text:
If I Donate a Glacial Chasm, will my opponent have to sacrifice a land?
Glacial Chasm
Based on feedback a few months ago from here, I'm going to use this in conjunction with Donate to 'gift' my opponent some hell! However, one question and I could easily see this going either direction.

When Glacial Chasm enters the battlefield, sacrifice a land.

So, of course when it enters my battlefield, I sacrifice my land. However, once I DONATE it to the opponent and it enters HIS battlefield, does he sacrifice a land as well?
One could argue it does not say enters YOUR battlefield. Thoughts appreciated!

Can you please write the actual question that you're asking in the title, instead of a "clever" title or a description of the question?

Kind of snotty... forgive a new player trying to be creative. Grouch.

I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend. But on this site we care about post quality, and part of that is having question titles that accurately reflect/summarize the content of your question. At this point, you've asked 13 questions, and most have required edits to get useful titles. It would be beneficial, both for the site's quality and for your chances of getting a useful answer for you to learn from those edits to write more descriptive titles for future questions.

There is only 1 battlefield, so donating Glacial Chasm doesn't make it re-enter the battlefield.

403.3. Permanents exist only on the battlefield. Every object on the battlefield is a permanent. See rule 110, “Permanents.”
403.5 Previously, the battlefield was called the “in-play zone.” Cards that were printed with text that contains the phrases “in play,” “from play,” “into play,” or the like are referring to the battlefield. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference.

Also, since it has cumulative upkeep, the opponent could just choose not to pay the upkeep and have to sacrifice the land.  If you could donate at instant speed, it could essentially be a fog, but only for one turn.


text:
Why would I want to increase the costs of creatures that I cast?
Geist-Fueled Scarecrow has an ability that says

Creature spells you cast cost 1 more to cast.

I don't see the strategy in casting a 4/4 creature and then penalizing myself for the added creature cast cost... Please elaborate, thanks!

Keep in mind many cards are designed specifically with drafting in mind.  A 4/4 for 4 colourless at uncommon would basically be an auto-pick.  It needs a drawback to make it an interesting card.

There are cards like Brisela, Voice of Nightmares and Void Winnower that affect what cards can be played.  It may also be useful for strategies including cards like Æther Vial.  A side effect that allows working round restrictions could be useful.

@David The cards you mentioned care about the converted mana cost, which doesn't change with additional costs such as the one imposed by the Scarecrow.

There's a few ideas that spring to mind. The simple answer is that it's intended specifically as a downside. Most 4/4 creatures that cost {4} (without requiring specific types) have some sort of downside. If it didn't have the downside, it might not get printed.
Even if it's supposed to be a strict downside, though, there can still be unusual cases where you can take advantage of the downside. You could give it to an opponent with Harmless Offering and make them pay the extra costs. I guarantee you that at least one Zedruu the Greathearted player out there is running this. You can cast Etched Oracle for {5} and get a full sunburst. Maybe you want to use Hall of the Bandit Lord to cast a big creature and give it haste, but it has no generic mana in its mana cost. Are these strategies particularly strong or likely to see significant play? Probably not, but there's a lot of players who enjoy finding ways to take advantage of things intended to be downsides.

Under current rules, there does not seem to be any use for its ability, However, abilities of spells and creatures do not always have to be beneficial to their caster.
Many years ago, there was a rule called "mana burn". At the end of each phase or step, all players would lose all their unspent mana and lose that much life, and there are cards that punish you for having untapped lands. Having to pay extra mana for your creatures would allow you to evade both penalties. However, mana burn has always been a niche rule, and strategies building around it have been equally niche. Therefore, bringing a card that counters mana burn strategies would have been even more niche and practically irrelevant. Nowadays, with the mana burn rule long gone, even that niche use is non-existant.
The only explanation is that the Scarecrow's ability is simply a drawback to balance the card, because the overall power of a card depends on all of its characteristics such as cost, power/toughness, and abilities.

And putting downsides on creatures is a totally normal thing. There are plenty of creatures that can't block, or enter the battlefield tapped, creatures that make you lose life each turn, and all kinds of more exotic things - but they may still be worth playing, given their cost and what they can still do for you.

There are some uncommon and even some rare cards that are just meant to be bad. But there are two reasons I can think of that would make sense.

You could give it to another player with cards like Harmless Offering, Donate, and Switcheroo.
In the very same set that Geist-fueled Scarecrow was released, there is a card called Emrakul, the promised end that allows you to take control of a target player for a turn.

I don't see how Emrakul is relevant to the scarecrow.

The same set also has Harmless Offering, which I've added to your answer. This is also the set that has Goldnight Castigator, seen at the time as a prime Harmless Offering target.

I fail to see how the drawback of your creatures costing 1 more to cast would have any impact on taking control of another player for a turn. And giving it to another player is covered in the existing accepted answer.

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text:
Which player is affected by Tolarian Winds?
Tolarian Winds says

Discard all the cards in your hand, then draw that many cards.

Seems simple, but my opponent and I disagree. I take the text literally, draw is directed at the controller - he tries to play it if worded "Have target opponent (or any player)...
I tried looking at gatherer for this, but no relevant rulings. He claims 'house rules'. I say boo-ya, I want MTG rules only.

Your opponent lacks a fundamental understanding of the rules...

They also lack an understanding of the term "house rules", which generally means "an adjustment of the rules this playgroup seems appropriate and is know to all players or explained to those unaware prior to playing" - not "my house, my rules".

You are correct, the effect will apply to the Tolarian Winds' controller. I believe the relevant rule is 608.2c:

608.2c The controller of the spell or ability follows its instructions in the order written. (...)

As the controller is the one following the instructions they are the one designated by "your" in the card text.

Also: "109.5. The words “you” and “your” on an object refer to the object’s controller, its would-be controller (if a player is attempting to play, cast, or activate it), or its owner (if it has no controller). ..."

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text:
How to calculate devotion in specific situations
I am trying to calculate my devotion to blue and I am unsure how much to count for these situations:

What is the devotion to blue from a Awoken Horror (flipped Thing in the Ice) one?
Does a suspended Deep-Sea Kraken give devotion?
Does a token copy of target creature given the same devotion/(have the same mana cost) of the original? For example, if Phyrexian Metamorph copies Elder Deep-Fiend devotion is zero?
Also does a naked Phyrexian Metamorph give 1 devotion?

So Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin gives 1 devotion, :D ahaahahh a devoted land :P
Do I lose the devotion if i flood it with Quicksilver Fountain?

@ marcelo Nope, sorry it doesn't give devotion, but it does have a CMC. Flip cards have a Converted Mana Cost, but don't have a Mana Cost,  confusing I know....

is already answered by https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/13270/do-pack-rat-copies-give-devotion

Please post each of your future questions separately and demonstrate research effort.

I've tried editing the question to make it narrow/focused enough. I had to remove the last part. If you still want to ask that, you should ask it as a separate question.

Still looks like 4 different questions being asked.

This is still four questions, and one of them a duplicate. VTLC. Ask them separately.

It's okay to ask multiple closely-related questions at once, when answering them together is likely to be easier than answering them separately, and more useful to future readers. Reasonable people can disagree about whether a given multi-question question is okay or not, but the presence of more than one question is not in and of itself grounds for closing as too broad.

Devotion is defined in the comprehensive rules as:

700.5.: A player’s devotion to [color] is equal to the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents that player controls. A player’s devotion to [color 1] and [color 2] is equal to the number of mana symbols among the mana costs of permanents that player controls that are [color 1], [color 2], or both colors.

So to address each of your questions separately:
1. What is the devotion to blue from a Awonken Horror?
Awoken Horror provides no Devotion. Double faced cards have the converted mana costs of their front face, but do not have a mana cost(emphasis mine).

711.4b: While a double-faced permanent’s back face is up, it has only the characteristics of its back face. However, its converted mana cost is calculated using the mana cost of its front face. If a permanent is copying the back face of a double-faced card (even if the card representing that copy is itself a double-faced card), the converted mana cost of that permanent is 0.

and

202.1.: A card’s mana cost is indicated by mana symbols near the top of the card. (See rule 107.4.) On most cards, these symbols are printed in the upper right corner. Some cards from the Future Sight set have alternate frames in which the mana symbols appear to the left of the illustration.

This means that even though your opponent can target it with cards like a non revolted Fatal Push, there are no mana symbols to count to determine devotion.
2. Does a suspended Deep-Sea Kraken give devotion?
No. Devotion only comes from permanents you control. While exiled Deep-Sea Kraken is not a permanent (emphasis mine).

110.1.: A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. A permanent remains on the battlefield indefinitely. A card or token becomes a permanent as it enters the battlefield and it stops being a permanent as it’s moved to another zone by an effect or rule.

3. Does a token copy of target creature given the same devotion/(have the same mana cost) of the original?
Yes. Token copies inherit all characteristics of the card they are copying, including mana cost (emphasis mine).

706.2: When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object’s characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether it was kicked, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on). The “copiable values” are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty), as modified by other copy effects, by its face-down status, and by “as . . . enters the battlefield” and “as . . . is turned face up” abilities that set power and toughness (and may also set additional characteristics). Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.

4. Does a naked Phyrexian Metamorph give 1 devotion?
Yes. Phyrexian mana counts towards devotion.

LOVE the fast response

Corrected the answer, I had the devotion of double faced cards backwards.


text:
Can I target Nicol Bolas, the Ravager/Arisen with its own -4 ability?
Lets say I have transformed Nicol Bolas, the Ravager into Nicol Bolas the Arisen, I activate his -3 to shoot a creature or Planeswalker for 10 and pass the turn, Bolas does not take any damage so on my main phase 1 I -4 Bolas to return target creature or Planeswalker from a graveyard to the battlefield under my control.
My question here is can I target Bolas (Bolas the Rrisen now the Ravager when it leaves play) in my graveyard and return him to play as the Ravager?

