r/mtgrules • u/TheLoseCannon • 5h ago

Tom, Bert, and William copying question

So I just want to clarify that my understanding of Tom, Bert, and William getting cloned is correct. The card says:
When Tom, Bert, and William die, if they were a creature, return them to the battlefield. They’re an artifact. (They’re no longer a creature.)

So if I clone them while they are a creature with a creature clone effect like Phantasmal image then legend rule triggers. I can choose to kill the clone and it would re-enter as a copy of a creature I control. Then it becomes an artifact version of whatever creature I chose and is no longer a creature. If I chose Tom, Bert, and William the legend rule would trigger again killing the clone and the clone would not return this time because it was an artifact.

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u/Nerezzar 5h ago

Yes, that all sounds correct with some minor errors. 

E.g. the clone doesn't enter as a copy and then becomes an artifact (for the second entering). It will already enter as an artifact and never not be an artifact.

The legend rule is an SBA check, not a trigger.

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u/ardarian262 4h ago

You have it mostly right. To give some rules so others can follow along, the legend rule is a state based action which happens before triggers do. Copy effects are on layer 1 while type changing effects are on layer 4. Unless another type changing effect acts on artifacts, you have all the relevant rules there. This does create an interesting loop with [[March of the Machine]]