Desecration Demon, Rules Question
General forum
Posted on Jan. 24, 2013, 12:04 a.m. by Blackdragon1400
If I have two Desecration Demon on the field and my opponent decides to sacrifice a creature during my combat step, do they get to decide which demon to tap, or do I? Does the activated ability count if the Desecration Demon was just summoned?
Thanks
Blackdragon1400 says... #3
So I just tell them in what order I put them on the stack, and they could refuse to tap for one but tap for the other?
January 24, 2013 12:17 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
Correct. In more casual environments, your opponent will likely just say which Desecration Demon they're tapping for as a shortcut to resolve both abilities quickly.
January 24, 2013 12:19 a.m.
That's correct.
One thing to note is that since you can't skip phases, Desecration Demon 's ability will still trigger whether the active player decides to attack or not. So, even if you don't plan on attacking, you can still declare your Beginning Combat phase in an attempt to get your opponent to sac a creature.
January 24, 2013 12:26 a.m.
10vernothin says... #8
so technically you can get your opponent to sac a creature, then somehow untap it and still be able to attack?
January 24, 2013 1:46 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #9
If you have a way to untap Desecration Demon , yes. Its ability doesn't say "If any opponent does, Desecration Demon can't attack this turn." Rather, it just taps the Demon.
However, what meecht meant is you can announce the Beginning of Combat and put the triggered ability from Desecration Demon onto the stack. Even if you don't plan on attacking with the Demon, your opponent(s) won't know that at this time. They might sacrifice a creature to prevent an attack you didn't even plan to make. If they do, you killed something for free. If they don't, you just declare no attackers; you haven't lost anything.
January 24, 2013 3:48 a.m.
That's exactly what I meant. Epochalyptik has a much better way with words at 3:50AM than I do at 12:30AM, evidently...
Epochalyptik says... #2
First, it's a triggered ability, not an activated ability. Summoning sickness doesn't have any impact on this ability triggering.
Second, each Desecration Demon has this triggered ability. Each ability will trigger at the beginning of each combat. You control both triggered abilities, so you decide the order in which they are placed onto the stack. Each ability on the stack is tied to a specific Desecration Demon , and it must be made clear which ability is tied to which permanent. No player is asked which Desecration Demon to tap; that is decided by which Desecration Demon is the source of the currently resolving ability.
January 24, 2013 12:13 a.m.