Do Morph Cards Have Summoning Sickness?
Morph cards do not gain summoning sickness when they are turned face-up, as the act of morphing a creature does not give it summoning sickness unless it already had it, allowing the creature to attack on the same turn if its controller has controlled it since the beginning of their turn. The key point to remember is that morphing changes the characteristics of the card, similar to how Giant Growth affects a creature, without imposing summoning sickness.
Understanding Morphing and Summoning Sickness
Definition of Morphing
Morphing is a unique ability in Magic: The Gathering that allows a player to cast a creature face-down as a 2/2 creature with no rules text, name, subtypes, expansion symbol, mana cost, or color indicator, making it effectively colorless. When a morphed creature is turned face-up, it regains its original characteristics, and this action does not impose summoning sickness on the creature.
Definition of Summoning Sickness
Summoning sickness is a state that prevents a creature from attacking or using any of its tap abilities during its first turn on the battlefield, unless it has haste. This rule is designed to balance the power of creatures by giving the opponent a chance to react before the creature can attack.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Does morphing give summoning sickness? No, morphing a creature face-up does not give it summoning sickness unless it already had it. As long as you controlled it when you began your turn, you can attack with it.
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Do flipped morph creatures have summoning sickness? When turned face-up, the card is not treated as an entirely new card, so it is not affected by summoning sickness simply due to turning up.
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Which cards have summoning sickness? Although all permanents experience summoning sickness, only Creatures, Artifact Creatures, Land Creatures, planeswalker creatures, and Enchantment Creatures (or Land, Artifacts, planeswalkers, or Enchantments that have become creatures) are affected by summoning sickness.
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Does morphing count as casting? You can use a morph ability to cast a card from any zone from which you could normally play it. When the spell resolves, it enters the battlefield with the same characteristics the spell had.
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Does morph count as casting a colorless spell? If you cast it face-down as a 2/2, it does count as a colorless spell for the sake of Ugin, The Ineffable. If you cast it normally (face-up) and it’s colored, it’s then considered a colored spell.
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How does morphing work? Morphing works by transforming one image into another, but in the context of Magic: The Gathering, it refers to the ability to cast a creature face-down and then turn it face-up to use its full abilities.
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What is the rule for summoning sickness? A creature with summoning sickness is neither able to attack nor use any tap abilities. The idea behind the term is that the creature is so disoriented by the experience of being summoned that it has to rest before it can do anything more than defend itself or use simple abilities.
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Can I crew with summoning sickness? Yes, you can tap any untapped creature you control to activate a crew ability, including creatures with summoning sickness and even other crewed Vehicles.
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Can you sacrifice a creature with summoning sickness? Yes, unless it’s a cost of its own ability that includes tapping, it won’t be affected by summoning sickness.
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Does regenerate have summoning sickness? When you regenerate a creature, you can attack in the same turn it was regenerated (and it doesn’t have summoning sickness or any other effect which says so), but only if you can get it untapped.
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What is the mana value of a morph? Morph spells have a mana value of 0 while on the stack and for as long as they remain face-down on the battlefield.
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Are face-down creatures colorless? Yes, a face-down permanent is, by default, a 2/2 creature with no rules text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and no mana cost or color indicator, making it colorless.
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Does Mystic Forge work with morph? Because you never “cast” a land card, Mystic Forge doesn’t allow you to play an artifact land from the top of your library. However, if the top card of your library has a morph ability, you can cast it face-down from the top of your library, even if it’s normally not a colorless card.
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What happens if you clone a morph? If Clone enters the battlefield as a copy of a face-down creature (like Grinning Demon), the Clone is a colorless 2/2 creature with no name, no types, no abilities, and no mana cost. It will still be face-up, and its controller can’t pay the morph cost to turn it face-up.
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Does Animar reduce morph cost? Animar, Soul of Elements reduces the costs of any creature cast, which includes casting creatures for morph cost. This means that once Animar has 3 counters, playing any number of morph creatures is free.
Conclusion
In conclusion, morph cards do not gain summoning sickness when turned face-up, and understanding the intricacies of morphing and summoning sickness can greatly enhance a player’s strategy in Magic: The Gathering. By mastering these concepts and ensuring a thorough grasp of the game’s rules, players can leverage morph creatures to their advantage, navigating the complexities of summoning sickness with ease.