Casting without paying the mana cost
Asked by daniferrito 11 years ago
How does it exactly work? I've been looking through the comprehensive rules and i cant find anything. (I'll numerate the questions so they are easier to answer one by one)
1 - If a spell has a x on its cost, 0 must be chosen. Thats one i am sure about. (what about if it specifically states that x can't be 0?)
2 - If the spell has any alternative cost, such as overload, it cannot be used, as you cannot choose multiple alternative costs at the same time. (Ok, this isnt a question)
3 - However, how does aditional costs work? That is kicker and multikicker? Can you choose to use them? Do you need to pay for them?
Finally, a few questions about two "cast without paying mana cost" cards:
4 - Omniscience Can you, if you choose to, still pay the cost of the spell? I belive the answer is yes, but you never know with magic rulings.
5 - Knowledge Pool After it hits the table, whenever you cast a spell, it gets exiled. That card goes into the pool so it can be cast afterwards, no?
6 - Another one about the pool: Say my oponent cast something so he can get the juicy emrakul that is inside out. Can I, in response to the exile trigger, cast some instant so my spell gets exiled first and i can get the emrakul for myself?
Epochalyptik says... #2
To actually answer the question in part 1, if a spell has X in its mana cost, and X can't be 0, then you can't cast that spell without paying its mana cost. You have a situation where you can't have X=0, and where you must have X=0, so you can't cast the spell.
Also, to point 6, you would have to cast your spell before Knowledge Pool 's triggered ability resolves and exiles your opponent's spell. Once the ability begins to resolve, you can't do anything until the resolution is complete. Therefore, you will have to cast your spell without knowing what card your opponent will actually cast (because that choice isn't made until the ability resolves).
December 19, 2013 3 a.m.
daniferrito says... #3
Great answers, and thank you for them. The thing about epoch's answer for one makes sense. And about 6, thats what i alredy though (you cannot respond to the other player choosing what he wants to cast) but in the situation i imagined there was an Emrakul and a few other mediocre cards, so what he is going to choose is obvious.
GoblinsInc says... Accepted answer #1
I'll open with this.
117.9. Some spells have alternative costs. An alternative cost is a cost listed in a spell's text, or applied to it from another effect, that its controller may pay rather than paying the spell's mana cost. Alternative costs are usually phrased, "You may [action] rather than pay [this object's] mana cost," or "You may cast [this object] without paying its mana cost." Note that some alternative costs are listed in keywords; see rule 702.
107.3b. If a player is casting a spell that has an X in its mana cost, the value of X isn't defined by the text of that spell, and an effect lets that player cast that spell while paying neither its mana cost nor an alternative cost that includes X, then the only legal choice for X is 0. This doesn't apply to effects that only reduce a cost, even if they reduce it to zero. See rule 601, "Casting Spells."
You are correct. This also isn't a question. Rather it is two statements. Shit, three. dang.
Additional costs can be chosen, and you will have to pay them (they aren't "paid" by the "Without paying its mana cost")
Finally, a few questions about two "cast without paying mana cost" cards:
Yes, you can choose not to use Omn's alternate cost.
Whenever you cast one from your hand, yeah. And yes, any nonland card exiled by the pool can be cast as part of the resolution of the triggered ability. it doesn't have to be one of the original ones exiled.
Yup. It's a legitimate strategy.
December 19, 2013 2:52 a.m.