Modal spells with a "Choose two" (e.g. Incendiary Command)
Asked by MagnusMTG 11 years ago
The Command cycle of sorceries from Lorwyn are modal with "Choose two - ..."
I couldn't find anything in CompRules.doc specifying this, so anyone here know?
May I choose the same mode twice?
For example, I cast Incendiary Command . May I choose to do 4 damage to target player twice, or 2 damage to each creature twice?
Ok, thanks. That's what I figured, but couldn't think of any reason why that had to be true.
Is there an official ruling somewhere you could cite for this situation?
I checked Gatherer for Austere Command , Cryptic Command , Incendiary Command , Primal Command , and Profane Command ; only Cryptic has the ruling, "You choose both modes as you cast Cryptic Command. You must choose two different modes."
If that's a general rule for modal spells, why don't the other Commands have it under their Gatherer entries? The only other difference I see is that Cryptic Command is an instant while the others are sorceries (which is pretty unfair, but that's another matter . . ).
January 1, 2014 5:15 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
Cryptic Command is also almost entirely color-saturated.
The Gatherer ruling you found is as close to an official ruling as I think you'll get. It's supposed to be understood that to choose two of X options you need to pick two different things. Otherwise you're only picking one option.
January 1, 2014 5:47 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #4
The days of (O)fficial rulings holding the game together like duct tape pretty much ended with the big 6th Edition rules revamp. Rulings notes in Gatherer can help sometimes, but they aren't taken as additions to the Comprehensive Rules. Rather, they just clarify what the existing rules in the CR will mean for a certain card. Section 700.2 describes how to handle modal spells and abilities, and none of it gives the option of choosing a single mode multiple times.
There was a note regarding this in the Lorwyn FAQ, but I don't know why it isn't in the Gatherer entries for each Command. This might have been before they started adding FAQ notes to Gatherer on a regular basis. Notice that Cryptic Command 's note is dated for the summer of last year, when it was reprinted in Modern Masters. The card would be newly introduced to a ton of players who might not have seen it before, and it's the one of the cycle that gets the most sanctioned tournament play.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #1
No, it can't work like that. Choosing one mode twice isn't choosing two modes.
January 1, 2014 4:48 p.m.