Clone effect Rulings

Asked by builderboy7 1 month ago

Player A casts Clone with the intent to copy a Grizzly Bear that Player B controls. With the spell Clone on the stack, Player B elects to sacrifice their Grizzly Bear to High Market. Would Player A still create a Clone that is a copy of Grizzly Bear?

Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #1

No, Player A won't be able to copy the Grizzly Bear. Clone's ability is a replacement effect that modifies how it enters the battlefield (you can usually tell replacement effects by the use of terms like "as", "with" or "instead"). You don't make the choice for it until the spell is actually resolving and Clone is about to enter the battlefield. When that happens, Player A will have to choose something that's currently on the battlefield. If there are no other creatures left then Clone will just enter as itself, not as a copy of anything. If there's no other effect adding to its toughness then it will die for having 0 toughness.

August 2, 2024 1:16 p.m.