Can I respond to the effect of Axis of Mortality (if the opponent is targeting me) with i.e. Wall of Blood and pay all my life and kill the opponent?
Asked by ogglas 3 years ago
Lets say my opponent have 10 life. I have 20. Its my opponents upkeep and wants to switch life totals with me. I have a Wall of Blood on the battlefield, can I then on the stack, pay 20 life, go down to 0 life. The stack resolves and the opponent gets 0 and I get 10. Would that work? Please let me know if I didnt explain my question good enough. Thank you!
It's also worth noting that Axis of Mortality is a 'may' ability. This means that if you pay 19 life to go down to one, when Axis of Mortality resolves your opponent can just opt to not exchange life totals, leaving you at 1 and them at 10.
603.5. Some triggered abilities' effects are optional (they contain "may," as in "At the beginning of your upkeep, you may draw a card"). These abilities go on the stack when they trigger, regardless of whether their controller intends to exercise the ability's option or not. The choice is made when the ability resolves. Likewise, triggered abilities that have an effect "unless" something is true or a player chooses to do something will go on the stack normally; the "unless" part of the ability is dealt with when the ability resolves.
October 26, 2020 6:17 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #3
Neotrup: That's a very good point. There's no real way to trick the opponent into taking a lower life total unless they didn't read the card closely enough (like I didn't) or they have a weaker understanding of the rules. Though it would be technically legal to take advantage of such a situation, some might consider it poor sportsmanship.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #1
You can use double square brackets around a card's name to create a reference link. It's the best way to make sure everyone understands what's going on in your question: Axis of Mortality, Wall of Blood
You can do this to leave your opponent at 1 life but you won't be able to leave them at 0. If you activate Wall of Blood 20 times in response to Axis of Mortality's triggered ability and drop to 0 in your example, you'll lose the game before the triggered ability starts resolving.
October 26, 2020 8:56 a.m.