Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter Phrasing

Asked by fireflamedark 11 years ago

I understand how Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter is normally used, but there is something about the phrasing in the second part of his ability that throws me off. The effect in question is "Remove all +1/+1 counters from Vish Kal: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn for each +1/+1 counter removed this way." when it says for each +1/+1 counter removed this way is it limited to that turn alone? For example if Vish had 3 +1/+1 counters on it one turn, used them to do -3/-3 to a creature, then on a different turn gets 1 +1/+1 counter, which is then used to debuff again but it would be -4/-4 instead since a total of 4 +1/+1 counters have been removed from Vish Kal while under my control. It's mostly just a thought, but I would like to hear other opinions on this idea.

GoldGhost012 says... Accepted answer #1

Please link all the cards in your question: Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter

I'm pretty sure what you're asking is if the negative effects are cumulative each time you take off a +1/+1 counter. The answer is no; the negative ability only cares about how many +1/+1 counters have been taken off that turn. In your example, a creature would get -3/-3 during that turn, but would only get -1/-1 the next turn because you only removed one +1/+1 counter.

April 3, 2014 8:57 p.m.

fireflamedark says... #2

Thanks, I knew how he functioned (as you stated) I just wanted to double check the wording of the card before some insane claims start getting made.

April 3, 2014 9:02 p.m.