Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant Flip
Asked by DaddyRabbit78 8 years ago
My apologies if this has been asked before and I'm sure the answer is simple enough.
When Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant is in play and you have 30+ life, it is flipped into Rune-Tail's Essence.
Is the flip state-based (right terminology)? Meaning, if I drop down to 29 life, does it become a creature again and if I have say lifelink that gets me back above 30, do I flip him again?
I ran this in Forge and he stayed flipped as an enchantment permanently, but I was promptly told "Forge messed that up".
It's a "state trigger", and it triggers. when the game state matches certain criteria.
State based effects are checked and after the flip the game only sees an enchantment that says "Prevent all damage done to creatures you control." The card can never be re-flipped.... unless you have another card/effect that says otherwise, like Brago could be doing.
August 31, 2016 11:04 p.m. Edited.
In general, what's important to realize about flip cards is that while having two sets of characteristics on the front face, only one is used at a time:
709.2. (...) Once a permanent is flipped, its normal name, text box, type line, power, and toughness don't apply and the alternative versions of those characteristics apply instead.
Since only the unflipped state has a triggered ability, it will trigger only in the unflipped state (similar to how only the flipped state has the ability to prevent damage to your creatures).
While there are no cards as of now that unflip a permanent, the flipped side could have a triggered ability that unflips it under a certain condition.
@PartyJ: Please link all cards relevant to your answer: Brago, King Eternal
Brago doesn't have any ability that lets you unflip a permanent. He will simply flicker a permanent, causing a zone change, and therefore returning the permanent to the battlefield as a new object without memory of it's previous state, therefore not interacting with flip cards in any special way.
September 1, 2016 5:19 a.m.
You must be a politician, or have affinity with this xD They also give you a ton of small talk and fail to come to the point.
I just gave a straight forward answer to the question being asked and my Brago explanation makes perfect sense, so don't be that guy plz BlueScope.
September 1, 2016 2:16 p.m.
@PartyJ: I don't know what "that guy" is supposed to be, but answering the question with precision will help both the questioner and others scrolling through to understand the topic better and don't misinterpret any rules. MTG is a game which's rules are complex enough that a single word used carelessly can mean something entirely different, and most readers/players wouldn't even notice (take "transforming" and "flipping" a card, as an example).
I like to be precise for those reasons. Feel free to lecture me at your game table, but it certainly seems to be the correct course of action for a rules Q&A site.
September 1, 2016 4:20 p.m.
@PartyJ: I don't know where you think I was being disrespectful, but feel free to say so. I do respect people's input, but in the scope of a Q&A page, it seems only natural to point out flaws with other's answers.
Why you're moving this conversation to my profile instead of staying in the thread is beyond me, though.
merrowMania says... #1
It is a triggered ability, not a state based action.
There is no way to return to creature form without changing zones, regardless of life total.
August 31, 2016 6:25 p.m.