Bouncing a Yisan, The Wanderer Bard
Asked by Sabbath91 9 years ago
If someone activates Yisan, the Wanderer Bard to search up a creature, what happens if I respond with some form of bounce spell eg Hubris , or even a kill spell like Hero's Downfall . Do they search their library for a 0 CMC creature?
Last sentence should state "CANNOT do it during the activation".
September 5, 2014 8:18 a.m.
I was under the impression that the ability checked the no' of counters on Yisan during resolution
September 5, 2014 8:25 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #4
@Boza: Although you have the correct answer in this case, the reason for which you give that answer is incorrect.
The ability does not "lock in," so to speak, the number of verse counters on Yisan, the Wanderer Bard at the time of activation. Rather, the ability checks the number of verse counters on Yisan, the Wanderer Bard at the time the ability resolves. Generally, whenever any spell or ability requires information from or about the game state, that information is determined at the time the spell or ability resolves.
If Yisan, the Wanderer Bard is on the battlefield at the time its ability resolves, the ability will count the number of verse counters on Yisan, the Wanderer Bard at the time of resolution.
If Yisan, the Wanderer Bard is not on the battlefield at the time the ability resolves, the ability will use Yisan, the Wanderer Bard 's last-known information to determine how many verse counters were on Yisan, the Wanderer Bard at the time it last existed on the battlefield.
This means that if you remove Yisan, the Wanderer Bard from the battlefield in response to its ability being activated, the ability will use the number of verse counters on Yisan, the Wanderer Bard at the time Yisan, the Wanderer Bard left the battlefield. If you instead change the number of counters on Yisan, the Wanderer Bard but leave Yisan, the Wanderer Bard itself on the battlefield, the ability will count the number of verse counters on Yisan, the Wanderer Bard when the ability resolves.
September 5, 2014 8:28 a.m.
The answer lies in the phrase "last known information". If Yisan is not there when it resolves, the game looks back to the time when yisan was last there and how many counters he had. Vampire Hexmage or Hex Parasite will make the opponent search for a zero mana cost creature though.
Boza says... #1
Lets say he has 3 counters on him, your opponent taps 2g, taps Yisan, puts a counter on him for a total of four. If you were to bounce Yisan with Hubris , the ability on the stack is unaffected - the value for the ability was set the moment it was put on the stack. Changing the counters post factum will not affect anything, as they are already set to 4 in this case. And you can do it during the activation of the ability, as you do not have the priority to do so.
September 5, 2014 8:17 a.m.