Destroying a creature after it's been targeted by equipment?
Asked by leomkel 9 years ago
So yesterday I was playing against my friends artifact deck (Turn 2 Artifucked) with my deathtouch deck (Midrange Deathtouch Wins) and basically here's what transpired:
My friend had a Vault Skirge and an Ornithopter on the field and his Quest for the Holy Relic had all 5 counters, so he sacrificed it and brought out Argentum Armor to equip to Vault Skirge .
My question is: in between the time he targets Vault Skirge using Quest for the Holy Relic and when the equipment actually attaches, can I destroy his creature using an instant such as Doom Blade or sacrificing a creature attached to Mortarpod , preventing him from attaching Argentum Armor , AND simultaneously preventing him from choosing a new target creature to attach it to, since technically he already targeted Vault Skirge before I destroyed it?
Many thanks in advance.
masterbam4 says... #2
Now i have a question on this because from what i understand you can do this, you can respond to him sacrificing Quest for the Holy Relic and use something like Tragic Slip and kill the 1/1, or is that wrong too?
August 21, 2014 8:57 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #3
@masterbam4: Yes you can do that, but the fact still remains that it won't stop the ability from resolving. Even if your opponent doesn't have any creatures left, the resolving ability will do as much as it can. Your opponent will search for an equipment and put it onto the battlefield.
August 21, 2014 9:23 a.m.
You can respond to the activation of the Quest. But if he has two creatures on the board, he will simply attach it to the other. So yes, if you don't want the lifelinking Vault Skirge to get a boost, you can kill it before the resolution of the Quest, leaving only the 'thopter to be equiped.
August 21, 2014 9:25 a.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #6
Please remember to select an answer as the correct one, so that this topic may be closed.
GreatSword says... Accepted answer #1
No, you can't do this.
If you read Quest for the Holy Relic closely, you'll notice that it never uses the word "target" in it, so it doesn't target anything. Both what equipment is searched up and what creature it's attached to is made during the resolution of the ability. No one has priority while an object on the stack is resolving. You won't know what he gets or what creature he attaches it to until it happens.
August 21, 2014 8:09 a.m.