Equipment help
Asked by Wbg1415 4 years ago
If my opponent has an equipment with mana cost of 3 and 2 to equip. Can he use 5 mana at once and put it directly from his hand to equipping it to a creature? My question is when he pays the original 3 mana to "put it onto the battlefield" do I have an opportunity to counter spell before he equips to a creature? Or since he tapped all 5 mana at once it goes straight from his hand to creature and I lose my opportunity to counter?
TheRealSpecialK says... #2
I will add a bit to the comment above. The concepts of Priority and the stack are really complicated - even for experienced Magic players. Thinking about this scenario in context of priority and the stack is really helpful. I will walk you through the scenario you gave with that in mind.
On your opponent's main phase, they hold priority. Your opponent casts a spell that then goes on the stack. At this point one of two things happens: your opponent can keep (hold) priority, or they can give (pass) priority. If they keep priority, they can then cast instants (or activate instant-speed abilities) before you do. Those instants will go on the stack after their first spell, and will resolve after any spell you cast. If your opponent does not have any instants, priority automatically passes to the next person in the turn order. If that is you, you have the opportunity to do instant speed shenanigans - including countering their spell. (Note: once you have priority, you can hold it until you choose to give it up. For example, after casting your counter, you could then hold priority and cast a spell with split second to prevent that counter from being countered itself.)
Keep in mind that the original spell has not entered the battlefield yet - so in the case of the equipment, they would not have had an opportunity to equip it. Even if they tapped 5 mana, 3 would have been used to cast the spell, and the other two would still be floating in their mana pool. With very few exceptions, priority will always pass to you at some point after the spell is cast and before it resolves.
All this to say that before the spell resolves and the equipment hits the battlefield, you will have ample opportunity to counter their spell - regardless of how much mana they tapped first.
December 30, 2020 11:51 a.m.
dragonstryke58 says... #3
Just a small nitpick, even if you hold priority and cast a spell with split second after your counterspell, a player will still be able to wait for the spell with split second to resolve (and leave the stack) and then counter the counterspell. Objects on the stack don't resolve all at once and there is still a round of priority as each object resolves.
December 30, 2020 2:21 p.m. Edited.
TheRealSpecialK says... #4
dragonstryke58 - thanks for the correction, you are totally right. I appreciate you calling it out.
December 30, 2020 5:13 p.m.
The main points have been covered here, but I want to hopefully simplify why you can counter it.
Casting the equipment and equipping it are different things. When someone casts a spell (any card except lands) it goes to the stack. It's not in play yet; the equip ability can't be used at all until it does enter play. When you counter a card, you're taking it off the stack directly, so it never enters play at all (you just put the card straight into the graveyard). If no one counters the spell, then it "resolves" (instants and sorceries have their effect, other spells enter play).
Once the equipment is in play and any other effects and spells have resolved, the player can activate the equip ability to attach it to a creature. This also goes on the stack and can be responded to, though spells that counter abilities are a lot rarer. You could do something like casting an instant to destroy the creature first though, which would cause the equip ability to fail because it no longer has a legal target.
December 31, 2020 12:58 a.m.
do you need further clarification? if not then please mark an answer.
January 4, 2021 11:47 p.m.
In the future, please remember to hit the green "Mark as Answer" button to indicate your question has been resolved. As this thread has been resolved for a couple of days, I have gone ahead and marked an answer on your behalf.
sergiodelrio says... Accepted answer #1
Unlike auras, which get to be attached to a target permanent when they resolve, Equipment will most likely sit on the battlefield first, then get attached to a creature. Despite any circumstance, you always have the option countering a spell on the stack when you have priority - so effectively, any of your opponent's spells can't resolve unless you allow it (niche exceptions: spells that can't be countered because an effect sais so, and spells with 'split second').
So to adress your example, yes you can counter it all day every day. They can tap as much mana as they want into their mana pool, but they must firs cast the equipment for as a separate move. Then you'll have the option to counter that spell. If they tapped more than 3 mana and you counter their spell, they better have a plan B to invest their mana :D
December 30, 2020 4:36 a.m.