CMC and Kicker
Asked by Dashiva7 5 years ago
Example: If I cast a Grow from the Ashes with Kicker, does the spell have a CMC of 3 or 5 while on the stack? Can it be countered by Disdainful Stroke?
Boza is correct, though, there are two additional exceptions I figured I'd mention.
Fuse:
In most zones, Fuse cards like Breaking / Entering have a CMC equal to their total cost. When on the stack, their CMC is equal to whatever you cast. So, Breaking / Entering has a CMC of 8 when not on the stack, and can have either a CMC of 2 (Breaking only), 6 (Entering only), or 8 (both) when on the stack.
Aftermath:
Cards like Destined / Lead follow the same rules as Fuse--in most zones, they are equal to their total CMC, and when on the stack only equal to the part that is cast. The only difference is the two halves can't be cast together, so there are only two different possible CMCs when on the stack.
September 25, 2018 9:45 a.m.
I knew that splitcards with Aftermath and Fuse has this behaviour, hence why I was confused if other situations came up where the CMC changed while "on the Stack" versus in hand. Essentially the difference of CMC on a card and CMC on a spell.
Thank you for the help.
September 25, 2018 10:12 a.m.
cdkime, not just Fuse and Aftermath cards, but any split card, will have a CMC of both sides added together, except when on the stack (then only the side being cast counts). So non-Fuse/Aftermath cards like Boom / Bust follow the same rules. This was updated last year to make split cards' CMCs easier to understand.
September 25, 2018 10:50 a.m.
Dashiva7 - once a question has been answered, please mark a post as the "Accepted Answer" so it moves from the "unanswered" to "answered" section of this site.
Kogarashi - It would seem I momentarily forgot there were horizontal split cards without fuse. This is doubly amusing seeing as (a) I played during Invasion, so I have a number of these cards I opened in packs (not to mention we didn't even have Fuse as an option back then), and (b) some of these cards are being released in the upcoming set, which I've read. Thinking is clearly too hard before caffeine!
Boza says... Accepted answer #1
Converted mana cost or CMC is the cost in the right corner of the card. Kicker is an additional cost and does not add to the CMC of a spell. The CMC of Grow from the Ashes is 3, regardless whether you paid kicker or not, it is not a valid target for Disdainful Stroke.
The only exception I can think of is X spells like Ivy Elemental, for which you say how much X is while you are casting the spell, changes their CMC on the stack only. An Ivy Elemental with X=4 will have 5 CMC on the stack, but it in all other zones its CMC will be 1.
September 25, 2018 9:28 a.m. Edited.