text:
What If I don't want it to layer
The situation is as follows:

Aiden has a Battlegate Mimic on the battlefield.
I control two Wilderness Hypnotists.
Aiden casts a Scourge of the Nobilis, targeting the Mimic; after that resolves I activate one of his Hypnotist's abilities, targeting the Mimic.
Aiden attacks with the Mimic, and casts Inside Out before the damage step.
Once Inside Out resolves, I activate the ability of his other Hypnotist.

The mimic will be a 4/2 due to layering, but what if I wanted to have the hypnotists to trigger after Inside Out so it deals no damage to me instead?

At the end of this sequence of events, the Mimic will be a 4/2 and you can't choose for it to resolve differently because those effects apply at different sublayers that apply to power and toughness. Those are described in the rules for the interaction of continuous effects:

613.3. Within layer 7, apply effects in a series of sublayers in the order described below. Within each sublayer, apply effects in timestamp order. (See rule 613.6.) Note that dependency may alter the order in which effects are applied within a sublayer. (See rule 613.7.)

613.3a Layer 7a: Effects from characteristic-defining abilities that define power and/or toughness are applied. See rule 604.3.
613.3b Layer 7b: Effects that set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value are applied. Effects that refer to the base power and/or toughness of a creature apply in this layer.
613.3c Layer 7c: Effects that modify power and/or toughness (but don’t set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value) are applied.
613.3d Layer 7d: Power and/or toughness changes from counters are applied. See rule 121, “Counters.”
613.3e Layer 7e: Effects that switch a creature’s power and toughness are applied. Such effects take the value of power and apply it to the creature’s toughness, and take the value of toughness and apply it to the creature’s power.

The Battlegate Mimic's ability applies at layer 7b. The Wilderness Hypnotists' and Scourge of the Noblis's abilities apply at layer 7c. And Inside Out applies at layer 7e. So, in the end you have the following effects, in the order they are applied:

Battlegate Mimic's ability sets its power and toughness to 4/2.
Scourge of the Noblis's abilities gives it +2/+2 in total and two different Wilderness Hypnotists' abilities each give it -2/-0. Overall, it gets -2/+2 from effects in this layer, making it a 2/4.
Inside Out switches its power and toughness, making it a 4/2.

Technically, the effects in layer 7c are applied in the order they resolved: one Hypnotist's ability, then Scourge of the Nobilis's abilities, then the other Hypnotist's ability. But they're all simple arithmetic, which is commutative, so it doesn't matter.

Thats what i thought, thx for clarifying.


text:
How does Hive Mind work with Counterspell in a multiplayer game?
I have a Hive Mind in play, it is my turn and I cast Wheel of Fortune (I win if my opponents don't have an answer and at least 2 of the copies resolve) everybody gets a copy, then the person in the 4th turn order relative to my active turn plays a Counterspell.
My question is: will my copy of Counterspell resolve first, or will every copy except for one copy of Wheel of Fortune get countered? (and we are assuming that every player knows and wants to counter the wheel copies except for myself) How would this change if it were the person in the 3rd or 2nd turn relative to my active turn if at all.

You can counter the original Counterspell with your copy, ensuring that at least two copies of Wheel of Fortune resolve. This is true no matter whose turn it is or which opponent casts the Counterspell.
The important thing to note here is that Hive Mind's ability is a triggered ability that triggers when a player casts a spell. The first and last steps of casting a spell are

601.2a To propose the casting of a spell, a player first moves that card (or that copy of a card) from where it is to the stack. It becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has all the characteristics of the card (or the copy of a card) associated with it, and that player becomes its controller. The spell remains on the stack until it’s countered, it resolves, or an effect moves it elsewhere.

[...]

601.2i Once the steps described in 601.2a–h are completed, effects that modify the characteristics of the spell as it’s cast are applied, then the spell becomes cast. Any abilities that trigger when a spell is cast or put onto the stack trigger at this time. If the spell’s controller had priority before casting it, he or she gets priority.

This means that both the triggered ability and any copies that it makes go on the stack above the original spell, so when any other player casts Counterspell, the copy you make goes on the stack above it, and can target and successfully counter the original.

The result being as you planned, if each opponent counters a different copy of Wheel, and you counter the counter, 2 Wheels resolve.

Technically speaking, one opponent could counter your counter in order to let the counter you were trying to counter resolve. But practically, this still removes two counters from Wheels and the result is the same.

Saddest part is, if another counter is played all the wheels will get countered. Well, I'm at least getting them to use their resources at least...

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


text:
Leaders expansions: Is trade commerce allowed during Recruitment phase
Sometimes you will need resources to build your stage of the wonder played. Is commerce allowed particularly in this phase. For example:
The game has begun and we are on the first recruitment phase. Here you are allowed to recruit, build a stage or discard. What if I choose to build a stage or my wonder but I don't have the resources. Am I allowed to trade?

Tl;dr: Yes.
A strict reading of the rules would imply that commerce isn't allowed for wonder construction even in the base game:

Throughout all 3 ages in a game, the players will get to build structures (cards) and Wonders (board).

...

Commerce
Often, a player will want to build a structure requiring resources he or
she does not produce.
If these resources are produced by a neighboring city...

However, the game designer has explicitly stated that you are allowed to use commerce for wonder stages. Given that clarification, it is reasonable to assume that when the Leaders rules are once again ambiguous on the matter, you can again use commerce for wonder stages there too.

Lol, so all this time we have been playing the game wrong. Can someone else confirm that?

I was quite surprised to find those rules myself - I thought the answer to your question would be a simple "of course you can", and I stand by that "always allowed" option even though I can't find it in the rules. As tangential evidence I'll point out that many of the wonders' A sides require two of the same grey resource to build. If commerce was not allowed for wonder construction, then if you wanted to complete your wonder you'd be forced to get that duplicate resource yourself, which would be pretty bad since nothing else in the game requires it.

I got so confused right now... Can we use trade  to build stages of the wonder yes or no... And can we trade in the recruitment phase... Here they are saying its allowed: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/832458/can-commerce-be-used-build-wonder-stage. But there is nothing for recruitment phase of the leaders..

To summarize: I think the answer is yes and yes, in spite of rules which would seem to say no and no.

I've updated the answer in light of the BGG thread you found.

I agree with Benjamin Cosman’s answer, it is allowed.
I think it can be deduced from the Leaders rules, which say about the Recruitment Phase:

b. Build a stage of a Wonder
To build a stage of a Wonder, the player uses the Leader card selected as a construction marker (face down). To do that, the cost indicated on the Wonder board must be paid, and not the one on the Leader card.
Note: this action will rarely be possible during the first Recruitment Phase, as the cities will generally not yet have the resources required for the construction of the first stage of their Wonder.

The note says that it will "rarely" be possible in the first phase, so it must be possible somehow.
If there is no Wonder that allows building the first stage only with the Wonder’s starting resource, then this means it can only be achieved with commerce.
I checked all Wonders that were released up to and with the release of the Leaders extension:

Each base game Wonder has 1 starting resource, and each of the Wonder’s first stages cost at least 2 resources to build.
The Manneken Pis Wonder has no starting resource, and none of its first stages can be built for free.
The Wonder from Leaders has no starting resource, and its first stages cost at least 2 resources to build.

So there doesn’t seem to be a Wonder which would make this possible without commerce. Hence commerce has to be allowed, otherwise it would never be possible.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Is a creature considered to have died if it has negative toughness?
Ok so let's say my opponent has a Festering Mummy (It's a 1/1 and when it dies put a -1/-1/ counter on target creature) and I cast Splendid Agony (Distribute two -1/-1 counters among one or two target creatures) and I put a -1/-1 on the Festering Mummy, is it considered to have died and does its death effect still occur?

Festering Mummy's triggered ability will trigger.
"To die" is synonymous with "to move from the battlefield to the graveyard" (for any reason). This includes when State-Based Actions move a creature to the graveyard for having negative toughness.

Creatures that have 0 or less toughness will "Die" according to state-based actions.
This is covered by the following two rules:

704.5f: If a creature has toughness 0 or less, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration can’t replace this event.

and

700.4: The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”

So for your specific example what will happen is:

You cast Splendid Agony targeting your opponent's Festering Mummy.
It resolves placing one -1/-1 counter on Festering Mummy.
State-based actions see that Festering Mummy has 0 toughness, and moves it to the graveyard (i.e. Festering Mummy dies).
Festering Mummy's death ability triggers and goes on the stack.


text:
Can I save a creature from dying by exileing then returning it
If I have a Dire Fleet Hoarder on the field that takes a point of damage can I cast Siren's Ruse to save it from dying?

Ok seems I gotta out myself as a hairy mtg:er on this account, well so be it. This post is so important!! I always thought sometning being exiled meant being completely removed and not being possible to bring back to make any difference in any way.

@mathreadler Unless the effect that exiles it brings it back, there is almost nothing that will return a card from exile in magic. Effects like this have become pretty common actually, meant to remove a card and cause it to return as a new object (no targeting, no counters, no damage, new etbs etc). Pull from Eternity and Runic Repetition are the only cards I can think of that return cards from exile they didn't exile themselves.

Ah, alright. Last time i played mtg "remove from the game" was kind of an extreme thing that only apocalypse and such stuff could do, but maybe it gets more common nowadays.

@mathreadler it's is kind of a case of power creep in the game over the years, and I believe the reason behind the creation of AWOL as a joke card.

Yes you can save your creature, if you cast your spell at the right time.
When you exile a creature and return it to the battlefield it becomes a new object (except in special cases) as per the comprehensive rules:

400.7: An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:...

