_Odyssey_(TM) Frequently Asked Questions Compiled by Paul Barclay, David DeLaney and Jeff Jordan This FAQ has two sections, each of which serves a different purpose. The first section (GENERAL NOTES) explains the new mechanics and concepts in the set. The second section (CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES) contains answers to the most important questions players might ask about a given card. Items in the CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES section include full rules text for your reference. Not all cards in the set are listed. GENERAL NOTES Flashback The official rules for the flashback ability are as follows: 502.22. Flashback 502.22a Flashback is a static ability of some instant and sorcery cards that functions while the card is in a player's graveyard. The phrase "Flashback [cost]" means "You may play this card from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost. If you do, remove this card from the game instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack." Playing a spell using its flashback ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 409.1b and 409.1f. * When you play a spell from your graveyard by paying its flashback cost, its mana cost doesn't change. You just pay the flashback cost instead. * Effects that cause you to pay more or less for a spell will cause you to pay that much more or less for its flashback cost, too. That's because they affect the total cost of the spell, not just its mana cost. * When a spell played with flashback resolves, it never goes to its owner's graveyard, so abilities that trigger on cards being put in a graveyard won't trigger. The card is removed from the game instead. Countered spells played with flashback are removed from the game, too. * Cards with the flashback ability have a gray tombstone icon in the upper left corner. This icon makes it easier for you to see which cards in your graveyard can be played again. ----- Threshold The official rules for the threshold ability are as follows: 502.23. Threshold 502.23a Threshold is a static ability, written "Threshold -- [text]." The text can be a static ability, activated ability, triggered ability, characteristic- setting text, spell text, or any combination of the five. The phrase "Threshold -- [text]" means "As long as you have seven or more cards in your graveyard, this card has '[text].'" 502.23b Cards and permanents with threshold have the threshold text only if their controller has seven or more cards in his or her graveyard. Otherwise, the text after "Threshold --" is treated as though it did not appear on the card or permanent. 502.23c An instant or sorcery card with threshold has the threshold text only while the card is on the stack (that is, while it's a spell). An artifact, creature, enchantment, or land card with threshold, or any permanent with threshold, has the threshold text only if the card or permanent is in play. * Instants and sorceries with threshold check if seven or more cards are in your graveyard when they resolve, not when they're played or put on the stack. * Activated and triggered abilities that permanents have at threshold check the number of cards in your graveyard only when the abilities are played or triggered. Even if you have fewer than seven cards in your graveyard when an ability resolves, that ability will resolve normally. * Static threshold abilities are simply "on" when you have seven or more cards in your graveyard and "off" when you don't. ----- Protection There are four new protection abilities in the Odyssey set. * Protection from all colors: This grants a creature five different protection abilities. These are protection from white, from blue, from black, from red, and from green. * Protection from creatures: A creature with this ability can't be blocked by creatures, it can't be the target of abilities from creatures, and all damage that would be dealt to it from creatures is prevented. * Protection from enchantments: A creature with this ability can't be blocked by creatures that are also enchantments. It can't be the target of enchantment spells or abilities from enchantments. All damage that would be dealt to it from enchantments is prevented. The creature can't be enchanted by enchantments. * Protection from instant spells and from sorcery spells: A permanent with this ability can't be the target of instant spells or sorcery spells. If the permanent is a creature, all damage that would be dealt to it from instant spells and sorcery spells is prevented. ----- Shrines and Bursts * The five Shrines and five Bursts all have effects that depend on the number of cards with a certain name in all graveyards. A Shrine looks for cards with the same name as a spell on the stack. A