No, you cannot target Nicol Bolas using his own ability like that.
First, the rules for planeswalkers describe loyalty abilities as follows in rule 306.5d:

Each planeswalker has a number of loyalty abilities, which are activated abilities with loyalty symbols in their costs. Loyalty abilities follow special rules: A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent they control any time they have priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of their turn, but only if none of that permanent’s loyalty abilities have been activated that turn. See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”

The relevant steps for activating an ability are as follows:

602.2. To activate an ability is to put it onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Only an object’s controller (or its owner, if it doesn’t have a controller) can activate its activated ability unless the object specifically says otherwise. Activating an ability follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the activation of an ability, a player is unable to comply with any of those steps, the activation is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that ability started to be activated (see rule 721, “Handling Illegal Actions”). Announcements and payments can’t be altered after they’ve been made.

602.2a The player announces that they are activating the ability. [...]

602.2b The remainder of the process for activating an ability is identical to the process for casting a spell listed in rules 601.2b–i. Those rules apply to activating an ability just as they apply to casting a spell. An activated ability’s analog to a spell’s mana cost (as referenced in rule 601.2f) is its activation cost.

[...]

601.2c The player announces their choice of an appropriate player, object, or zone for each target the spell requires. [...]

[...]

601.2h The player pays the total cost in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can’t be paid.

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, they get priority.

Then, at the end of this process, the state-based action rules come into effect:

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. [...]

704.5. The state-based actions are as follows:

[...]

704.5i If a planeswalker has loyalty 0, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard.

So, it is only at this point, after you have finished activating the ability, that Nicol Bolas actually goes to the graveyard.

Can you add a rules insert?

For which part in particular? There are a lot of rules involved here.

About the activation of planeswlakers, what you're implying here is that I have to announce a target then I remove the loyalty, which is fine, but a quote from the rules would be nice!

I want to make sure you understand the part that you choose targets, then remove the loyalty counters, then even later the planeswalker actually dies. The order of choosing targets and removing loyalty is really of secondary importance here to the fact that the planeswalker is still on the battlefield until after you have finished activating the ability. But sure, I will add the relevant rules.

Even if it went to the graveyard immediately upon losing its last counter, that would happen when paying costs, which happens after picking targets.

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text:
Can I deal extra damage if I copy Booby Trap's ability with Strionic Resonator?
Can I copy Booby Trap's ability that states if you sacrifice Booby Trap it deals 10 damage to that player with Strionic Resonator, or am I only able to copy the section that states when the target player draws the named card sacrifice Booby Trap? In which case I can't sacrifice another Booby Trap and it wouldn't go off a second time.

You can copy the triggered ability with Strionic Resonator, but after the copy resolves, the original won't do anything.
Booby Trap's triggered ability is

When the chosen player draws a card with the chosen name, sacrifice Booby Trap. If you do, Booby Trap deals 10 damage to that player.

If the ability is on the stack and you copy it with Strionic Resonator, you copy the whole thing. So, once the copy of the ability starts to resolve, you sacrifice Booby Trap, then it deals 10 damage to the opponent. Then the original ability starts to resolve, but the Booby Trap is already gone, so you can't sacrifice it and it doesn't deal any damage.


text:
Can a mandatory trigger be missed?
At Theros Beyond Death prerelease, I was playing with Furious Rise for the first time. It happened to me to forget about the card at the end of my turn and only remember at the beginning of the turn of my opponent, and saying so. He told me I had missed the trigger, and I didn't argue much as that was my fault. However I know this is not an optional trigger, I must exile the top card of my library at my end step. The only part that is optional is being allowed to play the exiled card.
I didn't think about calling a judge at that time, but since that was a mandatory action and there wasn't lots of actions from both of us after the missed trigger, were we supposed to rewind and fix the game state? I only thought about the fact that by not exiling the card, I could not play it and was losing on card advantage so not fixing the game was "fair" to my opponent. However, I forgot that one card would could have been permanently exiled and the effect have changed much more the outcome of the game.
How am I supposed to handle a mandatory effect without calling a judge? Were we supposed to rewind the game state to fix it if both had agreed?

You should pretty much always call a judge when something weird like that happens. Don't think of this as starting a confrontation with the judge or with your opponent - judges are simply the experts in how to fix weird things, and in doing so such that both players will usually think they were treated fairly. That said, if you called the judge over, they would probably just put the missed trigger on the stack at that point. Here's the guidelines from the Judging at Regular Rules Enforcement Level (REL) document (emphasis added):

[Triggered] abilities are considered missed if the player did not acknowledge the ability in any way at the point
  that it required choices or had a visible in-game effect. If the ability includes the word “may,” assume the
  player chose not to perform it. Otherwise, put the ability on the stack unless you think it would be too
  disruptive - don’t add it to the stack if significant decisions have been made based on the effect not
  happening! Unlike other illegal actions (which must be pointed out), players may choose whether or not to
  point out their opponent's missed triggers.

Since the trigger was mandatory and since no significant decisions had happened since, the bold line says that the ability should go on the stack when noticed.
(At higher RELs, the Magic Infraction Procedure Guide has a lot more to say on how to handle missed triggers. You can read that yourself to see how your specific case would be handled in a Competitive setting, but ultimately calling over a judge and letting them handle it is the right move either way. By Tournament Rules, intentionally missing your mandatory trigger is Cheating at any REL.)

I think it would be good to also talk about the missed trigger rules themselves.

My personal experience is that judges are willing to do things that would be absolutely insane (at competitive REL) in a regular REL match. Things like rewinding the game back across multiple half-turns. I think it's a near guarantee that the judge would just put this trigger on the stack when called over.

@BenP. What's a half-turn?

@murgatroid99 Do you mean the section in the Magic Infraction Procedure Guide? I intentionally left out that more complicated version since OP seemed from context and tag to be asking about Regular REL where it is not used. Also ultimately, the key idea in this answer remains true (even more so, in fact) at higher RELs: you should NOT attempt to apply the appropriate remedies for weird situations yourself; instead call over a judge (and doing so is not accusing your opponent of anything - the judge is simply the right person to handle it).

I meant the tournament rules. Section 4.5 (Triggered Abilities) has a couple of sentences addressing missing triggers.

Ah, thanks. The main thing made that document adds is a clear statement that intentionally missing triggers is cheating; I've added that to the answer.

@Acccumulation just a way to clarify that I'm talking about a single player's turn. "Turn one" might mean Player A's first turn + Player B's first turn. Each of those is a half-turn.

@BenP. Please don't do that - it might "clarify" it for now, but then someone is going to play a card with an effect that lasts "until end of turn" and since they've read your posts, they'll think it lasts two turns. You should stick with the official terminology of the game and then add additional explanatory text if you think it is useful, but do NOT redefine terms from the game.


text:
When you use Cloudshift on Zada Hedron Grinder, do the creatures return simultaneously?
When you use Cloudshift on Zada, Hedron Grinder does it resolve like Ghostway (simultaneously) or does each creature blink in order that the copy targeted them? I ask because if it resolves like Ghostway that's better in my opinion since allies entering simultaneously versus one at a time will trigger to a greater effect.
Add-on: I am actually assuming each happens individually and so want more of a confirmation, but this actually raised another question about Otherworldly Journey and its interaction with Zada. Since Otherworldly Journey returns the creatures at the end step they would indeed return and trigger simultaneously correct?

Spells never resolve "simultaneously".  Every effect goes on the stack, and each effect resolves from the stack in order, one at a time.
To quote the relevant rule regarding copies of spells (emphasis mine):

706.10 To copy a spell, activated ability, or triggered ability means to put a copy of it onto the stack... A copy of a spell or ability is controlled by the player under whose control it was put on the stack....

So when you cast Cloudshift targeting Zada, Zada's ability is triggered and produces a bunch of spell copies, each of which is targeting another one of your creatures.
Even though all the spell copies were created at the same time, they still go on the stack and are resolved one after the other.  Since you control all the spells, you get to decide the order in which they go on the stack, and consequently the order in which they will resolve.  The Gatherer rulings for Zada say this specifically:

You control all the copies. You choose the order the copies are put onto the stack. The original spell will be on the stack beneath those copies and will resolve last.

The end effect of all of those spells is that each one of your creatures is exiled and then returned to the battlefield in the order you decide when you load up the stack with all those copies.
Keep in mind, though, that this means each of your creatures finishes blinking before the next one starts.  That means that any "enters the battlefield" effects will go onto the stack and resolve before the next creature blinks.
 Also note that since each of the spells goes on the stack, your opponent has the option to respond with spells or abilities in between blinks.

In the case of Otherworldly Journey, there are two sets of spells/abilities that trigger simultaneously.  Casting Otherworldly Journey works similarly to Cloudshift - all the spell copies go on the stack and resolve one at a time, exiling your creatures in the order you specify.  Then at the next end step, the second half of each Journey is triggered, producing a bunch more abilities that you can place on the stack in any order.  The order in which the creatures return does not have to be the same as the order in which they were exiled.

One interesting side effect with the Zada Coping Spells interaction is that creating multiple copies makes it much more difficult for your opponent to counter spell the flicker effect. If your opponent counters Ghostway when you cast it and then none of your creatures flicker. But in order to counter the flicker with the Zada-copied Otherworldly Journey they will need to counter the flicker effect on a per creature basis. Very useful for if you are trying to dodge a board wipe.

