Hi All!

In looking to build a color changing deck, I noticed that all the cards that let you change color words or basic land types seem to indicate "spell" or "permanent". Ex: Crystal Spray, Alter Reality and Mind Bend.

Say I control Karma, and also several Swamps, and I want to avoid taking damage. On my upkeep, Karma triggers. In response, can I target the Karma with a Crystal Spray to change "Swamp" to "Mountain" to save myself the damage? I know that removing the permanent after the triggered ability is put on the stack does not affect the resolution, so I my first guess is that I cannot save myself this way.

However, that would leave a conspicuous "gap" in what can be accomplished with this class of card, which I would find surprising. If that is the case, why have they never printed a card that would allow this use?

Thanks for the help!

You can save yourself like this! Usually effects like this are determined when they resolve; NOT when they're put on the stack. This means that it'll trigger even if you don't have any swamps, or if you do have Swamps but get rid of them quick enough (between the ability going on the stack and it resolving) when it resolves it'll see you have no Swamps and you will be undamaged!

Note, always check out the "Rulings" section beneath a card in Gatherer. You've already autocarded it here. Click that link and read below and you'll see that Wizard's was already a step ahead of you and posted up the answer to this on the website

While I find nothing in the rulings on Gatherer that ends the ambiguity of this scenario, I did find something in the Comp Rules that seems to end the ambiguity of this scenario.



Emphasis mine.
This wording in the Comp Rules would seem to support the idea that changing the text of a permanent after one of its abilities has triggered will change the text of the triggered ability. However, do note that if the permanent is destroyed before the text-changing spell resolves, last known information (LKI) will be used and the ability will still damage that player if they control Swamps. If the permanent is destroyed after the text-changing spell resolves, it will damage that player if they control lands with whatever basic land type you chose to replace Swamp with (because LKI was that the permanent's text had been changed such that each instance of Swamp became {other basic land type}).

I think I misread the question; I thought you were asking whether you could change your Swamps to Mountains to avoid the effect, not trying to change the wording on the effect. Once an ability triggers, that trigger exists independent of the thing that created it. So yes, while you could change the text on enchantment, the triggered ability on the stack will still say Swamp. The rule that you're referencing Edacade just says that when it's put onto the stack it has the text of the ability. It doesn't stay linked to it except in the situation where there's a variable that can change (such as X, where X is based on something).

Thanks for the replies ya'll. Sorry I was a little unclear in my question, Yarium; I definitely could have explained it better.

But yes, I am looking for a way to alter Karma after the trigger is put on the stack to avoid taking damage from it. It seems strange to me that there would be no card that targets a "spell or ability" that can change the color words or basic land words in the text.

Edacade: I know that Last Known Information is taken into consideration for Lifelink and Deathtouch, but are those hardcoded into the rules to be checked via LKI, or does LKI extend to all text on the card? I would find that plausible. I guess maybe this question is more about the scope of LKI.

At this point, I am still not sure.

I concur with Yarium's second post. The text of the ability is copied on the ability object on the stack at the time of creation. Changing the permanent's text afterwards won't affect the ability on the stack.

There aren't that many "change the text" cards in general (only 12 cards contain that phrase). It just isn't something they're exploring very thoroughly, so it's not too surprising that there aren't any that affect abilities on the stack. Given that abilities are usually less "significant" than spells and permanents, changing the text of an ability on the stack would probably just too niche. You can already neutralize a Karma problem permanently by using Magical Hack on it before it can trigger.