Opposite Static Abilities

Asked by thar_b_dragons 3 months ago

I am on the play. My opponent dropped Amulet of Vigor on turn 1. I played Tiller Engine on turn 2, Orb of Dreams on turn 3, and then Archelos, Lagoon Mystic on turn 4. Should Archelos have entered tapped or untapped? When he is untapped, will permanents enter the battlefield tapped or untapped? Thanks.

Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #1

Your Archelos, Lagoon Mystic initially enters tapped because that's what your Orb of Dreams says will happen. Archelos' abilities can't affect how he enters the battlefield because they aren't specific to himself. Your opponent's Amulet of Vigor only triggers for their permanents and your Tiller Engine only triggers for your lands, so they don't have any impact on the result.

When Archelos is untapped, each player will get to choose whether their permanents enter tapped or untapped. An ability like "[something] enters the battlefield tapped/untapped" is a type of replacement effect. If multiple replacement effects are trying to modify how an event affects an object or player, then the affected object's controller (or owner if there is no controller) or the affected player chooses which one to apply. If there are still any replacement effects that would apply to the modified event, that player chooses another one and so on until there's nothing left to apply. This means if there are multiple effects saying "[something] enters the battlefield tapped/untapped" then whichever one the player chooses last in the process is the one that ends up happening.

February 26, 2024 11:07 a.m.