Cryptic gateway during an opponents turn
Asked by eternalchaos 11 years ago
in a recent EDH game, i tried to use Cryptic Gateway during my opponents turn, where he promptly told me that i couldn't activate the effect during his turn. I'm curious as to who was right in this situation. Thanks in advance
Unless an effect or ability states otherwise, you may use activated abilities so long as you have priority, and can pay the costs.
June 18, 2013 6:21 a.m.
AzrielBarakiel says... #3
Yep, and since it's not activating a creatures activated ability, you can activate it with creatures that have summoning sickness.
June 18, 2013 6:24 a.m.
that person has a HUGE gape in their understanding of the game. Im actually confused by how he would even think that you could only do that at sorcery speed
June 18, 2013 6:37 a.m.
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #5
Unless you play a lot or play competitively, there are always going to be knowledge gaps. In this case, the player was probably assuming that creatures can only come into play during main phases, because that's how most creatures do it.
June 18, 2013 7:59 a.m.
...I guess :/ its jsut make me cringe to think of how many times he mustve said that before and someone else believed him and now they think it. there are SOOO many cards that put vreatures out at instant speed. Elvish Piper , Master Transmuter etc the list really is huge
June 18, 2013 8:33 a.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #7
Since Cryptic Gateway is an artifact, and it does not say to use it at sorcery speed, you can activate it on your opponents turn. Although it says you can put a creature into play, this is not the same as summoning a creature. This allows you to sneak a creature in at instant speed. Mind you this also can only be done when you have priority, but that isn't a huge deal when it comes to EDH.
June 18, 2013 9:11 a.m.
Also of note, the creatures you tap can to activate it can even have summoning sickness since this is the artifact's activation cost not the creature's.
So, if you had for example 3 slivers out. You could tap 2 and put one into play and then tap the remaining untapped one and the one you just put into play and get a 5th into play.
June 18, 2013 9:30 a.m.
"the creatures you tap to activate it can even have summoning sickness..." typoed. sigh.
June 18, 2013 9:36 a.m.
SwiftDeath says... #10
for future reference to your friend All activated abilities can be used at instant speed unless said otherwise in the card text.
June 18, 2013 10:04 a.m.
@landgrafb: Actually I'm a very casual player who only plays EDH and I know the rules better than the local judge :I There's really no excuse not to learn the game properly.
June 18, 2013 11:06 a.m.
Darkness1835 says... #12
I wouldn't sweat it.
Most people have knowledge gaps in their understand of the game.
@eternalchaos - Just be polite, insist you are correct, and ask a nearby player or judge if he's really being a butt about it.
I love effects like this. Heritage Druid , anyone?
June 18, 2013 11:52 a.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #13
Skyfolk There are way too many rules to learn all at once or even in a short period of time. I know people who could be L3 judges but they don't feel like it. So what? People should be open to what other people think. It doesn't mater if you are casual or competitive, you still learn things as you play.
June 18, 2013 12:02 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #14
The threshold of rules knowledge required to be certified as a Level 1 Judge isn't the "Expert Badass" level that many people seem to think it is. For L1, a Judge needs to have a solid handle on the basics of the rules, a general awareness of some of the more complicated things, and the level of tournament organization knowledge necessary to handle disputes and solve problems at small to mid-sized events.
Each subsequent Level doesn't just represent greater rules knowledge, but also shows the Judge has demonstrated greater responsibility and success in tournament organization. Above L3, advancements are pretty much only based on responsibility and organizational capability. Don't dismiss a Judge just because he makes a little rules mistake (unless it's actually a total bonehead call about something really basic), and don't assume a person with a great amount of rules knowledge would automatically be a good Judge (I know next to nothing about running events, and am constantly late to things). It's the combination of skills that make for a proper Judge.
Suddenly I have no idea why I wrote all that, but here go you anyway.
June 18, 2013 1:11 p.m.
That was kinda my point, knowing as much as an L1 judge should honestly come pretty early in the game. You should go out of your way to learn the game you're playing.
June 18, 2013 1:23 p.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #16
Yes you should do that but that doesn't mean you'll know how every card works. If you've never seen Cryptic Gateway it would make sense you thought it could only be used on the controllers turn, not at instant speed. Think of the thousands of cards created by WotC, you can't know the rulings for each one of them but you can make a guess about them.
RussischerZar says... #1
You were right, as long as you did it while you had priority.
June 18, 2013 6:13 a.m.