Creature removal stack resolution...
Asked by gro0ve 9 years ago
Situation.
Opponent has Pearl Lake Ancient out and it swung at me last turn.
I attempt to cast Sultai Charm to destroy it and he responds with Dissolve . I then respond with Negate . He cedes to that and Sultai Charm resolves.
He then says he now has priority and before Pearl Lake Ancient dies tries to pocket 3 lands to put it to hand. I was under the understanding that once he responded to the sultai charm and lost the stack that it resolves and he doesn't get a 2nd response? how can he continue to make instant responses outside the stack?
confused?
But doesn't dissolve being removed from the stack resolve sultai charm?
October 21, 2014 9:22 p.m.
filledelanuit says... #3
@gro0ve When Dissolve is removed from the stack it doesn't resolve it is being countered by Negate . When a spell is countered it doesn't do any of its effects and just goes away.
October 21, 2014 9:44 p.m.
That's what I mean though, he tried to counter my sultai charm and I stopped that from happening, so my sultai charm just sits in the wings forever waiting until he casts like 30 counters or runs out of mana?
October 21, 2014 10:22 p.m.
gro0ve Effectively yes, the rules essentially ensure you always have the opportunity to respond - though it can sometimes trap you into responding when you might not want to. The key here is that the stack doesn't completely empty once everyone is done. Most folks are short cutting through it, but you're technically passing priority back and forth as each spell is resolving.
He cedes to that and Sultai Charm resolves.
However, the wording here is super important. If your opponent says Sultai Charm resolves then the spell is going off. There's no further chance to respond.
October 21, 2014 10:42 p.m.
ok, I guess I get it, every layer of the stack gives a chance in player priority but if someone cedes early that's that.
Thank you!
filledelanuit says... Accepted answer #1
The key to understanding this is understanding when you get priority. After a spell resolves the active player will receive priority. For the next item on the stack to resolve the active player must pass priority then the non-active player must also pass priority. Here is how things would actually work.
The stack (top to bottom)
Negate
Dissolve
Sultai Charm
He lets Negate resolve which removes Dissolve from the stack. Then he gets priority. At this time he chooses to activate Pearl Lake Ancient 's ability and returns three lands to his hand. That ability will go on the stack at which point you may respond, ex. with another Sultai Charm .
October 21, 2014 9:10 p.m.