Ranger's Guile vs Hunt the Weak

Asked by belugawhaleonthefloor 9 years ago

So does Ranger's Guile work against Hunt the Weak AFTER they cast it. And if so, can they change the target and fight another one of my creatures? For example, I have Wall of Frost , and a Kiora's Follower . My opponent has Terra Stomper . He casts Hunt the Weak , making Terra Stomper fight Wall of Frost , but then I cast Ranger's Guile on my Wall of Frost . Then he says he changes the target and fights my Kiora's Follower with Terra Stomper . Was all this legit or nah???

GreatSword says... Accepted answer #1

No, your opponent was wrong. You declare targets for spells when you cast them; only an effect like Swerve can change the target of a spell after it's been cast. If a spell no longer has any legal targets, it is countered on resolution (IE: "Fizzles").

In your above situation, the Hunt the Weak will still resolve as best it can, as it still has at least one legal target (the Terra Stomper ). The Stomper will get a +1/+1 counter, and that's it.

September 23, 2014 12:55 p.m.

@GreatSword. Ok, but can I even cast Ranger's Guile in the first place? Like Hexproof means it can't be targeted by spells or abilities, but Hunt the Weak already targeted my Wall of Frost ...

September 23, 2014 1:15 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #3

The legality of targets for a spell are checked twice: when it's first cast, and before it starts resolving. If you respond with Ranger's Guile then your creature will have hexproof before Hunt the Weak starts resolving. This means your creature is an illegal target for Hunt the Weak when the second legality check is performed, so the rest will play out as GreatSword describes.

September 23, 2014 1:29 p.m.

This discussion has been closed