Skill Borrower

[Mulletus]

skill borrower
Artifact Creature - Human Wizard
2U
Play with the top card of your library revealed.
As long as the top card of your library is an artifact or creature card, Skill Borrower has all activated abilities of that card. (If any of the abilities use that card's name, use this creature's name instead.)
1/3

Reading an old necro'd post of mine reminded me that I don't know the rules. I think this guy might cause heads to pop.

What happens if the top card of library is an equipment card?
Can I equip this creature to another creature?
Can skill borrower equip to its self?
If skill borrower were equipped to another creature, can skill borrower still attack?
If the top card of my library ceases to be an equipment, would skill borrower fall off?
If skill borrower were equipped to another creature, and humility comes into play.... what happens there?

[heroicraptor]

It can't equip because it can't be attached to a permanent because it isn't an equipment or aura. If it were an equipment or aura, it still couldn't be equipped because creatures that are also equipment can't be attached to a creature.

[Mulletus]

It can't equip because it can't be attached to a permanent because it isn't an equipment or aura. If it were an equipment or aura, it still couldn't be equipped because creatures that are also equipment can't be attached to a creature.

I don't think you're right. It gets the activated ability "equip" from the artifact, or are you saying it can get abilities it can't use?

[heroicraptor]

It gains the ability, but because it's not an equipment, it can't actually be attached to a creature.

[rufus]

Creatures that are equipment get unequipped as a state-based effect. If you use, for example, the Mizzium Transreliquat, and Skill Borrower ceases being a creature, then things can start getting a bit odd.

There are some more entertaining things to consider:

If the creature on top of the deck is the Quicksilver Elemental, and Skill Borrower uses the ability on itself, does it retain the Quicksilver elemental ability if the top card of the deck changes?

If the Skill Borrower Imprints a card using the Pantopic Mirror Ability, and later copies Isochron Scepter, or Chrome Mox is the card 'shared' between the two imprint abilities?

Does the game distinguish between cards removed from the game by different abilities?
For example, let's say that Skill Borrower copies and activates the Arc-Slogger ability which removes the top 10 cards of your library, and then the Synod Sanctum second ability which puts all the cards removed from the game by it into play. Do the cards removed by the Arc Slogger ability get put into play by the Synod Sanctum ability?

[Mulletus]

@heroicraptor
So you're saying if an "Artifact - Equipment" somehow lost the type (or subtype I don't know) "Equipment" it would still have the ability but could no longer be attached to creatures? What would happen if it were already equipped... 'fall off' or never be equipped to anything else?
wait never mind.... I found this
edit:
212.2i An Equipment that's also a creature can't equip a creature. Equipment that loses the subtype "Equipment" can't equip a creature. An Equipment can't equip itself. An Equipment that equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent stops equipping that permanent, but remains in play. (This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.)


@rufus
Those are good questions too, and with a Divining top in play could you activate the sceptor, leave the spell on the stack, change the top back to a pantopic mirror to get both sorceries cast?

[elof]

Scepter only casts instants...
Oracle: 2, T You may copy the imprinted instant card. If you do, you may play the copy without paying its mana cost.

[Van Phanel]

If the creature on top of the deck is the Quicksilver Elemental, and Skill Borrower uses the ability on itself, does it retain the Quicksilver elemental ability if the top card of the deck changes?

Yes. Skill Borrower's own ability only grants abilities, it never takes them away, so there is no reason why it should lose an ability granted by the Elemental's ability.

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If the Skill Borrower Imprints a card using the Pantopic Mirror Ability, and later copies Isochron Scepter, or Chrome Mox is the card 'shared' between the two imprint abilities?

Yes:



502.34a Imprint is an activated or triggered ability, written “Imprint — [text],” where “[text]” is a triggered or activated ability. Cards that are in the removed-from-the-game zone because they were removed from the game by an imprint ability are imprinted on the source of that ability.

502.34b The phrase “imprinted [quality] card” means the card with that quality that’s imprinted on the permanent. If a permanent has more than one card with that quality imprinted on it, each of those cards is an “imprinted [quality] card.”

Abilities that refer to imprinted cards don't refer to cards that were imprinted using a specific Imprint-ability, but rather to all imprinted cards.

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Does the game distinguish between cards removed from the game by different abilities?
For example, let's say that Skill Borrower copies and activates the Arc-Slogger ability which removes the top 10 cards of your library, and then the Synod Sanctum second ability which puts all the cards removed from the game by it into play. Do the cards removed by the Arc Slogger ability get put into play by the Synod Sanctum ability?

Yes it does distinguish between them which means that you couldn't use the Sanctum-ability to return cards removed with the ability of Arc Slogger.



407.1. An object may have two abilities printed on it such that one of them causes actions to be taken or objects to be affected and the other one directly refers to those actions or objects. If so, these two abilities are linked: the second refers only to actions that were taken or objects that were affected by the first, and not by any other ability.

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with a Divining top in play could you activate the sceptor, leave the spell on the stack, change the top back to a pantopic mirror to get both sorceries cast?

No. Like elof said you'll never get to play even a single sorcery with the ability of Isochron Scepter. I don't see what made you believe you could get more than one.