However in order to save your creature, you must cast exile and return the creature before damage has been done to it.
For example if your creature is targeted by a removal spell:

You have a Dire Fleet Hoarder and your opponent casts Shock targeting it.
If you respond to the Shock with Siren's Ruse, your opponent has no responses.
Once the stack starts to resolve, the Shock will lose track of your Dire Fleet Hoarder and fizzle (since it no longer has any legal targets).
Your pirate has survived and is free to pillage another day!

An example of your creature about to die in combat (see: Combat Phase for more info):

You have a Dire Fleet Hoarder that is attacking and your opponent has a
2/2 Forest Bear blocking it.
Before the Damage Step you cast Siren's Ruse targeting your Dire Fleet Hoarder, your opponent has no responses.
When Siren's Ruse resolves your Dire Fleet Hoarder is removed from combat. It will no longer be dealt any damage by the Bear, and it will no longer deal any damage to the Bear.

If however the damage has already been marked on the Dire Fleet Hoarder, for instance you let the the Shock spell resolve without responding or you let combat damage be dealt, it is too late to save it. This is because it will have already died due to state-based actions as per the comprehensive rules:

704.1.: State-based actions are game actions that happen automatically whenever certain conditions (listed below) are met. State-based actions don’t use the stack.

and

704.5g: If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.

Since the creature is killed as a result of a state based action, it doesn't use the stack. Since it doesn't use the stack, you can not respond to it and can not save your creature.

It depends on specifically what you mean by "takes a point of damage".
If you mean that an opponent cast something like Lightning Strike, then yes, you can respond to Lightning Strike while it is still on the stack, and cast Siren's Ruse to save it. This works because when your Dire Fleet Hoarder enters the battlefield again from exile, it will be a completely different creature from the one that was targeted with Lightning Strike:

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:

(None of the exceptions apply here)
Similarly, if it has been assigned to block a creature that will deal a point of damage to it, or if it was blocked by a creature that will deal a point of damage to it, you can save it by casting Siren's Ruse after blockers have been assigned. (If you do this, then it also won't deal any combat damage, as the object that comes back into play will not be involved in combat. Though any creature is was blocking will still be considered blocked, and not deal damage to you).
However, if you mean that it literally has taken a point of damage, then no, you can't save it. It will die before you have a chance to do anything else, because it has as much damage as its toughness.

704.3. Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 116, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event.
704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.

In other words, to save it you must respond to whatever is about to deal it damage, before it is actually dealt damage.

To add: "Keep in mind that if you exile it have it avoid taking combat damage, it won't be around to deal combat damage either."


text:
Can I play an instant when my opponent taps their lands to cast an instant?
I have a Creature spell and Duress in my hand, I cast the creature spell. My opponent starts tapping lands to cast a counter spell on the stack. Can I interrupt him and cast Duress to make him discard the instant card from his hand?

I assume you don't want your creature countered? Not a rules answer, but a suggested strategy: play Duress first, he responds by either wasting mana to counter your Duress, or by simply allowing it to be discarded. Then cast your creature. But if you've already cast your creature spell, there is nothing you can do to save it.

I guess you're a decade or two too late to play an interrupt.

To answer the titular question:
No, you can not play an instant when your opponent taps mana to cast an instant.
This when a player is allowed to preform a certain action is a fairly in depth topic, and if you want to learn more about it I would recommend the following sources:

In plain English, how does casting spells and using creature abilities work with the stack and priority?
Magic's Comprehensive Rules

However to summarize, you can not cast an instant "in response" to your opponent tapping their lands because of two reasons:

You do not receive priority (and therefore can not act) until after your opponent finishes casting a spell. This is outlined throughout 601.2 (Rules for casting a spell) with the relevant part here (Italicized text mine):

601.2i: Once the steps described in 601.2a–h (Steps to casting a spell including, paying costs and choosing targets) are completed, effects that modify the characteristics of the spell as it’s cast are applied, then the spell becomes cast. Any abilities that trigger when a spell is cast or put onto the stack trigger at this time. If the spell’s controller had priority before casting it, he or she gets priority.

Mana abilities (such as tapping lands) do not use the stack and can not be responded to. This is outlined here:

605.3b: An activated mana ability doesn’t go on the stack, so it can’t be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after it is activated. (See rule 405.6c.)

To address the specific example in the body of your question, No you can not cast Duress to force your opponent to discard the counter spell before he finishes casting it. In addition to the reasons above, you can not cast Duress in response to anything as it is a sorcery. Sorceries may only be cast during one of your main phases when the stack is empty (Comprehensive Rules 307).

He could use Quicken to make Duress an instant. But he can still respond to Duress and counter the spell, so... I suppose it the factors aligned perfectly he could Extirpate? But wow we're talking "two decks of cards shuffled the same way" kind of odds now.

@corsiKa Even if it was possible to cast duress at instant speed, or had Extirpate, it isn't possible to remove the counter spell from the opponents hand once they start casting it. You can't cast instants at anytime, you may only cast instants when you have priority. Once someone starts casting a spell, you don't have the ability to respond until after they are finished casting it and give you priority.

good point! You're super hosed in every situation short of your opponent making a massive play mistake.

If you are precognizant, or extremely paranoid, it is possible to pre-empt a counter spell. If you cast your creature, hold priority, and then cast extirpate naming the counter spell, that would remove it from your opponents hand without them being able to cast it. But you would need to know they had it first.

You could - although let's be honest, you'd not want to commit to casting the creature first - you'd just Extirpate and look at the opponents hand to make sure your creature is the creature you really want to cast. I mean, if you're good enough to pre-empt a counter spell like that, you're good enough to cast them in an order to maximize your strategic value.

In regards to #1, it's also not clear from the OP that he had started to cast a spell. If he was just tapping lands; without having announced that he was casting a spell, then you would get priority, except for the fact that tapping lands for mana is a mana ability.

No, you cannot cast Duress in this situation to remove the counter spell.
First, Duress is a sorcery, not an instant.
Secondly, once an opponent begins to cast a spell, you can't stop that spell until it is out of their hand and on the stack.
Third, even if you somehow could cast Duress as an instant, you cast your creature and say as you're casting it "... and I'll hold priority", and cast Duress, they could still cast their counterspell, since your Duress has to resolve before it can remove the card from their hand.

No, because tapping a land for mana is a "mana ability", which does not use the stack and cannot be responded to.

605.1. Some activated abilities and some triggered abilities are mana abilities, which are subject to special rules. ...

605.1a An activated ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn’t have a target, it could add mana to a player’s mana pool when it resolves, and it’s not a loyalty ability. (See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”)

605.3b An activated mana ability doesn’t go on the stack, so it can’t be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after it is activated. (See rule 405.6c.)

Almost all sources of mana are mana abilities and as such can not be responded to.
A small number of abilities that generate mana are not "mana abilities" for various reasons, 'though. For example Deathrite Shaman's first ability is not a mana ability, because it requires a target.
That means if you opponent used that ability to get some mana, you could respond to that activation with an instant of your own (not with Duress, though, since that's a Sorcery).


text:
Can I save my Bristling Hydra by responding to removal with something that gives me energy?
If I attack with Bristling Hydra and my opponent plays Vraska's Contempt to exile it, can I play Harnessed Lightning to get 3 energy to give my hydra hexproof?

Why do you think that this wouldn't work?

@Rainbolt it's better to ask to be sure than to do it and be wrong

Yes. Players get priority after each spell or ability resolves (starting with the Active Player).[CR 116.3b]

Harnessed Lightning is an instant, so it may be cast in response to Vraska's Contempt. Harnessed Lightning needs to target a creature. You could target your own Bristling Hydra and choose to deal no damage to it on resolution. (It might be safer to target an opponent's creature, but I'm assuming there are no other creatures on the 'field.) As the last spell or ability added to the stack, it resolves next.
After Harnessed Lightning resolves, you can activate Bristling Hydra's activated ability. As the last spell or ability added to the stack, it resolves next.
Finally, Vraska's Contempt would resolve, but is countered by the rules for having only illegal targets. Your opponent doesn't even get the 2 life.

The following is the game flow in detail:

NAP casts Vraska's Contempt targeting NAP's Bristling Hydra.
NAP passes priority.
AP casts Harnessed Lightning targeting their Bristling Hydra.
AP passes priority.
NAP passes priority.
Harnessed Lightning resolves:

AP gains 3 energy.
AP chooses not to pay any.
AP deals no damage to their Bristling Hydra.

AP activates Bristling Hydra activated ability
AP passes priority.
NAP passes priority.
Bristling Hydra activated ability resolves:

AP puts a +1/+1 counter on their Bristling Hydra.
Their Bristling Hydra gains Hexproof.

AP passes priority.
NAP passes priority.
Vraska's Contempt is countered by the rules for having only illegal targets.

The following is how the above might be voiced (using tournament shortcuts):

NAP: I cast Vraska's Contempt targeting your Bristling Hydra. [Implicitly passes.]
AP: In response, I cast Harnessed Lightning targeting my Bristling Hydra. [Implicitly passes.]
NAP: Pass.
AP: Harnessed Lightning resolves. I pay nothing.
AP: In response to Vraska's Contempt, I activate Bristling Hydra's activated ability. [Implicitly passes.]
NAP: Pass.
AP: Bristling Hydra's ability resolves.
AP: [Proposes a shortcut:] Vraska's Contempt is countered.
NAP: [Accepts shortcut:] ok.

As the Bristling Hydra is attacking, active player and non-active player should be inverted...

@liberforce, Fixed.

