Deathspeaker

Your Avatar turns death into dominion

Avatar Elite

Deathspeaker — Sorcery: Contested Realm card

AlphaApr 2023

StandardBooster

Tony Szczudlo

Printings

Promotional · Rainbow Beta · Standard Beta · Foil Alpha · Standard Alpha · Foil

Rules

UPDATED: Tap → Play or draw a site. You may banish a dead minion each turn to cast a copy of it, and for (0) if you’re on Death’s Door. The copy enters the realm, uses its Genesis, then is banished.

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FAQ (6)

At Death's Door, does the Deathspeaker need to meet the threshold requirements?

Yes. Only the casting cost is reduced to (0).

Can any of my spellcasters cast a spell and still benefit from my avatar's ability?

Yes! As long as you control the spellcaster, the game sees it as a spell 'you' cast, meaning the player.

When using the Deathspeaker's ability, do I trigger Deathrite effects (perhaps because the minion is on The Geistwood)?

Normally no, because Deathrite only triggers when the minion dies, and the Deathspeaker's banishes the minion. But, if somehow the minion at the same time it enters the (e.g. ), then Deathrite would trigger. The dies because of Bottomless Pit (interrupting the Deathspeaker's ability), Deathrite resolves, then the token is like all tokens when it dies.

How does this ability resolve, in detail?

You cast the minion spell. Pay mana, meet threshold, banish it from the cemetery, identify where it will be summoned. The minion enters the the realm. (It is a copy of the banished minion.) 'Enter the realm' effects trigger and resolve. These include: Genesis abilities. Effects like Wayfaring Pilgrim, Giant Shark, Mariner's Curse, Bottomless Pit, etc. See 'Simultaneous Triggers' in the Codex for more details. The minion is banished. The intent is that the Deathspeaker can speak to the dead, invoke their abilities, and then release them into the afterlife (whatever that may be). See also 'Splitting Events on the Storyline' and the example with Tawny plus a site's genesis. The Deathspeaker's ability is analogous, since the minion will enter, splitting the Deathspeaker's ability on the Storyline, the genesis ability will resolve (along with any other triggered abilities based on a minion entering the realm), then it will get banished.

When using the Deathspeaker's ability, do Genesis abilities trigger before the banishing effect?

Yes, because events on the storyline are split up when a card enters the realm. See the 'Splitting Events on the Storyline' codex entry for more details.

Can I cast minions from my opponent's cemetery?

Yes. You control it when it enters the realm, and then it gets banished.