Not sure what makes runic armasaur trigger
Asked by CaptainDeano 4 years ago
So what exactly causes Runic Armasaur to trigger? “Do enter the battlefield”triggers Trigger it?
Rhadamanthus says... #2
To add one more note: a "mana ability" is an ability that makes mana, not an ability that costs mana. An opponent activating Elvish Mystic won't cause Runic Armasaur to trigger, but activating Shivan Dragon will.
April 10, 2020 8:43 a.m.
Even more specifically, a "mana ability" is one that creates mana and meets the following additional criteria:
- It doesn't require a target
- It's not a loyalty ability
The first one means that Deathrite Shaman's first ability is not a mana ability, so it would trigger Runic Armasaur (the ability targets a land). The second one means that Domri, Chaos Bringer's +1 ability is not a mana ability (but it won't trigger the Armasaur, because Armasaur doesn't trigger from planeswalker abilities).
veritablecvn says... Accepted answer #1
An Enter the Battlefield effect is not an activated ability.
From the Comprehensive Rules:
602.1. Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. They are written as “[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]”
602.1a The activation cost is everything before the colon (:). An ability’s activation cost must be paid by the player who is activating it.
Example: The activation cost of an ability that reads “{2}, {T}: You gain 1 life” is two mana of any type plus tapping the permanent that has the ability.
My personal favorite activated ability is on Metalworker. Tap Metalworker and then reveal any number of artifact cards from hand. Then add two colorless mana for each artifact revealed. This counts as a mana ability however, so even though an ability was activated, you would not draw a card.
Walking Ballista has two different activated abilities. Either paying 4 mana to add a +1/+1 counter or removing a +1/+1 counter to deal 1 damage would cause you to draw a card.
April 10, 2020 5:18 a.m.