When you cast Cloudshift targeting Zada, Hedron Grinder, each of your other creatures will be exiled and returned to the battlefield separately, one at a time, by a different copy of Cloudshift. The same is also true of Otherworldly Journey, except that in that case, the order in which they return to the battlefield doesn't depend on the order in which they left.
When you cast Cloudshift targeting Zada, Hedron Grinder, Zada creates a copy of the spell for each other creature you control that is a legal target of Cloudshift. You choose the order in which those copies are placed on the stack. Then each copy resolves, one at a time, and the corresponding creature is exiled and then immediately returned to the battlefield. Keep in mind that this means that whenever each creature leaves and enters, each other creature in question is on the battlefield, so you still get the maximum benefit from each creature's triggered ability.
When you cast Otherworldly Journey targeting Zada, again Zada creates a copy of the spell for each other legal target, and again, you choose the order in which the copies are placed on the stack. The difference is that this time, each copy exiles the creature without returning it immediately, and creates a delayed trigger to return the creature at the end of the turn. Then at the end of the turn, they all trigger at once, and you choose again the order in which they go on the stack. Then each creature is returned to the battlefield one at a time.


text:
Taking counters from Hangarback Walker with Fate Transfer
If I cast Fate Transfer onto Hangarback Walker taking it's counters, does it just die or create Thopters?

Hangarback Walker will die without creating any Thopter tokens.
After Fate Transfer resolves, Hangarback Walker has no counters on it, making it a 0/0 creature.  At this point, state-based action 704.5f is applied, sending the Walker to the graveyard.  This triggers the Walker's ability, which checks the number of counters that were on Hangarback Walker immediately before it left the battlefield.  Since that number was zero, no tokens are created.

This is in contrast to the situation described in the Gatherer rulings:

If enough -1/-1 counters are put on Hangarback Walker at the same time to make its toughness 0 or less, the number of +1/+1 counters on it before it got any -1/-1 counters will be used to determine how many Thopter tokens you get. For example, if there are three +1/+1 counters on Hangarback Walker and it gets four -1/-1 counters, you’ll get three Thopter tokens. That’s because Hangarback Walker’s triggered ability checks the creature’s existence just before it leaves the battlefield, and it still has all those counters on it at that point.

The key difference between the two situations is the manner in which the tokens were removed.  If Hangarback Walker is "killed" via -1/-1 counters, there are actually two state-based actions at play: 704.5f, which sends creatures to the graveyard if their toughness is 0 or less, and 704.5r, which "cancels out" +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters.  Since all state-based actions are applied simultaneously, the Walker loses its counters and goes to the graveyard at the same time, meaning that the Walker still had its counters before it left the battlefield.


text:
How does Arcbond interact with Saving Grace?
This is a damage-dealing and timing-related question about casting Saving Grace (SG) and Arcbond  on a creature, and I or a creature I control being then dealt damage.
Arcbond:

Choose target creature. Whenever that creature is dealt damage this turn, it deals that much damage to each other creature and each player.

Saving Grace:

Flash
Enchant creature you control
When Saving Grace enters the battlefield, all damage that would be dealt this turn to you and permanents you control is dealt to enchanted creature instead.
Enchanted creature gets +0/+3.

Say I have a 3/3 and four 2/2 and an opponent casts shock (2 damage) on one of my 2/2's. As a response, I cast Saving Grace (with flash) and Arcbond on my 3/3.
The damage is redirected to my 3/3 by SG, and my 3/3 takes 2 damage.
This triggers Arcbond's effect, and all my 2/2s and myself are dealt 2 damage.
Which triggers SG, and all this damage (2*5=10 damage total) is redirected to my 3/3 (3/6 because of Saving grace, but this is irrelevant), my 3/3 has taken damage, so Arcbond triggers, and so on...
Here are the questions:

Do both trigger separately for redirected damage from each of my 2/2 and myself, thus dealing a total of 3*2=6 damage to everyone else (the toughness of my 3/3+0/3 being consumed), or do they "group" all the damage and deal 12 damage to everyone else (2 for the first redirected shock damage, and 10 for the total Arcbond redirected damage)
Is the damage from Arcbond dealt to everyone before, or after the "damage counters" are put on my 3/3, meaning will this combo stop when lethal damage has been redirected to my 3/3, or will it accumulate to infinity, never letting the damage event occur because it constantly reacts to the damage being "called"? (thus technically ending the game on a draw)

Or does something completely different happen?
I have gone to the comprehensive rules, but it's still not clear to me...

You say that you cast the Saving Grace and Arcbond on the 2/2, but you also say that the damage is redirected to the 3/3. I assume you mean that you cast Saving Grace and Arcbond on the 3/3 to save the 2/2.

The result of this combo will be three damage events: the original shock, plus the two Arcbond triggers. The first deals 2 damage to the 3/3, the second deals 2 damage to your opponent and each creature you don't control and 10 damage to the 3/3, and the third deals 10 damage to each creature and player. After that point the 3/3 will be dead, so there will be no more Arcbond triggers.
The reason it works that way is because Arcbond's effect is a triggered ability, which means that each time it triggers, there is time in between for other events to occur, and Saving Grace's effect creates a replacement effect, which modifies the damage events in place.
The exact sequence of events is as follows:

Your opponent casts Shock targeting your 2/2 creature.
In response, you cast Arcbond targeting that creature. Arcbond resolves, and creates a delayed triggered ability that will apply for the rest of the turn.
Still in response to shock, you also cast Saving Grace. Saving Grace resolves, and its triggered ability triggers. The creature is now a 3/6. That triggered ability also resolves, and creates a replacement effect that will redirect damage for the rest of the turn.
Shock resolves and would deal 2 damage to the 2/2, but Saving Grace's replacement effect modifies it. Instead it deals 2 damage to the 3/6. Arcbond's delayed triggered ability triggers.
Arcbond's triggered ability resolves. This would deal 2 damage to each other creature and each player, but Saving Grace's replacement effect modifies it. Instead, it deals 2 damage to your opponent and each creature you don't control, and 10 damage to the original creature. Arcbond's delayed triggered ability triggers again.
At this point, the creature has taken 12 damage and it has only 6 toughness, so it dies as a state-based action. The Saving Grace is also put into your graveyard as a state-based action.
Arcbond's ability resolves again, and deals 10 damage to each creature and each player.

The damage is grouped (but in multiple groups).
Arcbond's effect uses the stack (it's a triggered effect), while Saving Grace does not (it's a repalcement effect).
The chain of events:

All spells on the stack resolve, your 3/6 takes 2 damage from Shock
Arcbond's effect is placed on the stack.  State-based actions are
checked, both players have a chance to respond.  Assuming no one
does...
Your 3/6 deals 10 damage to itself (due to Saving Grace) and 2
damage to your opponent and your opponent's creatures.
Arcbond's effect is placed on the stack.  State-based actions are
checked.  Your 3/6 is destroyed.  Saving Grace becomes ineffective
(rule 614.9).  Both players have a chance to respond.  Assuming no
one does...
Your (deceased) 3/6 deals 10 damage to each creature and to each
player.

Net effect: Your opponent and your opponent's creatures take 12 damage.  You and your creatures take 10 damage.


text:
Cabal Therapy trick in response to Shock
Let's say my opponent plays a Shock. In response,
can I cast Cabal Therapy to get rid of it?
As in Counterspell or such. Please give me the full ruling on this card

That will not work. There are multiple issues with trying to do that.
First, once a player casts a spell, that spell is on the stack. Cards such as Counterspell and Redirect interact with spells on the stack. Cabal Therapy removes cards from an opponent's hand; it does not interact with the stack. So, if you were to cast Cabal Therapy in response to your opponent casting Shock and you name "Shock", you can make them discard every copy of Shock that is still in their hand, but it would have no effect on the Shock that they already cast.
Second, Cabal Therapy is a Sorcery. This means that in general, you cannot cast it in response to anything. There are some cards that change that, such as Leyline of Anticipation and Vedalken Orrery.

I think you only need the card text and an understanding of what it means to Cast a Spell: Cabal Therapy looks at the opponents hand, so if you cast CT in response to something like Shock, then the Shock has already been played so it is not in their hand anymore. Thus you can not counter a spell that has already been played by trying to remove it from their hand.
Cabal Therapy:

Choose a nonland card name. Target player reveals his or her hand and
  discards all cards with that name.
  (It's also a Sorcery, so you can't respond to anything with it anyway)

Casting Spells:

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. ...


text:
Can I cast both parts of Commit//Memory from the graveyard with Torrential Gearhulk?
I cast Torrential Gearhulk, can I cast Memory from my graveyard with gearhulk's triggered ability?
As I understand and with some basic rules I know, I can't, because Memory is a sorcery and gearhulk says I can cast an instant. But I read that split cards count as 1 card with converted mana cost equal to total of converted mana costs of each of the card's parts. That means this card is an instant and sorcery at the same time as long as it remains in the graveyard at least and I can cast it with gearhulk and choose both parts to be cast, I found it too good to be true for standard and I wanted to know if this is right. (Please explain)

You have two entirely unrelated questions here. Each post should contain just one question, or multiple closely related questions. I'm going to edit out the Mirrorpool question. I would suggest asking it as a separate question.

