how does Elixir of Immortatility work
Asked by patrickloyd 11 years ago
do you put him in your graveyard then shuffle your library or how does he work?
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #2
Elixir of Immortality 's ability doesn't cause Elixir of Immortality to be sacrificed. The ability's activation cost only involves tapping Elixir of Immortality and paying 2.
However, Elixir of Immortality 's ability explicitly says you shuffle it and your graveyard into your library.
November 21, 2013 6:57 p.m.
What happens if it gets activated by paying the 2 mana and tapping it and in response it gets destroyed prior to its ability resolving? Would you still gain 5 life, would you still shuffle your grave in? I know the shuffling of named card Elixir of Immortality would at least fail as it would check and find that card no longer exists (in play). Of course, if it still shuffles your grave in then moot point except if the elixir got bounced or exiled instead of destroyed.
November 21, 2013 7:28 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
@JasonMB: Once on the stack, an ability exists independently of its source. Interfering with the source will not counter the ability.
November 21, 2013 7:35 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #5
After an ability has been activated/triggered and put onto the stack, destroying the source of the ability won't change that fact. The ability will still resolve.
If a resolving effect tries to do an impossible action (like shuffling in an Elixir that's no longer on the battlefield), it will skip that part and keep going, doing as much as it can.
November 21, 2013 7:37 p.m.
I knew that much, but didn't know if it would fizzle because it can't shuffle the Elixir back in like it says to do.
So I could then pay 2, tap it, in response, bounce it back to my hand or phase it out, and still gain 5 and shuffle my grave regardless of what happens to the artifact?
November 21, 2013 7:39 p.m.
Oh, ok thanks. I am still always confused on when an ability skips a part it can't do and when it fizzles because it can't do part. For instance a spell targeting a creature fizzles if that creature is no longer a legal target and the whole spell fails...even if part of that spell is to draw a card.
November 21, 2013 7:40 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #8
A spell or ability only ever fizzles if all its targets are illegal. Also, a spell or ability only targets an object if it uses the word target in reference to that object.
Elixir of Immortality 's ability has no targets, so it can't fizzle. It will resolve and do as much as it can do.
patrickloyd says... #1
link Elixir of Immortality
November 21, 2013 6:54 p.m.