Treacherous Pit-Dweller + Athreos, God of Passage
Asked by Antoniobizarro 8 years ago
I'd like to know how Athreos, God of Passage ability works with Treacherous Pit-Dweller undying ability. Can I use Athreos to avoid Pit-Dweller's drawback? I mean, my enemy could pay 3 life and let it go to the graveyard, and then get control of it, but it's a drawback for him as well.
"Dies" - Means enters the graveyard from play.
so with that in mind pit dweller "dies" and Athreos is in play you get two triggers. 1. pit dweller says " put me back into play with a +1/+1 counter and give me to target opponent.2. athreos says "put pit dweller in your hand unless target opponent pays 3 life.
you stack the triggers 1 then 2:Athreos asks target opponent to pay, opp pays pit dweller is in graveyard, undying returns it gives it to opp. if opp does not pay pit dweller is returned to hand second trigger fails to find pit-dweller in grave. no returnsies.
stack 2 then 1:pit dweller returns, goes to opps side, and athreos asks a dumb question cause opp already has your pit dweller.
As for drawback for him. Undying only triggers with no +1/+1 counters. so if "his" pit dweller dies. it just goes to your graveyard. does that seem like a drawback? it does not to me.
November 30, 2015 4:05 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #3
In before a certain someone criticizes the above use of the word "fizzle". ;)
November 30, 2015 4:42 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #4
Should I not have used fizzle? :(
I like that word... It's like fuzzy..
November 30, 2015 4:50 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
Now that I've been announced...
To "fizzle" is to be countered by the game rules for having zero remaining legal targets. If a spell or ability doesn't target anything, it can't fizzle. It will instead resolve, but it may not be able to do anything (such as in this case).
November 30, 2015 5:07 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #6
(Epoch's comment popped in while I was typing the following, but I'll leave it all here anyway)
It used to be an official technical rules term for "countered by the game rules for lack of legal targets", and for some reason Epochalyptik likes to "correct" people when they use it for something other than that specific meaning. Since it hasn't been an official term for 15+ years (the Sixth Edition Rules Update was early-mid 1999) I don't really see the point of policing it. However, to avoid confusion, it may be better to simply avoid using it at all in rules explanations.
November 30, 2015 5:11 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
The reason I correct it is that there are still some cases in which it's important to know that a spell or ability still resolves if it can't fizzle, even if an object the spell or ability is supposed to act on is missing.
For example, Eye of the Storm will still generate copies of exiled spells even if the spell that triggered its ability can't be exiled.
November 30, 2015 5:34 p.m.
Antoniobizarro says... #8
Thanks for your reply. When i said "drawback" to my enemy, it's by not giving Pit-Dweller for "free", making Athreos "tax" him for 3 life.
Raging_Squiggle says... Accepted answer #1
The undying trigger from Treacherous Pit-Dweller and the triggered ability from Athreos, God of Passage trigger at the same time, when the creature dies. Dying is, by definition, a creature entering the graveyard from the battlefield.
Since you control both of the triggers, you decide how they come on to the stack, thus choosing which one resolves first. If you have Athreos' ability resolve first, the opponent may choose to pay 3 life or not.
- If they do not, the Dweller returns to your hand and the undying trigger fizzles because the Dweller is no longer in the graveyard.
- If they do pay it, then Athreos' ability resolves, then the undying trigger resolves and returns the Dweller to the battlefield under an opponent's control.
If you choose to have the undying trigger resolve first, the Dweller will return to the battlefield under an opponent's control and Athreos' triggered ability will fizzle because the Dweller is no longer in the graveyard.
Either way, unless the opponent decides not to pay the 3 life, they will be getting your Dweller.
Note: If the only opponent you can choose has hexproof, perhaps via Leyline of Sanctity, you would retain control of the Dweller because there is no legal target to gain control of it.
November 30, 2015 3:53 p.m.