How does Asceticism interact with boardwipes?
Asked by JoJoem 5 years ago
I had an issue come up while playing a match that led to some confusion about the rules. Big surprise, right?
So on my opponent's turn they boardwipe with Akroma's Vengeance. I respond by regenerating a creature using Asceticism. Opponent protests, stating I shouldn't be able to do that because of how stack works. I rebut with rules of priority and a reminder that it's passed around so people can respond to things, if able.
The debate quickly went into the weeds about how paid mana abilities are not allowed or fast enough to respond with. I went along and cleared my board without regenerating anything, but their assessment left me skeptical, to put it lightly.
My understanding is that after an opponent does a thing, priority is passed onto me to give me a chance to respond. Therefore, I should be able to add a regen shield onto the stack for a target creature. Also stack resolves in top to bottom order, meaning my ability goes off first as it was added last, in response to the boardwipe.
I'd really appreciate any clarification and thanks in advance.
Lost_Ascendant says... #2
The only time that is not true is with a spell containing Split Second. So like said, you can always activate paid abilities in response.
July 29, 2018 3:37 p.m.
@Rhadamanthus - Thanks for the quick answer. I figured my opponent was mistaken about a few things. However, I wasn't completely certain on other issues so I let it be and moved forward.
July 29, 2018 3:45 p.m.
@Lost_Ascendant - That actually raises another question for me. Barring split second scenarios, could someone respond with activated abilities that require tapping/untapping?
July 29, 2018 3:51 p.m.
If the ability has the or symbol in the cost and you haven't continuously controlled the creature since the beginning of your most recent turn, then you can't use it. Same with if you need to tap the creature and it's already tapped, or untap it when it's already untapped.
Some abilities also restrict when you can use them. Equipping, for instance, can only be done as a sorcery, and thus not in response to other things on the stack.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #1
You're right. Activated abilities operate at "instant speed" (unless they specifically say otherwise) and players are allowed to activate them in response to other spells and abilities. Your play was legal and it would have worked the way you thought it did.
July 29, 2018 3:19 p.m.