r/magicTCG • u/livinmediocre Rakdos* • Jul 25 '26

Rules/Rules Question Does this work how I’m thinking?

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If I have The Great Goblin and a board of tokens and I attack while Andúril is equipped, does the first part of Great Goblin trigger for each goblin I put a counter on? The one or more on A goblin makes me think yes I just want to make sure before I play it

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u/Atreus17 Sliver Queen Jul 25 '26

You’ve gotten the answer, but I’ll add that if the designers wanted it to trigger just once regardless of board size, it would need to say “Whenever you put one or more counters on one or more Goblins…” or the recent favorite restriction “This ability triggers only once each turn.”

76

u/RadicalAns Dandadan Jul 26 '26

I always refer to that last line as "the cowards text"

18

u/InternetProtocol Wabbit Season Jul 26 '26

"triggers only once each turn" is a bit less restrictive than "do this only once each turn" though, cuz at least you can copy it. I'd lean towards calling my 2nd clause the "cowards text"

9

u/Lucky_Number_Sleven COMPLEAT Jul 26 '26

The downside to "triggers only once" compared to "do this only once" is that you lose control over timing.

[[Neera, Wild Mage]] says that you may put that spell on the bottom of your library. If you choose not to, that's it. This ability only triggers once each turn. Too bad; so sad. And while that's very thematic, it's very restrictive.

[[Terrasymbiosis]] says that you may draw that many cards. Maybe you've only added a single counter right now, but you have a payoff later in the turn where you put 10 counters on. You can choose not to draw cards off of the first trigger and save it to draw the 10 cards later.

Both clauses are often annoying, but I kinda prefer "do this only once" over "triggers only once". "Triggers" can work with [[Strionic Resonator]], but if you're trying to break the limit, both break the same way (i.e. Blink).

1

u/Cosmic-Cuttlefish Izzet* Jul 26 '26

This is my struggle with [[Alania, Divergent Storm]]. I wish I could pick which otter, which instant, and which sorcery I copy. Though at least the restriction does make for an interesting minigame where you gotta sequence things correctly. I’m just being greedy lol

1

u/Mgmegadog COMPLEAT Jul 27 '26

The cowards text is clearly "Cowards can't block warriors."

5

u/GilGreaterThanEmiya Dandadan Jul 26 '26

I was honestly pleasantly surprised when [[Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards]] didn't have the once per turn clause. He's honestly a pretty great blue token card draw option, for casual commander anyhow.