Could I get clarification on casting Mox Tantalite using Sunbird's Invocation?

Asked by TypicalTimmy 2 years ago

I was playing a game, and had Sunbird's Invocation out on field. Cast a small spell, nothing too crazy. Just a MV artifact. Because Sunbird's Invocation is not a may ability, I have to reveal the top 3 cards of my library and I am allowed to choose up to one with mana value 3 or less and cast it without paying it's mana cost.

Among those three was Mox Tantalite. Now, I didn't know if I could cast this or not, so I elected for a Cloud Key instead.

However, let's move back to Mox Tantalite. It says that rather than cast it from your hand, you Suspend 3 it for . I also see there is no MV indicated in the top right hand corner of the card.

When I revealed Mox Tantalite with Sunbird's Invocation, if I wanted to, would I be able to cast it? It isn't being cast from my hand, so Suspend shouldn't kick in because it specifically says:

• "Rather than cast this card from your HAND, (...)"

So, for the future, when I wheel into Mox Tantalite, am I able to cast it for and put it directly into play?

Thanks.

Polaris says... Accepted answer #1

Yes.

Mox Tantalite is a bit weird because it doesn't have a mana cost. You can't cast it normally. However, you can "cast it without paying its mana cost" if you have an effect that's worded that way, like Sunbird's Invocation (or for that matter, suspend). Since it doesn't have a mana cost, its mana value is 0, so it also qualifies for Sunbird's Invocation's effects.

As a side note, suspend doesn't disqualify you from casting a spell. Most suspend cards also have mana costs (like Rift Bolt), and any time you could cast it from your hand, you have the choice to cast it for its mana cost or suspend it for its suspend cost. Mox Tantalite can't be cast normally because it has no mana cost, not because it has suspend.

December 22, 2021 12:10 a.m.