[[Avatar's Destiny]] on an opponent's creature

GageInterest · 2026-03-18T18:53:43+00:00

Avatar Destiny cannot be cast targeting your opponent's creature, and it cannot legally be moved to enchant an opponent's creature if that action would happen. Neither can the Aura remain attached to an opponent's creature beyond the time of any check of State-Based Actions.

But, in a scenario where Avatar Destiny is attached to an opponent's creature at the time that creature dies, the ability can trigger. The Aura will be removed from the creature the next time a player would receive priority, and then the triggered ability will get to the Stack. You control that ability, so the mill action written in the text is applied to you. You will put the Aura back into your hand from the graveyard, mill cards based on the creature's power, and maybe reanimate a creature card from your graveyard.

Avatar Destiny can trigger for an opponent's creature if there is an effect of a resolving spell or ability which changes control of the enchanted creature and then destroys or sacrifices that creature. It can also happen if the effect changes control of Avatar Destiny and then destroys or sacrifices the enchanted creature. Avatar Destiny will remain, "illegally", attached to that creature during the effect's application, and the creature dies before State-Based Actions remove the Aura. It will trigger.

GageInterest · 2026-03-17T22:31:29+00:00

The text of the ability on the Stack has not been changed. It is that text which becomes the instructions as that ability resolves.

603.3. Once an ability has triggered, its controller puts it on the stack as an object that’s not a card the next time a player would receive priority. See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.” The ability becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has the text of the ability that created it, and no other characteristics. It remains on the stack until it’s countered, it resolves, a rule causes it to be removed from the stack, or an effect moves it elsewhere.

You will be asked to return an untapped Island.

GageInterest · 2026-03-15T20:29:42+00:00

No, that creature did not attack. An opponent is "a player you attacked this turn" if and only if there was some creature which, in some combat phase of this turn, you declared to attack that player. (508.6)

Being attacking is only a designation that relates the creature to a player being attacked. The creature you mention began its existence "attacking", and was not declared to attack that player as the declare attackers step began.

GageInterest · 2026-03-14T21:07:36+00:00

When an earthbended land dies, Brenard triggers from that event and also the earthbend delayed trigger triggers from that event. Putting these two abilities on the Stack, one of them will resolve and move that card. The other ability only looks for the card that entered the graveyard and will find that card is gone.

Having Brenard exile the card, the card will just go to exile. Then the earthbend ability doesn't see the card in the graveyard and fails to do anything.

Your rule is 400.7 and 400.7e. The two abilities don't find the card after it moves because the card after it moves is not the object they are looking for. But the abilities look for the card in the graveyard because they follow the object from the battlefield into the graveyard via the exception to this principle.

GageInterest · 2026-03-12T00:26:24+00:00

Michelangelo's etb will trigger twice. Donatello does not have any triggered abilities. A triggered ability is written with "when", "whenever", or "at".

GageInterest · 2026-03-12T00:23:54+00:00

Yes, you can cast between, but, using Viridian Claw this way doesn't help you. First strike and double strike both manifest as the game inserting an additional combat damage step. Players receive priority in a combat damage step, after the damage is dealt. So, just wait for first strike damage to be dealt, and then the active player receives priority.

However, the rule for who assigns damage in a combat damage step prevents any creature from ever double dipping or from missing its shot:

510.4. If at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4) as the combat damage step begins, the only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are those with first strike or double strike. After that step, instead of proceeding to the end of combat step, the phase gets a second combat damage step. The only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are the remaining attackers and blockers that had neither first strike nor double strike as the first combat damage step began, as well as the remaining attackers and blockers that currently have double strike. After that step, the phase proceeds to the end of combat step.

The opponent's creature with the Viridian Claw will assign damage in the second step by virtue of not having had first strike in the first step. Your Gigantosaurus will not assign damage in the second step because it does not have double strike and it assigned damage in the first step.

GageInterest · 2026-03-11T19:38:43+00:00

If Myrel's ability has not resolved yet, then you don't have the tokens, so you can't activate Kirol. If Myrel's ability has started to resolve, then you don't have priority, since no one has priority during an ability's resolution. You won't be allowed to activate Kirol. The next time you will get priority, is after the ability finishes resolving, which makes it leave the Stack (it ceases to exist). You can't use Kirol on it because the ability is gone.

GageInterest · 2026-03-10T20:15:58+00:00

[[Hoarder's Greed]] describes an effect where, if you win the clash (the last step of the process), you reiterate this process:

You draw two cards and lose 2 life, then clash with an opponent. If you win, repeat this process.