You can use Torrential Gearhulk to cast either Commit or Memory, but not both.
As you mentioned, in zones other than the stack (including the graveyard), a split card has the combination of the characteristics of the two halves [CR 708.4]. In this case, that does mean that the card is considered to be both an Instant and a Sorcery. Since it is an instant card, it is a valid target of Torrential Gearhulk's ability.
Then, Torrential Gearhulk instructs you to cast the spell. The first thing you do when casting a split card is choosing which half you are casting [CR 708.3]. In this case, Memory has a restriction (Aftermath) that says that you can only cast it from your graveyard. You are casting the card from your graveyard, so that's no problem. Commit doesn't have any restrictions, so you can cast that too. The Gearhulk's ability doesn't care if you cast the instant half or the sorcery half. It instructed you to cast an instant card, and that's what you did.

Thank you guys for your responses! and for reminding me "fuse"!

It's not exactly relevant to this question, but you should keep in mind that Fuse only works when casting a card from your hand.


text:
I was the first to lose in a commander game, does Vorinclex ability still happen?
It's a 3-man commander game and I have out Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger, and my opponent had two flyers which dealt me enough damage to the point I was down to 2 life, and then he cast an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and dealt me the remaining damage while tapping out. Since I was still in the game when he tapped his mana (and Vorinclex was still alive), would his mana stay tapped on his next untap step, or since I left the game entirely would he be able to untap it. This question is relevant for the other two players.

Possible duplicate of In MTG, what happens when a player loses in multiplayer?

I don't think this is a duplicate of that: this isn't the same question and there's no direct answer to this in there. It's related, but not a duplicate.

The lands would not untap during their controller's untap step. This is a continuous effect on the land created by the resolution of an effect, and the rules relating to what effects end when a player leaves the game, notably 800.4j, imply that continuous effects created as part of the resolution of a spell or ability continue to apply, even if that player is no longer in the game. There's no rule stating that continuous effects with any timing other than "until your next [turn/phase]" should end, therefore if they're on legal permanents they would continue.
For future reference, however, if the effect where to kill you while the Vorinclex triggers were still on the stack, e.g. from a Lightning Bolt, the Vorinclex triggers would be exiled as you left the game from having 0 life, so they would NOT affect the lands.


text:
MTG Gatherer Regular Expressions whitespace
How do I represent white space in a phrase on gatherer's advanced search? I read the help, and I've used regexes before, but I can't get this to work for me.

AND
  lifelink
NOT
  m/until\send\sof\turn/
NOT
  creature

Should give

AND
  lifelink
NOT
  until end of turn
NOT
  creature

I'm looking for cards that give lifelink as a persistent effect like enchantments or equipment.
What am i doing wrong with the regex? Why does it still show card with end of turn in the text body?
Edit: gatherer specifically instructs to use regex...
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Help.aspx#regex

Can you clarify if you're looking for a way to search for a list of cards on Gatherer? If you are, then this is on-topic for the site. If you are writing a regex for use in some program you are writing, then you should just ask this at Stackoverflow.

Is this about how to work regexes (in Java, maybe with a Gatherer API or something) or is it about using Gatherer's Search page? Seems like the latter, which ought to be within our domain. (Downvotes aren't ban votes, btw, don't know where you got that idea. You're at no risk of getting automatically question banned.) Is there a reason you're not just typing in "until end of turn" (with plain ordinary spaces)?

An alternative to using the web form to make regex is to put the regex directly into the url.

You're missing the 's' in between 'of' and 'turn'?

On their search page

Because gatherers instructions specifically instruct you to use regex, and spaces break them into seperate searches for ANY instance of each word. I want to search for an exact phrase

That page says that you can use regular expressions, but that doesn't mean that you should use regular expressions. As I point out in my answer, you don't actually need regular expressions to accomplish what you're trying to do.

@dopplegreener because stack overflow banned me for having too many downvotes (which have an absolute limit and are not offset by upvotes)

@KonnerRasmussen Since you're not suspended I presume you mean you're question banned, and the question ban mechanism doesn't work the way you appear to think it works. It requires consistent low quality contributions with regular closures and deletion. You've got enough well-received questions here that downvotes aren't likely to have much effect. (But if you do consistently provide low quality material that earns downvotes, we're not interested in saving you from the question ban it'd incur.)

You are representing whitespace properly. "\s" is a placeholder for "one whitespace character," but your search doesn't yield the expected results because, as has been stated before, gatherer doesn't properly negate regex search terms.
You can use a Negative Lookahead group combined with a single wildcard, repeated together, in order to check to make sure the specified phrase doesn't appear anywhere in the field. The regex for "cards that do not contain the text 'Until end of turn'" would be m/^((?!Until\send\sof\sturn).)*$/
The specific gatherer url for your query would be:
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&text=+[lifelink]+[m/^((?!Until\send\sof\sturn).)*$/]&type=+![%22Creature%22]

It looks like the Gatherer search simply does not understand negated regular expressions. I tried, and it gives the exact same results with NOT <regular expression> as with AND <regular expression>.
Fortunately, your search does not require the use of regular expressions at all. You can find what you're looking for just by using NOT "until end of turn" instead.

You solved my problem, but i feel reluctant to accept it since it does not answer the question itself. Regex is powerful, and it would be amazing to be able to use it on gatherers search page. If it proves that it will not parse regex, you would have been the first to suggest it and i would accept. But a solution is not the purpose here.  The WWW needs answers. =P

This does answer your question. You ask why your query isn't giving the results you expect. The answer is that Gatherer does not properly handle negated regular expressions. That doesn't mean that regular expressions don't work at all.


text:
When a creature is enchanted with 2 auras changing it's base stats, what happens?
If Ensoul Artifact is attached to an artifact, then Lignify is later attached to the same artifact, does the base power of the creature you are targeting change to 0/4 even if Ensoul Artifact is still in play and effect, stating the creature to be a 5/5?

If two continuous effects change the same characteristic in the same way, then those effects are applied in the order they were created (this is known as timestamp order).
In this case, both Ensoul Artifact and Lignify set the enchanted creature's base power and toughness. Ensoul Artifact entered the battlefield first, so Ensoul Artifact sets the creature's base power and toughness to 5/5, then Lignify sets the creature's base power and toughness to 0/4. The result is that the creature has base power and toughness 0/4.

This is set out under 613.6 of the Comprehensive Rules : http://mtg.gamepedia.com/Interaction_of_continuous_effects


text:
How does searching a library with Planar Bridge work?
If I activate Planar Bridge, does it mean I can search my library for any permanent card I want or do I have to search until I find the first?

"Search" is a keyword action that is explicitly defined in the rules. Rule 701.17a says

To search for a card in a zone, look at all cards in that zone (even if it’s a hidden zone) and find a card that matches the given description.

In the case of Planar Bridge, you look at all of the cards in your library, choose a permanent card from among them, and put it onto the battlefield.

@dan And that is why it costs 8 mana. :D

Maybe worth noting that you don't have to find a card, because there is a restriction on the card type. If it said "search your library for a card", then you would have to choose a card, because it's public knowledge that there is at least 1 card. But in this case, it's possible that you have no permanents, so even if you find one, if it's one you don't want you don't have to choose it.

You don't even have to name it before you choose! You could be like "I definitely need Catacomb Slug here" and while you're sifting your cards for it find Grave Titan and think "maybe that's marginally better" and pick that.


text:
Vampiric Link on opponents creature
Suppose I cast a Vampiric Link on an opponents creature. Does the opponent gain life when this creature does damage or do I gain that life?

Vampiric Link says:

Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, you gain that much life.

"You" on a card refers to the controller of the card - and regardless of what Vampiric Link is enchanting, you (the person who cast Vampiric Link) will always* control it. So you'll always be the one gaining life, not your opponent.
*barring any control changing effects that occur

This answer is correct, but "an effect [that] causes you to exchange control of two permanents" is an oddly specific example of a control changing effect, which is potentially confusing. Is there any particular reason you singled out that kind of effect?

I agree with murgatroid99. I would either remove the note or have it say something like 'barring any control changing effects that may occur'

That's a much better way of wording that caveat. Edited.

Also note that if the card designer actually wanted the opposite, he would use the phrase "that creature's controller", not "you".

@liori Or, simply "Enchanted Creature gains Lifelink."

Thx for your replies,


text:
Can I bring a visual flow chart for complex magic cards to events?
I was reading the card Chains of Mephistopheles and I found these great flow charts for how it's replacement effect works. Would I be allowed to bring a simple flow chart like that to a sanctioned event? Would this change if the event was Competitive or Professional REL?

What exactly do you mean by "REL level 2"? I assume you mean Competitive REL, because that is the middle in terms of strictness out of the three levels.

@murgatroid99 Sorry I was mixing up judge levels and REL levels. That is correct that I meant Competitive and Professional REL. Thank you for clarifying that.

No, you cannot refer to pre-made notes or diagrams like that during matches in a tournament. The Magic Tournament Rules section 2.11 says the following:

Players are allowed to take written notes during a match and may refer to those notes while that match is in progress. At the beginning of a match, each player’s note sheet must be empty and must remain visible throughout the match. Players do not have to explain or reveal notes to other players. Judges may ask to see a player’s notes and/or request that the player explain their notes.
Players may not refer to other notes, including notes from previous matches, during games.


text:
MTG Curse of misfortune
Recently I made a deck to have fun with when I play with family/friends. So I played Curse of Misfortunes on target player, and he simply didn't understand the card, saying "Why did you cast this on me? when I don't have any curses in my deck? You're supposed to cast it on yourself so that you can use it." So I told him why would I want to curse myself? and add more curses to myself? So he then asks "I don't understand this card. Henceforth I won't be getting any curses from this card unless you can prove it" I tried to explain it by telling him that I get to pull curses from my deck and give it to him. And that there is a difference between this curse and other curses, because the other curses say Enchanted player gets this and that. While Curse of misfortune doesn't say any of that so it means that I get the ability of that card to place curses on him. So he simply said the same thing and didn't understand it. So I questioned myself too, therefore me asking this to you guys.
Another question, If I play curses on players, are those enchanted cards still considered mine? Ex. I play a curse on target players, and I have Sphere of Safety out, and a player attacks me. Do they have to tap as many mana to as many curses I've given?

