Likeness Looter on High Fae Prankster
Asked by Caphir 4 days ago
Cardcombo:
Likeness Looter & High Fae Prankster
Since Likeness Looter copies a creature in your graveyard - a specific creature(?), not just an example of a creature in that graveyard - Likeness Looter should also have the power/defence of that specific creature.
For example, if I play High Fae Prankster and swap the Power from 1/4 to 4/1 and the creature gets killed and lands in my graveyard, the creature has still 4/1. Therefore, when I play likeness looter and it becomes the High Fae Prankster in my graveyard, it becomes a High Fae Prankster with 4/1.
Is that the correct application?
If not, could someone please cite the rules and maybe explain what I misunderstand.
Thank you very much in advance. I‘m looking forward to your answers.
wallisface High Fae Prankster has the "perpetually" Alchemy ability, which means that the changes continue when the affected card changes zones.
If Prankster perpetually becomes a 4/1, it will continue to be a 4/1 while in the graveyard, and that will be the P/T that Likeness Looter copies.
March 28, 2025 4:17 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Just for clarification, the same is also true, if High Fae Prankster exchanges its power with another creature and then is put into the graveyard, just to be copied by Likeness Looter afterwards, correct?
I just ask that much in detail, because on MTG Arena the card is not functioning that way, and I‘m about to report the issue.
March 28, 2025 4:28 p.m.
wallisface says... #4
Oh I just noticed that High Fae Prankster is an arena card, and uses the text "Perpetually". I don't play arena - but I assume that "Perpetually" changes stats permanently and for all zones (something unique to arena, as this would be unmanageable in paper).
I've just noticed legendofa confirms this above.
March 28, 2025 4:42 p.m. Edited.
Caphir Taking this step by step to make sure I get everything right:
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High Fae Prankster enters and perpetually swaps its own power with Quakestrider Ceratops's power. Prankster is now a 12/4 in all zones for the rest of the game.
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Prankster dies. It's still a 12/4 in the graveyard
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You pay X=4 to make Likeness Looter a copy of the Prankster. Looter will be a 12/4.
So assuming there's no other power-setting effect, Looter should have the perpetually swapped P/T. How is Arena treating it?
March 28, 2025 5:02 p.m.
Thank you again for your time and step by step unfolding.
Arena only gets me a 1/4 default High Fae Prankster, although you can see the Prankster is in my graveyard with altered p/t.
I‘ve reported the issue today and hope it will be fixed soon.
I got a Faery Deck that performs well into Platinum rank and now I‘m looking to improve it. Since a few cards in this particular deck will only be valid in Alchemy till Fall 25, I hope it will be fixed soon.
March 28, 2025 9:22 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #7
Caphir: If that's what Arena is doing then that means the perpetual P/T change is applying in the P/T changing layer, not the copiable characteristics layer. This is the behavior we should have expected, so I would say Arena is handling the interaction correctly.
March 29, 2025 11:17 a.m.
Unfortunately, Alchemy cards run on their own rules that aren't explained to us for some reason, so we can't refer to an official rules document. But I don't see any reason to think why this isn't working as intended?
AFAIK, perpetual changes aren't copiable characteristics. I run Arming Gala and Scute Swarm in a Brawl deck on there. I just think of them functionally as dry-erase stickers.
It does change the P/T of the card though; it's not just a reminder that the change will apply as a creature permanent. Arvad, Weatherlight Smuggler in the graveyard stops being a target for, like, Forgefire Automaton if it gets too big.
Layers just really aren't sticking in my head. I read through them, understand them, then confuse them again within the month. Is there some change that could be applied to a card (or just a permanent, in paper) on a layer whereby it's a copiable characteristic for a Clone or something? Just so as I can test it to see if perpetual changes ever get copied.
I don't think there are any perpetual clones.
wallisface says... #1
No. When a creature card is in a graveyard it no longer has any battlefield effects on it - it’s no longer a creature but a ”creature card”, and doesn’t have any alterations on it that may have existed on the battlefield.
Anything in the graveyard just has the stats they’re printed with.
March 28, 2025 4:06 p.m.