Would Thousand-Year Elixir allow PWs to use their abilities at instant speed if they were a creature?
Asked by supernick 14 years ago
thousand-year-elixer and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas . making tezz a creature with his -2, does he become able to use his abilities at instant speed?
π_is_the_word says... #2
Yes, a creature can use it's abilities at instant speed unless stated otherwise in the card's effect.
March 7, 2011 9:28 p.m.
MagnorCriol says... Accepted answer #3
No, because PW abilities are regulated completely separately from the "summoning sickness" rule. PW abilities CAN be activated the moment they come into play (provided the stack is clear) and they don't tap to activate anything.
PW abilities are hardcoded that they can only be activated once per turn, and only as a sorcery. No card (yet) printed alters this fact, and I doubt one is coming anytime soon, since that would allow for ludicrous abuse of some PWs.
March 7, 2011 9:32 p.m.
MagnorCriol says... #4
Also, forgot to add - Thousand-Year Elixir has no effect on the "speed" with which you can activate abilities. It only affects whether or not it can be done on the turn it comes into play, and even then only if it's an ability that requires a tap. A Dimir Guildmage , for instance, can still only force a discard on your turn, when the stack is empty, regardless of whether or not there's an Elixir on his side.
March 7, 2011 9:35 p.m.
well i understand guildmage is activated, not a tap ability. im wondering if tezz now has activated such as the guildmage, but still be subject to the once per turn rule.
March 7, 2011 9:55 p.m.
MagnorCriol says... #6
Yes to both.
All tap abilities are activated abilities. Anything that reads [Cost]: [Effect], which can include tapping for the cost, is an activated ability.
PW abilities are activated abilities because they actually read kist like that. There is a lot of information implied by the frame of a PW card, but they actually do have those colons in the ability when it's written out fully.
Jace Beleren , for instance, actually reads:
Add two loyalty counters to Jace Beleren: Each player draws a card.
Remove one loyalty counter from Jace Beleren: Target player draws a card.
Remove ten loyalty counters from Jace Beleren: Target player puts the top twenty cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
All three of those are activated abilities. (Note the interaction, then, between cards like Pithing Needle or Phyrexian Revoker and PWs.)
Activated abilities can always be activated any time you can cast an instant by default. IF, however, they explicitly state otherwise - such as the Dimir Guildmage I referenced - they have a limitation on them.
Also, since creatures cannot tap the turn they come into play without haste or an effect like Thousand-Year Elixir 's, activated abilities with the tap symbol in them require a turn to pass in order to activate.
They are not otherwise subject to a limit - so if you can pay the cost multiple times in one turn, you can activate the ability multiple times in a turn.
PWs ARE subject to a limit, however. They aren't creatures, and their abilities are governed differently:
306.5d Each planeswalker has a number of loyalty abilities, which are activated abilities with loyalty symbols in their costs. Loyalty abilities follow special rules: A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent he or she controls any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of his or her turn, but only if none of that permanent's loyalty abilities have been activated that turn.
Thus, even if you turn a PW into a creature, their PW abilities can't be activated more than once per turn.
March 7, 2011 10:37 p.m.
but can they be activated on ur opponents turn? like make gideon a 6/6 to block? or garruk pop a blocker? thats my real question.
is there a card that lets u activate at instand speed? against what a card says sorcery speed?
March 8, 2011 7:49 a.m.
xeratheenigma says... #8
no. there is currently NOT any card that allows you to use planeswalker abilities at instant speed.
March 8, 2011 3:11 p.m.
MagnorCriol says... #9
And no, they cannot be activated on your opponent's turn. "...any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of his or her turn..." - it's hardcoded in.
This is, again, because a lot of PW abilities could be ridiculously abused otherwise.
Specifically addressing Gideon Jura and Garruk Wildspeaker - Gideon's ability can only ever make an attacker, not a blocker (and no, it can't be combined with his +2 to make all creatures an opponent controls attack a 6/6 damage-prevented soldier), and you can't use Garruk's abilities to make a surprise 3/3 blocker or give all your defenders +3/+3.
supernick says... #1
Thousand-Year Elixir . and i read tezz wrong so make him one with Liquimetal Coating .
March 7, 2011 9:21 p.m.