How does Snapcaster interact with alternate casting costs?
Asked by Poopernoodles 8 years ago
So say a player cracks a fetch land and searches a land up. if i have an Archive Trap in the graveyard can i Snapcaster Mage it for 0? I don't believe you can, but it is currently a hot debate in my play group, as one of us plays mill.
Flashback is itself an alternate casting cost, and you can't apply multiple alternate costs.
117.9a Only one alternative cost can be applied to any one spell as it's being cast. The controller of the spell announces his or her intentions to pay that cost as described in rule 601.2b.
702.32a Flashback appears on some instants and sorceries. It represents two static abilities: one that functions while the card is in a player's graveyard and the other that functions while the card is on the stack. "Flashback [cost]" means "You may cast this card from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost" and "If the flashback cost was paid, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack." Casting a spell using its flashback ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2e-g.
merrowMania says... Accepted answer #1
Because you are not paying the card's mana cost, alternate casting costs are not applicable. Archive Trap will not give you the option to replace the flashback cost with zero because you were not paying its mana cost in the first place. Additional costs, such as kicker (like with Vines of Vastwood) can still be paid when you cast a spell for its flashback cost, since they only care about if the spell is being cast, not how it is being cast.
February 17, 2016 2:51 p.m. Edited.