Cycling or Flash and Dispel
Asked by Quadsimotto 11 years ago
Can I use Dispel to counter a card that has been flashed in or a card with cycling?
No. Dispel can counter only instant spells.
Cards with flash can be played any time an instant could be played, but that doesn't actually make them instants. For something to be an instant, it has to actually have the instant type.
If somebody cycles a card they are not casting it, they are activating an ability. Abilities on the stack are not spells, and so cannot be targeted by effects that can target only spells (such as Dispel ). Note, however, that a card such as Stifle could counter the use of cycling.
October 30, 2013 10:26 p.m.
Quadsimotto says... #3
Thank you. The reason I asked was because of how cycling is stated. " play this ability as an instant" but thank you.
October 30, 2013 10:28 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #4
Note that Shimmering Barrier was printed before the big 6th Edition rules and templating changes that standardized the formatting for rules text and reminder text into something closer to what we have today. Using a card like Angelsong as an example instead, you can see more clearly that Cycling is an activated ability. Activated abilities can be activated any time you have priority (essentially, whenever you'd be able to cast an instant).
Quadsimotto says... #1
I guess I need to add an example I apologize. A card like Shimmering Barrier being used to cycle or Briarpack Alpha for a card with flash
October 30, 2013 10:24 p.m.