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Master of Predicaments

Master of Predicaments

Creature — Sphinx

rare

Flying Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, choose a card in your hand. That player guesses whether the card's mana value is greater than 4. If the player guessed wrong, you may cast the card without paying its mana cost.

4/4

$0.37 ✦ $1.41View on Scryfall →

Semantic Tags

Evasivemechanical

Difficult to block or grants evasion. Includes flying, menace, fear, intimidate, shadow, skulk, horsemanship, unblockable effects, and cards that grant these abilities.

Flyingmechanical

A keyword ability that restricts how a creature may be blocked. See rule 702.9, “Flying.”

Permanentmechanical

A card or token on the battlefield. See rule 110, “Permanents.”

Format Legality

commanderlegal
oathbreakerlegal
modernlegal
pioneerlegal
standardnot legal
legacylegal
vintagelegal
paupernot legal
historicnot legal
explorernot legal
alchemynot legal

Price history

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Printings (1)

SetRarityTCGplayerCard KingdomCardmarket
Magic 2015#67rare···

Related Concepts

Flying

A keyword ability that restricts how a creature may be blocked. See rule 702.9, “Flying.”

Related Rules

106.5

If an ability would produce one or more mana of an undefined type, it produces no mana instead.

106.7

Some abilities produce mana based on the type of mana another permanent or permanents “could produce.” The type of mana a permanent could produce at any time includes any type of mana that an ability of that permanent would produce if the ability were to resolve at that time, taking into account any applicable replacement effects in any possible order. Ignore whether any costs of the ability could or could not be paid. If that permanent wouldn’t produce any mana under these conditions, or no type of mana can be defined this way, there’s no type of mana it could produce.

106.12

To “tap [a permanent] for mana” is to activate a mana ability of that permanent that includes the {T} symbol in its activation cost. See rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”

106.12a

An ability that triggers whenever a permanent “is tapped for mana” or is tapped for mana of a specified type triggers whenever such a mana ability resolves and produces mana or the specified type of mana.

106.12b

A replacement effect that applies if a permanent “is tapped for mana” or tapped for mana of a specific type and/or amount modifies the mana production event while such an ability is resolving and producing mana or the specified type and/or amount of mana.

107.3m

If an object’s enters-the-battlefield triggered ability or replacement effect refers to X, and the spell that became that object as it resolved had a value of X chosen for any of its costs, the value of X for that ability is the same as the value of X for that spell, although the value of X for that permanent is 0. This is an exception to rule 107.3i.

107.5

The tap symbol is {T}. The tap symbol in an activation cost means “Tap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already tapped can’t be tapped again to pay the cost. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. See rule 302.6.

107.6

The untap symbol is {Q}. The untap symbol in an activation cost means “Untap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already untapped can’t be untapped again to pay the cost. A creature’s activated ability with the untap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. See rule 302.6.

Rulings

2014-07-18

If the card has {X} in its mana cost, X is 0.

2014-07-18

To choose a card in your hand, clearly separate it from the rest of your hand without revealing it.

2014-07-18

If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," you can't pay any alternative costs. Notably, you can't cast a card with bestow as an Aura this way. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those.

2014-07-18

Although you may choose a land card in your hand, you won't be able to play it even if the player guessed wrong.

2014-07-18

You cast the card in your hand as part of the resolution of the triggered ability. Timing restrictions based on the card's type (such as creature or sorcery) are ignored. Other restrictions, such as "Cast [this card] only during combat," are not.

2014-07-18

If you don't cast the card, either because the player guessed right or because you choose not to cast it, you don't have to reveal it. Your opponent won't know the reason you didn't cast the card.

2017-04-18

If the card is a split card, its mana value is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves. If the player guesses wrong and you cast a split card this way, you may cast either half (or both halves if the card has fuse), no matter what its mana value is.