What happens to Erebos now?
Asked by Zerafiall 11 years ago
So... Let's say I have Erebos, God of the Dead out and I have the devotion to make him a creature. Someone drops Darksteel Mutation on him. What happens, to his ability "As long as your devotion to black is less than five, Erebos isn't a creature."? What happens when I loose devotion? Does he un-become a creature and the enchantment drop off? Or is he now permanantly a creature since he looses his Devotion and the card itself says he's a creature?
billpasdmf says... #2
Not being a creature unless the devotion is high enough constitutes an ability, so it should be just 0/1 insect creature.
February 8, 2014 12:26 p.m.
That's what I guessed. But the problem was making my head hurt. Thanks!
February 8, 2014 12:27 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #4
When different effects change the characteristics of a permanent, you use the layer system to sort them out. Type-changing effects are applied in an earlier layer (layer 4) than ability granting/removing effects (layer 6). If your devotion drops to less than 5, Erebos will stop being a creature and Darksteel Mutation will fall off.
February 8, 2014 1:37 p.m.
2 years after this accepted answer I faced this issue in our meta, googled it and found this post, but I wasn't 100% sure about the accepted answer.
I came upon this blogpost from a magic L2 judge Jen Wong, referring to the interaction between Nylea, God of the Hunt and Darksteel Mutation:
Nylea remains indestructible by coincidence (if she didnt already have the ability, she would gain it from the aura), but loses her devotion, trample-granting, and team pump abilities. Notably, this means that Nylea will never become not a creature, regardless of your opponents devotion. Darksteel Mutation also doesnt prevent Nylea from gaining or losing any other abilities. Casting Bow of Nylea afterward will allow Nylea to gain deathtouch when attacking, and casting Turn on her will remove her indestructible ability. Its important to remember that being a commander is not an ability, but an attribute of the card itself, so Darksteel Mutation can never remove her commander-ness.
The short version; the enchanted god remains a creature, even when devotion is less than 5.
February 29, 2016 5:02 a.m. Edited.
Rhadamanthus says... #6
I was able to track down a related question I posed several months later on an Official judge forum, and the answer to that situation agrees with the blog post you found for this situation. By the time I got the answer to my own question I had long forgotten about this Q&A topic, and so didn't think to come back and correct my response.
raithe000 says... #1
Erebos's devotion-related ability will disappear. He will remain a creature as long as Darksteel Mutation is on him, regardless of your devotion. If Darksteel Mutation falls off, he will revert back to normal.
February 8, 2014 12:25 p.m.