And icing on the cake, because it's countered, opponent doesn't even get the 2 life! :joy:

@corsiKa, Added.


text:
What's the Usefulness of Prognostic Sphinx's Second Ability?
I have a question regarding Prognostic Sphinx and its second ability (as you'll probably be able to tell, I'm very new to this game).
According to its second ability, I can discard a card so that it "gains hexproof until end of term" at the cost of tapping it.
I don't know if I'm reading this correctly or not, but does this mean I can only tap it during my turn and my turn only, and as soon as my opponent begins his next turn, it becomes untapped, loses hexproof, and is therefore susceptible to spells anyways? If this is the case, what's the usefulness of this ability other than protecting it during my turn?

Prognostic Sphinx's ability has no restriction on timing, so you can activate it whenever you have priority. This includes on your opponent's turn, or in response to another spell or ability.
Abilities that have timing restrictions will always state it, either directly on the card or in the rules for that ability. For example, the rule for Outlast has a clause "Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery." This clause restricts when you can activate the ability.
Creatures do not untap on your opponent's turn unless an effect specifically untaps them.
Tapping Prognostic Sphinx is not part of the cost of activating the ability. It is an effect. This is important because it means you can activate the ability even when Prognostic Sphinx is already tapped (although the instruction to "Tap it." won't actually do anything).

Re "Abilities that have timing restrictions will always state it", Though it may be in the rules for keyword abilities (e.g. Equip)

That caught my eye too, ikegami. My first instinct was Planeswalker abilities.

@corsiKa I edited the answer before you posted your comment. Is there still a point that you think could use more clarification?

"Tap it" being an effect rather than a cost also means you can use the ability while it is "summoning sick"

The basic idea is that you can counter your opponent's spells and abilities with it.  I think the idea you're missing is that any ability on a card acts at instant speed (just like an instant spell) so you can use it anytime you have priority (unless the card specifically states otherwise).  So the idea is that you have to use the ability in response to them using a powerful spell to guarantee you get some value.
Learning what priority is and how to use it is a little complicated but the basic idea is whenever a player does something their opponent gets to react.  Though how you react is restricted, usually only instant spells or unrestricted abilities actually work as ways to surprise or counter your opponent.
So, here's an example:

I cast Hero's Downfall targeting your Sphinx
In response, you activate the second ability, giving it hexproof.
Hero's Downfall tries to resolve, but it now has an illegal target (due to it being hexproof) and is countered.

Congratulations, you've discarded your worst card in your hand to counter a very effective removal spell.  Not a bad trade.  The real power is you can keep doing this as long as you have a card to discard.  So if I have 4 removal spells but you have 4 lands in your hand then I cannot kill your sphinx.
The only real downside here is if I'm an aggro deck I can use those spells to force you to tap him so you can't block.  That strategy only buys me 1 turn per spell though, so it's not very good for me.


text:
Can Spike, Tournament Grinder tutor for cards outside of your Sideboard at Launch Night's Draft?

Will tutoring with Spike, Tournament Grinder's ability still have to follow the ruling that anything outside of the game refers to sideboard only? If so, isn't this a useless ability since every card one drafts is legal to play with? Or will there be an exception where one can tutor for a Constructed format banned card outside the game that one has in procession that they have brought that night?

@TheThirdMan This seems to be asking for clarification on the meaning of "a card you own", as opposed to the other question which is asking for clarification of "has been banned or restricted in a Constructed format". I don't think the question is a duplicate. (BTW Jason I don't think your edit really makes that any more clear than it was before - but maybe that's just me.)

@DavidZ: Convincing enough... I edited the question myself to hopefully indicate that more clearly (the title in particular was quite misleading).

Possible duplicate of Which cards can Spike, Tournament Grinder tutor for?

@JoeW See the comment I posted above as a reply to the last person who voted to make this a duplicate of that question. (I've edited the title of that question to more closely reflect what it's asking, to avoid potential confusion about this.)

You are able to to get cards outside of your sideboard using Spike's ability in both limited and constructed.
This is adressed by Mark Rosewater (The person in charge of silver bordered rulings) on his tumblr Blogatog.

bolas-our-lord-and-savior asked: In un limited/constructed spike can get cards not in your sideboard right?
MR:Yes.

Source.

Special note for Commander/EDH play:
With the announcement that Silver-boarded cards will be legal in Commander/EDH until January 15 2018, it should be mentioned that Spike will not work without prior agreement from your play group (as confirmed by Mark Rosewater). This is because Commander already has an established rules for cards that refer to cards outside the game.

13. Abilities which refer to other cards owned outside the game (Wishes, Spawnsire, Research, Ring of Ma'ruf) do not function in Commander without prior agreement on their scope from the playgroup.

The common way that this is resolved is with the use of a Wishboard.

Interesting that he says this applies to constructed, seeing as Un-cards aren't legal in any constructed formats...

@TheThirdMan He is probably talking about casual Constructed, as silver boarders are primarily intended for casual play.

True, but "ruling" silver-bordered cards in casual play is kind of pointless, seeing as you already chose to disregard Wizard's better judgement and included them in your decks (and even worse, let your friends do the same! :D ). Also, as I stated in my answer, casual play doesn't need an extra ruling - you're already allowed to use every card from your collection.

@TheThirdMan Having an official ruling does help for casual play though, as MaRo's rulings can be used as "evidence" to support one side and end arguments/disagreements among players.

@TheThirdMan Un cards are currently officially legal in EDH/Commander (until at least January 15), and unstable itself has rules for constructed use of contraptions. The ability would be very restricted if it was not able to go outside the sideboard, since it would need to grab a card that is legal in the format played, but banned in another format.

@Andrew There is a Rule that applys to commander play specifically that neuters Spike fairly heavily. Rule 13 will says that you will need to discuss how the card works with your play group first.

@Malco Yes there is, but I'd wager generally play groups would agree with rulings from MaRo. I was specifically responding to TheThirdMan saying that un cards are not legal in any constructed format, which is not true, as they are legal in commander, which is an official constructed format.

@Andrew The answer is already a bit bloated now with the commander note but I will drop the MaRo ruling as well. When TheThirdMan (and the orginal Q and A) were posted the EDH committee had not yet made their announcement. It was quite the surprise when they did as it was unprecedented to bring silver boarders into official constructed formats.

@Malco Fair point, but it bears mentioning that the comment is no longer accurate.

The rule you're referring to applies to sanctioned events exclusively, as indicated for example by Spawnsire of Ulamog's Rulings:

In a casual game, the cards you cast from outside the game come from your personal collection. In a sanctioned event, those cards must come from your sideboard. (...)

From what I can gather from the official product page, there will be sanctioned drafts, which means the above rule will indeed prevent you from searching anything else but the cards in your Sideboard (meaning that you drafted, but didn't include in your deck), and as you correctly stated, there won't likely be any banned or restricted cards to find there, as the set itself is legal during it's own draft.
As you said yourself, this sounds like a case that will be handled by the Release Notes, which are yet to be publicised. Seeing as Un-cards are meant to be exciting and bending the rules as far as possible, it seems to be in the spirit of the set to ignore this restriction and actually be able to search for your Time Walk if you choose to do so. After all, with a set like this, there will be crazier things happening, and a 1/1 with CMC 4 isn't quite worth the pick otherwise.
Whether the release notes will account for that case or not, you could address the head judge and ask them to allow cards outside of the sideboard as well, as they have the authority to rule one way or another if in doubt. While this would be questionable in any other tournament if it went explicitly against what the release notes say, I personally wouldn't mind for a set like this, and I think most players partaking in tournaments like that would expect a less serious athmosphere from the beginning, and/or are enjoying more crazyness.

Thank you and yes I do believe your edit of my original question is more fitting. Now to your answer, I thank you for letting me know that no further notes were released yet. I hope they will allow some fun and crazy shenanigans with it on release. I also did not know the judge watching the event could make changes like that. I cannot wait for Unstable to release.


text:
How many tricks can the opponents claim if I revoke twice in one game?
I would like to know about revokes in bridge. Can the opponents claim 3 tricks?

Assuming:

You mean "twice on one hand" and not "twice in one game" in your question title, as the two are very different (game is a scoring unit that can encompass many hands),

The second revoke was a failure to follow suit in the same suit as the first revoke, and

You are playing Rubber Bridge and not Duplicate Bridge;

then the following applies from The Laws of Rubber Bridge

[Law 64] D. there is no trick penalty for the established revoke
...

if the revoke was a subsequent revoke in the same
suit by the same player, ....

However, note the final paragraph of Law 64:

When any established revoke, including one not subject to penalty, causes damage to the non-offending side insufficiently compensated by the Law, the
offending side should transfer additional tricks so as to restore equity.

The easiest example of the exceptional case would be if the revoke allowed defender to a NT contract access to a running suit not otherwise with an entry, causing a makeable contract to be set more than one trick. Clearly a one trick penalty fails to restore equity, so a greater penalty should be applied.


text:
Portcullis triggers
The oracle text for Portcullis is:

Whenever a creature enters the battlefield, if there are two or more other creatures on the battlefield, exile that creature. Return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control when Portcullis leaves the battlefield.

One of the official rulings for the card says that:

The creature does enter the battlefield, so any other abilities that trigger on it entering the battlefield trigger. This follows the normal rules for timing triggered abilities: first, the current player puts his or her abilities on the stack in any order, then each other player in turn order does the same. Portcullis’ own ability is included in this, so it could result in the creature being exiled after some abilities have resolved, but before others.

