Could you please clarify for me? If I activate an ability that has a cost and then copy it, do I need to pay the cost again for the copy to resolve?

For example, the ability of [[Isareth, the Awakener]]. If I decide to attack and pay X mana to reanimate a creature, do I also have to pay again if I copy the ability? And if so, am I able to pay a different amount, considering that the source of the copying states, “You can choose new targets for the copy”?

A second question is for a card like [[Drana, Liberator of Malakir]]. If she deals direct damage and her ability triggers, would the +1/+1 counter be placed on each attacking creature, including herself, twice, were I to copy it?

I’m not sure if it’s necessary to mention, but I am new to this, I am using [[The Peregrine Dynamo]] to copy those abilities.

Thank you for your help in clarifying this!

  • @[email protected]
    8•9 months ago

    Copying an ability simply adds a second one to the stack with all the same text as the first.

    I was wrong in my first reading. With Isareth, the ability is placed on the stack before the cost is paid. If you were to copy the ability, you would need to pay X for each copy, but could pay different values

    Your second example is correct, you would place a +1/+1 counter on all your creatures, twice.(Ie: 2 +1/+1 counters per creature)

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      4•9 months ago

      Thank you for the clarification! I was actually going to ask for more information before your edit, haha.

      I think this combination looks great and I would be interested in trying it out!

    • @[email protected]English
      2•9 months ago

      If I’m not mistaken, Isareth’s ability is actually two triggered abilities: “Whenever Isareth attacks” is one, and “When you do [pay X]” is the other. With The Peregrine Dynamo, you could copy either ability. If you copy the first one, you can pay X twice, choosing different amounts (or the same amount) each time. If you copy the second, the value for X has to stay the same, but you can revive two creatures with the same mana value.

      If instead of The Peregrine Dynamo you had a [[Roaming Throne]], you could end up returning as many as four creatures.

      • @[email protected]OPEnglish
        1•9 months ago

        I took a look at Isareth’s entry on Gatherer, and it seems that there are indeed two different abilities at play here. This means that you are correct in pointing out that one can copy either the first part or the second part of the ability. It’s quite an interesting interaction! I am excited to try it out and see how it plays out in a game!

  • @TheLameSauce
    8•9 months ago

    Triggered and activated abilities can be divided into two parts: condition, and effect. For activated abilities, the condition is a specific cost being paid and is separated from the effect by a colon, while triggered abilities just happen whenever a specified criteria is met. When copying one of these abilities, you only ever copy the effect, not the condition.

    So if you copy an ability that says “whenever x happens, do y” you get y effect twice without having to meet the x condition a second time. If you copy an ability that says “do x: get y effect” you get y effect without having to do x a second time.

    Hope that makes sense!

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      0•9 months ago

      This definitely helps clarify things, thank you!

      If I’m understanding correctly, then, when copying a “boast” ability, it allows me to receive the effect of the boast twice while only having to pay the cost once (“pay x, do y”). Correct?

      • @TheLameSauce
        3•9 months ago

        That’s correct.

        Boast is interesting because it’s an activated ability (cost:effect) that can only be activated when a condition is met, like a triggered ability.

        As long as the first activation happened while the condition was met (the creature attacked this turn) the effect from the ability can be copied before it finishes resolving.