"Whenever a creature" meaning?
Asked by Jaysterbaby 6 years ago
When the card says "Whenever a creature" does that mean "per" creature or just whenever any creature, doesn't matter if it one or 5. for example Slumbering Dragon states whenever a creature opponent controls attacks you or planeswalker, put a +1/+1 on it. So does that mean I put a 1/1 counter on it for each creature that attacks?
StonedJesus says... Accepted answer #2
Yes, it means per creature. If it said something like, "Whenever one or more creatures attack you..." then it would only get one counter.
March 30, 2018 12:19 p.m.
"Whenever a creature" abilities trigger each and every time the condition is met. So, for example, Slumbering Dragon will trigger "once for each creature that attacks you or a planeswalker you control." (Ruling on Slumbering Dragon dated July 1, 2012 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=253693)
seshiro_of_the_orochi provided an example of rules text for cards that only trigger once, even if there have been multiple simultanious triggers. These cards read "whenever one or more creatures".
March 30, 2018 12:20 p.m.
Two issues with your proposed rules:
As written, your rule will trigger for every creature attacking you. So, if they attacked with 4 creatures, your creature would get 16 +1/+1 counters.
What you mean to say is "Whenever one or more creatures attack you or a planeswalker you control, put X +1/+1 counters on Slumbering Dragon where X is the number of attacking creatures."
This also is a wildly different rule than the original rules text. Under this proposed text, the ability would only go on the stack once. Currently, Slumbering Dragon's ability triggers on each creature being placed on the stack multiple times. There are myriad interactions where this would make a difference.
There really is not a better way to write the rules text without changing the nature of the card itself.
I forgot to mention this the first time, but you should try to use the "Rules Q&A" section of this site in the future. Deck Help is more for deck construction advice.
March 30, 2018 12:38 p.m. Edited.
Looks like it got moved to the correct forum for you. Which lets me avoid saying "I have no earthly idea how to delete a thread, so cannot answer your question!"
Another little note, this forum section is a bit odd--as the one asking a question, you can mark an answer as "accepted." This lets individuals know you've had your question answered, and helps free up some clutter from the Rules Q&A forum.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #1
I can't come up with a concrete rule, but compare Path of Bravery.
March 30, 2018 12:13 p.m.