Does Clever Impersonator dies when it's not a creature?
Asked by pedroedmarcos 4 years ago
Hey there,
So, let's imagine this scenario: I'm playing EDH and I have a Clever Impersonator copying my opponent's Rhystic Study . My opponent which has a Mimic Vat destroys my "rhystic study". Does it triggers the Mimic Vat, or another death trigger when the impersonator goes to the graveyard?
As Clever Impersonator enters the battlefield and becomes copy of something he is considered to be identical copy of that permanent. He assumes the copied object color, type, mana cost, and if its a planeswalker even his starting loyalty. So in your case as long as he is copying Rhystic Study he isn't considered a creature, but a blue enchantment with CMC=3. On the other hand Mimic Vat can only exile objects (I'm saying objects as that includes manifested instants for example) that are creatures while on the battlefield. Therefore when he is destroyed he doesn't trigger "whenever nontoken creature dies" ability of Mimic Vat and cannot be exiled. The only on-death triggers that would be triggered are from something like Starfield Mystic .
Gidgetimer says... #1
Your Mimic Vat doesn't trigger. "Dies" abilities are leaves-the-battlefield abilities that are specifically when a creature is put into a graveyard. Leaves-the-battlefield abilities are one of a few different types of abilities that use how objects existed before the trigger event to determine if they trigger. Your Clever Impersonator was not a creature on the battlefield.
603.10. Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions, and continuous effects that exist at that time are used to determine what the trigger conditions are and what the objects involved in the event look like. However, some triggered abilities are exceptions to this rule; the game “looks back in time” to determine if those abilities trigger, using the existence of those abilities and the appearance of objects immediately prior to the event. The list of exceptions is as follows:
603.10a Some zone-change triggers look back in time. These are leaves-the-battlefield abilities, abilities that trigger when a card leaves a graveyard, and abilities that trigger when an object that all players can see is put into a hand or library.
September 24, 2019 9:03 p.m.