What is the converted mana cost of (X)
Asked by VinylScratch 11 years ago
so i have a card (cant think of the name) that you discard a card from your hand and does damage to target creature equal to that cards converted mana cost. If i discard say Epic Experiment would that be like infinite damage to that creature?
Also of note: If a card says you may play a spell for free. X is 0 for that case too. So, if you cast Diluvian Primordial and target Epic Experiment you'll cast it for 0.
June 19, 2013 4:42 p.m.
thebeardedshuffler says... #4
On the same theme..
If you cast something without paying its converted mana cost (via Epic Experiment perhaps) what is the CMC of the spell on the stack? Let's say it was Thunderous Wrath for an example.
Is it the full CMC of the card, or is it 0, because you didn't pay a cost for it?
June 19, 2013 4:46 p.m.
Absinthman says... Accepted answer #5
Also a thing worth noting. X=0 is true everywhere except the stack. When a spell is cast with for example X=5, the CMC of that spell on the stack will be 5+whatever mana symbols are in its cost. So you can't use Spell Snare to counter Epic Experiment cast with X=1 or more.
June 19, 2013 4:53 p.m.
If you cast something w/o paying its mana cost it still has a CMC of the card (so 6 for the Thunderous Wrath )
June 19, 2013 5:49 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #7
X=0, Unless the card in question has been cast, and is on the stack, in which case, x = the amount of mana spent on x.
June 19, 2013 6:20 p.m.
DunstilBrejik says... #8
What about if it's something like Mind Grind? If I were to cast it without paying its mana cost, then X would equal zero, but it can't.
June 19, 2013 6:23 p.m.
@DunstilBrejik - the rule you seek is from Gatherer:
1/24/2013: If another spell or ability instructs you to cast Mind Grind "without paying its mana cost," you won't be able to. You must pick 0 as the value of X in the mana cost of a spell being cast "without paying its mana cost," but the X in Mind Grind's mana cost can't be 0.
June 19, 2013 6:47 p.m.
@smash10101: The spell is still cast, just with 0 as the value for X. In which case the spell resolves, does nothing, and is placed in its owner's graveyard.
Also note that some spells cast with X in its mana cost, where X is 0 may still have an effect. For example, casting Green Sun's Zenith for 0 in order to search one's library for Dryad Arbor has been a popular play.
June 19, 2013 10:51 p.m.
Though in Mind Grind 's case its own text prevents it from being cast without paying its mana cost.
JasonMB says... #1
X=0 in CMC
June 19, 2013 4:34 p.m.