_Planar Chaos_(TM) Frequently Asked Questions
Compiled by Mark L. Gottlieb, with contributions from Laurie Cheers, Jeff Jordan, and Lee Sharpe
Document last modified December 13, 2006
_Planar Chaos_ Prerelease tournaments: January 20-21, 2007
_Planar Chaos_ official release date: February 2, 2007
The _Planar Chaos_ set becomes legal for sanctioned Constructed play February 20, 2007.
The _Planar Chaos_ set contains 165 cards (60 common, 55 uncommon, 50 rare).
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.
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GENERAL NOTES
***"Timeshifted" Cards***
The _Planar Chaos_ set contains "timeshifted" cards, but they are rather different from the _Time Spiral_(TM) timeshifted cards.
Each _Planar Chaos_ timeshifted card is a color-shifted reprint of a _Magic_(TM) card from a set released prior to the _Mirrodin_(R) set. These cards appear in a unique card frame. Unlike the _Time Spiral_ timeshifted cards, these cards don't have a unique rarity. There are common, uncommon, and rare timeshifted cards, and they're intermixed with the "normal" _Planar Chaos_ cards. Multiple timeshifted cards will appear in each booster pack.
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***New Keyword Ability: Vanishing***
Vanishing is an ability that limits the amount of time a permanent with vanishing stays in play.
Keldon Marauders
{1}{R}
Creature -- Human Warrior
3/3
Vanishing 2 (This permanent comes into play with two time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)
When Keldon Marauders comes into play or leaves play, it deals 1 damage to target player.
The official rules for the vanishing ability are as follows:
502.60. Vanishing
502.60a Vanishing is a keyword that represents three abilities. "Vanishing N" means "This permanent comes into play with N time counters on it," "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent has a time counter on it, remove a time counter from it," and "When the last time counter is removed from this permanent, sacrifice it."
502.60b Vanishing without a number means "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent has a time counter on it, remove a time counter from it" and "When the last time counter is removed from this permanent, sacrifice it."
502.60c If a permanent has multiple instances of vanishing, each works separately.
* Both vanishing and the suspend mechanic introduced in the _Time Spiral_ set use time counters. Most effects in the _Time Spiral_ block that deal with time counters, such as the ability of Jhoria's Timebug, can also affect permanents with vanishing that have time counters on them.
* Vanishing is similar to the fading ability from the _Nemesis_(R) set. However, it plays much more like suspend does. The card starts out with a number of time counters on it, an ability triggers at the beginning of your upkeep that has you remove a time counter, and an ability triggers when you remove the last time counter that has you do something with that card.
* Note that the vanishing rules include an "intervening 'if' clause" that stops the counter-removing ability from triggering if there are no time counters on the permanent. This extra clause has minimal impact outside the _Magic Online_(TM) interface, so it doesn't appear in the vanishing reminder text.
* If the last time counter is removed from a permanent with vanishing and the sacrifice ability is countered, that permanent will remain in play indefinitely with no time counters on it. Neither of vanishing's two triggered abilities can possibly trigger again. Similarly, if a permanent without time counters on it that's already in play becomes a copy of a permanent with vanishing, it will stay in play indefinitely. If a permanent with one or more time counters on it that's already in play becomes a copy of a permanent with vanishing, it will vanish as normal.
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***Returning Keyword Ability: Echo***
Echo is a keyword ability previously seen in the Urza block and in the _Time Spiral_ set.
Uktabi Drake
{G}
Creature -- Drake
2/1
Flying, haste
Echo {1}{G}{G} (At the beginning of your upkeep, if this came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost.)
The rules for the echo ability are as follows:
502.19. Echo
502.19a Echo is a triggered ability. "Echo [cost]" means "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay [cost]."
* The echo cost of each older card with echo was always equal to its mana cost. In the _Planar Chaos_ set, however, the echo cost is always different than the card's mana cost.
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***Theme: "Extortion" Cards***
The _Planar Chaos_ set contains a number of black cards that allow any player to counter them while they're on the stack.
Temporal Extortion
{B}{B}{B}{B}
Sorcery
When you play Temporal Extortion, any player may pay half his or her life, rounded up. If a player does, counter Temporal Extortion.
Take an extra turn after this one.
* When an "extortion" spell is played, its "extortion" ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of it.
* As the triggered ability resolves, the active player gets the option to perform the action (in Temporal Extortion's case, to pay life). If that player declines, the next player in turn order gets the option. As soon as any player performs the action, the spell is countered and no one else gets a chance to do it. If all players decline, the spell remains on the stack.
* A player can't choose the "extortion" option unless he or she can actually do it. For example, if the action were "discard three cards," a player with two or fewer cards in hand couldn't take the option to counter the spell.
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***Theme: "Rescue" Cards***
The _Planar Chaos_ set contains a number of white cards that have comes-into-play abilities that cause you to return one or more creatures you control to your hand.
Whitemane Lion
{1}{W}
Creature -- Cat
2/2
Flash (You may play this spell any time you could play an instant.)
When Whitemane Lion comes into play, return a creature you control to its owner's hand.
* You may return the "rescue" creature itself to its owner's hand. If you control no other creatures, you must return the rescue creature to your hand.
* If a rescue creature instructs you to return more creatures than you control, you must return all the creatures you control to their owner's hand.
* The ability doesn't target the creatures you return. You don't choose which ones to return until the ability resolves. No one can respond to the choice.
