Isochron Scepter and Breaking / Entering
General forum
Posted on May 7, 2013, 1:10 p.m. by byepolarbear
Am I right in thinking that you can Isochron Scepter Breaking in Breaking / Entering ? It is considered its' own spell right?
No, you can't. Mostly because Breaking / Entering is a sorcery and is therefore an illegal target.
However, let's pretend that it is an instant instead. Would it then become a legal target for the Isochron Scepter ? When asking whether or not a split card has a property the answer always comes back as X and Y. So, the casting cost of Breaking / Entering is 2 and 6. Since 2 is an acceptable answer for the Isochron then it could imprint it (if it were an instant that is).
May 7, 2013 1:18 p.m.
Arachnarchist says... #4
No, Isochron Scepter only works on instants.
If you were to do an instant split card like Turn / Burn the hole thing would be imprinted since burn costs 2 or less mana.
When you imprint a split card as in (2.) you can cast either side with the scepter regardless of converted mana cost.
You cannot fuse a split card, because you can only fuse split cards from your hand.
May 7, 2013 1:20 p.m.
Additionally, if a split card is imprinted on the Scepter, you may choose to cast either side of it when you activate it. Turn / Burn is a good example. It is a legal target (CMC is 2 and 3). Once imprinted, you can cast it and make whatever legal decisions you want for the spell. This included choosing which side gets cast.
If Breaking / Entering was a valid imprint target, it would be far superior than Glimpse the Unthinkable because you could cast the Breaking side for an activation of the Scepter.
May 7, 2013 1:22 p.m.
DeusExChartula says... #7
apt142 and Arachnarchist are both correct. The first thing that makes the combo illegal is the fact that Breaking / Entering is a sorcery and therefore an illegal target of Isochron Scepter . However, if Breaking / Entering was an instant, then it could be imprinted. As long as the split card is not on the stack, then it has two casting costs. One of these (Breaking) is 2 or below. The limitations to this, however, are that once the card is imprinted, you can only cast one of its sides, not both, as Fuse can only be activated from the hand. However, if you were to imprint a card such as Breaking / Entering (if it were an instant) then you could still cast the Entering half instead of the Breaking half. You just can't Fuse.
References:
http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=46741
"If the copied card is a split card, you may choose to cast either side of the split card, but not both. The split cards Fire/Ice , Illusion/Reality , Night/Day , Stand/Deliver , and Wax/Wane all have at least one side with converted mana cost 2 or less.)"
http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=369009
"If youre casting a split card with fuse from any zone other than your hand, you cant cast both halves. Youll only be able to cast one half or the other."
"In every zone except the stack, split cards have two sets of characteristics and two converted mana costs. If anything needs information about a split card not on the stack, it will get two values."
May 7, 2013 1:31 p.m.
byepolarbear says... #8
Oh oops haha I've been using that card totally wrong then (Mind Sculpt -.-') Thanks everyone! Interesting though that you can imprint split cards and cast either side!
May 7, 2013 1:46 p.m.
Arachnarchist says... #9
I would just like to point out that the list of split cards under the Isochron Scepter rulings mentioned by DeusExChartula is far from an exhaustive list.
This is a list of all instant split cards with at least one half the card costing two or less:
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?output=spoiler&method=visual&action=advanced&name=+%5b%2f%2f%5d&type=+%5b%22Instant%22%5d&cmc=+%3C%3d%5b2%5d
May 7, 2013 3:51 p.m.
DeusExChartula says... #10
Yes, the one that I posted was simply the ones listed on the Gatherer website rulings for Isochron Scepter (which was a ruling printed before Dragon's Maze).
theemptyquiver says... #2
you should just Isochron Scepter Glimpse the Unthinkable . it's just better. 10 cards. powerful.
May 7, 2013 1:15 p.m.