Does Nyxborn Shieldmate trigger Sigil of the Empty Throne if I play it as a Creature?
Asked by xseiber 8 years ago
The other day, as all things start, I was playing a friend and I played Nyxborn Shieldmate to trigger my Sigil of the Empty Throne, he then stopped me and said that it is not possible. I asked why? Since on a previous turn I played Aegis of the Gods and it triggered (he allowed it).
[He] Said that because the Nyxborn Shieldmate has the Bestow-ability and used the Eidolon of Countless Battles example; which is, when you bestow or play it as a creature, Eidolon of Countless Battles does not count itself or other creatures/enchantments that has both subtypes (i.e. Gods of Theros, & etc) twice in it's ability. Thus Nyxborn Shieldmate is either a creature or an enchantment, since I did not cast it via Bestow-ability, it is not an enchantment, therefore Sigil of the Empty Throne does not trigger. In addition, the reason he allowed Aegis of the Gods to ETB and trigger Sigil of the Empty Throne on a previous turn, was because it does not possess the "Bestow"-ability, thus to him, it was a legit Enchanment & Creature.
Long story short: Does Nyxborn Shieldmate trigger Sigil of the Empty Throne if I play it as a Creature?
I meant to say "a permanent can't be a creature and an aura at the same time".
August 15, 2015 9:52 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
Your friend is incorrect. Nyxborn Shieldmate and all other bestowable cards are ALWAYS enchantments. The only thing that changes is whether they're creatures or auras (they can't be both). They'll trigger Sigil of the Empty Throne's ability regardless of how you cast them.
Eidolon of Countless Battles doesn't count enchantment creatures twice because it looks for "creatures" and "auras" (as I said above, bestowable cards are only one of those things at a time).
BlueScope says... Accepted answer #1
Short answer: Nyxborn Shieldmate does cause Sigil of the Empty Throne to trigger.
Nyxborn Shieldmate is an Enchantment creature, meaning an enchantment and a creature - just like Aegis of the Gods. The Shieldmate does have the Bestow ability, but unless you play the card with Bestow, that ability isn't relevant to this question.
The reason why Eidolon of Countless Battles doesn't count permanents twice is that a permanent can't be a creature and an enchantment at the same time. Remember that an Aura isn't the same as an Enchantment.
August 15, 2015 9:50 p.m.