Sphinx-Bone Wand counter question.
Asked by midget_overlord 7 years ago
I have Sphinx-Bone Wand and Inexorable Tide on the field at the same time. The wand has a counter on it. When I cast an instant I put a counter on the wand and then proliferate with Inexorable Tide. Do I deal the 2 damage from the spell and 3 damage from the proliferation? Or does it simply deal 3? I'm confused because of the wording "if you do..." on the wand. Is this if I put a counter on due to the instant being cast, or is this if a counter is placed from anywhere?
Gidgetimer says... #3
Putting the counter on and doing the damage is all one ability. You get to do damage one time when you cast an instant or sorcery. If there are already counters on the wand you can chose to proliferate from Inexorable Tide first to get the maximum possible damage though.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
You only deal 2 or 3.
When you cast your instant, both Sphinx-Bone Wand's ability and Inexorable Tide's ability will trigger. You can put them onto the stack in any order you choose.
If you place Sphinx-Bone Wand's ability onto the stack first, then put Inexorable Tide's ability above it, you'll proliferate first. This means that Sphinx-Bone Wand will have two counters on it when its ability begins to resolve. The ability will place the third counter on Sphinx-Bone Wand and cause it to deal 3 damage.
If you stack the abilities in the opposite order, Sphinx-Bone Wand's ability will resolve first, placing the second counter on Sphinx-Bone Wand and dealing 2 damage. You'll then proliferate.
The damage is not a separate ability. Sphinx-Bone Wand only has one ability; this ability places a counter on Sphinx-Bone Wand and then deals an amount of damage based on the number of counters on Sphinx-Bone Wand. You don't get to deal damage whenever a counter is placed on Sphinx-Bone Wand for any other reason. The "if you do" means that you only deal damage if you choose to place a counter on Sphinx-Bone Wand.
May 23, 2016 5:50 p.m.