So clearly any entering creatures can result in EtB triggers going onto the stack in APNAP order, but when does "Portcullis’ own ability" go on the stack? And who determines the order?
Example: Portcullis is on the battlefield under the control of player B, who also has a single creature on the field. Player A casts Show and Tell, which resolves. Player A puts down an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and player B puts down Grizzly Bears. They enter simultaneously. Neither has an EtB trigger (Emrakul's trigger is "on cast"). Who gets to decide the order of the Porcullis triggers? Portcullis’ controller? Or do the Portcullis triggers go on the stack as if the creatures had entered in APNAP order. If APNAP, order, then Player B's (NAP) trigger would go onto the stack after A's (AP) trigger and thus resolve first, exiling the Bears and then when Emrakul's trigger resolves, there would be only two creatures, so Emrakul would stick. OTOH, if Portcullis' controller gets to choose, (s)he could put the Bears' trigger on the stack first, followed by Emrakul, so the trigger for Emrakul would see two other creatures and Emrakul would be exiled. Then the Bears would see only one other creature and would stay on the battlefield.
I would guess that I'm reading too much into the phrase "Portcullis’ own ability" and that the answer is simply APNAP, but I'm not sure.
Thanks.

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking, I can address your specific example, but I can't see how it relates to "So clearly any entering creatures can result in EtB triggers going onto the stack in APNAP order, but when does "Portcullis’ own ability" go on the stack? And who determines the order?'

Triggered abilities that trigger simultaneously are always put on the stack in APNAP order. Specifically, this means that the active player puts the triggered abilities that they control onto the stack in any order they choose, then each other player in turn order does the same. In the case of Portcullis, the player who controls the triggered ability is the player who controls Portcullis itself, so that player chooses the order in which its triggers go on the stack if multiple creatures enter simultaneously.
So, in your specific example, player B controls the Portcullis, so they decide the order in which the triggers go on the stack, allowing them to effectively decide which creature gets exiled.
The ruling you quoted simply means that if there are other triggered abilities that trigger the same time as Portcullis's own ability, then Portcullis's ability may appear before, after, or even in between them on the stack, depending on who controls those abilities and in what order they decide to put them on the stack.

Thank you! I was not at all clear on who controlled Portcullis' ability (or if anyone did).

The player who controls Portcullis gets to choose the order in which the Portcullis triggers go on the stack.
Let's address your specific example:
Player B has a Portcullis and a Storm Crow on the field, Player A has nothing on the field.
Player A casts Show and Tell it resolves with no response. Player A selects Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, and Player B selects Grizzly Bears.
The Portcullis's EtB effect triggers for both creatures, and is put on the stack. Player B chooses the order in which they go on the stack since he controls Portcullis, as per comprehensive rules (emphasis mine):

603.3b: If multiple abilities have triggered since the last time a player received priority, each player, in APNAP order, puts triggered abilities he or she controls on the stack in any order he or she chooses. (See rule 101.4.) Then the game once again checks for and resolves state-based actions until none are performed, then abilities that triggered during this process go on the stack. This process repeats until no new state-based actions are performed and no abilities trigger. Then the appropriate player gets priority.

Let's assume that Player B chose to put the Emrakul trigger on top of the Grizzly Bear trigger. The Portcullis ability that went on the stack second (and is on top) will resolve first. The ability will see that there are currently two other creatures (Grizzly Bear and Storm Crow) on the battlefield and that creature (Emrakul) will be exiled.
The Portcullis ability that went on the stack first (and is underneath) will then resolve, see that there is only one other creature on the battlefield, and that creature (Grizzly Bear) will not be exiled.
So assuming that Player B plays correctly the end result will be a Grizzly Bear and a Storm Crow on the field and an Emrakul in exile.

Thank you! This answer is close, but note that I specified that B had another creature on the field because Portcullis' ability exiles incoming creatures when there are two or more other creatures on the battlefield. As you restated it neither incoming creature would be exiled. However, your point that B gets to choose the order of Portcullis' triggers on the stack is what I needed to know. Thanks,.

Thanks again, Malco. That was helpful. Actually, when it comes down to  it, I find


text:
Can I Sacrifice a blocker and still prevent damage from getting though to me?
Can you block an attacking creature with a creature with a sacrifice ability in order to prevent the attacking creature from getting through to do damage?


text:
Returning an attacking creature equipped with Trepanation Blade
If my opponent attacks with Trepanation Blade and I use an instant that returns all attacking creatures to their owners hand, will the effect of the blade still play out?
The Blade says:

Whenever equipped creature attacks, defending player reveals cards from the top of his or her library until he or she reveals a land card. The creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each card revealed this way. That player puts the revealed cards into his or her graveyard.

Yes, the ability will do as much as it can when it resolves

609.3. If an effect attempts to do something impossible, it does only as much as possible.

Trepanation Blade triggers whenever the equipped creature attacks. The ability is now on the stack, no matter what happens to the creature afterwards. If the creature has left the battlefield by the time TP gets to resolve, boosting its power will be impossible, but TP will still do as much as possible, i.e. the defending player has to reveal cards and put them into his or her graveyard.

that's pretty much what we figured, just wanted some confirmation, thanks

The first sentence mentions that the ability does as much as possible. The rule quoted mentions that the effect does as much as possible. This is bound to mislead new players. There are cases where the ability actually won't do anything at all. For example, if I cast Bright Reprisal and the targeted creature dies before Reprisal resolves, then I will not draw a card. I would modify the opening statement to something like "Because the ability is not targeted, it will do as much as it can when it resolves."

@Rainbolt, Noone says "The ability generates effects that do ...". Even the rules say to follow the instructions of the ability.

Who deleted my comment and why?

Trepanation Blade triggers "whenever equipped creature attacks", which means it triggers immediately after attackers have been declared. Whatever happens to the creature after that is irrelevant. Even if the creature dies, is exiled, or returned to your hand, the triggered ability will still resolve unless something else counters it.

The ability of trepanation blade goes on the stack as soon as declare attackers happens before you have the opportunity to cast any spells. As is always the case in magic, removing the source of an ability already on the stack does not stop the ability itself from resolving. The only ways to stop this from happening are to:

Make the ability illegal, not possible in this case as there is no targeting involved.
Counter the ability using cards like Stifle or Void Slime


text:
What is the reason why the commentator said that?
I was watching this video. When I was confused by what one of the commentators said. The commentator said basically that Daniel's pair of deuce would get beaten if Phill Laak would hit a 9?
Why is that?

Timestamp 5:20, in case someone is wondering.

He's talking about what Daniel is thinking. He's saying that Daniel is pretty sure that his pair of 2's is the best hand, unless Laak is holding a 9, which he could be (from Daniel's perspective).
So he's not saying that Laak needs another 9 on the river to win; he's saying that IF Laak were holding a 9, then he would be winning after that 9 on the turn.

Daniel checked the flop and Laak checked back.  If Laak had hit the flop he probably would have bet the flop.  From that Danial can assume his pair of 2's is good.
On the turn his 2's will still be good unless Laak is holding a 9.
Laak floats (calls with nothing) the turn to represent 99 (or better).  A float means he plans to bluff the river and it worked.
If Daniel was going to bet the turn I think he should bet the river.  He basically gave up on bottom pair.


text:
Creature spells vs. ability to convert a permanent into a creature
I just wanted some clarification here, but is an ability to convert into a creature (from a land or an artifact) regarded the same as a casting "creature spell" (as an instant I guess) in terms of "color creature spells you cast cost 1 less to cast"?
Does that makes sense?
If I wanted to convert a land into a 3/3 creature would an artifact with this ability allow me cast that conversion (as a creature spell) for less mana?

Abilities aren't spells. Abilities aren't cast. Abilities don't have a card type. Abilities don't have a color.

@ Neal, Welcome to the Site! Pretty good for a first question, MTG can be pretty complex so asking for clarification can help out a lot. If you would like to learn more about how the site works consider taking the [tour].

No, you said it yourself: it's an ability, which is different from a spell. If you get a discount on creature spells, it won't affect abilities.

Spells

111.1. A spell is a card on the stack. As the first step of being cast (see rule 601, "Casting Spells"), the card becomes a spell and is moved to the top of the stack from the zone it was in, which is usually its owner's hand. (See rule 405, "Stack.")

Abilities

112.1a An ability can be a characteristic an object has that lets it affect the game. An object's abilities are defined by its rules text or by the effect that created it. Abilities can also be granted to objects by rules or effects. (Effects that grant abilities usually use the words "has," "have," "gains," or "gain.") Abilities generate effects. (See rule 609, "Effects.")
...
112.1c An ability can be an activated or triggered ability on the stack. This kind of ability is an object. (See section 6, "Spells, Abilities, and Effects.")

Activating Activated Abilities

602.1. Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. They are written as "[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]"

112.1a-c seem to be more relevant with regards to what an ability is vs what a spell is.

I considered citing them, but I hate the circular definition in 112.1c with a passion.

It might also be worth addressing why a token producing spell is not a creature spell.

@Glorfindel I wouldn't say the definition is circular. An ability as per 112.1c is an object on the stack that was created by an ability as per 112.1a.

Even if it were a spell and not an ability, a creature spell is a spell of type creature, not any spell that causes a creature to be on the battlefield. So, for instance, Resurrection is a sorcery,  Animate Land is an instant, and Aquatic Incursion is an enchantment. None of these are creature spells, even though they cause there to be creatures on the battlefield.

Life and Limb, or any genju or any zendikon would be a better enchantment and Verdant Touch would be a better sorcery to use as an example in this question, since these animate lands rather than create tokens or return creatures from the grave.

@Andrew My intent was to give examples showing that regardless of how a creature comes onto the field (card moved from another zone, token created, existing permanent turned into a creature), if the spell that puts it there isn't labelled a creature spell, then it's not a creature spell.

