Interaction between Animar, Soul of Elements and Stonecoil Serpent - casting for free
Asked by CamraMaan 1 year ago
This has become a debate at my local table that needs resolution. I have Animar, Soul of Elements in play with six +1/+1 counters on it, and I wish to cast Stonecoil Serpent for X=6, effectively paid for by Animar, letting me cast it without paying any mana. Two of my mates have argued that I still need to pay "some" mana, being a minimum of one. My argument is that spell cost is announced at whatever I want it to be, cost additions go on, cost reductions come next, then I pay what's left. Since spells can be cast for 0, I'm not required to tap land and put any mana into the spell. But it would be nice to get a more professional explanation for the gents in my circle.
And a similar add-on question... will Animar's cost reductions pay for colorless kicker costs? Or say I have 11 counters on Animar, can I cast Vanguard Suppressor with its squad 2 paid four times by Animar, totaling 11 colorless overall, and then only have to pay one blue to cast the spell?
Cheers, and thanks in advance!
Rhadamanthus says... #2
Some additional notes: To determine the total cost to cast a spell (or activate an ability), you start with the base mana cost after making all the necessary decisions (modes, targets, value of X, etc.), consider the effects of any additional costs (kicker etc.) or alternative costs (flashback, overload etc.), add the effects of any cost increases (Sphere of Resistance etc.) and then subtract the effects of any cost reducers (Animar etc.) and finally apply Trinisphere if needed (yes, it has a special rule all of its own).
The rules of the game do allow for a cost to be reduced to this way. If an effect only allows reduction to some minimum amount it will specifically say so (e.g. Heartstone).
multimedia says... Accepted answer #1
Your local table needs to research Magic rules more, there shouldn't be a debate. It's great that you know the rules to defend yourself because you're right.
If you have 6 counters on Animar, Stonecoil Serpent is free to cast as X=6. Declare the amount you want X to be. Animar lowers the amount you pay per counter on it, then you pay the difference if there's any. Your mates are not aware of how powerful Animar can be.
Animar can pay the generic mana cost of an effect that can be included with casting a creature (X, Squad, Kicker, etc.). It can also pay generic mana cost for alternative casting of a creature (Evoke, Mutate, Morph, Dash, Blitz, etc.). If you have 11 counters on Animar then you can cast Vanguard Suppressor + four Squad getting five Suppressors for . Animar with 11 counters pays for cost of Suppressor and cost of four Squad.
December 21, 2022 2:08 a.m. Edited.