#split cards

Rebound works quite well with both of these cards types!

Adventures: When an Adventure with Rebound (cast from your hand) resolves, you'll have two different replacement effects wanting to exile it as it resolves. There's the normal Adventure exile, and then there's the Rebound exile. If you exile it to its Adventure effect, then it works as normal and you can cast the non-Adventure part from exile whenever timing would normally allow you to do so. If you exile it with Rebound, then you get to cast the card from exile at the beginning of your next upkeep without paying its mana cost. When you do, you can choose to cast it as an adventure or as its main spell. If you cast it as an adventure, then it will exile itself again and you'll be able to cast the main spell from exile as normal.

A split card has the combined characteristics of both of its halves in all zones other than on the stack. This means that when you look at Bound//Determined with Omnath's trigger, it counts as a BGU card and can be revealed.

Not until you cast the copy from your hand.

God-Eternal Kefnet’s trigger copies the whole card and then allows you to cast that copy of the card. The choice of which half of Discovery//Dispersal to cast is made when you put the copy on the stack.

Yes, it does. When you cast a split card, you choose which half of it you're going to cast as you put the spell on the stack. If it has Fuse, then you can choose to cast both halves as well. Since this is just a choice made when proposing to cast the spell rather than any sort of alternate cost, you're then free to choose to use the alternate cost offered by Jodah to cast the fused spell.

Let’s consider Dusk///Dawn as an example split card here:

Snapcaster Mage grants Dawn /// Dusk flashback with a flashback cost equal to its mana cost. When it’s in the graveyard, its mana cost is 5WWWW, so that’s what its flashback cost is there.

However, the value of this flashback cost is constantly re-evaluated as per CR 702.1b: “An effect that grants an object a keyword ability may define a variable in that ability, such as X or its “[keyword ability] cost,” based on characteristics of that object or other information about the game state. For these abilities, the value of that variable is constantly reevaluated.”

When we go to cast the card from the graveyard, we choose which half we’re casting as we put it on the stack. When we choose to put Dusk on the stack, the flashback cost granted by Snapcaster Mage is now only 2WW because that’s Dusk’s mana cost on the stack, since the characteristics of Dawn are treated as though they don’t exist as per CR 708.3b. So when you choose to pay the flashback cost, that’s the alternate cost that’s locked in at that time.

In your hand:

In your hand, Turn // Burn has a converted mana cost of 5 (3+2). Previously, its CMC in your hand was 3 and 2, but not 5.

If you are targeted by Inquisition of Kozilek, your opponent now can’t choose Turn // Burn for you to discard because its CMC isn’t 3 or less.

In your graveyard:

In your graveyard, Turn // Burn has a converted mana cost of 5. Previously, its CMC in your graveyard was 3 and 2, but not 5.

Goblin Dark-Dwellers’ trigger can’t target a Turn // Burn in your graveyard because its CMC isn’t 3 or less. 

In your library: In your library, Turn // Burn has a converted mana cost of 5. Previously, its CMC in your library was 3 and 2, but not 5.

If you reveal Turn // Burn for your Counterbalance trigger, Counterbalance’s trigger will counter the spell that triggered it if that spell’s CMC is 5. (e.g. Force of Will) It won’t counter a spell with CMC of 2 or 3 when Turn // Burn is revealed.

In exile:

In exile, Turn // Burn has a converted mana cost of 5. Previously, its CMC in exile was 3 and 2, but not 5.

If your opponent exiled Turn // Burn with their Thought Prison, Thought Prison will trigger when a player casts a spell with CMC 5, not CMC 2 or 3.

One half on the stack:

On the stack, Burn has a converted mana cost of 2. This is unchanged from the previous rules.

When you cast Burn, Chalice of the Void will trigger and counter the spell if there are two counters on Chalice of the Void because Burn’s CMC is 2.

Fused on the stack:

On the stack, a fused Turn // Burn has a converted mana cost of 5. This is unchanged from the previous rules.

Disdainful Stroke can target a fused Turn // Burn that’s on the stack because its mana cost is 4 or greater.

Right, so... Aftermath. That’s a thing now, so we’re going to need to have a talk about it. Time for some Q&A:

(These answers have been verified as correct by Eli Shiffrin, Magic Rules Manager on 3 April 2017. The answer to the final question was corrected to reflect an upcoming change in Amonkhet.)

Q: What the hell is this thing?

A: It’s a split card.

