<p>It won't work.  Dark Depths' &quot;Dark Depths enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it.&quot; ability is not a triggered ability; you can tell because it doesn't use the words &quot;when,&quot; &quot;whenever,&quot; or &quot;at,&quot; which are part of the definition of &quot;triggered ability&quot; in the Comprehensive Rules:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>112.3c Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as &quot;[Trigger condition], [effect],&quot; and include (and usually begin with) the word &quot;when,&quot; &quot;whenever,&quot; or &quot;at.&quot; Whenever the trigger event occurs, the ability is put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority and stays there until it’s countered, it resolves, or it otherwise leaves the stack. See rule 603, &quot;Handling Triggered Abilities.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as &quot;[Trigger condition], [effect],&quot; and begin with the word &quot;when,&quot; &quot;whenever,&quot; or &quot;at.&quot; They can also be expressed as &quot;[When/Whenever/At] [trigger event], [effect].&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Instead, the ability is just a plain old static ability (specifically, a replacement ability, but that doesn't matter here).  Thus, Torpor Orb won't stop the ice counters from being placed on your Legendary Snow Creature Land — Swamp, and your combo won't work.</p>
<p>Stick with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Vampire%20Hexmage">Vampire Hexmage</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-31T00:38:22.927Z
Or Thespian's Stage.
GendoIkari
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-31T02:47:14.113Z
haven't seen Thespian's Stage before, that card is sweet!
chiliNUT
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-30T23:45:21.877Z
2014-03-30T23:57:12.847Z
2014-03-30T23:57:12.847Z
jwodder
<p>If I have the following in play:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Urborg%2C%20Tomb%20of%20Yawgmoth">Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth</a></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Each land is a Swamp in addition to its other land types.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kormus%20Bell">Kormus Bell</a></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>All Swamps are 1/1 black creatures that are still lands.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Torpor%20Orb">Torpor Orb</a></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Creatures entering the battlefield don't cause abilities to trigger.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And I play <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dark%20Depths">Dark Depths</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Dark Depths enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>{3}: Remove an ice counter from Dark Depths.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>When Dark Depths has no ice counters on it, sacrifice it. If you do, put a legendary 20/20 black Avatar creature token with flying and indestructible named Marit Lage onto the battlefield.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What I am hoping happens is: The Urborg makes my Dark Depths also a swamp, so Kormus Bell makes it a creature, so then Torpor Orb makes its comes into play ability not trigger, so the Dark Depths will not enter play with any counters, allowing me to immediately sacrifice for 20/20 Marit Lage. Any reason that would not work?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-31T02:40:12.390Z
"Dark Depths enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it." is equivalent to "As Dark Depths enters the battlefield, place ten ice counters on it." It's a static ability that creates a replacement effect that redefines what it means for this card to be moved to the battlefield.
ikegami
<magic-the-gathering>
Combo question: urborg tomb of yawgmoth, torpor orb, kormus bell, dark depths = free Marit Lage?
chiliNUT
# Combo question: urborg tomb of yawgmoth, torpor orb, kormus bell, dark depths = free Marit Lage?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-30)

If I have the following in play:

* [Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Urborg%2C%20Tomb%20of%20Yawgmoth)

> Each land is a Swamp in addition to its other land types.

* [Kormus Bell](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kormus%20Bell)

> All Swamps are 1/1 black creatures that are still lands.

* [Torpor Orb](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Torpor%20Orb)

> Creatures entering the battlefield don't cause abilities to trigger.

And I play [Dark Depths](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dark%20Depths):

> Dark Depths enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it.

> {3}: Remove an ice counter from Dark Depths.

> When Dark Depths has no ice counters on it, sacrifice it. If you do, put a legendary 20/20 black Avatar creature token with flying and indestructible named Marit Lage onto the battlefield.

What I am hoping happens is: The Urborg makes my Dark Depths also a swamp, so Kormus Bell makes it a creature, so then Torpor Orb makes its comes into play ability not trigger, so the Dark Depths will not enter play with any counters, allowing me to immediately sacrifice for 20/20 Marit Lage. Any reason that would not work?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "Dark Depths enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it." is equivalent to "As Dark Depths enters the battlefield, place ten ice counters on it." It's a static ability that creates a replacement effect that redefines what it means for this card to be moved to the battlefield.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-03-30. Score: 13 | Accepted answer

It won't work. Dark Depths' "Dark Depths enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it." ability is not a triggered ability; you can tell because it doesn't use the words "when," "whenever," or "at," which are part of the definition of "triggered ability" in the Comprehensive Rules:

> 112.3c Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as "[Trigger condition], [effect]," and include (and usually begin with) the word "when," "whenever," or "at." Whenever the trigger event occurs, the ability is put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority and stays there until it’s countered, it resolves, or it otherwise leaves the stack. See rule 603, "Handling Triggered Abilities."

> 603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as "[Trigger condition], [effect]," and begin with the word "when," "whenever," or "at." They can also be expressed as "[When/Whenever/At] [trigger event], [effect]."

Instead, the ability is just a plain old static ability (specifically, a replacement ability, but that doesn't matter here). Thus, Torpor Orb won't stop the ice counters from being placed on your Legendary Snow Creature Land — Swamp, and your combo won't work.

Stick with [Vampire Hexmage](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Vampire%20Hexmage).

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Or Thespian's Stage.  
> **username_0**: haven't seen Thespian's Stage before, that card is sweet!  

---

