play/cast

Asked by stevenwolph 8 years ago

so is playing a card the same as casting? say i have Fiend of the Shadows and using its abilty Soul's Might gets exiles, can i play?

acbooster says... Accepted answer #1

It sort of is the same. The main difference is that you cast spells, but play lands. When a card uses the word "play" and the card effected is a nonland card, it means the same as cast. Old cards used to say "play" instead of "cast", and they've been errata'd to say "cast". In the case of Fiend of the Shadows, by using the word play instead of cast, it means that you are able to use any card exiled by it, so long as you have the correct mana to cast any spells exiled with it.

May 6, 2015 8:08 p.m.

Epochalyptik says... #2

To play a card, you play it as a special action if it's a land card or you cast it if it's a nonland card.

Casting is just a subset of playing that excludes lands. Fiend of the Shadows's ability uses "play" to allow you to play lands as well as spells.

May 6, 2015 8:09 p.m.