If you're talking casting a spell with Awaken, like Ruinous Path then this is an alternate cost for a spell but it still is a non-creature spell, so it could have the cost to cast reduced by things like Jet Medallion but it won't be reduced by Bontu's Monument. Other spells will also animate lands, like Life and Limb this too can be reduced in cost by Emerald Medallion but not by Rhonas's Monument. Wall of Resurgence is the only thing close to a creature spell that will turn a land into a creature, because it turns a land into a creature when it enters the battlefield.
If it's an activated ability of some creature that will animate the land, like Clan Guildmage's ability, there are cards that can reduce the cost, like Heartstone and Training Grounds.
If it's an ability of the land itself, then there is nothing I know of that reduces the cost of a land's activated ability.
None of these are casting a creature spell, only the first is a spell at all but those are instants or sorceries.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Can I put Lich's Mirror into play with The Ur-Dragon's ability to save me after drawing out with the same ability?
Let's say I have The Ur-Dragon and a ton of dragons on the field. I attack with enough dragons to draw my remaining library (as per The Ur-Dragon's  ability "Whenever one or more dragons you control attack, draw that many cards"), I draw Lich's Mirror and use Ur-Dragon's "put a permanent from your hand onto the battlefield" effect to play Lich's Mirror. Would I lose as soon as I draw my entire library? Would I get a chance to trigger Lich's Mirror?

Nit: Lich's Mirror's ability is a static ability that creates a replacement effect. It's not a triggered ability.

Nit: You lose if you try to draw more than your remaining library contains.

Fixed Ur-Dragon broken link, guess we can add it to the list of broken auto-cards....

@Malco probably because "Scion of the Ur-Dragon" contains the same card name.

Wow Lich's Mirror is bad.

Lich's Mirror's would be on the battlefield to save you before you actually lose the game.

The pertinent rules are:

704.3. Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 116, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event. [...]
704.5b If a player attempted to draw a card from a library with no cards in it since the last time state-based actions were checked, that player loses the game.

From that, we gather the following:

It's drawing more than the number of remaining cards that causes you to lose the game.
It doesn't happen immediately; it happens the next time a player would get priority. This means the ability finishes resolving first.

So, for example, let's say your library has two cards left, one of which is Lich's Mirror. And let's say you attack with three dragons.
The Ur-Dragon's third ability triggers, goes on the stack and (possibly eventually) resolves. During its resolution, you draw the remaining two cards and fail to draw the third one, then you place Lich's Mirror on the battlefield.
Immediately after the ability has finished resolving, an SBA would cause you to lose the game for having not being able to draw since the last time SBA conditions were checked. However, Lich's Mirror's replacement effect kicks in, keeping you in the game.

If you draw your whole deck and then some with The Ur-Dragon's triggered ability, you will still be able to put Lich's Mirror onto the battlefield with the second part of the same ability, and if you do it will save you from dying due to trying to draw from an empty library.
The key reason that this works is that most standard ways of losing the game, including losing due to drawing from an empty library, happen as state-based actions. State-based actions are not evaluated continuously; they are only checked after an ability entirely resolves. So, in this case, even though you draw the cards first, you won't lose immediately, and the Lich's Mirror will already be on the battlefield by the time state-based actions are checked. Then it can replace losing the game with its own effect.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Can't cast an instant after my opponent declares attackers in Arena
If I have an instant that gives a creature +1/+7 (Aegis of the Heavens) until end of turn, I should be able to cast this after my opponent declares their attackers, right? Because the game hasn't been giving me the opportunity.

Are you sure that you had enough untapped lands in the right colors to cast the spell at that time? Arena will skip opportunities to cast spells like that if you are not actually capable of casting anything.

@murgatroid99 That is not universally true. There are bugs in the autotap algorithms that make the game skip opportunities that you actually have. Example from reddit, submitted by me: https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicArena/comments/9abyhg/ai_does_not_understand_unclaimed_territory/

Sometimes switching to full-control mode is necessary, have you had it enabled?

@Marcus I did not, but that's besides the point, the behaviour was clearly a bug in an important feature. Full control would have been one workaround, as would have been manually tapping before casting, but you can't reasonably expect such behaviour, so there was no reason use those workarounds before you knew about the issue.

@ TeaNTea Welcome to the site! In the future it may be helpful to take a screenshot of the board state so answers have more information to figure out what might have happened. In arena you should have had two opportunities to cast your pump spell (after declare attacks, and after declare blocks) without having to go to full control.

@Hackworth I never claimed that being unable to cast the spell was the only possible explanation. But it is one possible explanation.

Yes, declaring attackers happens during the Declare Attackers step (rule 508). After declaring attackers (508.1), the active player (your opponent) gets priority (508.2) but you'll get priority thereafter and should be able to cast an instant.
Unless there are other effects in place barring you from casting spells, it seems to be an Arena bug.


text:
When exactly do I get to check the next card when casting a spell from the top of my library with Experimental Frenzy?
For example: After seeing Banefire and choosing to cast it, would the new top of my library be available for viewing before I choose an X value? If not, when is the soonest I can check the next card?

You cannot look at the top of your library while casting a spell like Banefire from the top of your library. You can look at the top of your library as soon as you have finished casting the spell. This is specified in rule 401.5:

Some effects tell a player to play with the top card of their library revealed, or say that a player may look at the top card of their library. If the top card of the player’s library changes while a spell is being cast, the new top card won’t be revealed and can’t be looked at until the spell becomes cast (see rule 601.2i). The same is true with relation to an ability being activated.

Since the first step of casting a spell, listed as rule 601.2a, is

To propose the casting of a spell, a player first moves that card (or that copy of a card) from where it is to the stack. [...]

Casting a spell from the top of your library counts as the top card of the library changing while the spell is being cast.
The final step of casting a spell, rule 601.2i in the same section, says in part

Once the steps described in 601.2a-h are completed, effects that modify the characteristics of the spell as it's cast are applied, then the spell becomes cast.

Once you complete the entire process of casting a spell, then the spell becomes cast and you can look at the card on top of your library.

That's fair; I ran into the 1-character (suggested) edit block, of course :)

You have to wait until you finish casting Banefire (which includes picking an X value and paying its cost) before you can look at the (new) top card of your library.

From the Gatherer rulings for Experimental Frenzy (emphasis mine):

If the top card of your library changes while you’re casting a spell or activating an ability, you can’t look at the new top card until you finish casting that spell or activating that ability. This means that if you cast the top card of your library, you can’t look at the next one until you’re done paying for that spell.


text:
Attacking with Dimir Spybug and Nightveil Sprite
Dimir Spybug gets a +1/+1 counter every time I surveil. Nightveil Sprite lets me surveil 1 when it attacks. If I swing with both, when do I surveil and when does Dimir Spybug get pumped, during or after combat? Thanks in advance for any clarification you may provide.

Your Dimir Spybug will get pumped in time to be stronger during the same combat.
The combat phase is divided into several steps.

Beginning of combat
Declare attackers
Declare blockers
Combat damage
End of combat

Nightveil Sprite will trigger when it is declared as an attacker, during step 2. This is when you will surveil, and that will trigger Dimir Spybug. So by the time blockers are being declared, Dimir Spybug will already have the +1/+1 counter.

Declare Attackers Step

508.1. First, the active player declares attackers.[...]

[...]
508.1m Any abilities that trigger on attackers being declared trigger.

508.2. Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 116, “Timing and Priority.”)

508.2a Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker. They will not trigger if a creature attacks and then that creature’s characteristics change to match the ability’s trigger condition.
      Example: A permanent has the ability “Whenever a green creature attacks, destroy that creature at end of combat.” If a blue creature attacks and is later turned green, the ability will not trigger.
508.2b Any abilities that triggered on attackers being declared or that triggered during the process described in rules 508.1 are put onto the stack before the active player gets priority; the order in which they triggered doesn’t matter. (See rule 603, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”)

Step-by-step of what happens:

Nightveil Sprite's ability triggers as it is declared as an attacker.
Before you get priority in "Declare attackers" step, that trigger is put on the stack.
Assuming no responses, the ability resolves; you surveil.
Dimir Spybug's ability triggers, and is put on the stack.
Assuming no responses, the ability resolves; Dimir Spybug gets a +1/+1 counter.
Blockers are declared.
Combat damage is dealt. Dimir Spybug has the +1/+1 counter by this time, so it will deal an extra damage (and have an extra toughness).


text:
Can Dragon Broodmother+Elemental Mastery be triggered to provide elemental tokens before upkeep resolves?
Fairly new mtg player, lifetime dragon fan looking to build some nifty combos.
Dragon Broodmother has text that reads:

At the beginning of each upkeep, create a 1/1 red and green Dragon creature token with flying and devour 2.

If I have enchanted her (or another creature I control for that matter) with Elemental Mastery, which has:

Enchanted creature has "Tap: Create X 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste, where X is this creature's power. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step."

Can I activate the tap to make elementals in such a way that they exist on the battlefield prior to the upkeep generated dragon token so that it can devour them and become bigger immediately?
I tried reading some similar questions but I'm afraid the whole stack business is still a little murky to me.

Yes.

When dealing with keyword abilities, it's best to start by looking up their exact definition.

702.81a Devour is a static ability. “Devour N” means “As this object enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice any number of creatures. This permanent enters the battlefield with N +1/+1 counters on it for each creature sacrificed this way.”

Dragon Broodmother's ability is a triggered ability, which means you'll get priority before it resolves.
The choice of creatures to sacrifice is made on resolution, so they don't need to exist when the ability is added to the stack.
So, you can activate the ability granted by Elemental Mastery in response to Dragon Broodmother's ability being added to the stack (i.e. after it's been added to the stack, but before it resolves). Having been placed on the stack last, the ability granted by Elemental Mastery will resolve first.

Not only does this work you get a rather big 9/9 dragon token each turn.

That was my hope. ;) Now I just need a way to untap her at the end of each turn since the Dragon token spawns on EVERY upkeep. Not just mine. And if she were untapped I could get a 9/9 dragon every turn. (although that'd probably make her a big ole target, but it'd be cool nevertheless)

@DMDANIEL If you're willing to add blue, there's Aphetto Alchemist or Aura of Dominion Staying red/green, there's Awakening or Cacophodon (have to figure out how get it to take damage, though).