Burst looks for cards with the same name as itself. Dwarven Shrine 1RR Enchantment Whenever a player plays a spell, Dwarven Shrine deals X damage to that player, where X is twice the number of cards in all graveyards with the same name as that spell. Flame Burst 1R Instant Flame Burst deals X damage to target creature or player, where X is 2 plus the number of Flame Burst cards in all graveyards. * Two cards, Diligent Farmhand and Pardic Firecat, are also counted by Bursts. Muscle Burst's effect counts both Muscle Burst cards and Diligent Farmhand cards in all graveyards. Flame Burst's effect counts both Flame Burst cards and Pardic Firecat cards. Pardic Firecat 3R Creature -- Cat 2/3 Haste If Pardic Firecat is in a graveyard, Flame Burst's effect counts it as a Flame Burst. * The Shrines are Aven Shrine, Cabal Shrine, Cephalid Shrine, Dwarven Shrine, and Nantuko Shrine. * The Bursts are AEther Burst, Flame Burst, Life Burst, Mind Burst, and Muscle Burst. ----- Rites * Each of the five Rites allows you to discard any number of cards from your hand to get a varying effect from the spell. The cards are discarded when the Rites spell resolves, so you don't discard any cards if the spell is countered. Sacred Rites W Instant Discard any number of cards from your hand. Creatures you control get +0/+1 until end of turn for each card discarded this way. * The Rites are Last Rites, Rites of Initiation, Rites of Refusal, Rites of Spring, and Sacred Rites. ----- Spheres * The five Spheres prevent 2 damage to you each time a source of the appropriate color would deal damage to you. If a source would deal damage to you more than once in a turn, the Sphere prevents 2 of that damage each time the source deals damage to you. Sphere of Duty 3W Enchantment If a green source would deal damage to you, prevent 2 of that damage. * The Spheres are Sphere of Duty, Sphere of Grace, Sphere of Law, Sphere of Reason, and Sphere of Truth. ----- "Punisher" cards * Three red spells, nicknamed "punisher" spells, force players to choose how the spells will affect them. When a punisher spell resolves, the player whose creature, land, or spell would be affected must choose whether to take damage or allow the spell's normal effect to work. Lava Blister 1R Sorcery Destroy target nonbasic land unless its controller has Lava Blister deal 6 damage to him or her. * Damage that the punisher spell would deal to the player may be prevented. * The punisher cards are Blazing Salvo, Lava Blister, and Molten Influence. ----- CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor 4UU Creature -- Cephalid Legend 3/3 Tap an untapped Cephalid you control: Tap target permanent. UUU: Tap all creatures without flying. * Aboshan's abilities don't include the T symbol. You can play them even if you haven't controlled Aboshan since the beginning of your most recent turn. * The first ability can tap any type of permanent, including enchantments. Tapped enchantments work just like untapped enchantments. ----- Aegis of Honor W Enchantment 1: The next time an instant or sorcery spell would deal damage to you this turn, that spell deals that damage to its controller instead. * This effect only redirects damage that would have been dealt to you. It doesn't affect damage that the instant or sorcery would deal to creatures or any other player. ----- AEther Burst 1U Instant Return up to X target creatures to their owners' hands, where X is one plus the number of AEther Burst cards in all graveyards as you play AEther Burst. * If more AEther Burst cards are put into a graveyard after AEther Burst has been played (and before it resolves), you don't get to choose additional targets for AEther Burst. ----- Aura Graft 1U Instant Move target enchantment that's enchanting a permanent to another permanent it can enchant. Gain control of that enchantment. #(This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)# * Because of the unintuitive interaction of the printed wording with enchantments that "can enchant only a creature you control," Aura Graft has received errata. Its new wording is as follows: Gain control of target enchantment that's enchanting a permanent. Move that enchantment to another permanent it can enchant. #(This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)# * When Aura Graft resolves, you gain control of the enchantment. Then, you choose another permanent to move the enchantment to. You can choose only a permanent that the enchantment can enchant. * Because you gain control of the enchantment, you can play any abilities it has. * When Aura Graft resolves, you must move the enchantment if there's another permanent for the enchantment to legally enchant, even if one of your opponent's creatures is the only legal...
Matrinicz