Interactions with briefly exiling creatures

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Posted on Dec. 8, 2017, 10:10 a.m. by Irianne

Rules question! Questions. Several rules questions! These questions all deal with instants such as Cloudshift or Illusionist's Stratagem which exile a creature and then immediately return it to the battlefield rather than at the end of the turn or whenever. I'm fairly confused about several interactions with other cards/mechanics.

1) What happens if this is cast on an attacking creature prior to the damage step? Since the creature exits and re-enters before its time to deal damage does it "remember" what it was doing or has it been permanently removed from combat?

2) Similar vein, but what if the creature is a blocker? I know a blocked creature remains blocked even if the blocker is exiled permanently or dies, but does it remember who is blocking it? Will the creatures still deal damage to each other?

3) I am almost certain the answer to this is yes, but just to check -- this will re-trigger any "when entering the battlefield" abilities such as on Atzocan Archer, correct?

4) I'm again almost certain the answer is yes, but does a creature exiled in such a way come back with summoning sickness?

5) I know the God enchantments from Theros remember the damage they've taken that turn if they for some reason stop being a creature and then re-become a creature during the same turn. Is this the same for this "exile flickering" effect? In other words, if Belligerent Brontodon is hit by Lightning Bolt, then "flickered" with Cloudshift, then hit with a second Lightning Bolt is he dead or is he cool with it?

6) Does this break spell targeting? If somebody tries to Murder my poor defenseless creature will flickering him before the spell resolves save him? Or does he only need to be a legal target when the spell is originally put on the stack and when it resolves (rather than continuously).

7) Is there time for an opponent to react in between the creature being exiled and then being returned from exile? And, if so, does it still return to the battlefield if it's moved to another zone? For example, if I flicker my creature can an opponent cast Ulamog's Nullifier in between these two effects and target him while he's exiled, thus moving him to my graveyard? And will he then stay in my graveyard as my spell resolves with a depressed whimper or will he return to the battlefield under my control?

8) Not actually a rule question, but is there a different term for this that's generally understood (like "bouncing" for returning things to your hand) or can I just keep calling it flickering until that catches on? :p

Thank you :)

Irianne says... #2

Oh and one more, though again I'm fairly sure the answer to this one is yes:

9) Creatures exiled with instants like this return to the battlefield untapped, rather than in whatever state they left, right? So this would be a way to untap a creature that attacked earlier in the turn? (Unless the card specifically says it comes into play tapped, of course.)

December 8, 2017 10:29 a.m.

xyr0s says... #3

1: The creature re-enters the battlefield as a completely new creature. Non-attacking, and with summoning sickness.

2: No, any effects that state "blocking" to be significant are also negated, as the creature re-enters as a new creature.

3: Yes, it will trigger ETB-effects. There's a whole modern archetype built around this - monowhite flicker (kinda-sorta a poor mans death and taxes).

4: Yep, it has summoning sickness. It is in all respects a completely new creature entering the game. It's only confusing because it uses the same piece of cardboard that some old creature also did.

5: No, the creature that enters the battlefield is in all respects new, and has therefore taken no damage prior to entering the battlefield.

6:A creature that leaves the battlefield also causes any spell or ability already on the stack and targetting it, to fizzle.

7: Not with Cloudshift where exile and reentry happens in one effect (you also can't play additional effects between drawing and discarding to library on Brainstorm for example) - you have to let the whole spell resolve, when it gets to resolve. Flickerwisp is different - with that, your opponent has until end of turn to do things to your creature.

8: Flickering or blinking will do just fine.

December 8, 2017 10:29 a.m.

Irianne says... #4

@xyr0s Thank you for explaining! This makes a lot of sense. In the case of a card like Flickerwisp is moving the creature from exile to the graveyard a viable way to prevent it returning to the battlefield?

December 8, 2017 10:39 a.m.

Boza says... #5

A correction to 6 above: The answer is true, unless that spell also has more than 1 target. In that case, the spell will resolve and do as much as it can to the other targets.

9:Yes.

December 8, 2017 10:41 a.m.

xyr0s says... #6

Irianne yes, it is. Flickerwisp and Wasteland Strangler are pretty good at killing creatures together.

December 8, 2017 10:51 a.m.

Irianne says... #7

Awesome! Thank you both, I think I fully understand it all now. Thinking of the returned creature as an entirely new one helps a lot

Thanks again :)

December 8, 2017 10:56 a.m.

Holtzman says... #8

Just to add to your understanding, If you had Circu, Dimir Lobotomist on field and played a Black spell triggering his ability and exiling Path to Exile from the top of opponents library -They cannot play Path to Exile.

-If you flicker Circu, Dimir Lobotomist with Cloudshift he is a new creature and doesn't remember that he exiled Path to Exile. The opponent may now cast Path to Exile.

December 8, 2017 7:08 p.m.

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