Heroic
Asked by daniferrito 10 years ago
When does heroic trigger and when does it resolve exactly?
Lets say i control a Phalanx Leader . Then, i cast a Spark jolt on it. Heroic triggers and all my creature get the +1/+1 counter. However, does that happen before or after Spark jolt deals the damage? That is, will it survive?
Also, does it still trigger even if the spell is countered? Say i cast something in my heroic creature, and my oponent Negate s it. The effect of my original spell will never occur, but would it still trigger the heroic?
Absinthman says... #2
Generally, all abilities that trigger upon casting a spell (heroic, extort, and non-keyworded abilities like the one of Consuming Aberration ) are always put onto the stack on top of that spell. The logic is that you first need to complete the casting process for the ability to trigger. Part of the casting process is putting said spell onto the stack, so when the ability triggers after that, it has nowhere else to go besides on top of what's already on the stack. The, as has been said above, the first-in, last-out principle makes the ability resolve first.
October 23, 2013 7:13 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #3
@Drilnoth:
Be careful how you word answers as this can confuse some people.
A triggered ability occurs when a specific action is performed (such as casting a spell, targeting a creature with heroic, etc).
Once the triggered ability's conditions are met it is placed on the stack. Once on the stack, there is NO WAY to remove it except for something like Sundial of the Infinite .
The same goes for cards like Guttersnipe . Even if the spell that causes the triggered ability to trigger gets countered, the triggered ability is already on the stack.
Your wording made it seem like the triggered ability will have already resolved by the time your opponent tries to counter the spell which is not the case.
October 23, 2013 8:16 a.m.
Absinthman says... #4
@harrydemon117
I have to back Drilnoth up here. The spell that targets a heroic creature can be countered either before the heroic trigger resolves, or after. The countering player can have the trigger resolve first and then counter. Priority is given to players every time an object on the stack resolves, so there is nothing wrong with Drilnoth's answer.
October 23, 2013 8:22 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #5
I understand that, but the way it was worded did not specify WHEN the counterspell was cast and was a little vague. I understood what he was trying to say, which is why I posted what I did :)
Some new players who do not understand the stack process fully may have been a bit confused.
October 23, 2013 9:10 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #6
Not every answer needs every little detail (usually because they're irrelevant) and the asker might not understand them anyway, depending on general knowledge level. Try to avoid unnecessary nitpicking, as that in and of itself has the potential to confuse people.
October 23, 2013 10:34 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #7
Roger that. I was only trying to help clarify the details.
Drilnoth says... Accepted answer #1
When you cast a spell, it goes on the stack. If it targets a heroic creature you control, that creature's heroic trigger will then go on the stack. The stack resolves "first-in, last-out," so the heroic trigger will resolve before the spell. You can Spark jolt your Phalanx Leader and it will survive if it doesn't take any other damage.
If the targeting spell is countered, the heroic trigger will either have already resolved or still be on the stack (depending on when the counterspell is cast), but in either case it will resolve.
TL;DR: Heroic happens before the cast spell resolves, even if the cast spell gets countered.
October 23, 2013 5:53 a.m.