. I just thought that that was the way it was and was thinking the Herald didn't allow the morph cost to be lessened either.

December 9, 2015 7:14 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #5

If MTGO won't let you use Shrine of the Forsaken Gods' 2nd ability to cast a morph while you have 7 or more lands, then you need to file a bug report.

December 10, 2015 12:06 a.m.