Strionic Resonator + Arahbo, Roar of the World

Asked by Spirits 6 years ago

Building a Arahbo, Roar of the World deck, evaluating Strionic Resonator and how it interacts with him.

Eminence seems pretty straight forward, pay 2 tap the Strionic Resonator target cat gets +3/+3 and another cat gets +3/+3, if you choose the same cat, it gets +6/+6.

My question is about the last triggered ability.

Arahbo, Roar of the World rulings on Gatherer say:

If multiple Cats attack, Arahbos last ability triggers that many times. You may pay 1GreenWhite each time one resolves.

While resolving Arahbos last ability, you cant pay 1GreenWhite multiple times to multiply the effect for one Cat.

Strionic Resonator rulings on Gatherer say:

7/1/2013 The source of the copy is the same as the source of the original ability.

7/1/2013 Any choices made when the triggered ability resolves wont have been made yet when its copied. Any such choices will be made separately when the copy resolves. If the triggered ability asks you to pay a cost (for example, as the extort ability from the Return to Ravnica block does), you pay that cost for the copy.

So this is where we think we've gotten to:

1) At the beginning of combat, Arahbo, Roar of the World Eminence triggers and gives +3/+3 to target Sacred Cat upon resolving.

2) Eminence Sacred Cat attacks triggering Arahbo, Roar of the World last ability onto the stack for the Eminence Sacred Cat (doesn't target)

3) Copy the triggered ability with the Strionic Resonator pay 2 and tap (the one that the Eminence Sacred Cat triggered)

4) Pay 1GreenWhite for the "Copy" and allow it to make the Eminence Sacred Cat go from 4/4 Lifelink to 8/8 Trample Lifelink. I assume I have to pay the "costs" for the copy, reading the Strionic Resonator rules?

5) Pay 1GreenWhite for the "Original" and allow it to make the Eminence Sacred Cat go from 8/8 Trample Lifelink to 16/16 Trample Lifelink. I think even though the rulings for Arahbo, Roar of the World says "you cant pay 1GreenWhite multiple times to multiply the effect for one Cat", I think it's trying to clarify that it only triggers one time, per cat, but since this is a copy of the "Original" I CAN target the same cat and gets around that ruling?

6) Resolve the combat for the 16/16 Trample Lifelink Sacred Cat as normal.

Blo says... #1

You are correct in your statement that you have to pay for the copied ability costs. The reason being is that the trigger of Arahbo, Roar of the World allows you to pay 1GW mana to get the trample and x/x effect.

In the example you gave, you go to combat > eminence trigger, target your Sacred Cat, it will be a 4/4 upon resolving. Declare attackers > Arahbo triggers, you put it on the stack. You activate Strionic Resonator to copy the trigger, it goes on the stack. You can pay for the Strionic Resonator copied ability for 1GW to pump your Sacred Cat, it will be a 8/8 trample, lifelink upon resolving. The stack has the original trigger left, you can pay another 1GW to use it again giving it +X/+X again, which will make your Sacred Cat a 16/16 lifelink trampler upon resolving. You proceed with combat as normal.

You are completely correct in your assumptions.

October 6, 2017 5:08 a.m.

Blo says... #2

Also, when refering to the rules as per 5). You should read a name of the card as 'this permanent'. So the text reads as:

"While resolving This permanent'slast ability, you cant pay 1GreenWhite multiple times to multiply the effect for one Cat."Strionic 'creates' another source of the ability, which is not the above permanent anymore.

October 6, 2017 5:10 a.m.

Spirits says... #3

Thanks Blo,

Seems you agree with my thinking which is great.

The second comment where you say, While resolving "this permanent's" last ability, you can't pay 1GreenWhite multiple times... confuses me a bit trying to wrap my head around it.

You then say Strionic Resonator 'creates' another 'source', but the Gatherer ruling under Strionic Resonator specifically says: 7/1/2013 The source of the copy is the same as the source of the original ability. Meaning the Arahbo, Roar of the World permanent.

If "the source" of the copy is "the same" (source?) as "the source" of the original ability. Wouldn't I surmise that both the copy and original being "the same source", that they are both the same Permanent. The permanent hasn't changed zones or anything.

Which worries me, because it says under Arahbo, Roar of the World While resolving Arahbos (the source of both copy and original) last ability, you cant pay 1GreenWhite multiple times to multiply the effect for one Cat.

Specifically tries to restrict me that I CAN'T pay multiple times for one Cat.

If it was different sources I get it, each one can't pay multiple times, but if the source of the copy is the "same" as the source of the original, the specific way that Arahbo, Roar of the World ruling is worded, doesn't stop the original? So confusing. Feel like if there were no rulings would be simpler.

October 6, 2017 6:02 p.m.

Spirits says... #4

I think what the Arahbo, Roar of the World ruling 8/25/2017 While resolving Arahbos last ability, you cant pay 1GreenWhite multiple times to multiply the effect for one Cat, is trying to say is, you can ONLY pay the 1GreenWhite PER triggered ability, can't just dump all your mana into it. Thinking that way, it totally makes sense that the copy works, and basically makes the cat 4x bigger. In this case 4/4 to 16/16.

October 6, 2017 6:07 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #5

It doesn't have anything to do with sources, just the normal rules for resolving a triggered ability. As the triggered ability resolves, it gives you the option to either pay or do nothing. That's it. You aren't given the option to pay or or anything else like that. A copy of the ability will give you the same choice between or nothing.

October 6, 2017 7:02 p.m. Edited.

Blo says... Accepted answer #6

I think Rhadamanthus made it clear. I expressed myself quite bad there, sorry for that.
Arahbo, Roar of the World's trigger will be copied by Strionic Resonator and will be of the same source as the original trigger. (this is relevant in cases with protection from colour x or this permanent doesn't deal damage this turn and what more).
As #5 hopefully made clear (and your thinking at #4 as well). The rules state that you on declare attackers, get a trigger for each attacking cat. Per trigger, you can choose to pay nothing or pay a single time. You cannot pay multiples times.
When you copy the original trigger, you put a copy on the stack, which allows you to target the same cat and opt to pay nothing or once more, making it effectively 4x as big.

What I meant to say was that the resonator creates another instance of a trigger that would normally only trigger once. << Which is probably still vague but the best I can do haha.

October 7, 2017 1:38 p.m.

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