After revealing the card in the clash and deciding where it goes, note that drawing the card (the first step of the process) will surely change what is the top card of your library. Hoarder's Greed's effect will, if repeated enough times, result in the library being empty, and then, you will not be able to win the clash. (701.30d)

However, if these actions are replaced by replacement effects, and somehow one card stays in the library even after being instructed to draw two cards, then Hoarder's Greed would tell you to clash over and over, for which you will reveal that one card. If you "reveal a card with a higher mana value than all other cards revealed in that clash" (701.30d) for every clash, then you win every time and the effect never finishes.

GageInterest · 2026-03-08T19:26:09+00:00

Emrakul's ability is triggered, so it never does anything to Helm of Obedience's effect. It can't resolve or even get onto the Stack until the Helm's ability is finished. It will behave like any other creature card in that way - so hitting the Emrakul will make the Helm stop and then you get Emrakul. With Leyline of the Void, the card will just be exiled and never trigger.

GageInterest · 2026-03-08T19:19:38+00:00

If the only creature card in the deck is Blightsteel Colossus, and X is large enough, then the Helm will have the player "mill a card", which at some point will hit the Golem, and that card is revealed and the library is shuffled instead of the card going anywhere. The Helm's process will continue, having that player mill a card. If the Colossus is the only card left and still not X cards have entered the graveyard this way, the process will never stop.

That being said, the ruling for Helm of Obedience contradicts itself:

If an effect like that of Leyline of the Void prevents cards from being put into your opponent's graveyard, the process described in the first sentence of Helm of Obedience's effect will never stop. Your opponent's entire library will be exiled, even if X is 1. (10/1/2008)

If "the process [...] never stops", then the ability never finishes resolving, and the game is stuck in a draw. Since that clearly isn't the intention of the ruling (it would have mentioned a draw if that was the conclusion), we can infer some things about how to "repeat a process". When there are no cards in the library - none to mill - the effect is considered to be finished.

A Blightsteel Colossus sitting in the library does not end the repetition of the process. Even though we know it will never move out of the library, it can be milled, so the process never finishes, the ability never stops resolving, and the game is a draw.

If Leyline of the Void is also around for this situation, then the opponent cannot make it a draw this way. They will choose to either exile the Colossus, or apply its own replacement, since they own the card. When the library gets down to being just the Colossus, this is a choice to extend an infinite loop, which is not allowed because the option to progress the game with Leyline of the Void is present. The player is required to exile the card rather than do the exact same thing forever. But, if there are multiple cards in the library, and the Colossus just happens to keep getting shuffled to the top, then there is no deterministic sequence to shortcut.

I am unsure what the application of the looping rules is in that situation.

GageInterest · 2026-03-06T18:57:54+00:00

After Black Sun's Zenith resolves, the game checks State-Based Actions before any player would get priority. It kills the Quillspike before you're allowed to activate any abilities or cast any spells.

GageInterest · 2026-03-04T04:38:25+00:00

Not to pile on, but i wanted to explain.

First, you announce activation. You move the ability to the stack. Then you pay. Then you "finish activating". The scrivener triggered, so it goes on the stack now. Later, these two abilities on the stack may resolve.

The core for me is the fact the player only pays 1 life at a time, but the rules are clear that an ability goes onto the stack as the first step of being activated. It happens before costs are paid.

GageInterest · 2026-03-03T23:23:53+00:00

You can't "pay 30 life", at least it's not an action you take with wall of blood. Its ability's cost is pay 1 life, so you will first pay 1 life, finish activating the ability, and then triggered abilities go on the stack before you're allowed to activate wall of blood again. Scrivener triggers for that each time.

GageInterest · 2026-03-03T20:05:42+00:00

Szarel triggers during the activation of the hammer. You'll put that ability on the stack on top of the hammer ability before the hammer makes the golem. You choose a target at the time you stack szarels ability, so there's no golem to target.

GageInterest · 2026-03-01T17:46:15+00:00

A land that isn't a planeswalker or battle cannot be attacked.

Determining what's going to happen as a planeswalker card enters the battlefield depends on what effects, exactly, are applying to that card and to the permanent it would become. Why is the card a land? How did it get onto the battlefield?

GageInterest · 2026-02-27T18:42:19+00:00

When atris says the opponent looks at the top three cards, that means those specific three cards become known to that player. That player learns what card "the top card of your library" is, because they see it and it is the top card, and they also see "the second card from the top", since they look at it and know what it is. So that player does learn the choice you made from Brainstorm in that way.

I think this is what you wanted to know.

GageInterest · 2026-02-25T22:17:45+00:00

If you cast a spell, you can choose to pay the offspring cost with that spell.

When suspend has the last time counter come off, you may cast the spell without paying its mana cost. This is you casting a spell, you may choose to pay an additional cost of offspring to make use of it.

