Confused on how this card plays outSpoils of War
Asked by Nuubi 5 years ago
So it seems like this card ( Spoils of War )could be interpreted multiple ways. The variable by the mana cost is confuseing. Does this represent that for however many mana you pay plus it’s cost, you get the many counters times however many creatures/artifacts are in the grave? Like for instances there is five creatures in your oppents grave and you pay 1 swamp for the cost and for instance five extra swamp to get a total of 25 counters to distribute? We’ll say this is interpretation #1. For interpretation #2, would it be that for however many cards are in your opponents grave (in this example 5) you would get 5 counters and have to pay the land cost which is one, plus five additional where as x is the variable for the cards in your oppents grave that apply? Any input would be much appreciated. I feel like we are definitely over thinking this one. Thanks!
Thanks again for your time Kogarashi !! Me and a buddy got into a heated argument over this card. Lol. Interpretation #1 would be incredibly OP.
February 8, 2019 4:57 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #3
If you require no further clarification please select an answer to remove this from the unanswered queue.
February 8, 2019 5:15 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #5
no problem. I figured you were, which is why I reminded you.
February 9, 2019 1:27 a.m.
According to this card, but a different topic, could I target any number of creatures no matter how many counters I have to distribute? For example, if I choose a player that has just 2 creatures in the grave, could I target for example another 10 creatures and still only distribute the two +1/+1 counters, my idea is to use this card together with Horobi, Death's Wail, as a targeted global destruction ?
May 26, 2022 1:17 p.m.
Victor651 You can target any number of creatures, but you have to distribute all counters. It still works with Horobi, Death's Wail in the way you intend, though: You can give the two creatures you want to kill five counters each, in your example. You can give a targeted creature more than one counter with Spoils of War.
May 26, 2022 1:48 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #8
Victor651: First a little housekeeping. Not trying to catch you out on anything or make you feel bad, but please make a new post for a new question. It gets more eyes of the usual Q&A lurkers on it (good for you) and allows others who may have a similar question to find it based on the title instead of being buried in a similar but not exact match of a question (good for the community).
Unfortunately legendofa either misunderstood your question or made a mistake. You can not target more creatures than the amount of counters you have to distribute. This restriction on the number of targets stems from the rules for casting spells. Specifically that when distributing something each target must receive at least 1 of whatever is being distributed.
601.2d If the spell requires the player to divide or distribute an effect (such as damage or counters) among one or more targets, the player announces the division. Each of these targets must receive at least one of whatever is being divided.
May 27, 2022 3:21 a.m.
Gidgetimer Thanks for the catch and correction. I should have been clearer in my answer; I understood the intention and interaction, but phrased the first sentence poorly.
May 27, 2022 3:31 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #10
No worries, poor wording happens to everyone from time to time. As a matter of fact, I think you caught me wording something poorly a while back :)
Kogarashi says... Accepted answer #1
If I'm reading your interpretations correctly, #2 is the correct one.
Older cards that haven't been reprinted can be confusing. The Oracle text, viewable at the Gatherer or on Scryfall, frequently clears these things up.
Spoils of War 's Oracle text reads:
"X is the number of artifact and/or creature cards in an opponent’s graveyard as you cast this spell.
Distribute X +1/+1 counters among any number of target creatures."
When you cast the spell, you choose an opponent to target. You count the number of artifact and/or creature cards in their graveyard, and that sets the value of (5 in your example). You would also choose your target creatures at the time of casting, then pay (5 because of the number of cards you counted in your opponent's graveyard), and when the spell resolves you would distribute 5 +1/+1 counters among the creatures you targeted.
February 8, 2019 4:32 p.m.