Yarok and making Copies
Asked by Liszt 4 years ago
Let's assume I have Yarok, the Desecrated and Elvish Visionary in play. Now I am casting Phantasmal Image targeting Elvish Visionary.
Is the following correct? Phantasmal entering the battlefield causes it's triggered ability to go on the stack. The static ability of Yarok doubles this trigger. Now the first trigger resolves, turing my Image into a Visionary which then causes the trigger and draws me two cards (because of Yarok). Then the second Image trigger resolves and if I target the visionary again the same thing happens all over? Meaning I draw 4 cards in total?
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #2
You just get 2 cards.
A triggered ability always starts with one of the words "when", "whenever" or "at". Phantasmal Image's copy effect isn't a triggered ability. Rather, it's a replacement effect that modifies how Phantasmal Image enters the battlefield. It enters as a copy of Elvish Visionary, the "draw a card" ability triggers, and Yarok, the Desecrated copies that trigger.
January 28, 2020 3:29 p.m.
Phantasmal Image does not have a triggered ability - it has a replacement effect modifying how it enters the battlefield (see rule 614.1c Effects that read “[This permanent] enters the battlefield with . . . ,” “As [this permanent] enters the battlefield . . . ,” or “[This permanent] enters the battlefield as . . . “ are replacement effects.). As such, its enter the battlefield effect is not doubled by Yarok.
Visionary will only trigger when the item entered the battlefield, a trigger which will be doubled.
Even if the card worked as you thought it did, you'd only get the Visionary triggers when the card initially entered the battlefield--becoming a copy of something does not count as a new instance of that object entering the battlefield.
Edit: Double Ninja'd!
Liszt says... #1
Never mind. I found out that Copies enter as a copy so the copying itself isn't a triggered ability that uses the stack. Meaning the Phantasmal Image just enters as a copy and I draw two cards.
January 28, 2020 3:27 p.m.