There's also the  Assault Suit / Captivating Crew combo, which would give you an even larger token. If you want a list of non-blue, non-black,non-white with "untap" on them, there's one here: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&output=standard&color=+![U]+![B]+![W]&text=+[untap]

@acccumulation it's a five color dragon commander deck I'm building. So everything is fair game!

@DMDANIEL Awakening Zone and From Beyond also spit sac fodder out every upkeep. And Doubling Season combos with everything.


text:
How do Sliver Overlord and Mirror Entity react together?
If you activate Mirror Entity's ability to give all your creatures all creature types, can you then search for any creature in your library using Sliver Overlord's ability?
I understand that you don't "control" your library, but you do control cards on the battlefield and stack. But when you search your library, does it not become part of your stack, or at least doesn't the card you find in it?
Btw I stated "cards" because I know the word permanent means something else.

Are you asking whether or not you can search for Mirror Entity with Sliver Overlord?

You seem to have many misunderstandings. There is no “your stack”; there is only one stack. Your library never becomes part of the stack. You don’t control cards; you control objects such as spells and permanents (and those objects can be represented by a card).

I have rolled back your most recent edit.  On this site, each question post should only contain one question, and should not be edited to include additional questions or commentary on the answers, etc.  You can create a new post if you would like to ask a different question.

Mirror Entity does not allow Sliver Overlord to find any creature
"Creatures you control" always refers only to the Battlefield, never to cards in any other zone (those will be referred to as "Creature Cards").
Mirror Entity interacts with Sliver Overlord in the following ways:

Sliver Overlord can search for or gain control of Mirror Entity
Mirror Entity can change the creature type of Sliver Overlord (and all other creatures (on the battlefield) you control) to all types.

There are no other interactions between these two cards.

Ye thats what i was hoping you wouldn't say but that does give me the answer i was looking for


text:
Do I need mana to play an instant that lets me block my opponents attack?
It is my opponent's turn and I decide to play Spidery Grasp (1 Green mana and 2 generic mana) to attempt to untap my creature and block his creature. However all my mana is tapped, so can I still do it?

Can you elaborate on where your confusion comes in? Do you understand how casting costs in general work for spells? What reason do you have for thinking you might be allowed to cast a spell if you can't pay for it?

Also, make sure you understand the different between Lands and Mana. Mana cannot ever be tapped.

I'm new to this, but i think my question was answered, if my lands are all tapped i cant cast my instant because i cant pay for it to be casted

My confusion was whether or not you knew what the "1 Green mana and 2 generic mana" meant. If you know it is a casting cost, then what's the uncertainty. If you didn't know, then your real question is more about how to cast spells in general.

Costs would be pointless if you could forgo paying them when you can't afford them.

Exactly, thus my request for clarification... what is the actual underlying question here? If costs apply the same no matter whose turn it is? If costs on instants work the same as costs on any other spell?

@GendoIkari Sorry bout that, your confusion may have stemmed from my edit. Check the edit history to see the original wording of the question. It seems to boil down to the OP not understanding how spell casting works, and that you need to tap lands to add mana not simply have 1 forest and 2 other lands(which seems to be fairly common confusion among new players).

@Malco No, I had looked at the edits; I don't think your edit changed the meaning of anything. If he thought that just having the lands is enough, then why would the lands be tapped?

To the close votes... while I highly suspect that there is an underlying question or rules misconception at play; the question as asked is clear and answerable, so I don't think it should be closed.

Yes, you need mana in order to cast spells that require mana. You can't just cast Spidery Grasp for nothing; it costs {2}{G}. If you have no mana available, and all your mana sources aren't available to be used (e.g. all your lands are tapped out already), you will have no mana to cast it with.
Lands and cards like Llanowar Elves can be tapped to give you mana, but won't give you mana merely by existing.
I suggest you give the game's Quick Start Booklet (PDF link) a read. It might clarify things for you.


text:
Stonehewer Giant questions
Obviously an interesting card. A few rules I'm trying to clarify here, all regarding fetching an equipment as an instant for some other attacking creature.
Note Stonehewer Giant is not attacking here.
1) After declare blockers step (say defending player said no block), and before damage, can you use the Stonehewer Giant's ability to go fetch a Worldslayer to blow everything up, without a chance for defending player to announce blocks?
2) After declare blockers step, say defending player has announced blocking with a black creature, can you then to use the ability of Stonehewer to go fetch, Sword of Feast and Famine (give protection from black), and completely void the blocker?
and 3) After you announce attacks, and they announce a blocker, can you then use Stonehewer to go fetch Argentum Armor and have its ability trigger? Basically after the blocker is announced, and if I then attach Argentum Armor to the attacking creature as an instant, does the ability trigger (Whenever equipped creature attacks, destroy target permanent.)?

As Stonehewer has vigilance, there's no reason you need to exclude it from your attack in your scenario.

Yes, you can do that. Since you're activating the ability when you receive priority back from the declare blockers step, your creature hasn't been blocked and cannot be blocked after that.
If your intention is to have your creature deal its damage to the defending player, then no, you cannot do that. When a creature is blocked, it has been blocked regardless of whether you give it any kind of evasion ability or protection. What will happen in this case is that your creature will deal its damage to the blocking creature, and the (black and/or green) blocker will deal no damage to your creature since it has protection from black and green. This falls under rule 509.1b (emphasis mine):

509.1b The defending player checks each creature he or she controls to see whether it’s affected by any restrictions (effects that say a creature can’t block, or that it can’t block unless some condition is met). If any restrictions are being disobeyed, the declaration of blockers is illegal.
  A restriction may be created by an evasion ability (a static ability an attacking creature has that restricts what can block it). If an attacking creature gains or loses an evasion ability after a legal block has been declared, it doesn’t affect that block. Different evasion abilities are
  cumulative.

No. You can fetch and equip Argentum Armor with Stonehewer Giant's ability, but the equipment will not trigger, since it's been equipped after the attackers have been declared. This falls under CR508.2a (emphasis mine):

508.2a Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker. They will not trigger if a creature attacks and then that creature’s characteristics change to match the ability’s trigger condition.

Note that while giving Protection won't undo the blocking, it will still prevent the attacker from receiving damage from the blocker.


text:
Stopping a CounterSpell with Aurelia's Fury it's possible?
I know you can stop a Counterspell with another Counterspell

But Aurelia's Fury is different, it causes the damaged player to be unable to cast non-creature spells this turn.
Lets say for example if I cast any spell and my opponent uses a Counterspell, effectively countering my spell but in response (when he passes priority back to me) I use Aurelia's Fury and manage to deal damage to him. I passed priority back to him but he has nothing else in response so the stack resolves.
So the stack would look something like this:
Aurelia's Fury
Counterspell
My Spell
As Aurelia's Fury resolves, does this mean his counterspell counts like it was never cast? Meaning my spell was never countered?

First of all, your spell hasn't been countered yet because Counterspell hasn't resolved yet. The most recently cast spell on the stack resolves first.
Secondly, countering a spell doesn't retroactively prevent it from being cast. It simply moves it from the stack to its owner's graveyard, which prevents it from resolving.
Thirdly, while Counterspell hasn't resolved yet, it has already been cast.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. [...]

To respond to a spell means to cast a spell or activate an ability after a spell has been cast but before it resolves.
Aurelia's Fury prevents a player from casting noncreature spells. It has no effect on spells, especially those that have already been cast (e.g. the Counterspell on the stack).
Instead of casting Aurelia's Fury, say you had cast Counterspell targeting the earlier Counterspell. This would have worked because the newest spell on the stack (i.e. your Counterspell) resolves first (i.e. before your opponent's Counterspell), countering the opponent's Counterspell (preventing it from resolving and having an effect).
Instead of casting Aurelia's Fury, say you had cast Autumn's Veil. Autumn's Veil prevents spells from being countered. This would have worked because the newest spell on the stack (i.e. Autumn's Veil) resolves first (i.e. before the Counterspell), preventing the Counterspell from affecting your spell.

Mm I see. What if I cast Aurelia's Fury at the beginning of my turn? Can my opponent still cast a non-creature spell after that? Sorry very noob at this it would seems obvious but mtg have so many rulings...

They could cast a spell in response to AF. But once it resolves, they can't cast any more spells until the end of your turn.

Interesting. That means if my opponent casts Forfend (Prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures this turn), I could cast In response a lightning bolt dealing 3 damage to target creature. Both spells will resolve? It can only prevent any damage dealt after the first two spells correct?

LB in response to Forfend results in a damaged creature. Forfend in response to LB results in an undamaged creature. Last one cast is first to resolve. /// In both cases, both spells resolve. Spells are countered 1) by spells and abilities that instruct you to counter a spell, and 2) by a rule which comes into play when all of a spell/ability's targets are invalid when the spell/ability would resolve.

I'm really confused now. You said they could cast a spell in response to my Aurelia's fury like a counterspell. They will both resolves but if counterspell resolves that means Aurelia's fury was countered effectively and didn't took place. But if Aurelia's fury resolves as well he couldn't have cast counterspell.

Stop saying "didn't took place". That's wrong. Countering a spell doesn't undo its casting; it removes it from the stack (preventing it from resolving).

Counterspell in response to AF targeting AF would prevent AF from resolving. /// AF in response to Counterspell has no effect on Counterspell. AF doesn't counter spells.

@Chris I think this other question may help you: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/12652/in-plain-english-how-does-casting-spells-and-using-creature-abilities-work-with


text:
Can Gideon, Champion of Justice be exiled the moment he becomes a creature with his 0 ability?
Here is Gideon, Champion of Justice. After using his +0 ability to become a creature, can he be removed with something like Final Reward?

