The interaction between Talion, the Kindly Lord and cloning effects, such as those produced by Clone, Spark Double, or Mirrorhall Mimic, does not consistently function as one might anticipate, due to the intricate interplay of replacement effects and copy mechanics in Magic: The Gathering.

Talion, the Kindly Lord possesses a characteristic replacement effect: “As Talion enters the battlefield, choose a number between 1 and 10. Whenever an opponent casts a spell with mana value equal to the chosen number, that player loses 2 life and you draw a card.” Critically, the choice of number is made as the permanent enters the battlefield, not as a triggered ability. Consequently, this decision occurs outside the stack and is intrinsically linked to the entering event itself.

When a clone effect creates a copy of Talion, the game first establishes the cloned permanent’s characteristics and then applies any relevant “as enters the battlefield” replacement effects. In principle, the clone should permit the controller to select a number independently of the original Talion, thereby enabling its associated life-loss and card-drawing triggers to function autonomously.

In practice, however, some digital implementations fail to maintain the integrity of this linkage. While the interface may correctly prompt the player to choose a number, the subsequent triggered ability frequently does not resolve as intended: the visual cue appears, but the life-loss and card-drawing effects fail to occur. This discrepancy is not a matter of rules ambiguity but rather a technical oversight in the execution of the game engine.

Under the official rules, a cloned Talion that enters the battlefield should fully replicate the original’s functionality, including independent selection of a number and proper resolution of triggered effects. Each instance operates autonomously, with triggers linked explicitly to the chosen number for that particular permanent.