Is 'zero' a number for things that care?
Asked by Zehk 5 years ago
For example, Hooded Hydra enters with X +1/+1 counters when cast normally. If it were to be cast some other way, Collected Company for instance, would effects like Winding Constrictor and Hardened Scales see the "Zero" +1/+1 counters it enters with because the card specifically mentions entering with them, or is zero not considered a number for this purpose, which would cause the hydra to die instantly as a state based action?
This is me being a bit nitpicky, but there was a fairly significant error in your question, that I figured I'd let you know about.
Collected Company does not cast the creatures, as you had said in your question. Rather, it puts them directly onto the battlefield, without the creature ever being put on the stack. There's some pretty important distinctions--most notably, on-the-cast triggers (ex. Abundant Maw) will not activate and the creatures can't be countered.
June 6, 2018 9:53 a.m.
Thank you for the answer Boza, I must have missed those lines while I was reading.
cdkime, thank you for the correction. I'm aware of the distinction, but I didn't have the card in front of me when typing and forgot to check the wording of the card on preview. In this case, it doesn't matter, but the cast triggers are relevant in the same way ETBs are. Nitpicking is fine in my book as long as there is civility, which there was plenty of. Honest mistakes happen, after all. :)
Boza says... Accepted answer #1
Well, constrictor and scales clearly state "one or more counters", so while zero is a number, it is not "one or more".
June 6, 2018 7:58 a.m.