Does Zirda and Bladegraft Aspirant discounts stack?

Asked by Taida 9 months ago

I have been looking at some cards and found this potential combo, but don't know if it works. It uses Zirda, the Dawnwaker, Bladegraft Aspirant and Bronze Cudgels. I made a quick deck to show it: Zirda-Bladegraph discount?, but the idea is that the discount fo Zirda should bring the cost down to 1, then making it 0 by equipping it to the Aspirant. Thus, you could resolve the ability of the Cudgels an infinite amount of times.

sergiodelrio says... #1

If you play the Zirda first, then Bladegraft Aspirant second, it will work imho. The other way around I'm not so sure because of possible timestamp shenanigans... hopefully a more knowledgeable person can clarify further.

February 21, 2024 10:45 a.m.

Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #2

No, you can't get the effect you want here. The problem is that Bladegraft Aspirant only reduces the cost of your equipments' activated abilities that target the Aspirant. The +X/+0 ability of Bronze Cudgels doesn't target anything (it doesn't use the word "target"), so its cost will only be affected by Zirda, the Dawnwaker's ability and will just be reduced to .

The actual Equip ability of the Cudgels will be reduced to for equipping the Aspirant, because Equip abilities do target.

February 21, 2024 12:05 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #3

To the more general question of how multiple cost reduction effects on the same spell/ability interact with each other, you can choose. When you're determining the total cost to cast a spell or activate an ability, first you start with the normal cost, then apply any alternative costs you're using that would replace the normal cost, then apply any relevant additional costs and cost increasers in any order, then apply any relevant cost reductions in any order, then finally apply anything that sets the cost to a particular value (right now, that's just Trinisphere).

For example, if you had Vulshok Battlegear, you could make the Equip ability cost either or to target the Aspirant depending on which order you decided to apply the cost reduction effects from Zirda or the Aspirant.

February 21, 2024 12:12 p.m. Edited.

sergiodelrio says... #4

Sorry for messing that up, Rhadamanthus is right of course.

February 23, 2024 5:15 a.m.

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