How does that "only if" text explain that where the "" does not though?
And really... The activated ability really doesn't add that much blunt-force to the 6/6 french vanilla flier that you get out of this in a mono-blue deck. If anything the life gain and counters play into blue's long game perspective.
I'd say this is surprisingly blunt-force-trauma for a blue-sphinx. So while the "only if you control" is pretty much trinket text; it's also useful flavour for explaining that while, yes, Sphinx are typically considered cunning riddlers - this is the old fashioned kind who sits at a crossroad and throws people off of cliffs.
The activated ability already requires green and white mana additionally requiring a Forest and a Plains... that is very niche/mostly redundant on this ability.
There is a reason the static ability of Arctic Aven requires a Plains, but the activated ability doesn't explicitly.
I meant the card as a whole. The restriction can probably go.
It's not though. Magosi doesn't have an activation restriction
Sphinx of Magosi reference.
How does that "only if" text explain that where the "
" does not though?
And really... The activated ability really doesn't add that much blunt-force to the 6/6 french vanilla flier that you get out of this in a mono-blue deck. If anything the life gain and counters play into blue's long game perspective.
Additional explanation required?
I'd say this is surprisingly blunt-force-trauma for a blue-sphinx. So while the "only if you control" is pretty much trinket text; it's also useful flavour for explaining that while, yes, Sphinx are typically considered cunning riddlers - this is the old fashioned kind who sits at a crossroad and throws people off of cliffs.
The activated ability already requires green and white mana additionally requiring a Forest and a Plains... that is very niche/mostly redundant on this ability.
There is a reason the static ability of Arctic Aven requires a Plains, but the activated ability doesn't explicitly.