enter the battlefield *in response?
Asked by dragonchild2994 9 years ago
say i play a Banisher Priest and i target my opponents Advent of the Wurm token, can my opponent in response Hero's Downfall my Banisher Priest before the token is exiled?
Gidgetimer says... #2
Rules questions go in the Q&A and as such Epoch will be by the move this to the Blind Eternities.
To answer your question, one of the Gatherer rulings on Banisher Priest
reads: 7/1/2013: If Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, the target creature wont be exiled. So yes your opponent can kill Banisher Priest
in response to the ETB trigger to save his Wurm token.
June 22, 2014 9:57 p.m.
GreatSword says... #4
It won't be exiled. Banisher Priest 's ability is tied to the duration of the Priest being on the battlefield. By the time Banisher Priest 's ability resolves, the priest will be gone.
From Banisher Priest 's Gatherer:
- If Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, the target creature wont be exiled.
June 22, 2014 9:59 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #5
oh wait this isn't a general forum WTF I'm lost.
Don't mind me
June 22, 2014 9:59 p.m.
dragonchild2994 says... #6
so anytime a creature has the ETB effect, it can be killed preemptively?
June 22, 2014 10 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
It depends. Triggered abilities, by definition, need to be put onto the stack and resolve before they do anything. Triggered abilities always begin with "at," "when," or "whenever."
There are also ETB abilities that are actually static abilities defining replacement effects. For example, Iona, Shield of Emeria has a replacement effect that modifies how the creature enters the battlefield. Static abilities do not use the stack, and you cannot respond to them.
June 22, 2014 10:03 p.m.
GreatSword says... #8
Yes, they can always be killed, but Banisher Priest is a special case in which killing the creature before the abilitly resolves actually does cancel the ability.
Usually killing a creature with an ETB ability (like Flametongue Kavu ) won't counter the ability. Once an object is on the stack it is independent of its source.
June 22, 2014 10:04 p.m.
dragonchild2994 says... #9
so killing works with Banisher Priest to protect a token, but has no effect on Flametongue Kavu or say Lifebane Zombie ? why ?
June 23, 2014 3:47 p.m.
GreatSword says... #10
Banisher Priest is an exception to the rule. The duration of the creature being exiled is directly tied to the Priest being on the battlefield (like it says in her ability). If she's not on the battlefield when her ability resolves, the game will see she's not there and not exile the creature.
Again, from her Gatherer entry:
- If Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, the target creature wont be exiled.
June 23, 2014 3:56 p.m.
dragonchild2994 says... #11
Thank you... didn't realize Banisher Priest was an exception to the rule
June 23, 2014 3:59 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #12
Once an ability is put on the stack it exists independently of the object that put it there. Flametongue Kavu and Lifebane Zombie both have one shot effects. Banisher Priest has an effect that has a duration. Since it ended before it began, it never happened. Banisher Priest is a "fixed" version of Fiend Hunter because it was possible to abuse Fiend Hunter 's linked abilities.
June 23, 2014 4 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #13
There's some confusion here.
Banisher Priest is not an exception to any rules. Rather, it has a different ability, so that ability functions differently.
If Banisher Priest is not on the battlefield at the time its ability resolves, then there is no duration for the exile effect, and the exile will not occur. The ability still resolves; it is not countered.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
Yes. Banisher Priest 's ETB ability is a triggered ability. It needs to go to the stack and resolve before it has its effect. Your opponent can cast spells and activate abilities in response to the ability.
Note the following Gatherer ruling:
7/1/2013: If Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, the target creature wont be exiled.
June 22, 2014 9:56 p.m.