Suspend

Suspend
Keyword Ability
Type	Static (1st ability) Triggered (2nd ability) Triggered (3rd ability)
Introduced	Time Spiral
Last used	Future Sight
Reminder Text	Suspend N — [cost] (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay [cost] and exile it with N time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, cast it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.)
Statistics	59 cards 24% 22% 18% 14% 14% Artifact 5%, Multicolor 3%
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Suspend"

Suspend is a keyword ability that debuted in Time Spiral.

Description

Suspend introduced time (in the form of turns) as a new resource, by allowing a player to remove a card with suspend from his or her hand and put a number of time counters on it. In each of that player's upkeep steps, a time counter is removed. When all counters are removed, the spell is cast, and if it's a creature, with Haste.

The templating and the counter manipulation confused many players, leading to a very lukewarm response from the majority of players.

Rulings

• The phrase "if you could play this card from your hand" checks only for timing restrictions and permissions. This includes both what's inherent in the card's type (for example, if the card with suspend is a creature, it must be your main phase and the stack must be empty) and what's imposed by other abilities, such as flash or Meddling Mage's ability. Whether you could actually follow all steps in playing the card is irrelevant. If the card is impossible to play due to a lack of legal targets or an unpayable mana cost, for example, it may still be exiled with suspend.
• Exiling a card with its suspend ability is not playing that card. This action doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.
• If a spell with suspend has targets, the targets are chosen when the spell is played, not when it's exiled.
• If the first triggered ability of suspend is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again during its owner's next upkeep.
• When the last time counter is removed from a suspended card, the second triggered ability of suspend will trigger. It doesn't matter why the time counter was removed or whose effect removed it. (The Time Spiral reminder text is misleading on this point.)
• If the second triggered ability of suspend is countered, the card can't be played. It remains in the exile zone without any time counters on it for the rest of the game, and it's no longer considered suspended.
• If the second triggered ability of suspend resolves, the card's owner must play the spell if possible, even if that player doesn't want to. Normal timing considerations for the spell are ignored (for example, if the suspended card is a creature and this ability resolves during your upkeep, you're able to play the card), but other play restrictions are not ignored.
• If the second triggered ability of suspend resolves and the suspended card can't be played due to a lack of legal targets or a play restriction, for example, it remains in the exiled zone without any time counters on it for the rest of the game, and it's no longer considered suspended.
• As the second triggered ability of suspend resolves, if playing the suspended card involves an additional cost, the card's owner must pay that cost if able. If he or she can't, the card remains removed from the game. If the additional cost includes mana, the situation is more complex. If the player has enough mana in his or her mana pool to pay the cost, that player must do so. If the player can't possibly pay the cost, the card remains exiled. However, if the player has the means to produce enough mana to pay the cost, then he or she has a choice: The player may play the spell, produce mana, and pay the cost. Or the player may choose to play no mana abilities, thus making the card impossible to play because the additional mana can't be paid.
• A creature played via suspend comes into play with haste. It still has haste after the first turn it's in play as long as the same player controls it. As soon as another player takes control of it, it loses haste.

Examples

Example 1

Ith, High Arcanist
Legendary Creature — Human Wizard
3/5
Vigilance
: Untap target attacking creature. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by that creature this turn.
Suspend 4 — (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, cast it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.)

Example 2

Lotus Bloom
Artifact
Suspend 3 — (Rather than cast this card from your hand, pay and remove it from the game with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When you remove the last, cast it without paying its mana cost.)
, Sacrifice Lotus Bloom: Add three mana of any one color.