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***Returning Keyword Ability: Suspend***
Suspend is a keyword ability introduced in the _Time Spiral_ set. The suspend rules are unchanged, but the last sentence of the suspend reminder text has been modified to make clear that it doesn't matter who or what removes the last time counter from the suspended card.
Shivan Meteor
{3}{R}{R}
Sorcery
Shivan Meteor deals 13 damage to target creature.
Suspend 2--{1}{R}{R} (Rather than play this card from your hand, you may pay {1}{R}{R} and remove it from the game with two time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, play it without paying its mana cost.)
See the _Time Spiral_ FAQ for more information about the suspend mechanic.
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***Cycle: Cards with "Suspend X"***
A cycle of creatures in the _Planar Chaos_ set have "suspend X."
Aeon Chronicler
{3}{U}{U}
Creature -- Avatar
*/*
Aeon Chronicler's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in your hand.
Suspend X--{X}{3}{U}. X can't be 0.
Whenever a time counter is removed from Aeon Chronicler while it's removed from the game, draw a card.
* Both instances of X in the suspend ability are the same. You determine the value of X as you suspend the card from your hand. The value you choose must be at least 1.
* If one of these cards is suspended, then when the last time counter is removed from it, both its triggered ability and the "play this card" part of the suspend ability will trigger. They can be put on the stack in either order.
* If you have no cards in hand when Aeon Chronicler's last time counter is removed, then the order in which the two abilities are put on the stack becomes relevant. If the "play this card" ability resolves first, Aeon Chronicler comes into play as a 0/0 creature and is put into your graveyard as a state-based effect before the card-drawing ability resolves. On the other hand, if the card-drawing ability is put on the stack on top of the suspend ability, then Aeon Chronicler is 1/1 by the time it comes into play. Similar situations can occur with the other "suspend X" creatures.
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***Returning Theme: Split Cards***
Split cards have two card faces on a single card. They've appeared before in the _Invasion_(TM), _Apocalypse_(TM), and _Dissension_(TM) sets. The primary difference between the _Planar Chaos_ split cards and earlier ones is that each half of each _Planar Chaos_ split card is the same color. All previous split cards were multicolored when the whole card was considered, but these split cards are monocolored.
Dead
{R}
Instant
Dead deals 2 damage to target creature.
//
Gone
{2}{R}
Instant
Return target creature you don't control to its owner's hand.
* When a split card is played, only one half of it is played. That half is the spell on the stack. As long as it's on the stack, only that half's characteristics are considered. The other half is treated as though it didn't exist.
* In any zone other than the stack, a split card has two sets of characteristics: two names, two mana costs, and so on. Whenever its characteristics are checked, the game will see two values. For example, when the game checks converted mana cost of Dead/Gone, it will get a result of "1, and 3." If an effect such as Venarian Glimmer's wants to know if this card has converted mana cost 2 or less, the answer will be "yes." If an effect such as Dark Confidant wants to know the converted mana cost of the card, the answer will be "1, and 3," which, in this case, translates into a total life loss of 4.
* Anything that affects half of a split card affects the whole card. For example, if Dead/Gone is in your hand when your opponent plays Void and chooses 3, you'll have to discard Dead/Gone. If he or she chose 1 instead, you'd still have to discard it. If he or she chose 4, however, you don't discard Dead/Gone.
* If an effect instructs a player to name a card and the player wants to name a split card, the player must name both halves of the split card.
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***Other Keyword Abilities and Themes***
See the _Time Spiral_ FAQ for information about flash, split second, suspend, flanking, kicker, madness, morph, shadow, and Slivers.
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CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES
AEther Membrane
{1}{R}{R}
Creature -- Wall
0/5
Defender
AEther Membrane can block as though it had flying.
Whenever AEther Membrane blocks a creature, return that creature to its owner's hand at end of combat.
* The blocked creature is returned to its owner's hand at end of combat only if the blocked creature is still in play. It doesn't matter whether AEther Membrane is in play.
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Akroma, Angel of Fury
{5}{R}{R}{R}
Legendary Creature -- Angel
6/6
Akroma, Angel of Fury can't be countered.
Flying, trample, protection from white, protection from blue
{R}: Akroma, Angel of Fury gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Morph {3}{R}{R}{R} (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for {3}. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
* If Akroma, Angel of Fury is played face down, it can be countered.
* The "legend rule" says that if two or more legendary permanents with the same name are in play, all are put into their owners' graveyards. Akroma, Angel of Fury and the _Time Spiral_ "timeshifted" card Akroma, Angel of Wrath do *not* have the same name, so the "legend rule" does not apply.
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Ana Battlemage
{2}{G}
Creature -- Human Wizard
2/2
Kicker {2}{U} and/or {1}{B}
When Ana Battlemage comes into play, if the {2}{U} kicker cost was paid, target player discards three cards.
When Ana Battlemage comes into play, if the {1}{B} kicker cost was paid, tap target untapped creature and that creature deals damage equal to its power to its controller.
* "Kicker {2}{U} and/or {1}{B}" means the same thing as "Kicker {2}{U}, kicker {1}{B}." The phrase "if the {2}{U} kicker cost was paid" refers to the first kicker cost listed on the card, regardless of what the spell's controller actually spent when paying the cost.
* The second triggered ability targets an untapped creature. If there are no other untapped creatures when Ana Battlemage comes into play, it must target Ana Battlemage. If the target becomes tapped by the time the ability tries to resolve, the ability will be countered.
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Aquamorph Entity
{2}{U}{U}
Creature -- Shapeshifter
*/*
As Aquamorph Entity comes into play or is turned face up, it becomes your choice of 5/1 or 1/5.