Chain Reaction with Eldrazi

Asked by twospires 9 years ago

OK, here goes. Say I have two Eldrazi Spawn on the battlefield. I cast Chain Reaction . Can I wait until after the spell counts the number of creatures to sac my Spawn and pay for the Chain Reaction itself, or do I have to sacrifice the Spawn and have the mana in my pool before I cast the spell?

Hope the situation makes sense!

Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1

No.

First of all, you have to pay Chain Reaction 's casting cost when you put Chain Reaction onto the stack. If you want to use the Eldrazi Spawn to pay for the spell, you have to sacrifice them either before the casting process or during the casting process (players are given an opportunity to activate mana abilities to pay for spells or abilities during the casting/activation process).

Second, when a spell requires information about the game, that information is determined when the spell resolves. Chain Reaction doesn't count the total number of creatures on the battlefield until it resolves, long after its casting cost has been paid. Once Chain Reaction begins to resolve, players lose priority, so you can't activate your mana abilities mid-resolution (say, in an attempt to float mana and still have extra damage go through).

June 12, 2014 6:13 p.m.