Maybe I'm overcosting it, but the effect is unique enough that I kinda wanna play it safe...

Similar to Necrotic Ooze. But with a lot more problems. What do you do if one of those creatures has a cost involving "Sacrifice ~this~", like Sakura-Tribe Elder? Or indeed a cost involving , like Prodigal Sorcerer?

Ooh, I see what you mean. I was thinking mana only abilities. And yes, it does appear I've overcosted it. A lot. Well, then...

Still wondering what Sakura-Tribe Elder should do.

I guess I wasn't being direct enough. I'm trying to template, "You may use activated abilities etc. HOWEVER, only abilities that cost mana. No tapping. No saccing." (Actually, if you/we could template saccing as from graveyard to exiled without cluttering it up with too many words, I wouldn't be opposed to that, but only if it can stay short and sweet that way.)

Ah, I see. Yes, people do use "mana abilities" to mean that quite frequently, but in the rules it's a term that means things like the ability of Llanowar Elves or Plains.

I think the template you want would be:

> You may activate abilities of creature cards in your graveyard any time you could cast a sorcery. (Cards that aren't on the battlefield can't be tapped or sacrificed.)

Are we sure that cards in the graveyard can't be tapped? They evidently can be enchanted. Is there a rule that states tapping cards in graveyards is a no-no?

> 701.16. Tap and Untap
> 701.16a To tap a permanent, turn it sideways from an upright position. Only untapped permanents can be tapped.
> 701.16b To untap a permanent, rotate it back to the upright position from a sideways position. Only tapped permanents can be untapped.

Looks pretty clear that it only applies to permanents to me.

Of course, rules could extend it to allow other things to be tapped. I've contemplated a cycle of instants which can tap while on the stack before. But for the moment, yup, only permanents can do it.

Ah, yes. Permanents. It's funny how random loose words alter which cards can do what. I wonder how often Mark Rosewater needs to be reminded that he can't design cards that tap from the graveyard because of 701.16a...

I'm sure Rosewater contemplates graveyard-tap cards all the time, but I suppose if they ever make it past the "more fun than they are 'clever'" barrier, they can reword the rules, and change this card's reminder text to rules text :)