I don't think this question is a duplicate of the question Gendolkari mentioned. It is not obvious that the "You may search" ability printed on Curse of Misfortunes applies to the controller rather than the enchanted player. I do think this question is a duplicate of Ordeal of Heliod and changing creature control, which covers both who controls the enchantment and also who gets the effect of the enchantment.

Any permanent(cards that stick around like creatures, enchantments, artifacts, lands) that you play are under your control unless it specifically says otherwise. You control the abilities of permanents that you control. Since you control Curse of Misfortunes, you control its ability, so when it says "you" or "your" on the card that refers to you since you are the controller of the card.
The card says enchant player which means as you are casting it, you choose a player as its target. When the enchantment resolves it enters the battlefield enchanting the player that had been targeted. That does not mean that player gains control of it just that it is in enchanting them.
Curse of Misfortunes works like you think it would. You curse your opponent with it, then you get to search out a curse at the beginning of your upkeep and attach it to that player.
You still control curses attached to your opponent so Sphere of Safety will count them towards the amount your opponent has to pay to attack you.


text:
Does my creature still get a +1/+1 counter?
My creature gets a +1/+1 counter whenever another creature I control dies. I block a 3/3 with a 2/2 that I can regenerate. It takes the damage and I regenerate it. Does the other creature still get a +1/+1 counter?

Is the 2/2 creature Undercity Troll? Is the creature that gets counters either Gavony Unhallowed or Rot Shambler?

No, your creature does not get a counter.
The exact meaning of "regenerate" is this (from rule 701.13a):

If the effect of a resolving spell or ability regenerates a permanent, it creates a replacement effect that protects the permanent the next time it would be destroyed this turn. In this case, “Regenerate [permanent]” means “The next time [permanent] would be destroyed this turn, instead remove all damage marked on it and tap it. If it’s an attacking or blocking creature, remove it from combat.”

So, in your situation, the 2/2 would be destroyed, but instead, you remove all damage attached to it, tap it, and remove it from combat. This means that it doesn't die, so your creature doesn't get a counter.

Recommend rewording the "would die" portion, referencing 704.5g. Since lethal damage was dealt to the creature, it would be destroyed, leading into 701.7, which then references 701.13.


text:
Does No Mercy get triggered by Blood Scrivener?
Let's say I control the card No Mercy. The card states that whenever a creature successfully deals damage to me it gets destroyed.
Now let us suppose:

I also control Blood Scrivener
I have no cards in hand.
I need to draw a card.

Because of Blood Scrivener's ability, I draw 2 cards and I lose 1 life.
Question: Does the loss of life induced by Blood Scrivener count as damage? (And does it cause Blood Scrivener to be destroyed?)

Related: http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/11600/what-are-the-differences-between-combat-damage-direct-damage-and-loss-of-life

Blood scrivener says that you lose life, not that he damages you, so you won't lose the blood scrivener due to the effect of no mercy

Damage is different than life loss.  For players, damage causes life loss.

119.3a Damage dealt to a player by a source without infect causes that player to lose that much life

So no, the Blood Scrivener isn't destroyed.

Yes, damage causes loss of life. But what kind of effect is Blood Scrivener's ability? If it is not a damage effect, what is it then?

@joern "kind" is not an attribute that effects have in Magic

Okay. If it is not possible to categorize this any further, then I accept this answer. "life loss" appears to be a self-contained concept.

Personally I think you have quoted the wrong rule to answer his question

118.3. If an effect causes a player to gain life or lose life, that player’s life total is adjusted accordingly.

@Wouter The question was about No Mercy which says damage, so I went with the rule that had both terms.

No. Loss of life is not damage - damage causes loss of life. Blood Scrivener will not cause No Mercy to trigger.


text:
Can I choose to sacrifice from Remorseless Punishment if I have Sigarda, Host of Herons in game?
If I have Sigarda, Host of Herons in play, whose rule text says.

Spells and abilities your opponents control can't cause you to sacrifice permanents.

And my opponent plays Remorseless Punishment:

Target opponent loses 5 life unless that player discards two cards or sacrifices a creature or planeswalker. Repeat this process once.

Can I choose to sacrifice my creatures, avoiding this effect due to Sigarda, or am I forced to choose another option?

You cannot sacrifice a creature to avoid losing life to Remorseless Punishment's ability. You can still discard cards instead.
One of the rulings on Sigarda, Host of Herons says

If a spell or ability an opponent controls instructs you to perform an action unless you sacrifice a permanent (as Ogre Marauder does), you can’t choose to sacrifice a permanent. You must perform the action. On the other hand, if a spell or ability an opponent controls instructs you to sacrifice a permanent unless you perform an action (as Killing Wave does), you can choose whether or not to perform the action. If you don’t perform the action, nothing happens, since you can’t sacrifice any permanents.


text:
Who chooses what order to apply damage prevention and redirection effects in a fight?
If Swans of Bryn Argoll is involved in a fight and an opponent activates an ability to redirect damage assigned to the Swans of Bryn Argoll.  Which effect takes precedence?  My assumption is that the controller would chose which damage prevention mechanism to use.

When multiple damage redirection and prevention effects, or other replacement effects, are applied to the same object for the same event, the controller of the object decides the order in which they are applied. In this case, the controller of the Swans of Bryn Argoll decides whether the damage is redirected or the damage source's controller draws the cards. The exact process for applying these effects is described in the rules section titled Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects.

Note that the Swan's controller doesn't draw the cards; the damage source's controller does.

You're right, I forgot about that part of the effect. I fixed the description in the answer.

Are you sure this is true? That player would decide on the order their effects are applied certainly, but they are applied in APNAP order otherwise. If I had swans, and my opponent had an effect that was redirecting/preventing damage, it would depend who's turn it is which was actually applied.

That is true of triggered abilities and many other effects, but as you can see from the rules section I linked, replacement and prevention effects work differently. The controller/owner of the thing that events are happening to (Swans, in this case) decides the order of all events.


text:
When gaining control of an opponent's target creature, who do effects of that card that apply to?
So, I'm playtesting two of my decks, (yeah, I do that... I need friends...) and I'm confused about how the effects of my opponent's cards that come under my control (via cards such as Act of Treason, or Mind Control), which say "you and "your," would affect me and my opponent. The specific card in question is Yavimaya Elder, which I gained control of for the turn using Act of Treason. I plan to attack with it, then sacrifice it. But the card says: "When Yavimaya Elder is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may search your library for up to two basic land cards, reveal them, and put them into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library." (emphasis added)
I understand that as I sacrifice the card, it would go into my opponent's graveyard, as he owns it (I know that he is me since I'm playing myself, but for all intents and purposes, "he" refers to the player of the deck who owns Yavimaya Elder). However, since the card doesn't specify "your graveyard," does that mean that it's effects that say "you" would apply to me, as Act of Treason causes me to control it until end of turn?
So my main question is, would I, owner of Act of Treason, search my library for two lands, or would my opponent, owner of Yavimaya Elder, search "his" library for two lands??

A small and not very relevant side note: actually the ability says "When Yavimaya Elder dies, ...". The card may have been printed with "When Yavimaya Elder is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, ...", but the current Oracle wording is what you should be looking at.

In general, "you" always refers to an objects controller, or if it doesn't have one, its owner. This is specified with some more detail in rule 109.5. For example, if a card is on the battlefield, "you" refers to its controller, and if a card is in a graveyard, "you" refers to its owner.
In the specific example of taking control of Yavimaya Elder and sacrificing it, you (the controller) would search your library for the lands and put them into your hand. This is because Yavimaya Elder's ability is a "leaves-the-battlefield ability", which means that the following parts of the triggered ability rules apply:

603.10. Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions, and continuous effects that exist at that time are used to determine what the trigger conditions are and what the objects involved in the event look like. However, some triggered abilities are exceptions to this rule; the game “looks back in time” to determine if those abilities trigger, using the existence of those abilities and the appearance of objects immediately prior to the event. The list of exceptions is as follows:

603.10a Some zone-change triggers look back in time. These are leaves-the-battlefield abilities, abilities that trigger when a card leaves a graveyard, and abilities that trigger when an object that all players can see is put into a hand or library.

This means that when Yavimaya Elder dies, its triggered ability considers how it existed when it was last on the battlefield. This includes the fact that you controlled it, so you also control the ability and the "you"s in the ability refer to you.

+1 This answers my question exactly. Spot on. Thank you very much. I was looking in the wrong area of the rulebook for the answer.


text:
Does Equinox counter Desolation Angel if it's kicked?
Can the ability granted by Equinox counter Desolation Angel if the angel is kicked. Or is it considered to be indirectly destroying lands as it requires it to enter the battlefield first?

No, Equinox cannot counter Desolation Angel. Equinox says

Enchanted land has "{T}: Counter target spell if it would destroy a land you control."

When a creature spell resolves, its only effect is to put the creature onto the battlefield. In the case of Desolation Angel, after it enters the battlefield its ability triggers. That ability is what would actually destroy the lands, and it is a separate game object from the Desolation Angel creature spell—and is in fact not a spell at all (it's an ability) so Equinox can't counter it. So, if you activate the ability granted by Equinox targeting a Desolation Angel spell, it will do nothing because the spell itself won't destroy any lands.

