How does Borborgymos's state ability work with the stack
Asked by JonathanCummins 7 years ago
Okay so it's my run and I cast Borborgymos Enraged . My opponent has four 1/1 tokens. I know Borborgymos Enraged does not have summoning sickness when it comes to his ability but before wiping his board by discarding 4 lands I sit on it to see what he does. During his turn, he casts Eldrazi Monument , which makes all his creatures indestructible. Here's the question: at that point, while he is casting eldrazi monument, could I have used Borborgymos's ability to destroy his creatures before they were indestructible? Like how would that work on the stack? I assume his ability would be the same as a Lightning Bolt but I'm not even really sure how that would work.
JonathanCummins says... #2
Thank you! Sorry for the misunderstanding. The state thing was a typo lol very well thought out answer and very much appreciated
April 2, 2017 12:25 p.m.
JonathanCummins says... #3
That was a great answer. I'm looking at my card differently now. Never really understood the difference between triggered and activated abilities until now
April 2, 2017 12:26 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #4
Please select an answer to remove this from the unanswered queue if you require no further explanation.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
Borborygmos Enraged
I'm not sure what you mean by "state ability."
There are state triggers, which occur when the game reaches a certain state and continue to trigger as long as the state is true and the ability is not already on the stack.
There are also static abilities, which are neither triggered nor activated. Static abilities make statements about the game. Some establish continuous effects. Some create allowances or prohibitions on certain actions.
Borborygmos Enraged has three abilities: a static ability (trample), a triggered ability ("whenever ~ deals combat damage to a player..."), and an activated ability ("discard a land card...").
Unless otherwise specified, activated abilities may be activated any time you have priority. This is typically called "instant speed" because you can use them like instants. So when your opponent casts Eldrazi Monument, you can respond by activating Borborygmos Enraged's ability several times.
April 2, 2017 12:04 p.m.