Rules Primer- Kinds of abilities

Features

KrazyCaley

24 February 2010

2904 views

Abilities. The swirling mists of the comprehensive rules define many kinds of abilities, and the most-requested rules issue is of what types they are, and what the difference is. Behold!

Abilities, simply put, are things that cards, spells, permanents, etc. have that let them interact with the game. There are four primary different kinds of abilities. I will be discussing the basics of each. I'm not going to talk about super-complicated stuff like characteristic-defining abilities (which again, involves layers, THE WORST THING EVER). Just the basics.

First: Activated abilities

Activated abilities, as the name implies, are able to be activated by the player. You can tell when a card has an activated ability because it will have a colon on it somewhere (or the errata-ed text will have a colon). It will look like this- "(the cost of activating the ability) : (what the ability does). If it looks like that, it's an activated ability. Players can activate activated abilities of stuff they control (and sometimes stuff they DON'T control) at any time they have priority. Then when the thing has been activated, the ability goes on the stack, to await resolution like anything else that goes there. Easy peasy. But take note- some abilities are mana abilities, which do not use the stack, happen instantly. and are subject to special rules. Also note that if an effect keeps your opponent from using "activated abilities," that stops only this kind of ability, not triggered abilities or what have you. Examples of cards that have non-mana activated abilities: Prodigal Sorcerer, Firebreathing, or if you like more modern cards, any Planeswalker's ability, Putrid Leech, Blinding Mage, and the Roflrang itself, Razor Boomerang. Note that the only activated ability on Razor Boomerang is the equip ability. All equip abilities mean, in effect, (Pay the cost:Attach this to target creature you control). The first ability on Razor Boomerang is a STATIC ability that comes into effect when it is equipped on a creature, and the STATIC ability confers on the creature itself an ACTIVATED ability.

Let's talk about static abilities.

Static abilities are continuously in effect. You can see when something's a static ability when the card just SAYS the ability as a truth statement, and the ability is constantly in effect. Like Night of Souls' Betrayal. Or any equipment that says "equipped creature has." Or Blazing Archon. Or Pendrell Mists. These are all static abilities. But beware; some SPELL abilities look suspiciously like static abilities. Like Infest. Infest is not a static ability; it is a spell ability. That means that if you play Infest, then later in the same turn, your opponent flashes down a creature that has 1 or 2 toughness, that creature is not affected by Infest and doesn't die because of it.

Next, spell abilities.

Spell abilities are the instructions you follow when a non-permanent (instant or sorcery) spell resolves. They can be, but usually aren't, any other kind of ability. (Epic, as seen on Eternal Dominion or Enduring Ideal is an example of a spell ability that is also a triggered ability). Note that creature spells do not have spell abilities. When a creature spell resolves, the creature enters the battlefield. It does NOT generated an ability that says "Put this creature onto the battlefield" that may then be targeted by Trickbind or what have you. Same goes for enchantments, planeswalkers, artifacts, etc. Spell abilities only ever appear on instants and sorceries. And in any case, you can't use Trickbind or whatever to target spell abilities independently of the spell, unless those abilities qualify as the kind Trickbind (or whatever ability counter you have) works on. So you can't Trickbind a Lightning Bolt's dealin' 3 damage spell ability, because that spell ability doesn't count as any of the abilities Trickbind works on. But if someone casts Eternal Dominion, then on their next turn uses the triggered spell ability to try to copy Eternal Dominion, you can Trickbind that to prevent them from stealing something that turn. (But not next turn, since the triggered epic ability happens every turn after you cast the epic spell).

Next we have triggered abilities.

Triggered abilities depend for their activation on something else happening besides just the player activating it. You can tell when it's a triggered ability because it will look something like this- "When (something happens), (do something else)." Not all triggered abilities will have that precise text, though. When the "trigger" happens, then IMMEDIATELY the triggered ability goes on the stack. If multiple triggered abilities would happen at once, the active player gets to order all the abilities he controls, and they go on the stack, then the inactive player orders all the abilities he controls, and then they go on the stack. A player "controls" an ability if they control the thing that generated it. Examples of stuff with triggered abilities- most landfall abilities, like that of Hedron Crab, though NOT, for instance, that of Mysteries of the Deep. Other cards with triggered abilities are Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund, Thraximundar, Guile, Demon's Horn, etc.

And then: Mana abilities

Mana abilities are usually found as a subset of activated abilities, though they can also be triggered abilities (i.e., a land with Trace of Abundance). A mana ability is any activated ability with no target that, when viewed from the time it is activated, COULD (not does, COULD) add mana to a mana pool when it resolves; also, a a mana ability is any triggered ability with no target that, when viewed from the time it is triggered, COULD add mana to a mana pool when it resolves, so long as the trigger was itself a mana ability. Note that this means that Radha, Heir to Keld's triggered ability is NOT a mana ability even though it adds mana to your pool. This is because it was not itself triggered from a mana ability; it was merely added by Radha attacking.

Mana abilities are subject to special rules. First, they happen instantly and do not use the stack. If I tap a Forest, I instantly get a green mana. There is nothing that goes on the stack. You can't counter or interrupt my use of the mana ability. There is no space for you to do anything between my tapping the Forest and my getting my green mana. Even if I have Trace of Abundance on that forest, you can't even stop me from getting that second mana because that is also a mana ability. Second, activated mana abilities can be used not only when a player has priority, but whenever the game needs you to make a mana payment. So if I cast a spell, and my opponent Mana Leaks it, I can start using mana abilities to make the Mana Leak payment even though I don't have priority as Mana Leak resolves. Examples of cards with mana abilities- most lands, Llanowar Elves, a land with Wild Growth or Trace of Abundance on it (though not Wild Growth or Trace of Abundance themselves; they just grant static abilities to the lands they enchant). Note that abilities like those found on Radha, Heir to Keld and Braid of Fire, for instance, are NOT mana abilities because they were not themselves triggered by another mana ability. Also, Seething Song is not a mana ability because all mana abilities have to be activated or triggered abilities, and the text of Seething Song is just a spell ability.

