Chaos wand timings
Asked by FalconForce 3 years ago
Typically when a spell is cast people have the ability to respond to it. How does this work with the instant or sorcery spell Chaos Wand casts?
Is the return cards to their owner's library a delayed trigger that happens the moment the spell is (or isn't) cast and gets placed on the top of the stack?
And could a person respond with a counterspell at that time or would they have to wait until the cards are returned?
I'm just curious because if a person had an activated or triggered ability that caused the targeted player to draw (maybe the targeted player controlled an Alms Collector ) or used some form of Time Stop then could it be used when an opponent had some or all of their library temporarily in exile? The conditions for it could be arranged or could even naturally occur in a commander game. I feel like this doesn't work this way, though I can't explain why.
FalconForce says... #2
Thank you. Your answer explains a lot and now I've got a better understanding of how timing works.
Polaris says... Accepted answer #1
The short answer is that yes, people can respond to it and no, there's no delayed trigger happening. Continue reading for the long answer.
Your confusion seems to be how things happen during the resolution of a spell or ability. While an effect is resolving, you take all of its actions before anything else happens. Once Chaos Wand starts resolving, no one can do anything until the opponent exiles their cards, finds an instant or sorcery, you cast that card, and the exiled cards are returned to the bottom of their library. You can't intervene during any of these steps to use something like Time Stop , and your opponent can't counter the spell yet (though they can if they wait).
A little terminology to be clear here: When a spell or ability goes onto the stack, it's being cast (if it's a spell) or activated (if it's an activated ability). A triggered ability triggers when its condition occurs, but isn't actually put onto the stack until the event that triggered it finishes.
Now, on to how casting spells or triggering abilities as a result of something happening during the resolution of the spell works: When Chaos Wand 's effect finds a suitable spell, you can cast it. As usual, you pay any applicable costs (Chaos Wand ignores mana cost, but maybe it also costs life or a sacrifice ( Fling ?), or maybe it has a kicker cost you'd like to pay). You choose any modes and targets as usual, then put it onto the stack. If it targets something you don't have a valid target for (maybe you got a counterspell) then you can't cast it. Chaos Wand is still resolving, so your opponent puts the exiled cards back on the bottom of their library.
Now that all of the steps in Chaos Wand's ability are complete, it finishes resolving. At this point, priority passes around to the players, and anyone who wants to respond to the spell that was just cast can now do so. Your opponent can now counter the spell you just got from Chaos Wand. If no one responds, you then resolve the spell.
Triggered abilities work similarly. Let's say the spell you got from Chaos Wand was Deny Reality , which has cascade. As Chaos Wand is resolving, the opponent exiles cards and flips Deny Reality. You pick a target and cast it. Its cascade ability triggers when it's cast, but you hold the trigger for a moment because your opponent needs to put the exiled cards on the bottom of their library. Once Chaos Wand's ability finishes resolving, you put the cascade trigger on the stack. At this point, players can respond. If no one does, the cascade resolves and you start flipping cards until you find a spell that costs less than 5.
February 27, 2021 8:11 p.m.