Abstruse Archaic

Abstruse Archaic Rulings

• Jul 28, 2023

  Abstruse Archaic's ability can copy activated and triggered abilities of dungeons, emblems, planes, and phenomenons. It can't copy the Planechase-specific "planeswalking ability" or the triggered abilities associated with the monarch or initiative designations, as those abilities have no source.

• Jul 28, 2023

  Abstruse Archaic's ability targets an ability that is on the stack and creates another instance of that ability on the stack. It doesn't cause any object to gain an ability.

• Jul 28, 2023

  Activated abilities contain a colon. They're generally written "[Cost]: [Effect]." Some keyword abilities (such as equip) are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text. An activated mana ability is one that produces mana as it resolves, not one that costs mana to activate.

• Jul 28, 2023

  Any choices made when the ability resolves won't have been made yet when it's copied. Any such choices will be made separately when the copy resolves. If a triggered ability asks you to pay a cost, you pay that cost for the copy separately.

• Jul 28, 2023

  If an ability is linked to a second ability, copies of that ability are also linked to that second ability. If the second ability refers to "the exiled card," it refers to all cards exiled by the ability and the copy. For example, if Tidehollow Sculler's enters-the-battlefield ability is copied and two cards are exiled, they both return when Tidehollow Sculler leaves the battlefield.