What can spellskite actually do?
Asked by Husky 11 years ago
When I first looked at Spellskite I more or less thought it was mostly used for defensive purposes, such as re-directing destroy abilities or stuff that would otherwise target other permanents you would control, but looking further into it I have come to find out that spellskite's ability can be used to redirect other things, but I'm not for sure on all of the logistics really.
If my opponent casts an enchantment on one of his creatures such as an Ethereal Armor can I use spellskite's ability so that it would instead come onto the field attached to spellskite?
What if a spell or activated ability didn't target a permanent but instead a player? Such that if I were Lightning Bolt ed for three damage, could I have it reditected at spellskite? What about other spells or abilities that target the player casting them, such as Ponder or Griselbrand 's ability?
Can I have a spellskite redirect a spell towards it such as a Doom Blade and then use an ability like Master Transmuter 's to return it to my hand before Doom blade resolves so that it doesn't hit anything?
From what I understand it is possible to activate spellskite's ability even though it is not a legal target for a spell or ability, and such that the target of the spell or ability won't change. If this is so what's the point of activating the ability at all if it won't change the outcome of anything that is going on?
I'm not for sure what else to ask, is there anything else that spellskite CAN do that I might not be aware of? I'm looking to buy a set of these and I'd like some arguments for it, I suppose.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #2
If an effect allows you to reselect the target of a spell or ability, you must chose a legal target for that spell or ability. As long as Spellskite can legally be the target of the spell or ability, you can successfully redirect that spell or ability. Note that if Spellskite is not a legal target for that spell or ability, you can still activate Spellskite 's ability. It just won't do anything when it resolves.
Ethereal Armor targets any creature, so you can redirect it.
Lightning Bolt targets any creature or any player, so you can redirect it.
Ponder doesn't target anything because it doesn't use the word target in its text. You can't redirect it.
Griselbrand 's ability doesn't target anything because it doesn't use the word target in its text. You can't redirect it.
Doom Blade targets a nonblack creature. Spellskite is nonblack, so you can redirect Doom Blade .
December 28, 2013 12:29 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
@Korombos: I assume he meant to redirect Doom Blade , then return Spellskite to his hand after the redirect ability resolved. Doom Blade would then fizzle.
Korombos says... #1
Check gatherer:http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=217992
You can activate the Spellskite ability for any targeted spell or ability, but it won't actually redirect unless spellskite is a legal target. That means if you return it to your hand before the effect resolves, the original target doesn't change.
December 28, 2013 12:26 p.m.