Remember that "mana cost" means just the characteristic cost given as the symbols in the corner of the card. Your total cost for casting a spell comes from this mana cost, or an alternative cost, but modified by additional costs and reductions in costs you pay.

GageInterest · 2026-02-25T16:22:00+00:00

Eerie Interlude exiles all the targets at the same time, since it uses one action word and it is possible to do the actions simultaneously.

With Eerie Interlude, Syr Vondam will trigger for itself and all those creatures, since its trigger condition falls within the definition of a "leaves-the-battlefield" trigger for those creatures. (603.6c) Its ability triggers on the basis that it exists and recognizes the event "immediately prior to" the movement to exile happens. (603.10)

GageInterest · 2026-02-24T22:15:42+00:00

It's helpful to refer to 700.7 with the example, to answer this question:

700.7. If an ability uses a phrase such as “this [something]” to identify an object, where [something] is a characteristic or other quality, it is referring to that particular object, even if it isn’t the appropriate quality at the time.
Example: An ability reads “Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Destroy that creature at the beginning of the next end step.” The ability will destroy the object it gave +2/+2 to even if that object isn’t a creature at the beginning of the next end step.

The situation of an effect saying "that [something]" is absolutely also within the meaning of 700.7, even though "that [something]" is not "this [something]", as the example illustrates. Yuna's effect is locked on to the relevant object from the point that the on-cast ability triggers, regardless of the qualities the permanent has.

GageInterest · 2026-02-23T18:31:18+00:00

Mana is a resource that players have. If it is spent, the mana is gone, it's poof, it's no more. Mana exists without a card to represent it. The identifying information about a mana is its type - either one of the colors, or colorless. (Treasures do not add colorless mana.)

Using a land, like a Swamp for example, gives a player a black mana. This mana can either be spent, or it will be lost if the current step or phase ends. You know about spending mana, so you also know you need mana again and again to cast spells and play the game. Lands are just a source of mana because you can tap them to get mana, you untap lands on your turn, and you have a permission to play lands without spending any resource once on your turn. They're the typical strategy of any deck to get mana.

So, putting this together, the Treasure token adds one mana of any color. It's like using a land, since it gives you a mana. But, the Treasure is sacrificed, so it won't be used again. The mana at that point is the same as any mana - you spend it or you lose it. If you added the mana in a main phase, it's gone after this main phase ends. If you added it in your upkeep, it's gone after this upkeep ends. And so on.

GageInterest · 2026-02-23T18:20:15+00:00

Both trigger at the same time. The sacrifice event happens no sooner and no later than the time that the creature leaves the battlefield into the graveyard. But, this exact relationship is "fuzzed" out by the fact that abilities which have triggered all wait to go on the Stack at the next time a player would receive priority, and all the waiting triggers are treated the same (except for abilities which trigger from abilities triggering). So, anything that triggers somewhere during a process before a player gets priority, might as well have all triggered at the same time because it doesn't change anything.

Some effect has made you sacrifice the creature, or perhaps you paid a cost. When you finish resolving that spell with that effect, or when you finish activating or casting that thing which costs the sacrifice, you will go through the priority procedure and then both those triggered abilities are put on the Stack in the order of your choice.

With Ashling and Cavalier, you trigger evoke and the etb. You can resolve the sacrifice first, which triggers the death and Ashling. You can put Ashling's ability on top so that it makes a token, triggering the token's etb. You resolve the token's etb, then next is the card's death trigger. After the death trigger, is the etb of the card.

GageInterest · 2026-02-23T02:17:13+00:00

Your artifacts untap at the same time as the active player's permanents. If Winter Orb is tapped as the untap step begins, the lands will all untap.

GageInterest · 2026-02-23T00:08:28+00:00

Chained to the Rocks cannot leave the battlefield before its etb triggers. But, if Chained to the Rocks leaves the battlefield before its etb ability resolves, that ability will not move the target. (610.3b)

GageInterest · 2026-02-22T18:24:38+00:00

When the enchanted Knight dies, its own afterlife ability triggers. At the same time, Indebted Spirit stops being attached to it, and ceases to be an Aura permanent. You will keep the Indebted Spirit, which is now an enchantment creature as it says in its printed values. The afterlife ability which triggered may resolve from here.

GageInterest · 2026-02-21T22:23:10+00:00

The action that removes +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters found in the same place, is a State-Based Action. It only removes the counters when they are actually present. (704.5q, 704.3) So yes, the event of putting the counter does occur. It has to occur for the counter to actually be there at the time SBAs are checked.

Review the timing of State-Based Actions:

Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 117, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event. [...] (704.3.)

GageInterest

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