Thornbite Staff has “Whenever a creature dies, untap this creature” as one of its equip effects, and Fanatical Firebrand has “T, Sacrifice this creature: It deals 1 damage to any target.”
Since Fanatical Firebrand Tokens would have Haste, would that untap Kiki-Jiki when I sacrifice a token of Fanatical Firebrand, causing it to loop?
If so, would that also work with Bile Urchin, or any creature with a zero-cost “Sacrifice this creature” effect, like Flame-Kin War Scout?
611.3c Continuous effects that modify characteristics of permanents do so simultaneously with the permanent entering the battlefield. They don’t wait until the permanent is on the battlefield and then change it. Because such effects apply as the permanent enters the battlefield, they are applied before determining whether the permanent will cause an ability to trigger when it enters the battlefield.
Example: A permanent with the static ability “All white creatures get +1/+1” is on the battlefield. A creature spell that would normally create a 1/1 white creature instead creates a 2/2 white creature. The creature doesn’t enter the battlefield as 1/1 and then change to 2/2.
Threefold Thunderhulk will enter with three +1/+1 counters on it, and also get the +1/+1 from Anthem of Champions, meaning that it enters as a 4/4 creature, and so when its enters trigger resolves you will get 4 token creatures.
Even if this weren’t the case (e.g. if the anthem effect were applied as some kind of state-based action) then it would be fine – Thunderhulk is already on the battlefield once the trigger resolves, so it will definitely have 4 power at that point. However, it does mean that Thunderhulk will trigger, for example, Garruk’s Uprising, which says
Whenever a creature you control with power 4 or greater enters, draw a card.
because its power is equal to 4 as it enters which wouldn’t be the case if rule 611.3c worked differently.
This week, we’re taking a trip to space to see what we can find with our guest judge Parker Simpson. This episode is a little off the rails. One of our hosts didn’t understand the theme of “weird space”.
Parker is the creator and illustrator of Trash Dash and runs Shiny Pigeon Games. He’s currently got the game Starfront Scouting Academy, a new print and play game that is funding through Kickstarter. Check out the campaign and learn more about this excellent space game today.
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113.7a Once activated or triggered, an ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won’t affect the ability. Note that some abilities cause a source to do something (for example, “This creature deals 1 damage to any target”) rather than the ability doing anything directly. In these cases, any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source for use while announcing an activated ability or putting a triggered ability on the stack checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. In both instances, if the source is no longer in the zone it’s expected to be in at that time, its last known information is used. The source can still perform the action even though it no longer exists.
Last known information about Legolas is that it’s a 3/6 with deathtouch, so it will deal 3 damage and because of deathtouch, it’s lethal.
This week, we have musician and artist Mike Phirman in the guest judge seat. His years of making comedy music is just what our slightly funny podcast needs. Ric and Ryan have been tasked with creating a “thrilling” board game for Mike. Will Ric’s adrenaline filled game get our judge excited? Will Ryan’s pitch leave Mike on the edge of his seat?
Mike Phirman has been making comedy music since 2010 and can be heard on “Kids Place Live” on SiriusXM. You can check out Mike’s music at his website https://mikephirman.com today.
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If you are a Game Pass subscriber, you’d better start clearing your calendars and storage space for the next few weeks, as Microsoft has dropped a list of games that you are not going to have time to play, all of which are arriving before the end of the month.
As ever, some are going to get your attention more than most, and we will give you the full list in a moment, but first let’s cherry-pick some of what has caught our eye.
Grounded 2
Grounded was a really great game. Its setting, writing, and gameplay all appealed deeply to gamers like us who grew up watching movies where kids got shrunk and put into mild peril. Movies such as Inner Space and Big were staples of our entertainment, and Grounded took us back to a time when that all seemed possible.
Grounded also became a little infamous for being one of the first games to cross the Xbox exclusive divide and enter the enemy camps of Nintendo and PlayStation.
Grounded 2‘s Day One release will follow a similar path, being available only on Xbox and PC at launch.
It’s going to be very cool, and we can’t wait to play this one.
RoboCop: Rogue City
Not new by any means, and with standalone DLC on the horizon as well, RoboCop: Rogue City caught everybody by surprise by being great, and also doing a fantastic job of recreating one of our favorite 80s movies. With appearances by original actors and a game that didn’t fall into the trap of just making another twitch shooter, RRC was really fun, and finding a new audience on Game Pass is its deserved reward.
Farming Simulator 25
Giants Software can do little wrong when it comes to Farming Simulator. Its audience is nailed on, and the size of it is mindblowing. Now, after healthy sales, it is obviously deemed the right time to spread the word further, so get your crops sown before the winter sets in and relax to the sounds of your combine harvester.
Games coming to Game Pass in July’s Wave 2
Outside of those three, we have the return of the excellent High on Life, which was a Day One game back in the day before leaving the service. That’s back from today, and we also have new Souls-like, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, which looks beautiful but challenging.
Here’s the full list of what to expect between now and the end of the month.
Date
Game
Available On
July 15
High On Life
Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
July 17
RoboCop: Rogue City
Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
July 17
My Friendly Neighborhood
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
July 18
Back to the Dawn
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
July 22
Abiotic Factor
Game Pass Ultimate (Console)
July 23
Wheel World
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, PC, Cloud)
July 24
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, PC, Cloud)
July 29
Grounded 2
Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, PC, Cloud)
August 1
Farming Simulator 25
Game Pass Ultimate, Standard, PC Game Pass (Console, PC, Cloud)
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Take a trip, back in time with us. Back in the Fall of 2024, Seppy Yoon of Fight in a Box joined us as our guest judge. In this episode, Ric and Ryan share two unique games that take place at the end of the world. Which of these absurd apocalyptic game will impress our judge? Also, props to the hundreds of crickets that appear on this episode in the background of Ryan’s audio.
Seppy is a game designer and frequently posts board game content across YouTube and TikTok. Follow along to learn tons about gaming and the design industry.
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I know that Infect damage is applied as -1/-1 counters, and I know that the planeswalker will have both damaged marked on it, as well as have it’s loyalty reduced, but what I’m unsure of is if the -1/-1 counters further reduce the loyalty or if they only impact the power / toughness.
As a follow-on, do the -1/-1 counters stay on the planeswalker when it is no longer a creature? And if so, could this be used to prevent a Gideon from using it’s “become a creature” ability (or at least kill it if it does)?
Published: Jul 15, 2025 10:24 am