Can you activate abilities of legendary creatures before you sacrifice them?
Asked by knowledgeabletyrant 6 years ago
Let's say I copy an Arcanis the Omnipotent except the token has haste. Could I tap the copy for three cards before sacrificing it to the legend rule?
You could use the original if it doesn't have summoning sickness you could tap it with the copy on the stack.Then remove the original creature. Resolve the copy and since it has haste use it's ability.
August 10, 2017 3:37 p.m.
knowledgeabletyrant says... #3
Markroux but the legend rule sacrifice doesn't use the stack?
August 10, 2017 4:26 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #4
Markroux is suggesting you can use the ability of the old legend while the spell or ability creating the new one is still on the stack i.e. before it's resolved and put something onto the battlefield. Depending on exactly what cards are involved in your original question, that may not be an option for you.
August 10, 2017 5:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
Note that the legend rule doesn't involve sacrificing. The extra legendary permanent is put into its owner's graveyard, which is similar as an action, but effects that care about sacrificing (e.g., Dragon Appeasement) don't care about the legend rule. This is a bit of a technical nitpick, but it helps to keep terminology straight.
piemanDW says... #1
No. The legend rule is a state-based action. The copy/copies you do not wish to keep will be placed into your graveyard (not sacrificed) before you get priority and can activate its ability.
(704.5k, subset of 704.5, State-Based Actions)
August 10, 2017 2:54 p.m.