"When a creature spell resolves, its only effect is to put the creature onto the battlefield." Some creatures have replacement effects affecting how they enter the battlefield (usually with counters, or as a copy of something, but there are others). Would that be included in the effect of the creature spell?

@Arthur Pretty sure not; spells and abilities are 2 separate things; a static ability that creates a replacement effect is still an ability; separate from the spell.


text:
Multiplayer with Phyrexian Swarmlord
Phyrexian Swarmlord's last ability is that you create infect tokens based on the number of poison counters on your opponents. Let's say I'm playing a 1v1v1 and I have him on the battlefield with opponent A having 2 poison counters and opponent B having 9, and I proliferate. If I choose player B's poison counters as part of my proliferate that player loses from having 10 poison counters, but as the game continues, would I still get 10 tokens from them where the player lost with that many counters on them? Or should I exclude them from proliferate as long as possible to continue getting 9 infect tokens because they need to be alive in the game to get the tokens?

You could Donate a Platinum Angel :)

You will not get to count the counters from the player who has lost.
When a player loses the game in multiplayer, that player leaves the game, which means they are not in any way a part of the game. They are no longer an opponent, they no longer have poison counters, they do not exist at all as far as the game is concerned.

800.4. Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the game.

And

102.1. A player is one of the people in the game.
102.3. In a multiplayer game between teams, a player's teammates are the other players on their team, and the player's opponents are all players not on their team.

So a person who has left the game is not "in the game", which means they are not "a player", and "an opponent" must be "a player".

Trying to find a good way to explain why 800.4h does not apply here... "If an effect requires information about a specific player, the effect uses the current information about that player if they are still in the game; otherwise, the effect uses the last known information about that player before they left the game."

The effect doesn't require about that specific player. It just needs information about your opponents in general. I think that rule is for covering situations like one where you choose a player, and then an effect on that card cares about some information about that player after that player leaves the game.

If your opponent loses the game because of having 10 or more poison counters, they leave the game and Phyrexian Swarmlord doesn't 'detect' them anymore; you won't get Insect tokens from them. So if your goals is to create many tokens, it's best to keep them alive and not target them while proliferating.


text:
If I cast a spell with X in its mana cost "without paying its mana cost" what is the value of X?
I want to use Omnispell Adept's ability

2U, Tap: You may cast an instant or sorcery card from your hand without paying its mana cost.

to cast Entrancing Melody. Its effect reads

Gain control of target creature with converted mana cost X.

What is X for the effect on that card?

The value of X is chosen when the spell is cast.
But the only legal choice for X is zero in this case.

107.3b If a player is casting a spell that has an {X} in its mana cost, the value of X isn’t defined by the text of that spell, and an effect lets that player cast that spell while paying neither its mana cost nor an alternative cost that includes X, then the only legal choice for X is 0. This doesn’t apply to effects that only reduce a cost, even if they reduce it to zero. See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

This is confirmed by a ruling on Omnispell Adept.

If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.

As always, there's an exception to this rule: Spoils of War. Its value of X is set by its rules text and thus will not be 0 if cast without paying its mana cost.

@eyeballfrog, That is not an exception. 107.3b explicitly doesn't apply to cards whose text define X ("If [...] the value of X isn’t defined by the text of that spell [...]"). Those are covered by 107.3c ("If a spell or activated ability has an {X}, [-X], or X in its cost and/or its text, and the value of X is defined by the text of that spell or ability, , then that’s the value of X while that spell or ability is on the stack. The controller of that spell or ability doesn’t get to choose the value. Note that the value of X may change while that spell or ability is on the stack.").

It's not an exception to the explicit rules, but it is an exception to the rule of thumb "X is always 0" that's in the ruling. Perhaps I could have phrased that better.

@eyeballfrog, That's a stupid (incorrect) "rule of thumb", and I never said X is always 0. I said "the only legal choice for X is zero in this case". That clearly indicates there are other istuations in which the outcome would be different. The ruling may be a bit imprecise, but I am not at liberty to edit that. That's why I always include the rules on which rulings are based, as well as my own "td;dr" summary.

Unfortunately for you, X=0. The Comprehensive Rules state:

107.3b If a player is casting a spell that has an {X} in its mana cost, the value of X isn’t defined by the text of that spell, and an effect lets that player cast that spell while paying neither its mana cost nor an alternative cost that includes X, then the only legal choice for X is 0. This doesn’t apply to effects that only reduce a cost, even if they reduce it to zero. See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

This is also mentioned in the Rulings under the card in Gatherer:

If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.

@Arthur and ikegami, thanks, I've corrected my mistake.

I just found the rules clarification on Omnispell Adapts:

If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.

In that case, Omnispell Adapt can only cast Entrancing Melody for X=0, which makes the effect on both cards quite useless.
Except on targets like Endless One, because its cost is X=0, when targeted by Entrancing Melody...

Token creatures also have a CMC of 0 (unless they're copies of a creature, in which case they have the cloned creature's CMC) so you can steal someone's Wurm token.

@Veskah Tokens have a CMC of whatever is defined by the ability that created the token; and if the ability doesn’t define it; then CMC is used. So it’s not automatically 0.

To be fair the only kinds of tokens that have CMC at the moment are tokens that are copies of things (including Embalm/Eternalize).

And embalm tokens are specifically given a cost of 0. Seems unlikely that they would ever print an ability that creates a token with a different specific assigned CMC; but they could.

There are 0 CMC creatures. Orinthopter, for instance.


text:
Can an ability that returns a creature to hand save it from an ability that would exile it?
So I was playing a friend and he had a Lantern Spirit on the field. I used a card ability to exile it, but he said he could pay that one blue mana to put it back in his hand. I'm pretty sure that's not legal, but I couldn't prove it wasn't, so I let him (it was OK in the end I completely crushed him). Does anyone know where the rules regarding this kind of thing are?

I'll leave the proper answer to someone who can quote passage and verse of the complete rules, but basically your friend was right - he has the opportunity to respond to your ability, and in doing so his Lantern Spirit returns to hand and your exiling ability fizzles.

When you put the exile ability of your card (call it E) on the stack, your opponent gets priority and will be able to react by playing e.g. an instant or in this case, any card abiltity which can be played as an instant. Lantern Spirit's ability is such an ability; it will be put on the stack as well, and unless you react on it (e.g. with another instant), it will resolve before E. This is a bit counterintuitive (unless you're a programmer and heard about stacks before) - why should an ability/spell which is cast later resolve earlier? – but this is how Magic works. Lantern Spirit will return to its owner's hand and E will (if Lantern Spirit is its only target) 'fizzle', i.e. have no effect, because its target has already changed zones. It won't exile the card from its owner's hand.

The use of "fizzle" above is inaccurate. "Fizzle" means that the entire spell or ability is countered if all of its targets are illegal or missing when it would resolve. For example, you would not put a +1/+1 counter on your Dark Impostor.

It's a simplification, I assumed the Lantern Spirit was its only target.

You also correctly state that it won't exile the card from it's owner's hand, but you incorrectly imply that this is due to the spell fizzling. The actual reason is that the card is considered a different object after changing zones.

No, I'm just stating that it won't exile the card, not why this is the case. That's the difference between a , and a ;, but I'll try to make it more clear.

What happens here in detail?
pre-conditions:

You are the active player (main phase, your turn, for example).

passing priority:

You cast a spell which targets Lantern Spirit.
You pass priority to the next player, in this case, to your opponent.
Your opponent uses the activated ability of Lantern Spirit, in order to return it to his hand, as a reaction.
You gain priority and pass.
He gains priority and passes.

The stack resolves (first in, last out):

Lantern Spirit is returned to your opponent's hand,
then your exile-spell tries to resolve, fails to find the original target, and fizzles.

In short: Your friend was right, it is a legal move.

There should be two more steps between (6) and (7), no? After resolving Lantern Spirit's ability, you gain priority and pass, and then your opponent gains priority and passes. Either one of you has the option to, at that point, do something in reaction to the original spell before it tries to resolve (e.g., use Ionize to counter it and deal damage to you).

Your friend was absolutely right, he is able to respond to your attempt to exile his spirit by activating the ability of Lantern Spirit. The stack is what Magic calls the ordered spells that have been cast and abilities activated but not yet resolved. Putting things on the stack is handled by a few rules, 601.2 for spells, 602.2 for activated abilities and 603.3 for triggered abilities. Here's the text for the rule on spells, they all say the same basic thing, the spell/ability is put onto the stack (on top) where it will eventually resolve.

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. Casting a spell includes proposal of the spell (rules 601.2a–d) and determination and payment of costs (rules 601.2f–h). To cast a spell, a player follows the steps listed below, in order. A player must be legally allowed to cast the spell to begin this process (see rule 601.3). If a player is unable to comply with the requirements of a step listed below while performing that step, the casting of the spell is illegal ; the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 725, “Handling Illegal Actions”).

Let's say you had used Swords to Plowshares (Swords) as your exile spell, that puts Swords onto the stack at the top of the stack, the only spell there so it is also the bottom. Your opponent then activates the ability of Lantern Spirit, putting that ability on top of your Swords. Each player then needs to pass priority (their opportunity to respond to the lantern spirit ability with another instant speed effect) so the first spell or ability on stack will resolve:

608.1 Each time all players pass in succession, the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves. (See rule 609, “Effects.”)

