Flash and Mana Doublers

Settemio
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Post by Settemio » 4 years ago

Comp Rules wrote:608.2f If an effect gives a player the option to pay mana, they may activate mana abilities before taking that action.
. . .
No other spells can normally be cast and no other abilities can normally be activated during resolution.
As part of the resolution of my Flash, I put Nyxbloom Ancient onto the battlefield. Can I now tap lands for extra mana to pay for the remaining 2GGG? Can I tap my lands for the extra mana AND then choose not to pay any of it, sacrificing Ancient as a sort of one-shot Ritual?

If I already have the Monarch status, does the above change at all if I replace Ancient with Regal Behemoth? Meaning, is there any difference between replacement effects that modify mana being added (Ancient) and triggered mana abilities (Behemoth), that would change the answer to the above questions?

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by WizardMN » 4 years ago
Yes, both of those things work out just fine. Since Flash tells you to pay a cost in the middle of the spell resolving, you have permission to activate mana abilities. And you don't need to actually use the mana you generate. Ancient will give you triple mana for each ability activated since it is on the field at the time you are activating mana abilities. And Behemoth works (as long as you are the Monarch already) to trigger for each land that is tapped to give extra mana as well.
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Post by WizardMN » 4 years ago

Yes, both of those things work out just fine. Since Flash tells you to pay a cost in the middle of the spell resolving, you have permission to activate mana abilities. And you don't need to actually use the mana you generate. Ancient will give you triple mana for each ability activated since it is on the field at the time you are activating mana abilities. And Behemoth works (as long as you are the Monarch already) to trigger for each land that is tapped to give extra mana as well.

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Post by peteroupc » 4 years ago

Nyxbloom Ancient's and Regal Behemoth's last abilities start working as soon as they enter the battlefield (C.R. 604.1, 611.3, 611.3b). Thus, their effects start working before you "pay [the corresponding permanent's] mana cost reduced by up to 2", so that if you tap a permanent for mana or tap a land for mana while you're the monarch, as the case may be, that permanent produces more mana than usual instead.

So, yes, if you put Nyxbloom Ancient or Regal Behemoth on the battlefield with Flash, certain permanents you tap for mana under certain circumstances produce more mana than usual — and they do so before you pay the mana asked for by Flash. Notably, since Flash "gives [you] the option to pay mana", you can activate mana abilities at this time.

As for whether you can activate mana abilities and still choose not to pay a mana payment (of the form "[do something] unless you pay [some mana]" or "You may pay [some mana]. If you don't, [do something]"), see this thread.

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