How does Silence work?
Asked by alagondarck 11 years ago
Silence says << Your opponents can't cast spells this turn. (Spells cast before this resolves are unaffected. >>
Q1: He casts a spell or a creature, and in response I cast Silence . What happens to his mana?
Q2: Same story... What happens to the spell/creature?
Q3: Same story... and he casts another spell, say Lightning Strike on top of Silence ... What happens now?
aeonstoremyliver says... #2
This should be in the Q&A, IMO.
You'd have to cast it during the opponent's or your upkeep due to the errata on Silence . He/she would have the opportunity to respond with an Instant once priority is passed, then the order of the stack follows ( last in, first resolved), and spells resolve.
October 4, 2013 4:01 a.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #3
Duh... This is the Q&A... My bad lol. I thought it was a different forum...
October 4, 2013 4:02 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
@aeonstoremyliver: Your comment doesn't really make sense. You don't have to cast Silence during any upkeep. Your opponent can always respond to it unless another effect is preventing him or her from doing so. Silence has also never received errata.
October 4, 2013 4:09 a.m.
alagondarck says... #5
Let me clarify : What I want Silence to do for me is to block him all turn round from summoning creatures, or playing sorceries/enchantments should it not be countered.
Therefore I SHOULD cast it during his untap/upkeep step. Right?
p.s. : Dream scenario would be <
October 4, 2013 4:15 a.m.
alagondarck says... #6
Let me clarify : What I want Silence to do for me is to block him all turn round from summoning creatures, or playing sorceries/enchantments should it not be countered.
Therefore I SHOULD cast it during his untap/upkeep step. Right?
p.s. : Dream scenario would be
And now I summon this creature to punch your face in...(I see the creature and I decide that he truly can punch my face in, I want to delay/prevent it and I cast Silence ...Hell, no you don't , for now
October 4, 2013 4:16 a.m.
Playing a land is not casting a spell, so Silence has no effect on playing lands.
October 4, 2013 9:26 a.m.
MagnorCriol says... Accepted answer #9
Yes, you should cast Silence during their upkeep if you want to be absolutely certain you're stopping them from casting anything except instants or things with flash that turn. Casting and resolving it during their upkeep prevents them from being able to have priority in their main phase they need to cast a creature spell. If they have any instants or things with flash, they can cast them on top of your Silence in response, but that's all the chance they get.
If you do let them get to their main phase, you can cast it in response to anything they do that involves the stack (spells, activated abilities) and your Silence will then stop them from casting anything else that turn once it resolves.
Silence cast in response to a spell does nothing to the spell already cast, so your dream scenario can't happen. What would happen there is they summon the creature, you cast silence in response, Silence resolves and prevents them from casting anything else, then their creature resolves.
As Barandis said, lands aren't spells and don't use the stack, so Silence is irrelevant to them.
October 4, 2013 9:37 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #10
No player ever gets priority during the untap step, so the earliest you could cast Silence is during his or her upkeep.
As stated, Silence does not interfere with spells put on the stack before Silence resolves. It isn't a pseudo-counterspell.
Also, make sure you select an answer.
October 4, 2013 10:28 a.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #11
Should have said "text," but meaning inferred. I should clarify and say that for Silence to be optimal, it should be cast during an upkeep. It's not like Festival in that you have no choice in the matter, but coming from a strategic vantage point Silence 's optimal use would be to not allow a player to cast permanents or spells during their turn, unless an Instant in response to Silence .
October 4, 2013 10:04 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #12
...or your turn if your opponent is playing control. Good usage there.
October 4, 2013 10:08 p.m.
Ok lets Imagine this secnario. I cast Silence at the end of their upkeep before they draw. They have a Glistener Elf on the board and respond to Silence with Mutagenic Growth on the elf. He then passes priority back to me and I choose to pass back again. Does Silence then resolve or can he cast more instants on the stack?
January 31, 2016 1:41 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #14
@Thraxx: Please check the post dates before commenting. This thread is over two years old. Next time, ask a new question rather than reply to an old one.
Whenever players pass priority in succession over an object on the stack, the topmost object on the stack resolves. Then, players have to pass priority again to resolve the next object or move to the next step/phase. At any time when a player has priority during these passes, he or she can cast a spell or activate an ability. When this happens, players must once again pass priority in succession to resolve it.
January 31, 2016 1:53 a.m.
I saw the post dates. Amazingly I got an answer as well! Thanks tho
Epochalyptik says... #1
Q1: The mana was already spent to cast the first spell. Silence has no interaction with mana, anyway.
Q2: The spell resolves. Silence literally says "Spells cast before this resolves are unaffected."
Q3: See response to Q2.
October 4, 2013 3:59 a.m.