Magic resolves the stack in reverse order they were put on the stack, as 608.1 says, the top of the stack resolves each time priority is passed by all players. In this case the top of the stack is Lantern Spirit's ability to return itself to hand. This then happens. Now your Swords is still on the stack, but no longer has a target, so this is handled by 608.2b:

608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. If all its targets, for every instance of the word “target,” are now illegal, the spell or ability doesn’t resolve. It’s removed from the stack and, if it’s a spell, put into its owner’s graveyard. Otherwise, the spell or ability will resolve normally. Illegal targets, if any, won’t be affected by parts of a resolving spell’s effect for which they’re illegal. Other parts of the effect for which those targets are not illegal may still affect them. If the spell or ability creates any continuous effects that affect game rules (see rule 613.11), those effects don’t apply to illegal targets. If part of the effect requires information about an illegal target, it fails to determine any such information. Any part of the effect that requires that information won’t happen.

As it says in that rule "If all its targets, for every instance of the word 'target,' are now illegal, the spell or ability doesn’t resolve. It’s removed from the stack and, if it’s a spell, put into its owner’s graveyard." So your exile is put into the graveyard if it was a spell, like the swords I used in the example or just removed from the stack and ceases to exist if it is an ability.


text:
Galepowder Mage and Wormfang Manta interaction
So, I have a question about triggers.
Can someone please explain the interaction between Galepowder Mage and Wormfang Manta? If I go to declare attack, using the mage to target Manta do I take my extra turn after I pass my current turn and then skip my the turn after that? Or does the Manta just nullify both of it's abilities when it comes back?

You won't get any significant benefit from doing this. You will get an extra turn, and then you will skip that extra turn, and the turn order will proceed as though you never had that extra turn.
An instruction to "skip your next turn" creates a replacement effect that has you skip the next turn you would take. So even though that effect is created after you get the extra turn, you still skip the extra turn. This is specified in rule 614.10:

An effect that causes a player to skip an event, step, phase, or turn is a replacement effect. “Skip [something]” is the same as “Instead of doing [something], do nothing.” Once a step, phase, or turn has started, it can no longer be skipped—any skip effects will wait until the next occurrence.


text:
* Power/Toughness and other effects
Having spent time reading the wonderful answers here on the marvels of layers, I thought I'd throw another one in the mix...
I have an empty board, 7 mana, and a Daxos, Blessed by the Sun and Harmonious Archon in hand. I can cast both, but I want to maximise the outcome.
My understanding says that if I play the Archon first followed by Daxos, he will have 4 toughness, or more if I increase devotion. If I do it the other way, he will have an unchangeable 3 toughness.
This is predicated on my assumption that Daxos' toughness effect is a continuous effect that is determined in the same layer as the Archon. Is this correct?

No, he will be 3 either way.
Daxos's ability is a Characteristic-Defining Ability, as defined in 604.3a: It defines the power/toughness, it is printed on the card, it doesn't directly affect the characteristics of other objects, it is not granted to itself, and it is not only set conditionally.
As described in 613.3, Layer 7a is where Characteristic-Defining Abilities are set.  Effects that set power/toughness to a specific number that are not Characteristic-Defining are set in Layer 7b.  As such, Daxos's ability will always apply first, then Harmonious Archon will always overwrite it.
It is also worth mentioning that while Layer 7 has multiple sublayers, 613.2 specifies that in Layers 1-6 that Characteristic-Defining abilities are always applied before any other effects.


text:
Yarok and Animate Dead
I've seen multiple viewpoints on Animate Dead while Yarok, the Desecrated is out, and just want to get a final answer. Does it Animate 2 creatures and then immediately die, thus activating any etb triggers those creatures may have? Do they not enter at all? Do they stay out? Does one stay out? Do Dance of the Dead and Necromancy work differently? What do they do differently?

A little history is that around Visions, the "Enchant Dead Creature" concept was dropped.  Necromancy used a new template, and to make Animate Dead and Dance of the Dead function they were given errata to this template.  This made the cards function differently (as it would in your example).  The 5th Edition printing of Animate Dead used this template.  Eventually, a new template was created that restored the original functionality (although with an almost unprintable number of words), so those cards were updated again.  Necromancy was not updated since it was originally printed that way.

It would act more or less the same as if you did not have Yarok out.
Animate Dead is still an Aura spell, which means that it is targeted; and you choose that target when you cast the spell, before it enters the battlefield:

303.4a An Aura spell requires a target, which is defined by its enchant ability.

So you must target a creature card in a graveyard. This target is not going to change or get doubled or anything like that by Yarok.
Animate Dead does have a triggered ability that triggers when it enters the battlefield, so due to Yarok, this ability will trigger twice. The full effect of the ability that triggers is:

When Animate Dead enters the battlefield, if it's on the battlefield, it loses "enchant creature card in a graveyard" and gains "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Animate Dead." Return enchanted creature card to the battlefield under your control and attach Animate Dead to it. When Animate Dead leaves the battlefield, that creature's controller sacrifices it.

So that will trigger twice. This means there will be 2 copies of that ability on the stack, and they will resolve one at a time.
When the first ability resolves, you will do these things in order:

Animate Dead loses "enchant creature card in a graveyard" and gains "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Animate Dead."
You return enchanted creature card to the battlefield under your control and attach Animate Dead to it.
Then it sets up a delayed trigger for when Animate Dead leaves the battlefield.

When the second ability resolves, you will still go through these steps in order, although certain things will now not function the same:

Animate Dead loses "enchant creature card in a graveyard" and gains "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Animate Dead."

Animate Dead didn't have the ability it's supposed to lose, so it won't lose anything. It will gain "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Animate Dead" again, but having 2 of that ability is redundant.

You return enchanted creature card to the battlefield under your control and attach Animate Dead to it.

The enchanted creature card is already on the battlefield, and Animate Dead is already attached; so this instruction won't do anything extra.

Then it sets up a delayed trigger for when Animate Dead leaves the battlefield.

This will set up an additional delayed trigger, but that extra delayed trigger won't do anything special, because you won't be able to sacrifice the same creature twice.

Day of the Dead is exactly the same; all the relevant wording is identical.
Necromancy is different, however. Because it is not an aura spell, you do not choose a target as part of casting Necromancy. Instead, the triggered ability itself is what targets. This means that you will have 2 targeted triggered abilities on the stack, and you can choose a target for each ability when you put it on the stack. You could choose different targets for each one; which would allow you to return 2 creature cards to the battlefield. Necromancy will attach to the first one, then "move" and attach to the second one. The first one will remain, without Necromancy attached to it.

And if Necromancy leaves the battlefield, both creatures need to be sacrificed.


text:
Is Basalt Monolith a 1-card infinite combo with no payoff?
Can't Basalt Monolith go infinite with itself? No payoff or practical use, but it's a one card infinite?

What are you unsure about here? Do you want to know how the abilities function? Or how loops work in the game? Or something else?

Just want to make absolutely sure that you can just untap Monolith with the 3 colorless from it's first ability. Thought i remembered errata somewhere that said you can't, but can't find it. Mostly asking to convince a friend.

@CollinB, can't find the exact language, but this article talks about it a bit: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/latest-developments/power-level-errata-b-gone-2006-07-14

@CALEBF Do you mind if I add that information to my answer?

@murgatroid99 Sure, go ahead!

Yes, you can tap and untap Basalt Monolith arbitrarily many times, alone, with no other benefit.
The current text of Basalt Monolith's activated abilities is as follows:

{T}: Add {C}{C}{C}.
{3}: Untap Basalt Monolith.

The first ability adds three mana, and the second ability costs three mana of any type, so you can use the mana produced by the first ability to activate the second ability. Activating both abilities in order results in the game returning to the same exact state it was in before either ability was activated, so you can immediately do the same thing again.
The relevant rule for voluntary infinite loops, rule 726.2a says this:

At any point in the game, the player with priority may suggest a shortcut by describing a sequence of game choices, for all players, that may be legally taken based on the current game state and the predictable results of the sequence of choices. This sequence may be a non-repetitive series of choices, a loop that repeats a specified number of times, multiple loops, or nested loops, and may even cross multiple turns. It can’t include conditional actions, where the outcome of a game event determines the next action a player takes. The ending point of this sequence must be a place where a player has priority, though it need not be the player proposing the shortcut.

Like with any infinite loop, you can announce that you are activating Basalt Monolith's first ability and then using the mana to activate the second ability any specific number of times.

A 2006 article on the Wizards website describes some previous power-level errata to Basalt Monolith that prevented this loop from working:

This card had textbook power-level errata previously; it basically said “you can't use Basalt Monolith to untap itself.” I'm not sure if this clause was invented to stop combos with Power Artifact or the old wording of Relic Bind, but either way it was bad news. It is removed, and Power Artifact fans across the globe can rejoice!

Alright! That was the text I was referencing, but if it was removed, hooray!

There is a card called Elvish House Party that you could either nerf or buff with this card by using it in a loop until it is what ever time you desire.

@QPaul You don't need game actions to waste everyone's time. Just hold priority whenever.

In both cases that is considered slow play, which is illegal in tournaments and impolite in most other situations.

Yes, you can repeat this action as often as you like (which is different from 'infinite times'): you must declare how often you are activating these abilities upfront.
You need another card (e.g. Crackdown Construct) to actually profit from it. More 'single card infinite' cards exist, see the answers to my question Are there any Magic cards capable of generating loops alone?

Mesmeric Orb empties your library if you're the one doing the combo. Which might also be useful, but requires more finesse to exploit.

@Arthur thanks for catching that. I misremembered, and earlier today Gatherer was in maintenance mode.

