Mana Pool Retention, Phase-by-Phase or Until the Turn Ends?
Asked by xseiber 9 years ago
Mana pool retention, Phase-by-Phase or Until the Turn Ends?
Phase-by-Phase is when you tap for mana and adding it to your mana pool, but you have to use it or it disappears when you move onto the next phase OR you still have your mana (in your mana pool) which you can use whenever until the turn ends, in which your mana pool empties (unless says otherwise by a card effect like Omnath, Locus of Mana).
Me and a majority of my friends are of the latter thought, but recently a friend of ours said it was the former, because during a pre-release event, during the limited constructed play, a situation of this question came up and one of the judges at that time ruled in favor of the former.
Which is it?
If my understanding is correct, so for macro, if I tap for mana during my (let us make it a bit more complicated) Combat Phase, I can use the mana during any of my steps (micro: attack, declare blocker step, before damage, &/or after damage) within that Combat Phase and after Combat Phase, onto the next Phase it (the mana in my pool) disappears; and if I were to tap mana during the "before damage" step or any of the steps (not when I entered my Combat Phase), I must use the mana up or else it disappears. Am I correct in this understanding?
October 16, 2015 1:23 p.m.
At the end of each step and phase means exactly what it says.
The things you are labelling as "micro" are steps within the phase.
If you add mana to your mana pool during the Declare Attackers step, and then move to the Declare Blockers step, your mana pool empties.
October 16, 2015 1:28 p.m.
Ah, is that so. I figured that with "and phase"-part, gives it the option that if I were to add mana to my mana pool during a phase I can use it in any steps within that phase until it is used up or until I move to the next phase.
October 16, 2015 1:34 p.m.
Nope, "At the end of each step and phase" means exactly what it says. If a step ends, the mana pool empties, if a phase ends, the mana pool empties.
It is written that way because not all phases have steps.
dragonstryke58 says... #1
Mana remains in your man pool until it is used or the phase or step ends (or there is some other effect which stipulates that the mana pool does not empty like Omnath, Locus of Mana).
106.4. When an effect produces mana, that mana goes into a players mana pool. From there, it can be used to pay costs immediately, or it can stay in the players mana pool. Each players mana pool empties at the end of each step and phase.
October 16, 2015 1:09 p.m.