When Kai'Sa conquers and tries to play a spell from the trash pile that has a conditional cost reduction (e.g., 'costs 2 less if first card played'), does Kai'Sa check the printed cost or the reduced cost to determine if the spell can be played?

Ruling: Kai'Sa checks the printed energy cost on the card, not any conditional reduced cost, to determine if a spell can be played from the trash pile.

Sequence:

  • Kai'Sa looks for cards with printed energy cost less than your current points
  • Only cards meeting this printed cost requirement are valid selections
  • If a card is validly selected (printed cost is less than points), then cost reductions would apply when actually casting it

Nuances:

  • If the spell's printed cost is already less than your points, you can select it with Kai'Sa and then the cost reduction would apply when casting
  • The cost reduction condition is evaluated after the card is selected, not during the selection process