Drain Soul, Stranglevine and gain Life +X

[Wildhorn]

Simple questions but I am unsure of the answer.

I know when it is a +X it should stacks, but.

Does multiple Drain Soul increase your life by 6 each time?

Does the life gain with Stranglevine is "expodential"? Aka it gains +2 then +4 then +6 making the extra life being 2 then 6 then 12. Or we just add +2X life, making extra life 2 then 4 then 6?

Thanks.

[ACG]

Does multiple Drain Soul increase your life by 6 each time?

Yes.

Does the life gain with Stranglevine is "expodential"? Aka it gains +2 then +4 then +6 making the extra life being 2 then 6 then 12. Or we just add +2X life, making extra life 2 then 4 then 6?

I think you just add +2X life when computing stranglevine's life, not each time the upkeep cost is played. Otherwise it would be difficult to keep track of how much extra life it had. I do agree that the wording is poor; a better way would have been to simply add Life +2X to Stranglevine's traits.

[Wildhorn]

These two cards are why my I am wondering...

Because if Drain Soul add life every time, then Stranglevine too (which after 3 turn become almost undestroyable without teleport).

[jacksmack]

These two cards are why my I am wondering...

Because if Drain Soul add life every time, then Stranglevine too (which after 3 turn become almost undestroyable without teleport).

why do you compare those 2 cards? they have nothing to do with each other... there aint even no X on drain soul.

And... every time you cast drain soul ur life increase with 6.
I also think the wording on stranglevine is bad. im pretty sure its hp is 6+2x counters.

[Wildhorn]

Because both has the same wording "...gain Life +X".

And if the wording on Stranglevine is wrong, a clarification is requiered because right now it makes Stranglevine gain ridiculous amount of hp, based on the text of the two cards.

[Zuberi]

[mwcard=DNJ10] Stranglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKI01] Drain Soul[/mwcard]

I'm with jacksmack, I don't think these two cards have a lot to do with each other. Drain soul produces a one time effect that increases your life by a fixed number, 6. Stranglevine has an ongoing effect that continuously increases based upon X (the number of crush tokens). Thus I don't think we need to compare these two. We shall look at them both on their own merits.

If you cast multiple drain souls, your life will increase multiple times.

Meanwhile with stranglevine, I believe the grammar and placement of punctuation is important. It doesn't say to increase its life every upkeep. It simply says to increase its life by 2x. That value does change every upkeep, but the effect is additive and not multiplicative by my interpretation. Thus with one crush token it would gain 2 life foe a total of 8, and with a second crush token it would gain another 2 for a total of 10 life.

[webcatcher]

I always interpreted it differently, so in the first upkeep phase it would gain 2 life, 4 in the second, etc. Similarly you're paying more in upkeep each turn (1 in the first turn, 2 in the second, etc).

[Wildhorn]

[mwcard=DNJ10] Stranglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKI01] Drain Soul[/mwcard]

I'm with jacksmack, I don't think these two cards have a lot to do with each other. Drain soul produces a one time effect that increases your life by a fixed number, 6. Stranglevine has an ongoing effect that continuously increases based upon X (the number of crush tokens). Thus I don't think we need to compare these two. We shall look at them both on their own merits.

If you cast multiple drain souls, your life will increase multiple times.

Meanwhile with stranglevine, I believe the grammar and placement of punctuation is important. It doesn't say to increase its life every upkeep. It simply says to increase its life by 2x. That value does change every upkeep, but the effect is additive and not multiplicative by my interpretation. Thus with one crush token it would gain 2 life foe a total of 8, and with a second crush token it would gain another 2 for a total of 10 life.

It doesnt simply says to increase its life by 2x. It says it gains Life +2X. Which is the same wording than Drain Soul. Doesnt matter if it is +6 or +2(3). So yes both cards have very in common for that part.

So it comes down to if you have to apply the "gains Life +2X" every upkeep or not.

[lettucemode]

If they had meant for Stranglevine to only gain 2 life every Upkeep you pay for it, they could have just said "gains Life +2" instead of "gains Life +2X". Clearly the number of Crush tokens is supposed to determine how much life you gain. And since X changes every upkeep, it makes sense that you would have to resolve that effect every upkeep too.

Alternatively they could have said "Stranglevine's life becomes 6 + 2X". But again, they didn't, they said "gains Life +2X". Therefore the card gains 2 life, then 4 life, then 6 life, etc. as written. It is exponential as written because the Life +X trait has a + sign, meaning it stacks, just like the Melee +X trait and unlike the Regenerate X trait.

[Zuberi]

It doesn't say you gain the life +2x every upkeep though. You gain the life +2x once, when stranglevine is attached. However the value of the life gain is dynamic based upon x. Thus its not that you are gaining extra life each upkeep so much as the amount of life you have gained increases. If that makes sense. If Something ever removes the crush tokens you would then lose life based upon that as well.

[lettucemode]

That does make sense, thanks Zuberi.

I think the confusion could have been avoided if the "Life +2X" trait appeared in bold up with the other traits, instead of after the sentence about what happens during upkeep. EDIT: as ACG has already suggested above!

[Wildhorn]

It doesn't say you gain the life +2x every upkeep though. You gain the life +2x once, when stranglevine is attached. However the value of the life gain is dynamic based upon x. Thus its not that you are gaining extra life each upkeep so much as the amount of life you have gained increases. If that makes sense. If Something ever removes the crush tokens you would then lose life based upon that as well.

That makes sens.

And yeah, that part should have been in the trait list instead the middle of the text.

[Zuberi]

I won't argue with that suggestion. It definitely could benefit from a FAQ update.

[webcatcher]

I'm still not convinced. The placement of "gains life + 2X" makes it sound sequential: The creature takes damage equal to X (each turn) followed by the stranglevine gaining life equal to 2X (each turn). Can you cite an FAQ or something that clarifies that, because I couldn't find any official explanation? Barring that, can anyone from the design team clarify?

[Zuberi]

Unfortunately I don't have a reference to cite. It could use a FAQ to help clarify. All I really have to offer is my interpretation and reasoning. It specifically says that the damage occurs after each upkeep payment. It does not say the life gain occurs more than once. The only reason one would make that assumption is because the life gain is written after the part about applying damage each upkeep, but there is nothing that actually links the two. If it said "then gains life +2x" or "and gains life+2x" then I would agree with you, but it does not.