Ertai's Meddling

Printings

  • Tempest (TMP)#61
  • The List (PLST)#TMP-61

Ertai's Meddling

Card Information

Type: Instant

Mana Cost: XBlue mana

CMC: 1

Part of the Reserved List: No

Color Identity: Mana symbol for U

Set: Tempest (TMP)

Rarity: Rare

Collector Number: 61

Oracle Text

X can't be 0. Target spell's controller exiles it with X delay counters on it. At the beginning of each of that player's upkeeps, if that card is exiled, remove a delay counter from it. If the card has no delay counters on it, the player puts it onto the stack as a copy of the original spell.

Format Legalities

duel(Legal)
brawl(Not Legal)
penny(Not Legal)
predh(Legal)
future(Not Legal)
legacy(Legal)
modern(Not Legal)
pauper(Not Legal)
alchemy(Not Legal)
pioneer(Not Legal)
vintage(Legal)
historic(Not Legal)
standard(Not Legal)
timeless(Not Legal)
commander(Legal)
gladiator(Not Legal)
oldschool(Not Legal)
premodern(Legal)
oathbreaker(Legal)
standardbrawl(Not Legal)
paupercommander(Not Legal)

Card Rulings

  1. April 15, 2013

    Ertai's Meddling has the spell's controller put the spell back onto the stack; it does not have its controller cast the spell again. Anything that triggers off of casting spells, such as Contemplation , won't trigger. Simillarly, effects that count spells that are cast (like Rule of Law) or prevent spells from being cast (like Iona, Shield of Emeria) won't count or affect the copy that is put onto the stack since the copy wasn't cast.

    Source: wotc
  2. April 15, 2013

    If Ertai's Meddling is used to copy an arcane spell that had effects spliced onto it, it will create a spell with all of those effects. That spell's controller will not be able to splice additional effects onto the spell, since they did not re-cast the spell and instead simply put it back onto the stack.

    Source: wotc
  3. January 22, 2011

    If the spell was cast using flashback, Ertai's Meddling will still exile it with delay counters on it. When the card is returned to the stack, it still "remembers" the flashback cost was originally paid. It'll be exiled when it resolves or otherwise leaves the stack.

    Source: wotc
  4. April 1, 2008

    This now exiles the spell as part of Ertai's Meddling's resolution, instead of waiting for the targeted spell to start resolving.

    Source: wotc
  5. October 4, 2004

    If a copy of a spell (one that has no card representing it) is affected by Ertai's Meddling, the spell ceases to exist when exiled. It will not gain counters and will not be put back on the stack.

    Source: wotc
  6. October 4, 2004

    Ertai's Meddling can't be cast through any way that doesn't pay its mana cost. This is because the X in the Meddling's mana cost can't be 0, but effects that allow spells to be cast without paying their mana costs set X to 0.

    Source: wotc
  7. October 4, 2004

    Once it is put back on the stack, it is a "new" spell again and can be countered or even targeted by another Ertai's Meddling.

    Source: wotc
  8. October 4, 2004

    If Ertai's Meddling is used to copy a spell being cast face down due to Morph ability, the spell will create a face up, 2/2, colorless, nameless creature with no text. This may be a little counter-intuitive, because you might expect the card to enter face down like it would have when originally cast, but Ertai's Meddling copies only the original spell and not the entire card the spell represented.

    Source: wotc
  9. October 4, 2004

    Note that a delayed spell that targets another spell won't resolve when it resolves since it will find that its target is no longer on the stack.

    Source: wotc
  10. October 4, 2004

    A targeted spell which is delayed will still succeed even if its target has phased out and back in again.

    Source: wotc

Price History

Wizard conjuring a magic the gathering cards

To study a single card is to glimpse the heart of a spell - a frozen moment of ambition, artistry, and arcane intent. Within each glyph lies a spark: a story untold, a duel turned, a destiny altered. Treat it not as mere parchment, dear seeker, but as a shard of the Multiverse itself.

Gandareth the Odd
Keeper of Cardboard Secrets and Loremancer of the Lost Ink

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