Lightmine Field + Launch the Fleet
Asked by -Orvos- 4 years ago
If I have Lightmine Field out and I cast Launch the Fleet on two 1/1 soldier tokens who then attack, summoning 2 more 1/1 soldiers tapped and attacking.
1: Will Lightmine Field do 4 damage or just 2? Or does it depend on the order I let them resolve?
2: Will Lightmine Field deal damage to the two new 1/1 tokens assuming I let them resolve entering before Lightmine Field 's trigger? They were not involved in the original "whenever one or more creatures attack, Lightmine Field deals damage to each of those creatures...", they were created after that resolved.
Considering you said you control both Lightmine Field and Launch the Fleet , however, you do get to choose the order in which the abilities go on the stack, since they go on the stack at the same time due to triggering from the same event (your creatures attacking). This means the order you choose determines what happens.
As mentioned, if Lightmine Field resolves first, the only attacking creatures on the battlefield are your initial two soldiers. They each take 2 damage, and then the two new soldiers are created tapped and attacking.
If Launch the Fleet resolves first, two new soldiers are created tapped and attacking, totaling four attacking creatures. Lightmine Field will count all four attacking creatures, but because it says "damage to each of those creatures" (meaning the ones declared as attackers), only the two initial attackers will take damage (which will be 4 damage).
Either way, you will end with two soldier tokens (the newer ones), unless you have some way to bolster the toughness of the initial two. How much you will have to bolster them is determined by the order you have the abilities resolve.
Boza says... #1
You cannot change the order of Lightmine Field 's ability and Launch the Fleet 's delayed triggered ability resolving. They are triggered by the same event, declaring attackers, so they will trigger at the same time and be put on the stack in APNAP order - active player, non-active player - meaning that the non-active player's (the defender) ability will resolve first, dealing 2 damage to the original 2 creatures. Afterwards, the LTF ability resolves and put those two tokens into play attacking.
Now, in order to examine the other part of the question - how much damage is dealt if you somehow re-order those abilities, lets imagine these abilities resolved in the opposite order. Lightmine Field 's Gatherer entry has an answer:
"If a creature attacks but is removed from combat before Lightmine Field’s ability resolves (because it would be destroyed and regenerates, perhaps), that creature is dealt damage by Lightmine Field but isn’t counted when determining the amount of damage. On the other hand, if a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking (due to Preeminent Captain’s ability, perhaps), it isn’t dealt damage by Lightmine Field, but it is counted when determining the amount of damage."
So if those two abilities resolved in a different order, 4 damage would be dealt to all creatures declared as attackers, which is the 2 original soldiers, but the ones put on the battlefield attacking would be spared.
January 8, 2020 4:20 a.m.