We’ve seen split cards before in Invasion, Apocalypse, Dissension, Planar Chaos, and Dragon’s Maze.

Q: So why does it look different from other split cards?

A: Because it works differently from other split cards. When you want to cast a traditional split card like Life // Death, you choose one of the two halves to cast and just pay the costs for that half and follow the instructions for that half. (If the split card has fuse and you’re casting it from you hand, you can also choose both halves.) With a split card with Aftermath, you can only cast the top/left half from your hand (or from any other zone than the graveyard). The right/bottom half can only be cast from the graveyard.

Despite the different layout of the Aftermath cards, they’re split cards in every way and could be functionally printed with the same layout as a traditional split card without changing their functionality. It’s the Aftermath ability on the right/bottom half that makes the difference.

Q: So what does the Aftermath ability on the right/bottom half actually do?

A: Aftermath means two things. First of all it means “You may cast this spell from your graveyard, but not from anywhere else.” This applies only to the half of the card with Aftermath. It also means “Exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack.” Again, this only applies to the half of the card with Aftermath.

Q: Ok, so do I have to have cast the top half to be able to cast the right half from my graveyard?

A: No. You can cast the right half of a card with Aftermath from your graveyard no matter how it got there, be it through discard, milling, or the top half resolving or being countered.

Q: When can I cast a card with Aftermath from my graveyard?

A: Any time you could cast a spell of that type. Lead is a sorcery, so you can only cast Lead from your graveyard when the stack is empty during your main phase (or at other times if an effect like Hypersonic Dragon or Quicken give you permission to do so.)

Q: How can I cast both halves of an Aftermath card at the same time?

A: You can’t. There is (currently) no way to do so. What you can do is cast the bottom/right half from your graveyard immediately after the top half resolves. (See previous quertion re: timing.)

Q: What happens if give an Aftermath card in my graveyard Flashback (Snapcaster Mage / Past in Flames) or otherwise get permission to cast it from there? (Jace, Telepath Unbound)

A: Then you can cast either half from your graveyard, but not both. (See previous question.) When a split card gains flashback, each half gains a separate flashback cost. If you targeted Destined // Lead with Snapcaster Mage’s trigger, then Destined will have Flasback 1B and Lead will have Flashback 3G until end of turn. When you cast the card this way, it will be exiled instead of returning to your graveyard when it finishes resolving.

Q: But if I can cast both halves from my graveyard, then why can’t I cast both at the same time?

A: For the same reason that you can’t cast both halves of a normal split card from your hand at the same time. Spells are cast one at a time, and you have to pick one half of the card or the other to cast. When you cast the card it moves to the stack and is no longer in the zone you cast it from.

Q: What about the Expertise cycle? Can I do anything weird with Aftermath cards there?

A: Maybe! Aftermath cards work the same way with the Expertise cycle as normal split cards do, with the exception that the right half can’t be cast from your hand and thus can’t be cast off of an Expertise spell. 

What this will mean is that, if there’s an Aftermath card whose top half has a higher converted mana cost than its right half, you’ll be able to cast that more expensive top half of the Aftermath card from your hand as long as the right side’s cost meets the CMC criteria of the Expertise spell. (For example, if Destined cost 3B and Lead cost 1G, which they don’t, you could cast Destined off of Kari Zev’s Expertise because one of the card’s CMCs is 2 or less.) ^ Nope. None of this is correct as of Amonkhet’s release. See below. ^

When Snapcaster Mage’s trigger resolves, it grants Flashback to Dusk /// Dawn, giving it Flashback 5WWWW (because that’s its mana cost in the graveyard, but you’ll never have to pay that much). 

The flashback ability gives you permission to cast it from your graveyard. Since the card is in your graveyard, the restriction of Aftermath on Dawn doesn’t apply and so until end of turn you can cast either Dusk or Dawn whenever you could normally cast a sorcery.

When you go to cast Dusk /// Dawn from your graveyard, you choose which half you want to cast. 

If you choose to cast Dusk, then Dusk goes on the stack. It has Flashback 2WW from Snapcaster Mage (because that’s its mana cost on the stack) which is your only option to cast it since you can’t otherwise cast Dusk from your graveyard.

If you choose to cast Dawn, then Dawn goes on the stack. It has Flashback 3WW from Snapcaster Mage. Since Aftermath also allows you to cast it normally from your graveyard, you can choose to either pay its normal 3WW mana cost or its flashback cost of 3WW. No matter which option you choose, it will be exiled when it would leave the stack.