How does the stack play out in this scenario?

Asked by 00NinjaPirate 4 years ago

I have Spitemare on the field and attack my opponent who has Ageless Entity + Lifelink

After the damage step, am i able to destroy their Ageless Entity with Spitemare 's ability or does the lifelink happen first?

Caerwyn says... Accepted answer #1

Lifelink is not a triggered ability and does not use the stack--they will gain life simultaneously with the damage being dealt. I still want to walk through the stack, since there are two triggered abilities at play, Spitemare and Ageless Entity .

  1. You attack with Spitemare and they block with Ageless Entity .

  2. Combat Damage is assigned, your opponent gains 4 health due to lifelink; Spitemare takes 4 damage.

  3. Spitemare triggers, even though it has been killed. Ageless Entity triggers because your opponent gained life.

  4. You are the active player, so your Spitemare ability goes on the stack first and you choose the target for it.

  5. They are the non-active player, so their Ageless Entity trigger goes on the stack second.

  6. The stack resolves in last-in, first-out order, so Ageless Entity resolves first, and 4 +1/+1 counters are put on it, making it an 8/8.

  7. Spitemare resolves, and you can deal 4 damage to target creature or player. If you targeted the Ageless Entity , it now is an 8/8 with 7 damage marked on it, so it survives.

August 20, 2019 2:29 p.m. Edited.

00NinjaPirate says... #2

Thank you so much for your in-depth answer Caerwyn ! Would the opposite be true if the attacking and defending roles were reversed?

August 20, 2019 3:30 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #3

No problem, happy to help!

You are correct regarding what happens when the rolls are reversed. When the Ageless Entity is the attacking creature, its controller is the active player and you are the non-active player. As such, Ageless Entity 's ability goes on the stack first, Spitemare on the stack second. Spitemare resolves first--at the time of Spitemare 's resolution, the Ageless Entity is a 4/4 with 3 damage marked on it. Spitemare 's ability resolves, dealing another 4 damage, so you have dealt fatal damage to the Ageless Entity , and it dies as a state-based action. Ageless Entity 's ability then resolves, but, since the Ageless Entity has already died, nothing happens.

August 20, 2019 3:43 p.m.

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