Bloom Tender + Freed from the Real

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Overview

If Freed from the Real enchants a Bloom Tender, the controller of Freed may pay Freed’s costs to tap or untap the enchanted Bloom Tender (only the Aura’s controller may activate the Aura’s abilities) [303.4e] (Ruling [2018-03-16]). Bloom Tender’s ": ... add mana" is a mana ability that only Bloom Tender’s controller can activate; that mana ability resolves immediately and doesn’t use the stack [605.1a] [605.3b], and tapping a permanent "for mana" specifically means activating a mana ability with on that permanent [106.10].

The StackRules & CitationsDetails & Edge Cases

Step 1

Freed from the Real is attached to Bloom Tender and the two permanents exist on the battlefield; Freed’s controller and Bloom Tender’s controller may be different players [303.4e].

Step 2

If Freed’s controller pays to activate Freed’s ": Tap enchanted creature" ability, that activation is Freed’s activated ability (it is not Bloom Tender’s ability) and it can be activated only by Freed’s controller [303.4e].

Step 3

Because Freed’s tap/untap abilities do not meet the criteria to be mana abilities, they are ordinary activated abilities (they go on the stack and can be responded to) rather than mana abilities [605.5].

Step 4

When Freed’s tap ability resolves it simply changes Bloom Tender’s tapped status to tapped; this is not the same as "tapping for mana," which specifically requires activating the creature’s mana ability that includes [106.10].

Step 5

Bloom Tender’s ": For each color among permanents you control, add one mana of that color" meets the criteria of a mana ability and is a mana ability that only Bloom Tender’s controller can activate [605.1a].

Step 6

When Bloom Tender’s controller activates Bloom Tender’s mana ability, it resolves immediately without using the stack, producing mana based on the colors among permanents that Bloom Tender’s controller controls [605.3b].

Step 7

If Freed’s controller keeps Bloom Tender tapped using Freed, Bloom Tender’s controller cannot activate the creature’s mana ability while it is tapped; if Freed’s controller untaps it (via Freed’s untap ability), Bloom Tender’s controller can then activate the mana ability if they have priority [303.4e] [605.1a].

Resolution

The controller of Freed from the Real can activate Freed’s : Tap enchanted creature and : Untap enchanted creature abilities even if they don’t control Bloom Tender (see [303.4e] and Ruling [2018-03-16]). However, that controller cannot activate Bloom Tender’s : Vivid — ... ability to produce mana; only Bloom Tender’s controller may activate that mana ability ([605.1a], [605.3b]). Using Freed to tap Bloom Tender is not the same as "tapping for mana" because it does not activate Bloom Tender’s mana ability [106.10]. Also note that Bloom Tender can’t produce colorless mana even if colorless permanents are present (Ruling [2008-08-01]).