What happens if you don't have a cmc 1 with Yisan
Asked by wikidpanda-the-boss 9 years ago
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard has one of my favorite abilities, but what happens if you don't have a cmc equal to his verse counters?? The card also doesn't have the "you may" text.
wikidpanda-the-boss says... #2
Thanks, that's pretty much what I assumed, I just needed conformation :p mono green goodish deck
November 11, 2014 9:52 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #3
If you are instructed to search a hidden zone (such as your library) for something with a specific quality it is possible to do what is known as "fail to find". The game never forces you to reveal information about the current state of hidden zones, so even if you did have a 1 CMC creature that you just didn't want to put out for some reason you could fail to find.
There is no may in the ability because you must search your library and shuffle it. So if someone had Ob Nixilis, Unshackled out you could not tap for a counter and say "I'm not searching" to prevent the damage. You also are unable to not search so that you don't have to shuffle away a card you scryed to the top.
November 11, 2014 9:52 p.m.
wikidpanda-the-boss says... #4
Thanks again, this also applies to Congregation at Dawn right?
November 11, 2014 9:59 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #5
Yes, you can fail to find any or all cards for anything that instructs you to search for a card with a specific characteristic. (so basically any tutor of any sort that isn't black and half of the black ones too.)
Drilnoth says... Accepted answer #1
Whenever you are asked to search your library for a card with specific qualities (such as a specific converted mana cost, like Yisan, the Wanderer Bard requires, though not cards such as Demonic Tutor which let you get any card), you may choose to "fail to find" and instead find no cards, or fewer than the required number of cards. You can do this even if there is a card in your library which has the specified qualities.
So, whenever you activate Yisan, you can choose to find no creature. He'll still get the counter (since that's part of the cost), but you would essentially just look through your library and then shuffle it.
So although the card doesn't say "you may", finding a card with it is inherently optional.
November 11, 2014 9:48 p.m.