The scarab god interaction confusion

Asked by Chris1018 6 years ago

How does The Scarab God activated ability effect a Theros god like Phenax, God of Deception and star/star creatures like Sewer Nemesis

Would Phenax stay an enchantment until requirements are met then becomes a 4/4 and would sewer nemesis become a star+4/star+4 creature.

Oloro_Magic says... #1

No they would both have base power and strength of 4/4 as the activated ability uses the word "except." This means the original power and toughness is no longer relevant.

July 10, 2017 8:10 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #2

You're right about Phenax, God of Deception but not about Sewer Nemesis. It will just be a 4/4.

If a copy effect specifically says it doesn't copy (or otherwise changes) a certain characteristic, then it also ignores any characteristic-defining abilities (often just called CDAs) related to that characteristic. This means Sewer Nemesis' 2nd ability doesn't get copied to the token. Note that you still need to choose a player for the 1st ability as the token enters the battlefield, as it's relevant for the 3rd ability.

706.9d When applying a copy effect that doesn't copy a certain characteristic, retains an original value for a certain characteristic, or modifies the final value of a certain characteristic, any characteristic-defining ability (see rule 604.3) of the object being copied that defines that characteristic is not copied. If that characteristic is color, any color indicator (see rule 204) of that object is also not copied.

July 10, 2017 9:34 p.m.

Neotrup says... #3

A zombie version of Phenax, God of Deception would not be a creature if your devotion was too low. It's not a 4/4 or a zombie until such a time, but it is just black, not black-blue regardless. Keep in mind that unlike eternalize The Scarab God leaves it's mana cost alone, so it does contribute two devotion, plus two from The Scarab God, so your half way to animating already. The token will not be a God because it just becomes a Zombie when it animates.

July 10, 2017 9:37 p.m.

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