Regarding Preeminent Captain and "when creature attacks" triggers?
Asked by gro0ve 9 years ago
Ok,
Question is:
If I attack with Preeminent Captain and use his trigger to play a card like Brimaz, King of Oreskos , does his trigger go off since the captains trigger text reads "on the battlefield tapped and -attacking-". ??
Some people have suggested no because he wasn't declared as attacking however the trigger doesn't say whenever he declares an attack but when he actually attacks...
This is getting weird O.o
If a creature can't attack without declaring it, then how does preeminent's trigger even work? shouldn't that mean the creatures he summons can't do what the card says they come onto the board doing?
I think they messed up the wording, realized how broken it was and said "no because we said so".
October 20, 2014 7:29 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
They didn't mess anything up.
"Whenever [creature] attacks" has a very specific game meaning. This kind of ability only triggers when a creature is declared as an attacker. If a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking, then it's an attacking creature, but it never attacked (it was never declared as an attacker), so abilities that trigger when a creature attacks won't trigger for creatures put onto the battlefield attacking.
October 20, 2014 7:49 p.m.
How on earth is a new player supposed to learn that rule on their own? Games where the words "attacking" and "attacking" mean two different things... yeah that's awesome.
I get it, it's just stupid.
October 20, 2014 7:53 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
I'll grant that it can be confusing to new players, but there's a benefit to having these specific, technical phrases once you reach an intermediate level of play.
Don't forget to select an answer.
October 20, 2014 8:27 p.m.
gro0ve It isn't that "attacking" and "attacking" are two different things, but "attacks" and "attacking" are different. One is a state and the other is an action for one. You can think of it with colors for example. If we have an ability on blue creature "when this creature becomes red" then it would obviously trigger when something gives it color red. Now if we have another creature with an ability "put a creature onto the battlefield. It enters as a red creature" then it is obvious that even if you but the former creature onto the battlefield it is red all the time it is on the battlefield and so the "when this creature becomes red" trigger will never happen.
JWiley129 says... Accepted answer #1
In order for a creature to "attack" it has to be declared as an attacker. So if you were to drop Brimaz, King of Oreskos via Preeminent Captain , since Brimaz didn't "see" himself attacking he won't make a token.
October 20, 2014 7:26 p.m.