Maddening Imp

User avatar
cryogen
GΘΔ†
Posts: 1056
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Westminster, MD
Contact:

Post by cryogen » 4 years ago

Maddening Imp

The Oracle text/ruling on this card is somewhat ambiguous, IMO.
Oracle text wrote:T: Non-Wall creatures the active player controls attack this turn if able. At the beginning of the next end step, destroy each of those creatures that didn't attack this turn. Activate this ability only during an opponent's turn and only before combat.
Oracle ruling wrote:If a creature can't attack because of some restriction, or because it is tapped, it is destroyed at the end of the turn.
Unless I'm completely misinterpreting this, I could use this ability and it would destroy tapped creatures and creatures with summoning sickness? But that can't be right.

So what is the interaction if I use this on an opponent and they control:
a) a Birds of Paradise that does not have summoning sickness and they tapped for mana
b) a creature that they cast that turn and does not have haste


Thanks!

Accepted Answer

by WizardMN » 4 years ago
Yes, you have it right. If they have a Birds that they tap for mana, it can't attack so the Imp destroys it. The same with a creature without Haste that they cast this turn since it, too, did not attack do the Imp will destroy it.

To be fair, the timing restriction of the ability telegraphs the play pretty well so if someone doesn't want to worry about about their creatures being destroyed (the ones with Summoning Sickness anyway) they just need to cast them in the Post Combat Main Phase so they are not in the set of "those creatures" when the ability resolves. Anything put onto the battlefield after the ability resolves will not be included in "those creatures" so they would be safe.
Go to full post
Sheldon wrote:You're the reason we can't have nice things.

User avatar
WizardMN
Posts: 1963
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 124
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Twin Cities
Contact:

Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

Yes, you have it right. If they have a Birds that they tap for mana, it can't attack so the Imp destroys it. The same with a creature without Haste that they cast this turn since it, too, did not attack do the Imp will destroy it.

To be fair, the timing restriction of the ability telegraphs the play pretty well so if someone doesn't want to worry about about their creatures being destroyed (the ones with Summoning Sickness anyway) they just need to cast them in the Post Combat Main Phase so they are not in the set of "those creatures" when the ability resolves. Anything put onto the battlefield after the ability resolves will not be included in "those creatures" so they would be safe.

Serpent_Steve
King of the Elementals!
Posts: 159
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 1
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Lorwyn

Post by Serpent_Steve » 4 years ago

In your interaction query as listed above both of the above creatures would be destroyed by the imp at the end of that player's turn.

The ability as written and confirmed by Oracle does work on non-hastened creatures as well as mana dorks. However the ability only works on one opponents turn (as the Imp taps to activate this ability) and the ability can only be activated before the combat step. Once your opponents read the card all they have to do to avoid it would be to cast creatures after the combat step (where they are safe from the ability).

Maddening Imp is something I employ in my chaos deck for its disruptive presence but it is relatively easy to manoeuvre around once you've seen it once or twice.

User avatar
spacemonaut
Bauble reclaimer
Posts: 1374
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 10
Pronoun: she / her
Location: Scotland

Post by spacemonaut » 4 years ago

In case it helps, I think you might be reading it like this —
Non-Wall creatures the active player controls attack this turn if able. At the beginning of the next end step, destroy [those non-wall creatures that could have attacked] that didn't attack this turn. Activate this ability only during an opponent's turn and only before combat.
But it's more like this:
Non-Wall creatures the active player controls attack this turn if able. At the beginning of the next end step, destroy [the non-wall creatures the active player controls] that didn't attack this turn. Activate this ability only during an opponent's turn and only before combat.

User avatar
cryogen
GΘΔ†
Posts: 1056
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Westminster, MD
Contact:

Post by cryogen » 4 years ago

Thanks for the replies.
Sheldon wrote:You're the reason we can't have nice things.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Rulings”