Clever Impersonator and counters
Asked by MarvinPointiacIII 9 years ago
If I have a Clever Impersonator enter the battlefield as a clone of a creature or planeswalker with counters on it, does my clone receive the same number of counters?
filledelanuit says... #2
The key to understanding this interaction is understanding how copy effects work.
When something copies an object it copies all of the copiable characteristics of the object. Those are: Name, P/T, Mana cost, Rules, Color. It doesn't copy states or how many counters it has. States are things like tapped/untapped or flipped/not flipped.
When determining how Clever Impersonator would enter the battlefield first you have to choose what to copy. Then you see how that permanent would enter the battlefield and Clever Impersonator enters the battlefield the same way. So if the copied permanent enters tapped then Clever Impersonator enter tapped. If the permanent would enter with counters the it enters with the specified number of counters.
TL;DR: Think of it as though a blank version of the copied permanent entering the battlefield. The current state of the copied permanent doesn't matter at all.
September 30, 2014 9:41 p.m.
Clever Impersonator
copies what the card is, not any counters, enchantments, or other things that have been applied to it.
but it does get the comes into play with the amount of counters that permanent would normally come into play with..for example a planeswalker would come with the number of loyalty counters it normally would, and a creature with a comes into play with this many counters on it, would still do so, but if x is in the casting cost it would come into play with 0 counters.
For the gatherer:
If Clever Impersonator enters the battlefield as a copy of a planeswalker, it will enter the battlefield with a number of loyalty counters on it equal to the loyalty printed in the lower right corner of the planeswalker card. It wont copy the number of loyalty counters on the original planeswalker.
Clever Impersonator copies exactly what is printed on the chosen permanent (unless that permanent is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesnt copy whether that permanent is tapped or untapped, whether that permanent has any counters on it or any Auras and/or Equipment attached to it, and it doesnt copy any non-copy effects that have changed that permanents power, toughness, types, color, abilities, or so on.
If the chosen permanent has X in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0.
any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the chosen permanent will trigger when Clever Impersonator enters the battlefield. Any as [this permanent] enters the battlefield or [this permanent] enters the battlefield with abilities of the chosen permanent will also work.
erabel says... Accepted answer #1
Well, depends on the card. You'll rarely get the same number, though.
If you copy Kalonian Hydra , and it attacked, so it's at eight +1/+1 counters, your copy will enter with 4, because the Hydra says it enters with 4.
If you copy a Hooded Hydra , no matter how many counters were on it, the Impersonator would enter with 0. Since X is determined when you cast Hooded Hydra , and you never determined X this way, X is just 0. You'd have a 0/0 with no counters, and it would die the next time SBA's are checked.
If you copy an Elspeth, Sun's Champion , your copy would enter with the number of loyalty counters dictated by the bottom right of the card (in this case, 4).
Long story short: Read the card you're copying. If it says it enters with however many counters, so will your copy. Otherwise, no counters.
September 30, 2014 9:17 p.m.