Beamsplitter Mage copying and targeting
Asked by 9-lives 2 years ago
If I have Beamsplitter Mage with Naban, Dean of Iteration if I cast Essence Flux onto Beamsplitter Mage will it copy twice and can it target the same creature twice? Say i have Sea Gate Stormcaller. Can I target Beamsplitter Mage and then Sea Gate Stormcaller and then target back to Beamsplitter Mage and do the same thing over and over again multiplying my copies?
Rhadamanthus says... #2
Beamsplitter Mage and Naban, Dean of Iteration don't interact with each other. Beamsplitter Mage triggers when you cast an instant or sorcery targeting it, but Naban adds to triggers caused by a Wizard entering the battlefield. Naban's ability will never create an additional Beamsplitter trigger.
January 5, 2022 9:40 p.m.
plakjekaas says... Accepted answer #3
You're right, Rhadamanthus , I was thinking of Harmonic Prodigy when I wrote the stuff about Naban, Dean of Iteration. Harmonic Prodigy would make Beamsplitter Mage trigger an additional time.
If you want to loop Essence Flux with Beamsplitter Mage though, use Naru Meha, Master Wizard or Dualcaster Mage, especially if you already used their etb and they're already in play, you can loop as follows:
1: Target Beamsplitter Mage with Essence Flux.
2: Beamsplitter Mage triggers, you create a copy of Essence Flux. Target Dualcaster Mage.
3: Resolve the copy, blinking Dualcaster Mage. It enters the battlefield, and has an etb trigger.
4: With the etb from Dualcaster Mage, target the original Essence Flux which is still on the stack. Create a copy of the original Essence Flux, targeting Dualcaster Mage again.
Repeat steps 3 & 4 as much as you like. Note that you need an additional piece (like Impact Tremors or Altar of the Brood) to actually finish the game with it.
January 5, 2022 11:29 p.m.
plakjekaas I don't understand step #4. How do you target Dualcaster Mage twice? And, yes, the additonal piece would be Viashino Pyromancer. Why would I use Beamsplitter Mage in the first step? Can't I just target Dualcaster Mage without Beamsplitter Mage??
January 6, 2022 10:26 a.m.
You can do this loop with just Essence Flux, some creature to target, and Dualcaster Mage provided the Dualcaster is in your hand to cast. The main upgrade with Beamsplitter Mage or any other additional copy effect is that it lets you start the loop with a previously cast Dualcaster on the battlefield.
January 6, 2022 10:42 a.m.
So steps 3 and 4 require two Dualcaster Mage? I don't understand. Sorry for my harebrain; I'm having difficulty following logic atm.
January 6, 2022 10:52 a.m.
No. Whenever Dualcaster Mage leaves the battlefield and comes back, its ability triggers again to re-copy a spell. You need two copies of your flicker spell on the stack so that there will be one left for Dualcaster to target once one resolves and flickers it.
Viashino Pyromancer won't work though, as you can only keep the loop going as long as the copies keep targeting Dualcaster Mage - targeting Viashino Pyromancer breaks the loop. This would work with Ghostly Flicker, though, because each copy could target Dualcaster and Pyromancer and flicker them both. This won't work with Beamsplitter Mage of course since it only copies single target spells.
Also, the other big (low price too) finisher for this kind of loop is Ral, Storm Conduit.
January 6, 2022 11:18 a.m.
Oh wow! Thanks, Polaris! I'll defnitely add Ral, Storm Conduit!
plakjekaas says... #1
No.
Beamsplitter Mage specifies you need to target other creatures with the split copies it creates. So you could target Beamsplitter Mage, this will trigger it, which will trigger Naban, Dean of Iteration which will make Beamsplitter Mage trigger again. The end result is the original Essence Flux targeting Beamsplitter Mage, and two copies, both targeting creatures other than Beamsplitter Mage. If these copies both target the same creature, one copy will resolve and flicker that creature, meaning it's not the same creature anymore after it enters the battlefield again. The second copy's target will have disappeared, and the spell will fizzle. Then you flicker Beamsplitter Mage.
Beamsplitter Mage will only trigger when you cast a spell that targets it, it will not trigger off of becoming the target of a copied spell.
Hope I understood your question right, and that this is what you asked for.
January 5, 2022 5:01 p.m.