Cryptic Command Modes

Asked by GlistenerAgent 9 years ago

At the end of my opponent's turn, I cast Snapcaster Mage . My opponent chooses to respond with Cryptic Command , and the two modes he selects are to counter my Snapcaster Mage and to draw a card. If Snapcaster Mage becomes an illegal target for Cryptic Command by virtue of leaving the stack or by some other means, will my opponent still draw a card? By extension, will other chosen modes on Cryptic Command still resolve if Snapcaster Mage becomes an illegal target?

A general explanation of this kind of interaction (another example may be Electrolyze ) would be appreciated as well.

Drilnoth says... Accepted answer #1

If Snapcaster Mage becomes an illegal target for Cryptic Command by virtue of leaving the stack or by some other means, will my opponent still draw a card?

No. If all of a spell's targets are illegal by the time the spell tries to resolve, the entire spell is countered.

By extension, will other chosen modes on Cryptic Command still resolve if Snapcaster Mage becomes an illegal target?

If the second mode is chosen (to "bounce" something), the spell would still resolve and have that effect, because then at least one of the spell's targets is still legal. If the third mode (which doesn't target) is chosen, it would not have that effect since the spell only had one target and it is no longer a legal target.

A general explanation of this kind of interaction (another example may be Electrolyze ) would be appreciated as well.

If all of a spell's targets become illegal, the spell gets countered by the game rules. If it least some of its targets are still legal, it does as much as possible and pretty much just ignores the two illegal targets. If you Electrolyze two creatures, and one of them gains hexproof in response, then the other creature is the only one which takes damage.

Some of these interactions are a bit strange, but it is the easisest way for the rules to handle this sort of thing.

August 22, 2014 12:15 p.m.

GlistenerAgent says... #2

I should really check Gatherer first. My apologies, Epochalyptik.

For those who are interested, Cryptic Command will be countered by game rules due to having all illegal targets and the opponent will not draw a card. As long as it has at least one legal target, it will resolve.

Similarly, Electrolyze on two different targets will resolve and draw a card as long as one of them remains legal when it resolves. If both targets are illegal, the spell will be countered by game rules.

August 22, 2014 12:15 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #3

A spell/ability with targets will get countered by the rules if all of its targets become illegal somehow. It will still resolve if at least one target is still legal, and will do as much as it can, only performing actions on and interacting with the legal ones.

Depending on what modes are chosen, Cryptic Command can have either 0, 1, or 2 targets. In your example it just has 1, so if Snapcaster Mage gets made illegal in that situation then the entire spell is countered. Your opponent doesn't draw a card. Whether or not other mode combinations would get countered depends on how many total targets Command has and whatever else is going on. Similarly for Electrolyze and others.

August 22, 2014 12:18 p.m.

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