Do abilities that trigger when a cost is paid resolve before or after the effect with that cost?
Asked by Siyanor 11 years ago
I'm pretty sure I already know that the answer is after, but I just want to confirm. Let's say I have a Murderous Redcap and a Birthing Pod . I activate Birthing Pod , sacrificing Murderous Redcap to find Gray Merchant of Asphodel . Will persist have already resolved, making my devotion to black 4, when Gray Merchant of Asphodel enters the battlefield? I think it would be 2, but again just confirming.
Murderous' Recap's ability will trigger as soon as it goes to the graveyard, but nothing can go onto the stack while a spell or ability is still resolving, so Birthing Pod is going to finish its thing and put Gray Merchant into play which will also trigger its ETB ability.
However: Since this is the next time you have priority, and you are the active player, you have two triggers waiting to be put onto the stack, and you may put them on the stack in any order.
So you could put the Gray Merchant trigger onto the stack first, and then Persist over top, so that the redcap's persist resolves first, putting it onto the battlefield, and then Gray Merchant will see 4 devotion.
November 15, 2013 7:27 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
It resolves before.
Murderous Redcap 's persist ability triggers while you're activating Birthing Pod 's ability. Persist must wait until you are finished activating the ability before it can go onto the stack. It will therefore be above Birthing Pod 's ability and will resolve first.
November 15, 2013 7:28 p.m.
Oh, so the activated ability of Birthing Pod is placed on the stack before paying its cost? I guess that makes sense since that's how casting a spell works.
November 15, 2013 7:28 p.m.
hunter9000 says... #5
While you are activating Birthing Pod 's ability, Murderous Redcap 's ability triggers. The pod ability goes on the stack as part of activating it, then afterwards any abilities that triggered during it's activation go on the stack on top of it. So persist will resolve first, then pod's ability.
November 15, 2013 7:29 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #6
@Devonin: Sacrificing a creature is part of the activation cost, not the ability's resolution.
November 15, 2013 7:29 p.m.
GoblinsInc says... #7
The first step of casting a spell or activating an ability is announcing it and placing it on the stack.
November 15, 2013 7:29 p.m.
Ah so. Yeah, since the sacrifice is part of the cost of birthing pod and not part of the effect, persist is totally going to completely finish before you even get to search up a creature.
My bad.
Still, useful information to know about when multiple things trigger during an ability or spell resolution.
GoblinsInc says... Accepted answer #1
It would be 4.
You place the Birthing pod ability on the stack, then finish activating it. You pay the cost while activating it, sacrificing the Redcap. This triggers its persist ability, which goes on top of Pod's ability. Persist resolves, bringing back the redcap, the redcap gets its ETB trigger, that resolves, and then the birthing pod's ability resolves, bringing out Gray Merchant, and triggering its ability which will resolve for 4
November 15, 2013 7:26 p.m.