Static abilities and continuous effects

[B M]

Is the effect from a Giant Growth considered a static ability? And/or
a continuous effect? I'm getting terminology muddled in my brain making
it hard to work out the Continuous Effects layering rules.

--Brent M

[David DeLaney]

Post by B M
Is the effect from a Giant Growth considered a static ability?

Nope. Static abilities are a kind of ability, generally written on a permanent
but sometimes appearing on cards in other zones, that produce a continuous
effect.

Giant Growth's resolution also produces a continuous effect, but it's from
a resolving spell-or-ability, not from a static ability.

Post by B M
I'm getting terminology muddled in my brain making
it hard to work out the Continuous Effects layering rules.

Giant Growth produces a continuous effect which alters power and toughness;
it's in layer 6, though I don't know which sublayer without actually looking.
It doesn't produce any abilities at all when it resolves; spells or abilities
that do so eitehr give the ability as a keyword (trample, flying, etc.), or
put the ability's text they're granting in quotes ("Target creature gets 'At
end of turn, sacrifice this creature' this turn.").

Dave

[Zoe Stephenson]

Post by B M
Is the effect from a Giant Growth considered a static ability?

The text on Giant Growth is a static ability, only active on the stack
and having a one-shot effect when the spell resolves. That effect sets
up a continuous effect with a duration, it lasts until the end of turn.

Post by B M
And/or
a continuous effect? I'm getting terminology muddled in my brain making
it hard to work out the Continuous Effects layering rules.

The effect that Giant Growth ends up setting up applies in layer 6d,
along with any other +x/+x -y/-y and so on.

[Zoe Stephenson]

Post by Zoe Stephenson

Post by B M
Is the effect from a Giant Growth considered a static ability?

The text on Giant Growth is a static ability, only active on the stack
and having a one-shot effect when the spell resolves. That effect sets
up a continuous effect with a duration, it lasts until the end of turn.

Post by B M
And/or
a continuous effect? I'm getting terminology muddled in my brain making
it hard to work out the Continuous Effects layering rules.

The effect that Giant Growth ends up setting up applies in layer 6d,
along with any other +x/+x -y/-y and so on.

How many times am I going to misread 418.5a? :)

Giant Growth = 6b, stuff like Gaea's Anthem = 6d. Grr. I even made
myself a diagram for this, I just wasn't looking at it at the time.

/me punishes self appropriately.

[Daniel W. Johnson]

Post by B M
Is the effect from a Giant Growth considered a static ability? And/or
a continuous effect?

Giant Growth generates a continuous effect when it resolves.

Post by B M
I'm getting terminology muddled in my brain making
it hard to work out the Continuous Effects layering rules.

It's applied in layer 6b. It's not an effect from a static ability.

418.5. Interaction of Continuous Effects

418.5a The values of an object's characteristics are determined by
starting with the actual object, then applying continuous effects in a
series of layers in the following order: (1) copy effects (see rule 503,
"Copying Objects"); (2) control-changing effects; (3) text-changing
effects; (4) type-changing effects (which includes effects that change
an object's card type, subtype, and/or supertype); (5) all other
continuous effects, except those that change power and/or toughness; and
(6) power- and/or toughness-changing effects.
Inside each layer from 1 through 5, apply effects from
characteristic-defining abilities first, then all other effects in
timestamp order. Inside layer 6, apply effects in a series of sublayers
in the following order: (6a) effects from characteristic-defining
abilities; (6b) all other effects not specifically applied in 6c, 6d, or
6e; (6c) changes from counters; (6d) effects from static abilities that
modify power and/or toughness but don't set power and/or toughness to a
specific number or value; and (6e) effects that switch a creature's
power and toughness. Within each sublayer, apply effects in timestamp
order. Note that dependency may alter the order in which effects are
applied within a layer or sublayer. See also the rules for timestamp
order and dependency (rules 418.5b-418.5g).
Example: Crusade is an enchantment that reads "White creatures get
+1/+1." Crusade and a 2/2 black creature are in play. If an effect then
turns the creature white (layer 5), it gets +1/+1 from Crusade (layer
6d), becoming 3/3. If the creature's color is later changed to red
(layer 5), Crusade's effect stops applying to it, and it will return to
being a 2/2.
Example: Gray Ogre, a 2/2 creature, is in play. An effect puts a +1/+1
counter on it (layer 6c), making it 3/3. An effect that says "Target
creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn" is applied to it (layer 6b),
making it 7/7. An enchantment that says "Creatures you control get
+0/+2" enters play (layer 6d), making it a 7/9. An effect that says
"Target creature becomes 0/1 until end of turn" is applied to it (layer
6b), making it a 1/4 (0/1, plus +1/+1 from the counter, plus +0/+2 from
the enchantment).