Does Thing in the Ice Have Summoning Sickness When It Transforms?
Yes, Thing in the Ice does have summoning sickness when it transforms into Awoken Horror if you haven’t controlled it continuously since the beginning of your most recent turn. Think of it this way: transforming a creature doesn’t erase the fact that it’s a new creature entering the battlefield (albeit the same physical card). Since Awoken Horror is a creature, it’s subject to the rules of summoning sickness, meaning it can’t attack or use tap abilities until you’ve controlled it long enough. Now, let’s dive deep into the nuances of this rule and address some frequently asked questions to dispel any confusion.
Understanding Summoning Sickness and Transformation
Summoning sickness, a term every Magic: The Gathering player knows and either loves or hates, is a fundamental rule that prevents newly summoned creatures from immediately attacking or using abilities that require tapping. The underlying concept is that the creature, fresh from the summoning process, is too disoriented to immediately spring into action.
Transformation, on the other hand, is a mechanic that changes a permanent’s characteristics, often including its card type, abilities, and even its name. Transforming permanents are not considered new permanents entering the battlefield. However, the rules about the timing of abilities and summoning sickness make even these simple concepts confusing.
The critical point to remember when considering Thing in the Ice is that transforming doesn’t inherently grant or remove summoning sickness. If the original Thing in the Ice had summoning sickness, Awoken Horror will also have summoning sickness after the transformation. If Thing in the Ice didn’t have summoning sickness, then Awoken Horror will be able to attack or use tap abilities immediately after transforming.
FAQs on Summoning Sickness, Transformation, and Related Mechanics
Here’s a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions to further clarify these concepts:
1. What exactly is summoning sickness?
Summoning sickness prevents a creature from attacking or using activated abilities with the tap symbol (represented by the “tap” symbol) in their cost. The rule applies unless you have controlled the creature continuously since the beginning of your most recent turn. It doesn’t affect activated abilities that don’t require tapping, nor does it prevent the creature from blocking.
2. How does summoning sickness interact with creatures that enter the battlefield transformed?
If a double-faced card enters the battlefield transformed (e.g., due to a card effect), it’s treated as a creature entering the battlefield. Therefore, it’s subject to summoning sickness unless it has haste or you’ve controlled it since the beginning of your most recent turn.
3. Does giving a creature haste bypass summoning sickness?
Yes, haste allows a creature to attack or use tap abilities the turn it enters the battlefield, effectively ignoring summoning sickness. However, the creature still technically has summoning sickness; haste merely allows it to act despite that condition.
4. What happens if I flicker a creature?
Flickering a creature (exiling it and then immediately returning it to the battlefield) causes it to be treated as a brand-new permanent. This means it will have summoning sickness, even if it didn’t have it before. The GamesLearningSociety.org knows that this rule can be tricky, but it’s consistent: the creature is considered new.
5. Does reanimating a creature give it summoning sickness?
Yes, reanimating a creature (bringing it back from the graveyard) also means it’s entering the battlefield again. Therefore, it will have summoning sickness unless it has haste or you’ve controlled it since the beginning of your most recent turn.
6. If I play a land that becomes a creature, does it have summoning sickness?
Yes, if a land becomes a creature (e.g., through a card like Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi), it’s subject to summoning sickness just like any other creature entering the battlefield.
7. Do planeswalkers have summoning sickness?
No, planeswalkers do not have summoning sickness. You can activate their loyalty abilities the turn they enter the battlefield, provided you haven’t already activated a loyalty ability of a planeswalker you control with the same name this turn.
8. Does “morphing” a creature give it summoning sickness?
No, morphing a creature (turning a face-down creature face-up by paying its morph cost) doesn’t cause it to have summoning sickness unless it already had it while face-down. Turning a card face up doesn’t change its status as a permanent that you have or haven’t controlled continuously since the beginning of your most recent turn.
9. How does mutate affect summoning sickness?
When you mutate a creature onto another, the resulting creature is not affected by summoning sickness if the base creature (the one that remains on the battlefield) didn’t have it already. The mutate rules are designed to preserve the “continuous control” aspect, allowing for some powerful, immediate plays.
10. Do Incubator tokens have summoning sickness?
If you transform an Incubator token the same turn it enters the battlefield, the transformed Phyrexian creature will have summoning sickness. This is because it’s essentially a new creature entering the battlefield. If the Incubator token entered on a previous turn, then the transformed creature would be able to attack.
11. Do Battles have summoning sickness when they transform?
Yes, if you cast a Battle card and then transform it into a creature on the same turn, the creature will have summoning sickness. This is because the creature didn’t exist on the battlefield under your control at the beginning of your most recent turn.
12. If a creature phases out and then phases back in, does it have summoning sickness?
A creature that phases out and then phases back in does not get summoning sickness, as long as it experienced an upkeep step while under your control before phasing out. Phasing is essentially a temporary removal from the game, not a full reset like flickering.
13. How does summoning sickness interact with creatures that are exiled and returned to the battlefield?
If a creature is exiled and then returned to the battlefield (e.g., via cards like Cloudshift or Ephemerate), it’s treated as a new creature entering the battlefield. Therefore, it will have summoning sickness unless it has haste or you’ve controlled it since the beginning of your most recent turn.
14. If I gain control of an opponent’s creature, does it have summoning sickness for me?
If you gain control of an opponent’s creature, it will have summoning sickness for you unless you have controlled it continuously since the beginning of your most recent turn. Just because your opponent controlled it for a long time doesn’t mean you did!
15. Does suspending a creature give it haste?
Yes, if you suspend a creature card and then cast it from exile, it gains haste until you lose control of it. This is specifically designed to allow you to play the creature immediately, even though it would normally be affected by summoning sickness.
Key Takeaways
- Transformation doesn’t inherently grant or remove summoning sickness.
- If the original creature had summoning sickness, the transformed version will too.
- Haste is the most common way to bypass summoning sickness.
- Anything that causes a permanent to leave and re-enter the battlefield (flickering, reanimating, etc.) typically results in summoning sickness.
- Understanding the nuances of summoning sickness is crucial for strategic gameplay. You can learn more about such concepts at the Games Learning Society.
By understanding these rules and FAQs, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the complexities of summoning sickness and transformation in Magic: The Gathering. Good luck, and may your creatures always be ready to attack (or block)!