Finally, quiz time.

Tell me what all of the abilities I just educated you on are as they appear on the following cards.

1- Morphling

2- Erayo, Soratami Ascendant  ^Flip and Erayo's Essence  ^Flip

3- Akoum Refuge

4- Black Market

5- Kira, Great Glass-Spinner

6- Ertai, Wizard Adept

7- Blade of the Bloodchief

8- Jace, the Mind Sculptor

9- Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir

10- Counterspell

11- Bloodbraid Elf

12- Avatar of Woe

13- Untaidake, the Cloud Keeper

14- Meloku the Clouded Mirror

15- Yavimaya Enchantress

Answers after the break!

-

-

-

-

-

-

Answers:

1- All of Morphling's abilities are activated abilities. Note the format- "(pay a cost):(do a thing)"

2- Both flipped and unflipped Erayo, Soratami Ascendant  ^Flip have triggered abilities. "When (or whenever) (something happens), (do a thing)." Note that Erayo's Essence  ^Flip has been errata-ed to make its ability more clearly a triggered ability- it now reads "Whenever the opponent casts a spell for the first time..."

3- Akoum Refuge has three different abilities. The first is a static ability. It just says it- It enters the battlefield tapped. It doesn't say "WHEN Akoum Refuge enters, tap it," because that would be a triggered ability, and you could tap it for mana before that effect happened. The second ability is a triggered ability- WHEN it enters the battlefield, you gain a life. The third is the familiar activated mana ability- add B or R to your mana pool.

4- Black Market has TWO abilities. The first is a triggered ability- WHENEVER a creature dies, you put a charge counter on the card. The second one is a triggered ability, but you get the question wrong if you said it was a triggered mana ability. Indeed it is triggered, though it does not say when or whenever (it is still dependent on something else happening, namely the beginning of your upkeep). But it's NOT a mana ability even though it adds mana, because it was not itself triggered by another mana ability!

5- Kira, Great Glass-Spinner has two STATIC abilities. One is flying- she flies. The other is NOT a triggered ability, but rather a STATIC ability that grants all creatures you control the TRIGGERED ability of "counter the first spell every turn that targets this creature." Although Kira will grant herself this ability if she's on the battlefield, you should note that it's only because she has a STATIC ability that granted it, not because that second block of text is itself a TRIGGERED ability.

6- Ertai, Wizard Adept has one ability, an activated ability. That first line (he counts as a wizard) is no longer on the actual card; it's just in his creature type now. The second ability is the one that hasn't been errata-ed out, and it's just a simple activated ability.

7- Blade of the Bloodchief has two abilities. The first is a triggered ability. WHEN the thing happens, THEN you put the counters on the creature the blade equips. The second is an activated ability. You pay 2 mana to activate it, and for your two mana you equip it on a creature. This doesn't follow the common text scheme of (pay a cost):(do a thing), but equip essentially still MEANS (pay a cost):(equip the thing); indeed, it says this in the comprehensive rules. (at 702.6a).

8- The abilities of Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and those of every other planeswalker so far, are all activated abilities.

9- All of Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir's abilities are static. Flash is itself a static ability. Giving all other creatures flash is a static ability. And preventing your opponents from casting anything except at sorcery speed is also a static ability.

10- Counterspell has one ability, a spell ability. When Counterspell resolves, you counter target spell. That's it.

11- Bloodbraid Elf has two abilities. Haste is a static ability. Cascade is a triggered ability- WHEN you play the spell, THEN you do the cascade procedure. (Or more precisely, to make sure you're not getting confused with all this triggered ability stuff, WHEN you play the spell/do whatever the trigger is, THEN you put the effect on the stack, and when/if it resolves, THEN you do the cascade procedure/whatever the effect is. But I'm going to keep stating it the simple way)

12- Avatar of Woe has three abilities. The first is a STATIC ability, not a triggered ability. It makes a simple truth statement, not an imperative command. It says IF there are so many creatures in the graveyard, THEN Avatar costs less. When the tenth creature hits the graveyard, nothing special happens and no effect goes on the stack. You can just cast your avatar for less now. Fear is a static ability. The final ability is an activated ability- (pay the cost):(do the thing).

13- Untaidake, the Cloud Keeper has two abilities. It coming into play tapped is, as we've already discussed, a static ability. Its second ability is an activated ability. Pay the cost:do the thing. Note that the restriction (only use it to play legendary stuff) does not change the fact that it is still an activated ability.

14- Meloku the Clouded Mirror has two abilities. The first, flying, is a static ability. The second one is an activated ability. Pay the cost:do the thing.

15- Yavimaya Enchantress has one ability, and it is a static ability. It is NOT a triggered ability; it does not say "When an enchantment enters play, put a +1/+1 counter on Yavimaya Enchantress" or what have you. It just makes a truth statement- she gets +1/+1 for every enchantment.

Hope you've enjoyed! As always, further questions or rules requests can be entered into the comments, or e-mailed to me at [email protected]