Yes, this is currently legal* and there is no direct payoff to using the Monolith to untap itself, with no other cards that interact with it, the idea of the card was to give you mana in advance that you would pay for later. There are ways to make this give a benefit, based on how Basalt Monolith works that benefit would most likely be extra if not infinite mana.
Cards that can make this combo create benefit:

Power Artifact - Infinite colorless mana, since this aura makes the enchanted artifact cost  less, letting you tap to gain  and untap for , netting  and this is infinitely repeatable.
Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient - This lets you copy the untap ability for  - you can tap it again between the resolution of the two untap abilities, gaining  for every  spent - effectively turning  into  - repeatable as long as you have red mana - with something like Skyshroud Elf you can use some of the  gained as a source of red - leaving you an infinite combo again with a profit (infinite ,  and/or  in this case)
Crackdown Construct - This one cares about activating abilities that aren't mana abilities. The first ability of Basalt Monolith, tap to gain three colorless, is a mana ability, but the second, pay  to untap Basalt Monolith, is not - this combo that is mana neutral would grow the construct to whatever size you decide to stop at, letting you attack, block or fling an arbitrarily large creature.
Wake Thrasher - this one is similar to the construct, but it cares about the number of untaps, each iteration of the combo gives wake thrasher +1/+1 until end of turn because Monolith is untapped in the combo.

There are other cards that can interact with this combo, but these are generally considered negative results, though with certain strategies and other cards involved can be exploited:

Mesmeric Orb - self mills - this can be useful in things that use dredge, delve or Laboratory Maniac
Artifact Possession and Haunting Wind - does damage to controller - harder to make use of, but controlled taking of damage can be used (i.e. Darien, King of Kjeldor or Vilis, Broker of Blood for tokens or card draw, possible Near-Death Experience win condition comboing at end of opponents turn). Possession is an aura that does 2 damage to the controller of enchanted artifact when it is tapped, Wind is an enchantment that does damage to the controller of any artifact when that artifact becomes tapped.

*Previous errata prevented using the mana from Basalt monolith from untapping itself - it would have been theoretically possible to pass this mana through a filter, like the Skyshroud Elf mentioned before, to use it to untap the monolith even while this errata was in place.


text:
What happens when I have 10 Yaroks out?
In the middle of a game right now. I have 10 Yarok, the Desecrated out. I play Spine of Ish Sah.  How many triggers?

On Gatherer, Yarok has the following ruling:

If you somehow control two Yaroks, a permanent entering the battlefield causes abilities to trigger three times, not four. A third Yarok causes abilities to trigger four times, a fourth causes abilities to trigger five times, and so on.

So, a tenth Yarok causes abilities to trigger eleven times.

Do they not effect each other at all? I thought pangarmonicon and yarok hit each other, wouldn't this be the same?

Panharmonicon and Yarok do not interact with each other that way either. Each one's ability says "that ability triggers an additional time", so you get one additional trigger for each Panharmonicon or Yarok.

Hmmm. I've been misled.


text:
Does the ability from Sorcerer's Wand deal combat damage?
If I were to equip Virtus the Veiled with Sorcerer's Wand and used the Sorcerers Wand's ability, would that be considered combat damage allowing Virtus's ability to trigger?

If it's done as an ability, it's not combat damage, combat damage is dealt by an attacking or blocking creature as part of combat.

Sorcerer's Wand does not allow the triggering of Virtus the Veil's ability
From the Comprehensive Rules Glossary:

Combat Damage
  Damage dealt during the combat damage step by attacking creatures and blocking creatures as a consequence of combat. See rule 510, “Combat Damage Step.”

Damage from spells or abilities such as the ability granted by Sorcerer's Wand is not combat damage because it is not a consequence of combat.

Combat damage is damage that is dealt as a result of combat. Any other damage from spells or abilities is not combat damage. The ability that Sorcerer's Wand grants deals damage directly, so it is not combat damage and will not trigger Virtus the Veiled's triggered ability.

Sorcer's Wand does not deal combat damage, so no. Combat damage is a very specific type of damage that's dealt by creatures in the Combat Damage step. Virtus only triggers on combat damage, which isn't happening here.


text:
MTG instant "Expedite" - can I resolve second spell ability if I cannot resolve the first?
The instant, Expedite says the following:

Target creature gains haste until end of turn.
Draw a card.

If there are no creatures on the battlefield (or at least none under my control), am I required to resolve the first ability in order to resolve the second?

For reference, those are not static abilities, they are spell abilities.

Related: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/41904/full-explanation-of-how-multi-phrase-cards-work

@ikegami I edited the other answer to be up to date with the rules.

If there are no creatures on the battlefield, you cannot cast the spell at all. You need to choose all of the specified targets to cast a spell. If the only creatures on the battlefield are under other players' control, you can cast the spell targeting one of those creatures. If you do, that creature will gain haste until end of turn and you will draw a card. The downside of doing that can be mitigated by casting the spell after combat or targeting a creature that would not benefit from haste.
If you cast the spell and the targeted creature no longer exists when the spell begins to resolve, the spell will go directly to the graveyard and you will not resolve any of its abilities. This is not because of resolving the spell's abilities in order, but rather a rule about spells with targets.

You cannot even cast a spell without choosing a legal target for each instance of the word "Target" in the spell.

601.2c The player announces their choice of an appropriate player, object, or zone for each target the spell requires.

So if there are no creatures on the battlefield, you cannot cast it. You could target an opponent's creature, or a creature that does not have summoning sickness.
However, you can cast a spell even if part of it will not do anything. For example, you can cast Dredge even if you do not control any creatures or lands to sacrifice (assuming you have some way to get mana without creatures or lands). Dredge would resolve like normal, and you would follow the steps, ignoring those that are impossible. So you would fail to sacrifice anything, then you would draw a card.

Resolving Spells and Abilities

608.2c The controller of the spell or ability follows its instructions in the order written.

And

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

But if a card uses the word "target", like Expedite, then it will not resolve unless it still has at least 1 legal target. So if you cast Expedite, and target a creature, but then someone responds by casting Boomerang to return that creature to your hand, then Expedite will never resolve, and you will not draw a card.

608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. If all its targets, for every instance of the word “target,” are now illegal, the spell or ability doesn’t resolve. It’s removed from the stack and, if it’s a spell, put into its owner’s graveyard.


text:
Begginer question about lifelink and Evra
I have Evra, Halcyon Witness on my deck, she has lifelink and I know that I gain hp from the amount of damage she deals.
Generalizing lifelink I have 3 simple yes or no questions:

If I attack with her and the opponent blocks me does she give me hp for the amount of damage she deals to that creature?
If the opponent attacks and I block with her, is the damage she deals returned to me as hp even if she is blocking?
Do creatures with lifelink only transform damage dealt into hp gain when they only attack the opponent?

And 1 about Evra?

If I activate the ability to exchange my hp for her power and i get countered with an instant giving -4/0, like "Befuddle" does, does the exchange still happen and I instantly die?

Fun fact - if you fight with Evra, like with Ancient Animus you gain life!

"Deals damage" means many things depending what is dealing the damage and what is being damaged. Most commonly, it adds marked damage, it reduces life totals, or it causes loss of loyalty counters. It can also add -1/-1 or poison counters. Independently, it can also increase life totals. This is what lifelike does; it redefines "deals damage" so that it causes life gain in addition to its normal effects.

Lifelink on a creature causes you to gain life whenever that creature deals damage in any way. In combat, unblocked creatures deal damage to the defending player, and blocking creatures and blocked creatures deal damage to each other. So if Evra is in any of those situations then it will deal damage and you will gain that much life. One common exception is if Evra blocks or becomes blocked, then the other creature is removed from combat before the damage is dealt. Then Evra will have nothing to deal damage to, so it won't deal any damage and you won't gain any life.
Regarding Evra's other ability, you are correct that if Evra's power somehow becomes 0 before the ability resolves, the ability will make your life total 0 and you will lose.

ty, now i understand how it works :)

another question, can i excede the 20 hp, imagin i have 20 hp and i atack with evra and lifelink 4 from her power, does that make me have 24 hp ?? asking this because in hearthstone the same ability doesent make me excede my hp

Not only can you do it, but some cards only fully work when you do, like Path of Bravery

A creature with lifelink gains you life whenever it deals damage (usually in combat, but sometimes when a card says it fights another creature). Combat damage happens during combat whether the lifelink creature is attacking or bloking (assuming first strike or double strike is not on any of the involved creatures).
Also, in Magic the Gathering it's called Life Total not hp.
Therefore:

If i atack with her and opp block me does she give me hp for the ammount of damage she deals to that creature?

Yes. She deals all of her damage and you gain 4 life.

Opp atacks and i block with her, The damage she deals is returned to me as hp even if she is blocking?

Yes. She deals all of her damage and you gain 4 life.

Creatures with lifelink only transform damage dealt into hp gain when they only atack the opp(opponent)

No. You gain life whenever damage is dealt regardless of combat (attacking or blocking) or fighting.

another question, can i excede the 20 hp, imagin i have 20 hp and i atack with evra and lifelink 4 from her power, does that make me have 24 hp ?? asking this because in hearthstone the same ability doesent make me excede my hp

There is no minimum or maximum level on your life total unless a card in play specifically mentions otherwise. Example, you can get to 1,000,000 life (I've seen it) or -24 (in which case you instantly lose).

@Rogue-OP All life totals less that 0 are considered to be 0. If your life total reaches -24, then next time states are checked, your life total will be set to 0. And there are cards that let you not lose with 0 life total.

@Acccumulation in response to getting to -24, you can cast a spell to gain you 25 life (as an example) which would put you at 1 and keep you alive. Counting down to negatives is important for this reason.