Teysa vs Dramatic Finale
Asked by Polaris 3 years ago
I'm thinking of using Dramatic Finale in my Teysa Karlov deck. The thing I'm wondering about is that while Teysa says the ability triggers twice, Finale says it's ability only triggers once each turn. Which wins? I'm assuming Finale's text is the last word here but I don't know if there are actual rulings on this.
The "this ability triggers only once each turn" part of text in Dramatic Finale isn't a static ability, though. It's part of the triggered ability.
I would also have assumed that Finale's text has the final say, but am not 100% sure and am garbo at looking up the comprehensive rules, and am not sure there was anything new added when Elvish Warmaster came out (which I believe was the first).
May 7, 2021 5 a.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #3
It functions as a static ability because (in order to be valid) it has to exist outside of the resolution of the ability.
If it didn't, you could trigger the ability multiple times, so long as the first one hadn't yet resolved (even if Teysa wasn't around). But that isn't the case here - the ability functions even before resolution.
May 7, 2021 5:26 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #4
You know something? I'm tweeting at Matt Tabak to ask. Because I'm confused and I hear he knows a little bit about Magic rules. ;)
May 7, 2021 5:41 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... Accepted answer #5
I was wrong.
So per Matt Tabak it is an 'additional instruction' which (as Yesterday correctly identified) is part of the triggered ability.
Despite being part of the triggered ability, as an additional instruction, it exists outside of that ability, so it does not need wait for resolution.
Given that, it looks like yes, it would take precedence over Teysa's ability, and you'd only get the one token.
Named_Tawyny says... #1
This is a great question!
So rule 101.2 reads that "101.2. When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t”effect takes precedence."
which is the general rule. If Dramatic Finale read "This effect can't trigger more than once per turn" then that would be the end of it. However, in this case, neither Dramatic Finale nor Teysa Karlov specifically say that something "can't" happen.
When two conflicting static abilities are both on the field at the same time, timestamp order usually takes effect. So the one that existed first will happen first, and then the one that happened second will overwrite that and (usually) take precedence.
So the question then becomes, which was on the battlefield first?
If Teysa was first on the battlefield, and then Dramatic Finale was played, then you would only get the trigger once. However, if Dramatic Finale was on the field first, and THEN Teysa was played, I believe her effect would overwrite, and you'd get the second trigger.
I've only ever been an L1 judge, and I haven't been a judge for a few years. I'm pretty sure that this is how it would work, but I'm open to being corrected
May 7, 2021 12:54 a.m.