Talia has a 1[M] Recruit token in their base, and Naomi has an Applied Researchers that is empowered and no ready Runes. Talia moves their Recruit token into an open battlefield and passes focus. Naomi announces they are playing Shock Blast that should cost [0]. Talia argues that the spell must cost at least [1] and cannot be played for [0]. Which player is correct and why? A. Talia is correct. Shock Blast’s own discount must be applied first, and then Applied Researchers can be applied. B. Naomi is correct. Because Applied Researchers is a permanent, its discount must be calculated before Shock Blast. C. Naomi is correct. As the controller of the spell, they choose the order to apply discounts and may choose to apply the discount from Applied Researchers before the discount from Shock Blast. D. Talia is correct. Even though N may choose to apply the Applied Researchers discount first, the restriction “to a minimum of [1]” is maintained when applying later discounts.

C. Naomi is correct — they pay [0] Energy. Shock Blast is [3][1 Mind] base, it gets "[2] less" because Applied Researchers is Empowered, and an Empowered Applied Researchers gives their spells "[1][A] less, to a minimum of [1]." Both of those are total-cost discounts, so they're applied to the summed cost in whichever order the spell's controller likes (Core Rules 356.4.d.1).

Apply Applied Researchers first: 3 Energy → 2 Energy, 1 Mind Power → 0 Power (the [A] covers the Power component). Then Shock Blast's own "[2] less" takes the remaining 2 Energy to 0. Total cost [0], and no Runes are needed.

The minimum doesn't survive to punish Naomi: rule 356.4.e says a discount with a minimum only caps that discount — same logic as the Eager Apprentice + Sky Splitter example, where applying the minimum-limited discount first lets the second discount finish the job. Applying Shock Blast's discount first would leave 1 Energy, but Naomi isn't required to do it that way, so A and D both fail. B is wrong because permanence has nothing to do with discount ordering.