Can the active player kill two Venerable Knights with one Festering Goblin?
Asked by vic 3 years ago
I have a Festering Goblin in play. My opponent has two Venerable Knights in play. I attack and my opponent blocks with the first Knight. Can I kill both Knights?
The question is whether I, as the active player, can put the -1/-1 counter on the second Knight before it gets the +1/+1 counter from the first Knight. Or do they happen and the same time, thus cancelling each other? And would it be different if my opponent attacked and I blocked a Knight with the Goblin?
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #2
The answer is different depending on whose turn it is. In the first example where you're the active player, the second Venerable Knight will live if your opponent targets it with the ability from the first one. In the second example where your opponent is the active player, the second Venerable Knight will die.
If multiple triggered abilities are trying to go onto the stack at the same time, first the active player puts the ones they control onto the stack in the order of their choice, then the non-active player puts their triggers onto the stack on top of those (if there are more than 2 players, it goes around the table in turn order). That means the active player's triggers will always resolve last since they end up on the bottom of the stack.
Note that Festering Goblin doesn't create a -1/-1 counter, just a temporary -1/-1 until end of turn, so in the first example the +1/+1 counter won't get erased.
November 9, 2020 9:01 a.m.
Rhadamanthus Thanks, that's excellent. Good catch on the Goblin "counter". I went too fast.
vic says... #1
Sorry, it should say "happen AT the same time".
November 9, 2020 5:15 a.m.