<p>No, that's not how that ruling is supposed to be read. Though I admit they worded it poorly.</p>

<p>The card can be sacrificed like any other, what the ruling means is you cannot sacrifice because of the second ability, just because you want it back in hand, but you can sacrifice it to anything that would allow you to sacrifice an artefact. Doing so will cause the second ability to trigger.</p>

<p>The second ability doesn't allow you to sacrifice it, it doesn't give you a way to do that by itself, but it doesn't <em>prevent</em> you from sacrificing it either.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T05:10:01.347Z
IIRC, the context of that ruling is "a lot of people misplayed it during test"
Alex P
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T06:03:51.877Z
"you cannot sacrifice it to trigger the second ability" - But you can sacrifice it, which will trigger the second ability. That ruling is more confusing than the redundant text on [4th ed. Spirit Link](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2366).
Cees Timmerman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T06:40:54.283Z
@CeesTimmerman more the second ability does not give you a way to sacrifice it, but if you do sacrifice it it will trigger the second ability.
Andrew
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T12:13:32.970Z
@Andrew That's perfectly obvious to me. If it did it'd say something like "Sacrifice Spine of Ish Sah: Do something."
Cees Timmerman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T14:20:15.263Z
@CeesTimmerman The problem is, like AlexP said, people were using that ability that way in early play and testing, that's what caused this ruling.
Andrew
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-04T20:05:07.293Z
You CAN sacrifice it to trigger the second ability.
Cees Timmerman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-04T20:25:02.293Z
@CeesTimmerman Sacrificing it will cause the second ability to trigger, correct. You cannot however sacrifice it simply because you want to trigger the second ability, you need an outlet. I remember scars block, I remember people expecting such an expensive card with a simple effect to be repeatable that easy and players were destroying it that way, just because they wanted to sacrifice it.
Andrew
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T04:15:12.910Z
2018-02-04T20:29:08.593Z
2018-02-04T20:29:08.593Z
Andrew
<p><a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=389689" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Spine of Ish Sah</a>'s rulings appear to say it can't be sacrificed:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Spine of Ish Sah’s last ability doesn’t allow you to sacrifice it. You
  must find another way to get Spine of Ish Sah into the graveyard.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Does that mean it can't be sacrificed to <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=420646" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Breya, Etherium Shaper</a> or 
<a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=397905" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Emrakul, the Aeons Torn</a>?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T22:42:51.597Z
No, "Its last ability doesn’t allow you to sacrifice it" ≠ "Abilities aren't allowed to sacrifice it". "Its last ability doesn’t allow you to sacrifice it" ≠ "Its last ability prevents it from being sacrificed".
ikegami
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-08T17:05:13.957Z
@ikegami So it does allow me to sacrifice it, obviously with another ability. "Prevents" isn't a standard phrase to stop sacrifice, see [Sigarda, Host of Herons](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=240033).
Cees Timmerman
<magic-the-gathering>
Sacrificing Spine of Ish Sah?
Cees Timmerman
# Sacrificing Spine of Ish Sah?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-03)

[Spine of Ish Sah](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=389689)'s rulings appear to say it can't be sacrificed:

> Spine of Ish Sah’s last ability doesn’t allow you to sacrifice it. You
> must find another way to get Spine of Ish Sah into the graveyard.

Does that mean it can't be sacrificed to [Breya, Etherium Shaper](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=420646) or
[Emrakul, the Aeons Torn](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=397905)?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: No, "Its last ability doesn’t allow you to sacrifice it" ≠ "Abilities aren't allowed to sacrifice it". "Its last ability doesn’t allow you to sacrifice it" ≠ "Its last ability prevents it from being sacrificed".  
> **username_0**: @username_1 So it does allow me to sacrifice it, obviously with another ability. "Prevents" isn't a standard phrase to stop sacrifice, see [Sigarda, Host of Herons](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=240033).  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-02-03. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

No, that's not how that ruling is supposed to be read. Though I admit they worded it poorly.

The card can be sacrificed like any other, what the ruling means is you cannot sacrifice because of the second ability, just because you want it back in hand, but you can sacrifice it to anything that would allow you to sacrifice an artefact. Doing so will cause the second ability to trigger.

The second ability doesn't allow you to sacrifice it, it doesn't give you a way to do that by itself, but it doesn't *prevent* you from sacrificing it either.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: IIRC, the context of that ruling is "a lot of people misplayed it during test"  
> **username_0**: "you cannot sacrifice it to trigger the second ability" - But you can sacrifice it, which will trigger the second ability. That ruling is more confusing than the redundant text on [4th ed. Spirit Link](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2366).  
> **username_2**: @CeesTimmerman more the second ability does not give you a way to sacrifice it, but if you do sacrifice it it will trigger the second ability.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 That's perfectly obvious to me. If it did it'd say something like "Sacrifice Spine of Ish Sah: Do something."  
> **username_2**: @CeesTimmerman The problem is, like AlexP said, people were using that ability that way in early play and testing, that's what caused this ruling.  
> **username_0**: You CAN sacrifice it to trigger the second ability.  
> **username_2**: @CeesTimmerman Sacrificing it will cause the second ability to trigger, correct. You cannot however sacrifice it simply because you want to trigger the second ability, you need an outlet. I remember scars block, I remember people expecting such an expensive card with a simple effect to be repeatable that easy and players were destroying it that way, just because they wanted to sacrifice it.  

---

