Does Semblance Anvil effect what creatures can be played with AEther Vial?

Asked by Aethaleon 9 years ago

I have Semblance Anvil imprinting a creature and an AEther Vial with 6 charge counters on it. Can I tap the vial to play Flameblast Dragon or is the dragon's CMC now 4 instead of 6 as far as the vial is concerned due to the anvil's effect?

filledelanuit says... Accepted answer #1

No. A cards CMC is always what is printed on the card when it is in your hand. Cost reducing/increasing effects like Sphere of Resistance or Semblance Anvil don't change a cards CMC just how much you pay for it. So you still need 6 counters to put in a Flameblast Dragon.

February 2, 2015 6:43 a.m.

Boza says... #2

CMC, unless the creatures has X in its cost, is always what is printed in the top right corner of the card. A vial with 6 counters will put the Dragon into play regardless of Anvil.

Putting a creature into play via Vial is not the same as casting it. Anvil only reduces CMC of spells that are cast.

February 2, 2015 6:45 a.m.

BlueScope says... #3

The Anvil reduces the cost of the spell, should you decide to cast it - for effects that care about the CMC (as opposed to the cost that you actually pay), always take the printed value.

Exceptions would be cards that directly affect converted mana costs, i.e. if they would literally say "The converted mana cost of creature cards in all zones is 2", but to my knowledge, nothing like this exists.

February 2, 2015 6:45 a.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #4

@BlueScope: If you're still wondering, currently the only way to change an object's mana cost or converted mana cost is to turn it into a copy of something else.

February 2, 2015 9:35 a.m.

This discussion has been closed