Does Mutate Count Towards Devotion?
Mutated cards do not count towards devotion on their own, as only the top card’s mana symbols in its mana cost contribute to the devotion of a player, and mutated cards underneath the top card only provide their abilities to the top card without adding to the devotion. The devotion of a player is determined by the mana symbols in the mana costs of their permanents, and since the mutated cards under the top card do not have their mana costs counted, they do not directly contribute to the player’s devotion.
Understanding Mutate and Devotion
To delve deeper into how mutate interacts with devotion, it’s essential to understand both concepts. Mutate is a keyword ability that allows a player to cast a creature spell on top of another creature on the battlefield, merging the two into a single creature with the abilities of both. On the other hand, devotion refers to the number of mana symbols of a specific color among the mana costs of a player’s permanents on the battlefield.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do Mutated Cards Count Towards Devotion?
Mutated cards underneath the top card do not count towards devotion because only the top card’s mana cost is considered for devotion purposes.
2. What Counts Towards Devotion?
Only mana symbols in the mana costs of permanents count towards devotion. Mana symbols in text boxes or other areas of the card do not contribute.
3. Does Mutate Count as CMC?
When using mutate, the CMC (Converted Mana Cost) of the spell is the CMC of the original creature card, not the mutate cost.
4. Does Mutate Count as a Creature Entering the Battlefield?
No, mutate does not count as a creature entering the battlefield. It modifies an existing creature, so “enter the battlefield” effects are not triggered.
5. What is Mutate?
Mutate is a keyword ability that allows a player to merge a creature spell with an existing creature on the battlefield, creating a single creature with combined abilities.
6. Does Mutate Count as a Noncreature Spell?
No, a mutating creature spell is still considered a creature spell, even though it won’t enter the battlefield as a separate creature.
7. Does Mutate Count as a New Creature?
A mutated creature is considered one individual creature with all the abilities of the creatures merged into it.
8. Does Volo Copy Mutate?
Yes, Volo can copy a mutate creature, and the copy will target the same creature, potentially allowing it to mutate twice.
9. Does Mutate Get Commander Tax?
Yes, mutate is subject to the commander tax because it is an alternate casting cost, not an ability that can be activated from the command zone.
10. Is Mutate Affected by Summoning Sickness?
The mutated creature is not affected by summoning sickness if the base creature wasn’t, according to the mutate rules.
11. What are the 9 Paths of Devotion?
In a broader, non-magical context, the 9 paths of devotion refer to forms of Vishnu-bhakti or devotion to Vishnu in Hinduism, including shravana, kirtana, smarana, pada-sevana, archana, vandana, dasya, sakhya, and atma-nivedana.
12. Do Gods Count Towards Devotion?
Yes, the Theros gods count towards their own devotion because they have mana symbols in their mana costs.
13. Do Lands Count Towards Devotion?
No, lands do not count towards devotion unless they have a mana value or color identity, which basic lands do not.
14. What Happens if You Mutate a Planeswalker?
If you mutate a planeswalker by putting it on top, at the end of the turn, it will be a planeswalker with the abilities gained from the mut! ate creature.
15. Do White Creature Tokens Count Towards Devotion?
Normal creature tokens do not count towards devotion because they have no mana cost. However, tokens created with a specific mana cost, such as through Fated Infatuation, will count towards devotion similar to the original creature.