Do abilities on cards activate before instants?
Asked by BuriedOnSunday 4 years ago
If I have a card on the battle field with an ability and someone casts an instant to destroy that card, can that ability resolve before destroyed or does it go on a stack and the destructive card resolves first and the ability is lost?
BuriedOnSunday says... #2
What if the activated ability is cast first, then the opponent casts a destructive card? Is the activated card destroyed before the ability is able to execute?
April 22, 2021 9:54 a.m.
sergiodelrio says... #3
Let's say you have an Aether Vial with 2 counters and you put its activated ability on the stack. Ok, now that you put that on the stack, your opponent gets to respond and they choose to cast Shatter , so it goes on the stack above your ability and would resolve first if nothing else happens. Now we resolve Shatter and destroy the Aether Vial - it's gone. HOWEVER, the ability is still on the stack and gets to resolve now, so you can put an appropriate creature on the battlefield as the ability instructs.
April 22, 2021 10:25 a.m. Edited.
BuriedOnSunday says... #4
sergiodelrio If I'm understanding correctly, for example if a creature equipped with Argentum Armor attacks and the opponent casts Murder then the attacking creature is destroyed as well as the targeted permanent?
April 22, 2021 10:39 a.m.
In sergiodelrio's example, you'll use "last known information" to determine what Aether Vial looked like when it was destroyed. Since Aether Vial is no longer on the battlefield, it doesn't have 2 counters anymore, but you look to when it last existed on the battlefield to determine how many counters it had at that point. This could be useful if your opponent casts Steady Progress in response to your activation, you could Shatter your own Aether Vial in response so that the game remembers it having 2 counters instead of 3.
In answer to your follow up question, yes, both the creature and the target of Argentum Armor will be destroyed. The targeted permanent is also still destroyed if the Shatter the Argentum Armor .
April 22, 2021 10:41 a.m.
To clear up confusions about the ordering of the stack, think of it like a physical stack of cards. If somebody casts a spell or activates an ability, then somebody casts a spell or activates an ability in response to that, imagine the new stack card being placed on top of the existing (first) stack card. You then work your way down from the top when the stack's ready to resolve. It's first in; last out. Last in; first out.
April 22, 2021 1:35 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #7
Small addendum to Yesterday's explanation. Objects on the stack resolve one at a time with an opportunity to add more objects between resolutions.
April 22, 2021 8:04 p.m.
In the future, please remember to hit the green "Mark as Answer" button to indicate your question is resolved. As this question has been answered for several days, I have gone ahead and marked an answer on your behalf.
There was a fair bit of discussion; I went with the answer that most cleanly explained how the stack worked (particularly in conjunction with the addendum to the marked post).
Neotrup says... #1
Yes, when a player casts a spell, regardless of the spell's type, you have an opportunity to respond. As there's a spell on the stack, you're limited to instants and activated abilities. Any response will resolve before the spell your responding to.
April 22, 2021 9:26 a.m.