I am not completely sure about the status as a duplicate, as the other question was originally asked about a land that becomes a land-creature... but the exact same answers can be generically applied to any permanent that becomes a creature; so I figured it would be good to just have that question be more broad.

I thought killing and removing would be different in this case. Since when the exile spell resolves and gideon returns to be a planeswalker at the end of turn doesn't mean he'd become an illegal target?

Undid the duplicate; linking to the other question here as a related question: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/3762/when-land-becomes-creature-can-you-kill-it

@Chris After the spell has resolved, he is no longer a target, so changing back to a planeswalker doesn't make him an illegal target.

Welcome to the site! You can use [mtg:cardname] to auto-link to cards. I've updated your post to do so.

Yes, while Gideon is a creature, you can target him with anything that targets creatures.
After Gideon's second ability has been activated; he is both a planeswalker and a creature. This means that he can be targeted by anything that targets either one of those.

300.2. Some objects have more than one card type (for example, an artifact creature). Such objects combine the aspects of each of those card types, and are subject to spells and abilities that affect either or all of those card types.

At the time that you cast Final Reward, all that matters is that he is a creature, and so he is a legal target. When Final Reward resolves, he is also still a creature and still a legal target, so he will be exiled. There's nothing in the game that cares at that time that his being a creature is only temporary.
At the end of the turn, nothing will happen because the "until end of turn" was on a creature/planeswalker that no longer exists.

A small hair-split, you cannot immediately bounce him. After his ability resolves, his controller will have priority again but once you get priority, you can send Giddles packing.

@Veskah That is true; I wasn't taking "the moment" literally in the question.


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How to effectively have three (3) combat phases with Aurelia, the Warleader + Legion's Initiative
I am trying to figure out how to effectively have three (3) combat phases by using Aurelia, the Warleader and Legion's Initiative.
I play Aurelia first and so the first combat phase begins. All my creatures are untapped and there is an additional combat phase after this one. Should I exile my creatures at this very moment with Legion's initiative? The additional combat phase stays like saved or something?

Yes, there is a way to get three combat phases with Aurelia and Legion's initiative.

Your first combat.
a. Attack with Aurelia.  This trigger her attack trigger, and since it's the first time she attacked this turn, you get an extra combat step and immediately untap all your creatures.
b. Let combat damage be dealt, and wait to active Legion's Initiative during the End of Combat Step (see rule 511).  Aurelia must survive this long in order to get 3 effective combat steps.  If you active Legion's Initiative before combat damage is dealt, you still get 3 combats, but this first one might not matter much because you aren't actually doing damage.  Still useful for other attack triggers though.
c. This exiles all of your creatures who survived combat until the next combat step.  After this phase ends, you'll momentarily control 0 creatures because they've been exiled by Legion's Initiative.
At the beginning of the next combat (your second for the turn), the creatures exiled by Legion's initiative come back and get haste.
a. Attack with Aurelia.  Since this creature has changed zones, it is considered a new instance of Aurelia, and it has no memory of previously attacking (rule 403.4). The attack trigger will happen because this is the first time that this Aurelia has attacked.  You'll get an additional combat after this one and uptap all creatures.
Start your third combat.

This obviously only works if you can keep Aurelia alive to do damage during your first combat phase.  You can take advantage of similar mechanics with any other way of blinking Aurelia, for example Cloudshift as discussed in another question.  The only tricky thing about using Legion's Initiative is getting the timing right so that you get three combats where you actually do damage with your creatures.

You basically have it correct. You could activate Legion's Initiative's ability any time between declaring Aurelia, the Warleader as an attacker and the first end of combat step.
If you want your creatures to deal (and receive) combat damage during the first combat phase, you would want to wait until the end of combat step to do it. Otherwise, you could do it after blockers are declared; if there was a blocking situation that you didn't like the looks of. You could even do it before that, such as after declaring attackers, but that would sort of defeat the purpose of getting the extra combat.
This works because of 3 separate rules:

Aurelia's ability triggers when she is declared as an attacker.

Declare Attackers Step

508.1. First, the active player declares attackers.

508.1m Any abilities that trigger on attackers being declared trigger.

Exiling Aurelia doesn't have any effect on her triggered ability after it triggers.

112.7a Once activated or triggered, an ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won’t affect the ability.

When Aurelia returns to the battlefield, it is a new Aurelia who has never attacked before.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence.

If you waited until after the first end of combat step to do it, it would be too late; because you would then be in the second combat phase, and "the next combat" wouldn't be until next turn.


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Can you eradicate a disease without finding a Cure first?
If you eradicate a disease in Pandemic without finding a cure first (ie remove all of one colour from the board) does it remain eradicated or can it still come back unless it has also been cured?
The rules are a bit unclear on this point ... Or I missed the rule that explicitly states this.

From the rules, page 4, when describing the Discover a Cure action:

At any research station, discard 5 City cards of the same color from your
  hand to cure the disease of that color. Move the disease’s cure marker to its
  Cure Indicator.
If no cubes of this color are on the board, this disease is now eradicated.
  Flip its cure marker from its “vial” side to its “blocked” side.

And, in the sidebar on that same page:

Removing the last cube of a disease that is not cured has no effect.

Eradication is described as part of discovering a cure, so a cure is necessary for the disease to be eradicated. If you remove all of the cubes of the color, but don't have a cure, it is not eradicated and you place new disease cubes normally.
See also this thread on BGG, where Matt Leacock (one of the game's designers) weighed in:

Eradicating a Disease
If a cure for a given disease has been discovered and there are no disease cubes of that color on the board, immediately flip the Cure marker for the disease to the “Sunset” side. From now on, cards of this color have no effect when drawn on the Infector’s turn.
Take all of the cubes of the eradicated color and place them back in the box—they will not be used again for the rest of the game.

Thank you for this - it is what I suspected from the order of paragraphs but I did not find it explicitly stated

@MichaelSteer you can accept this answer by clicking on the check mark next to it. This will reward the answerer with Internet points (no, really!) and will show other users that this is the correct answer.

The disease can still come back.
Eradication is only something that can happen after the cure is discovered. Before that, it isn't eradication, it is just not having any cubes of that color at this time.
From page 4 of the rules:

If the last cube of a cured disease is removed from the board, this disease
  is eradicated. Flip its cure marker from its “vial” side to its “0” side.

Emphasis mine.
It's not hard for a given color to not get chosen at all during setup; obviously in this case that disease is not eradicated.


text:
How to deal with B/G/W Abzan Warriors with many +1/+1 Counters?
My dad has a B/W/G Abzan Warrior deck that build counters like crazy.  He has Ajani Pridemate and this card called Retribution of the Ancients. I play B/W life gain Vampires, and lost because of it.  Is there a way I could stop him from building counters, or using Retribution of the Ancients?

Possibly Solemnity.

Just a thought, maybe wait for a couple answers before selecting one...

For your case, if your'e going to be playing him all the time, mainboard solemnity, or sideboard it at least. No counters in the first place shuts abzan down

I can think of some cards that can deal with that though they're kind of hate cards.

You could use Aether Snap to remove all counters from the field and all tokens.
Lost Legacy should also be able to remove Retribution of the Ancients. Its an extraction card, so you can be sure he'll be left with no single copy in his deck afterwards. (You could also remove other non-artifact key cards with this.)
Solemnity stops any and all counter placement though those already on permanents remain there.
Fate Transfer is niche card as well. Maybe you could transfer some of his counters to one of yours

That's what I can think off the top of my head.

I wouldn't metagame too much against his deck, because doing so essentially makes your deck worse in a vacuum (i.e. worse against any other deck besides his).  You should want to improve your deck overall while simultaneously improving your match-up against him; or at least hold the quality of your deck constant while improving your match-up against him.  Doing so also manages to avoid the appearance of excessively targeting his deck (doing this in a casual setting can lead to hurt feelings or be interpreted as poor sportsmanship, plus you probably want your deck to be good against other opponents too).  Also, attempt to keep your vampire count and your creature count up so that your own proactive strategy doesn't get watered down (although not all of my advice follows this rule, because you are forced to make trade-offs between fulfilling your vampire requirements and meeting other needs, and there won't always be a perfect vampire card for any given need).
So, here are some options that can help counter his strategy to a degree.

