Responding to triggered ability - how does this resolve?
Asked by Kingofheartsx44 4 years ago
I am creating a discard deck with Magus of the Wheel . I want to use a land card like Mortuary Mire to recover and re-cast my magus. Unfortunately, If I have my land in-hand and then I sacrifice Magus of the Wheel , I lose my land when I discard.
I got to thinking ... if I play the land first and respond to it's enter the battlefield triggered ability by sacrificing Magus of the Wheel , the sacrifice would happen first and then I could target it from my graveyard to return to the top of my library ...
Are my assumptions correct?
xtechnetia says... #2
It won't work that way unfortunately.
Targets are selected as part of putting spells/abilities on the stack (Comprehensive Rules, 115.1). At the time Mortuary Mire 's trigger is put on the stack, Magus of the Wheel will not be in the graveyard, and hence will not be a valid target for the trigger.
September 14, 2019 2:39 a.m.
In the future, please remember to hit the green “mark as answer” button to indicate your question has been resolved. Since since this question has been answered for a couple of days, I have gone ahead and marked an answer on your behalf.
dragonstryke58 says... Accepted answer #1
Unfortunately, targets are chosen when the triggered ability is put on the stack not when it starts to resolve.
In your case, when Mortuary Mire enters the battlefield, its triggered ability goes on the stack. At that time, you need to choose a target. Since Magus of the Wheel is not in the graveyard, it is not a legal target for Mortuary Mire 's ETB trigger.
September 14, 2019 2:39 a.m.