What happens to my opponent's Utopia Sprawl if I Flickerwisp his Forest?

Asked by KaiserMTG 8 years ago

Does it remain on the battlefield or get sent to the graveyard? Would it get reattached to the Forest when the Forest returns? Can my opponent attach Utopia Sprawl to a Forest if it enters the battlefield from a Genesis Wave?

nobu_the_bard says... Accepted answer #1

Utopia Sprawl goes into the graveyard if it is "flickered" by an effect like Flickerwisp.

When some permanents (auras, equipments, etc) are attached to another permanent, if they are no longer able to remain attached to that permanent because it has left the battlefield, they "fall off". In the case of Auras, they generally go into the graveyard (equipment remains on the battlefield).

That the permanent came back later is irrelevant. This would happen even if it came back immediately as part of the same effect. Note a few cards explicitly bring attached permanents back, like Flickerform.

Auras can be attached to a permanent if they are put onto the battlefield without having been cast. They actually act a little unexpectedly when this happens - they don't have a target in this case (since they weren't cast) so they can target things they normally can't such as opponents' hexproof permanents or your own shroud permanents. They must still be able to legally enchant the permanent they are attached to, and in some cases (such as protection) they may immediately "fall off" when states are checked. If there aren't any legal permanents to attach to, they don't attach to anything and go to the graveyard.

October 28, 2016 5 p.m. Edited.

KaiserMTG says... #2

Wonderful thank you!

October 28, 2016 5:04 p.m.

nobu_the_bard says... #3

Sorry I was slightly imprecise twice there. I should have said in the first sentence something more like: Utopia Sprawl goes into the graveyard if the permanent it is attached to is "flickered" by an effect like Flickerwisp. If it were flickered directly, it comes into play without being cast and can be attached to another Forest.

Later I slipped and said "they can target things" but I just said they don't target when they enter the battlefield without being cast! :)

I meant you can pick a permanent (or player, for curses) for them to enchant if it matches the required traits on the Aura. You could technically do odd things like put Rancor on Spectral Lynx doing this, but the Protection rules would make Rancor "fall off" - you'd get back to your hand because of its ability though (only normaly circumstance I could think of why you'd do that). It's more useful to sneak a Pacifism onto Invisible Stalker and the like.

October 28, 2016 5:36 p.m.

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