Efficient creature removal, to destroy his largely buffed creatures.  Some financially inexpensive examples include Go For The Throat, Journey To Nowhere, Swords to Plowshares, Gatekeeper of Malakir.  These are good options because killing an Ajani Pridemate can be very disruptive to his game plan, and at the same time, a modest amount of creature removal is broadly useful against most decks.  These cards are reasonably efficient, since they only cost 1-2 mana, or give you bonus value in the case of Gatekeeper of Malakir.  Shriekmaw can kill a creature for 2 mana, with the upside that you can pay more to get a 3/2 Fear.  Consuming Vapors can kill 2 of his creatures while also feeding your life gain synergy.
Efficient enchantment removal, to get Retribution off the board.  War Priest of Thune can destroy enchantments for cheap while adding value.  This has merit because enchantment removal is usually dead against many decks, but War Priest of Thune is not a totally dead card when the opponent isn't playing enchantments.  Collective Effort is another enchantment destruction spell that has ways of being live even when the opponent doesn't control enchantments, and it has ways of delivering added value on top of the enchantment destruction.
Disruptive hand destruction.  Hymn to Tourach can potentially derail a strategy if it nabs key cards; and at the same time, it is very efficient.  There are other financially cheap, efficient discard spells, like Gerrard's Verdict and Duress.  But Hymn To Torach is best in that it can hit either half of the combo, doesn't give the opponent a choice in what to discard, can win games by causing mana screw, and it's broadly effective against any opponent.
A small number of flexible removal spells, Oblivion Rings (or Mortify).  This can address whichever is currently more pressing between enchantment and creature.  But it is less cost-efficient, so you should not play a lot of them.  Again, it's a big play if you're able to destroy an Ajani Pridemate or a Retribution of the Ancients.  But since these cards allow a broad range of targets, they are rarely dead cards against any other deck.  Or you could play Vindicate, which is the better and pricier version.
Efficient deathtouch vampires like Gifted Aetherborn or Vampire Nighthawk.  Gifted Aetherborn seems almost automatic.  Vampire Nighthawk feeds into your vampire synergy, and as a 2/3 with 3 abilities for 3 mana, it is reasonably efficient.  But the fact that it has deathtouch makes it capable of trading with a 15/15 Ajani Pridemate.  Basilisk Collar is another high quality card you can use to confer deathtouch to various creatures on your team so that several of your small creatures can trade with several of his large creatures.  If Basilisk Collar doesn't fit your budget, then Gorgon's Head is a lower quality card that serves the same purpose for financially cheaper.  However, be careful not to lower your creature count too far, and of course, playing equipment with a low creature count is not a good combo.
A powerful proactive strategy.  In other words, winning via a powerful offense, rather than a reactive defense.  This is good especially because it helps you beat any opponent, not just a particular deck.  I would have to see the match-up to surmise the most efficient path to ending the game.  However, assuming you can assemble a board full of small attackers, you might be able to represent a powerful attack using an offensive force multiplier like Sorin, Lord of Inistrad, Sorin, Solemn Visitor, Sword of Light and Shadow, or Hero of Bladehold.  The Sorins and the Hero are all good at boosting the power of your whole team, making them more effective attackers.  The Sword of Light and Shadow (and other powerful equipment) is good at boosting one creature at a time, and then when that creature dies, boosting another one, therefore leading to many favorable trades.  Some other generally powerful vampires might include Vampire Nocturnus, Khalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Drana, Liberator of Malakir
Gas.  Gas, of course, being a term meaning a steady stream of playable cards in hand and other sorts of fuel.  Since Retribution of the Ancients stands the risk of killing all of your creatures, you need ways of drawing more cards, creating many creatures (and creature tokens), recurring creatures from the graveyard, and so on.  Bloodghast is a very good, recursive vampire (although it's no good for blocking, so it really just helps keep pressure on).  Bloodline Keeper is good vampire for creating many token creatures.  Skeletal Vampire is kind of a clunky card, but it's another vampire that generates tokens.  Lingering Souls is another good B/W token producer.  Phyrexian Arena is a decent card for providing a constant stream of card drawing.  Grave Titan is a non-vampire, but it is a prolific token generator.
Repeatable creature destruction like Royal Assassin, Intrepid Hero, Deathbringer Liege, Avatar of Woe, Gideon Jura, Ob Nixilis Reignited, Visara the Dreadful, Umezawa's Jitte, Sword of Fire and Ice, Spear of Heliod, or a Shriekmaw + Grim Harvest combo.  The virtue of repeatable creature destruction is that it can yield significant card advantage, disrupt a lot of the things his deck wants to do, and put you in a position to inevitably win the game.  A lot of these are unfortunately rather vulnerable to being destroyed by Retribution's ability (especially the 1/1's), and the card quality of most of these options is only medium.

If you go the hand destruction route, Thoughtseize would be good (financially expensive, but effective).

There are a few ways to deal with counters like this. You can prevent counters from being placed, you can remove the creatures from play, either temporarily or permanently, or you can remove the counters themselves. You can also prevent Retribution of the Ancients from being played or used.

Prevent counter placement - Solemnity stops counters from being placed on permanents, if they can't have +1/+1 counters, Retribution does nothing.
Remove the creatures from play - Any field wipe spell can do this for you, like Damnation or In Garruk's Wake if you want to save your board, or a mass flicker like Planar Guide.
The counters can be removed from the creatures before he plays Retribution.

Remove counter effects - Æther Snap removes all counters and all tokens, and as a vampire player you have Thief of Blood to remove the counters too. Also since you're playing vampires Vampire Hexmage is a good way to pull counters off one permanent, often used to kill a planeswalker, or to 'cheat' Dark Depths.
-1/-1 counters - Since these are +1/+1 counters, putting a -1/-1 counter on would cause these counters to be removed, so wither, infect or cards like Incremental Blight or Black Sun's Zenith could help.

Finally removing or preventing Retribution of the Ancients - Lost Legacy or Sadistic Sacrament can pull the card out of the deck, Nevermore prevents it from being cast in the first place, and Pithing Needle prevents them from using the ability on the named card.

As a side note, a generally good card against any counter based deck is Kulrath Knight, as it stops anything with a counter from attacking. It'll be an early target for removal for your opponent likely, but does slow decks like this down.

@Mitch25232 You need to know here though that a lot of these options only work before your opponent has his combo out, if he has Retribution and the creatures with counters already they can use retribution in response to your spells or effects.

In addition to the great cards that Blender mentioned in his answer you might want to consider the following:
Thief of Blood 4BB Vampire:

Flying
  As Thief of Blood enters the battlefield, remove all counters from all permanents. Thief of Blood enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each counter removed this way.

Vampire Hexmage BB Vampire:

First strike
  Sacrifice Vampire Hexmage: Remove all counters from target permanent.

You mentioned that you were playing W/B Vampires so I figured these gals might fit better into your deck thematically. You didn't mention format so I assumed you are playing casual and anything is fair game, but Hexmage is modern legal and Thief is legacy.


text:
Do Token Creatures go to the graveyard?
Does a token creature when it dies satisfy the criteria of Fresh Meat? Text of card as follows:

Create a 3/3 green Beast creature token for each creature put into your graveyard from the battlefield this turn.

Tokens cease to exist (through State Based Actions) once they leave the battlefield, but they do reach the graveyard first.

Yes. Per Comprehensive Rules:

110.5e A token is subject to anything that affects permanents in general or that affects the token’s card type or subtype. (...)

So the token is put in the graveyard like other creatures. There is one difference, but this doesn't matter for Fresh Meat:

110.5f A token that’s in a zone other than the battlefield ceases to exist. (...) (Note that if a token changes zones, applicable triggered abilities will trigger before the token ceases to exist.)

It won't be in the graveyard at the time Fresh Meat resolves, but it will still count as a creature put into your graveyard.

There's even a ruling on the Gatherer page that explicitly covers this "6/1/2011  Fresh Meat counts all creatures you owned that went to the graveyard this turn, including creature tokens that entered the battlefield under your control and nontoken creatures you owned but didn’t control."

Essentially, it does go to the graveyard, but instantaneously disappears. It also cannot return to the battlefield as said in the comments.
Note: it is instantaneously removed from play, not sent into exile.
Fresh Meat, however, does work in this case: whether or not the token creature is in the graveyard right now, it was technically sent into the graveyard. Because Fresh Meat does not require you to return it, there is nothing wrong with placing a 3/3 token onto the battlefield for it.

Your second paragraph seems to say the token can head to the graveyard and be returned to play, but the rules don't permit that (it instantly vanishes from the graveyard as soon as it reaches it) but you acknowledge those yourself, so I'm not sure how to interpret that paragraph.

There. Changed it.

Ok, reading that I think you are mistaken about token interactions -- it won't ever return to the battlefield even if it's an effect that would try to "flicker" it to and from the graveyard. See token rule 110.5g: "110.5g A token that has left the battlefield can’t move to another zone or come back onto the battlefield. If such a token would change zones, it remains in its current zone instead. It ceases to exist the next time state-based actions are checked; see rule 704." This prevents the "bring it back" part of that ability, the token stays put.

@doppelgreener, Re "it instantly vanishes from the graveyard as soon as it reaches it", Not quite. It's SBAs that cause it to vanish, so it can stick around for a little while. That said, it's hard to come up with practical difference between the two.


text:
Warkite Marauder and the timing for its effect
Whenever Warkite Marauder attacks, target creature defending player controls loses all abilities and becomes a 0/1 creature until end of turn.
What is the timing for this ability? Is it during assign attackers, where the defending player would be unable to activate an ability? Or would they be able to activate an ability and put it on the stack before their creature loses its abilities? I assume that Warkite Marauder is putting a triggered ability on the stack, or is this incorrect?

Warkite Marauder's ability will trigger during the "declare attackers" step in the combat phase, and your opponent will be able to respond to it.
The combat phase in each turn is divided into five steps:

506.1. The combat phase has five steps, which proceed in order: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, combat damage, and end of combat.

"When attack" abilities trigger when a creature is declared as an attacker, which is during "declare attackers".

Declare Attackers Step

508.1. First, the active player declares attackers. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. [...]
508.2. Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 116, “Timing and Priority.”)

508.2a Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker. They will not trigger if a creature attacks and then that creature’s characteristics change to match the ability’s trigger condition.
508.2b Any abilities that triggered on attackers being declared or that triggered during the process described in rules 508.1 are put onto the stack before the active player gets priority; the order in which they triggered doesn’t matter. (See rule 603, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”)

So before the active player gets priority, Warkite Marauder's ability will be placed on the stack. At this point, the active player gets priority, and when they pass, the nonactive player will get priority, all while the ability is still on the stack.
Note that placing the triggered ability on the stack requires declaring targets for it, so the defending player will know which creature is being targeted by the Marauder's ability when they respond. So they can respond by activating an ability of the creature that is being targeted, because the Marauder's ability has not yet resolved, so the targeted creature will still have its abilities.
If the nonactive player passes; then the Marauder's ability will resolve, and the targeted creature will lose all abilities.This means that by the time blockers are declared in the combat phase, the targeted creature will already be a 0/1 with no abilities.