Do you discard cards simultaneously when discarding down to hand size?
Asked by MasterVash 8 years ago
Say I have a Gitrog commander deck and I have 12 cards in hand. I discard 5 cards down to hand size and all 5 are land. Will Gitrog trigger multiple times because I discard one at a time, or will it trigger once because I discard them all at the same time?
I should say that this is based on the fact that nothing I've read about the Cleanup Step says the discarding down to max hand size counts as a single instance of discard.
The Gitrog Monster Gatherer does give the example of Crawling Sensation as an instance where two land cards. could be put into the graveyard at the same time.
December 2, 2016 7:58 p.m.
The discarding happens simultaneously, so the ability triggers once, causing you to draw 1 card. This is a trigger that happens during the cleanup step, so players will have a chance to respond. Once the stack is again empty, there will be another cleanup step where, if you still have more cards than your maximum handsize (as you did just draw a card), you'll have to discard down to your maximum hand size again. This can result in any number of cleanup steps if you keep discarding lands and not casting instants.
December 2, 2016 9:27 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #4
While true the rules don't specify one way or the other, I am fairly confident that it will only trigger one time.
I say this because discarding for the turn is 1 turn-based event of discarding 5. Not 5 turn-based events of discarding 1. (Except for occasions where a trigger goes on the stack. In this case, a second cleanup step happens).
December 2, 2016 9:29 p.m.
Fair enough I guess. Guess I read too much into a simplified rule from here after seeing nothing else:
https://www.wizards.com/magic/rules/MTG9EDRulebook_EN.pdf
It's a shame the official blog only cites 8 cards instead of more lol. I defer!
December 2, 2016 9:53 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #6
The exact text of the rule is:
514.1. First, if the active player's hand contains more cards than his or her maximum hand size (normally seven), he or she discards enough cards to reduce his or her hand size to that number. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack.
Because it doesn't describe a process of single-card discards until you get down to your proper maximum hand size, this means the cards are all discarded at the same time. The Gitrog Monster will trigger once.
December 3, 2016 1:38 a.m.
MasterVash says... #7
Thank you guys. I knew about triggering multiple cleanup steps if you keep discarding lands and drawing, but I could find absolutely nothing on the internets about whether you discard at the same time or not.
GearNoir says... #1
During the cleanup step, you are required to discard down to 7 cards as an action that does not use the stack.
The Gitrog Monster will trigger for each land that is discarded, causing you to draw as many cards. Because each trigger of Gitrog uses the stack, priority is passed, and players may respond to the trigger. The Cleanup Step will occur again and your hand will be "checked" again to be sure it is maximum hand size or less.
Potentially this loop continues as long as you discard lands. It will only stop if a player responds and breaks the loop, you no longer are discarding lands and your hand size is mac or less, or you mill yourself out.
December 2, 2016 7:48 p.m.