Does Roiling Vortex trigger whenever Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver create a zombie creature token with decaying.
Asked by Coldless 9 months ago
Fairly new to the game and trying to understand what defines a spell.
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver's token creation isn't a spell, it's an ability, and isn't affected by Roiling Vortex. Broadly speaking, a spell is anything represented by a card you play from your hand, that isn't a land. (There are exceptions, but this will cover most of the interactions you're likely to see.)
So, lands are never spells.
If it's coming from something already in play, it's an ability, not a spell.
A Duress you cast from your hand is a spell.
When you cast Corrupt Court Official, it's a spell until it resolves, then it becomes a permanent. This is important for cards like Essence Scatter; a creature spell is not the same thing as a creature.
The simplified sequence of events is
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Declare that you're casting Corrupt Court Official.
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Pay .
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Play CCO. (This is where it's a spell.)
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Nobody does anything, CCO resolves and enters the battlefield. (It's no longer a spell.)
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CCO's ability triggers, and you choose who will discard. (This is not a spell, it's an ability.)
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Nobody does anything, CCO's ability resolves, and someone discards a card.
Yeah, that's the simple version.
Roiling Vortex will affect cards like Memnite, which has a casting cost of mana; Fireblast if Mountains were sacrificed, since no mana was paid; or Walking Skyscraper if you control eight modified creatures, since its cost is reduced to .
The most technical definition is covered in 112.1 of the Comprehensive Rules:
- A spell is a card on the stack. As the first step of being cast (see rule 601, “Casting Spells”), the card becomes a spell and is moved to the top of the stack from the zone it was in, which is usually its owner’s hand. (See rule 405, “Stack.”) A spell remains on the stack as a spell until it resolves (see rule 608, “Resolving Spells and Abilities”), is countered (see rule 701.5), or otherwise leaves the stack. For more information, see section 6, “Spells, Abilities, and Effects.”
By the way, welcome to the club, Coldless! Are you confused yet?
July 6, 2023 7:36 p.m.
Thanks for the clarification and the quick respond,i appreciate it both of you :) and yes confused is a good way to describe it legendofa :)
July 6, 2023 11:40 p.m.
Coldless Once you get the rhythm of it, it's actually pretty straightforward. Keep playing, keep learning, and above all, have fun!
Gidgetimer says... #1
A spell is a card, or a copy of a card on the stack. Wilhelt making a Decayed Zombie is a triggered ability. Something like Axgard Cavalry is an activated ability. Neither type of ability will cause you to take damage from Roiling Vortex.
112.1. A spell is a card on the stack. As the first step of being cast (see rule 601, “Casting Spells”), the card becomes a spell and is moved to the top of the stack from the zone it was in, which is usually its owner’s hand. (See rule 405, “Stack.”) A spell remains on the stack as a spell until it resolves (see rule 608, “Resolving Spells and Abilities”), is countered (see rule 701.5), or otherwise leaves the stack. For more information, see section 6, “Spells, Abilities, and Effects.”
112.1a A copy of a spell is also a spell, even if it has no card associated with it. See rule 707.10.
112.1b Some effects allow a player to cast a copy of a card; if the player does, that copy is a spell as well. See rule 707.12
July 6, 2023 7:33 p.m.