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When I said "static buff" I was referring to the fact that it is a buff from a static ability, not that the buff itself was unchanging. It was poorly worded and I apologize.

Spells, triggered abilities, and activated abilities that provide buffs either do so for a limited time or create counters to denote the ongoing effect. Static abilities that provide buffs do not require counters to denote that they are ongoing.

Door of Destinies actually provides an example of both types. It has a triggered ability that puts counters on itself to denote its static ability buff is getting larger. Then it has the static ability that provides the buff to creatures. No counter is used here because the static ability remains on the field.

Deck rating is how many upvotes a deck has. I wouldn't think private decks would count, but don't know for sure.

Only half of my points were about creatures. I guess I could have reworded the first point to be spells and I will concede that it would have been a better point if I had. My points weren't about what people were saying here, but about what my experience is with players who "hate blue".

Really my points are even more about players who want to complain about any aspect of the game that doesn't appeal to them personally and therefore other people's fun is "wrong". There are valid criticisms of the game to be had. None of them are ever phrased "I hate ...", "... is cheap", or "people shouldn't be allowed to ...".

Your feeling that there should be more "punishment" is well known to me, I admit to not completely understanding what you mean and so I haven't engaged on the point further. You are however as far as I remember from conversations that we have both participated in, willing to try to understand how others can like stuff you don't.

I don't really think it is fair to say that blue has a lot of "catch-all" cards. Counterspells are limited in their temporal nature. Having to have the mana and card available when your opponent casts their spell is the most restrictive of "removal" options. They are compensated by being allowed to interact with all card types. Other than counters I am at a loss to what other catch-all cards you are referring to.

Another point, and one that everyone may be able to agree on is that bad blue players make the game tedious without adding anything interesting to the game. Somehow it isn't as obvious to people that counterspells are not an entire strategy unto themselves. A deck that contains 50% Terror reprints would be awful to play against, but no one does that. People will make a deck 50% Counterspells for some reason though. A well piloted blue deck may take more turns to complete a game, but time should be similar if they are not trying to intentionally run down the clock. At least the time spent on the blue player's turns. If you find yourself taking long turns against a blue deck, they aren't to blame.

Unless they are playing solidarity, but that is only one turn and at the end of it one or the other of you has won.

So, there is no nice concise rule. The static buff is the result of a continuous effect created by the last ability of Door of Destinies. Here is the rules for continuous effects created by static abilities and the definition of a static ability (all following text including examples are from the comprehensive rules). Hopefully this is enough to convince you that you were in the wrong.

113.3d Static abilities are written as statements. They’re simply true. Static abilities create continuous effects which are active while the permanent with the ability is on the battlefield and has the ability, or while the object with the ability is in the appropriate zone. See rule 604, “Handling Static Abilities.”

611.3. A continuous effect may be generated by the static ability of an object.

611.3a A continuous effect generated by a static ability isn’t “locked in”; it applies at any given moment to whatever its text indicates.

611.3b The effect applies at all times that the permanent generating it is on the battlefield or the object generating it is in the appropriate zone.

Example: A permanent with the static ability “All white creatures get +1/+1” generates an effect that continuously gives +1/+1 to each white creature on the battlefield. If a creature becomes white, it gets this bonus; a creature that stops being white loses it.

611.3c Continuous effects that modify characteristics of permanents do so simultaneously with the permanent entering the battlefield. They don’t wait until the permanent is on the battlefield and then change it. Because such effects apply as the permanent enters the battlefield, they are applied before determining whether the permanent will cause an ability to trigger when it enters the battlefield.

Example: A permanent with the static ability “All white creatures get +1/+1” is on the battlefield. A creature spell that would normally create a 1/1 white creature instead creates a 2/2 white creature. The creature doesn’t enter the battlefield as 1/1 and then change to 2/2.

Door of Destinies does not put counters on creatures. It puts counters on itself and gives a static buff (different than counters for a variety of reasons) to creatures.

I will look up the rules for you in a sec. I just want to get this out there so that you are prepared for the rules dump.

Because the vocal portion of the MtG player base wants to:

1. Cast and resolve creatures.
2. Crash the creatures into each other.
3. Interact at sorcery speed.
4. Play with maximal open information.

They therefore get upset about other people:

1. Countering their creatures.
2. Defending using non-creature methods.
3. Interacting at the last possible moment.
4. Keeping as much hidden information as possible.

All of which blue excels at. I theorize that it is the same reason people hate combo. Combo only does 3/4 things in every deck (non-blue combo decks don't usually counter anything), but they double down on hidden information.

So, the answer to your question depends on if mutate makes the new abilities copyable and if placing the initial loyalty counters is an ability. Rule 613.2a says that merging is applied in layer 1a and is therefore a copiable effect. 306.5b says that placing initial loyalty counters is an intrinsic ability ability.

Now where I'm not comfortable making a declaration because I can't find reference is if the printed loyalty number is referenced by the intrinsic ability or if the intrinsic ability is modified so that it contains the printed loyalty. I am of the opinion that it is the second case and Jace, Cunning Castaway's intrinsic ability is actually "Jace, Cunning Castaway enters the battlefield with three loyalty counters on it"

306.5b A planeswalker has the intrinsic ability “This permanent enters the battlefield with a number of loyalty counters on it equal to its printed loyalty number.” This ability creates a replacement effect (see rule 614.1c).

613.2a Layer 1a: Copiable effects are applied. This includes copy effects (see rule 706, “Copying Objects”) and changes to an object’s base characteristics determined by merging an object with a permanent

Wait, you probably want to actually cast it. Never mind.

The Q&A is for rules questions, I'm sure an admin will move this to the deck help section soon.

Quicksilver Amulet might be something to look at.

Xenagos, God of Revels

Instead of "make tokens and attack" it is "play a single big guy and attack". It still has the core of getting into combat but has different strengths and weaknesses.

You won't be able to run them if they have more than one of the same hybrid mana symbol as Samut does. You aren't even able to have cards such as Hangarback Walker because its mana cost contains twice.

Yes, the ability creates a token and then attaches Scytheclaw to it. It does not care if the token created has the characteristics specified earlier in the ability.