I have Wurmcoil Engine out, and it dies. As soon as it hits the graveyard, somebody plays Surgical Extraction on it, to which I say, "Okay, I will pay 1 and use Trading Post to sac 1 Wurm token to get it back in my hand." What results?
Asked by xunclekevinx 12 years ago
This thought came up since it could potentially happen in a new deck I made.
I think it won't work.
Wurmcoil Engine dies.
Trigger goes on stack
Surgical Extraction on Wurmcoil Engine goed on top of stack
Trading Post is unable to sec a wurm token, because the trigger is still on the stack.
August 23, 2012 9:35 a.m.
Although you can sac a Goat token to bring the engine back as qan extension to Qomputers answer.
August 23, 2012 9:39 a.m.
GreatSword says... #4
Whoa, misread that question.
The 3/3 Tokens haven't entered the battlefield yet, so they can't be sacrificed for the purposes of Trading Post .
You 'could' sacrifice another creature you have though.
August 23, 2012 9:50 a.m.
Going a bit wordy here, there are two scenarios to consider:
1a. Your opponent casts Surgical Extraction in response to Wurmcoil Engine 's dying trigger. If that is the case, you would not be able to activate Trading Post as its trigger has yet to resolve, ie. no Wurm tokens to sacrifice. However, if you have other creatures to sacrifice instead, you may do so in response to his Surgical Extraction . If you can activate Trading Post 's "return artifact" ability with any other creatures in response to the Surgical Extraction , it will resolve first and return Wurmcoil Engine to your hand, then Surgical Extraction will be countered on resolution as its target does not exist anymore, hence it is no longer valid.
1b. If you activate Trading Post 's "return artifact" ability first, then your opponent casts Surgical Extraction in response to it, your Wurmcoil Engine that's in the graveyard would be exiled (along with every other Wurmcoil Engine in your library and hand) first, then when Trading Post tries to return it to your hand, it would be countered on resolution as the target is no longer valid. You would still have to sacrifice a creature for Trading Post 's ability though as part of its activation cost.
August 23, 2012 9:55 a.m.
if the Wurmcoil Engine is in the graveyard to be a legal target then the graveyard ability surely must have resolved netting you the 2 wurm tokens as stated on the Wurmcoil Engine the Wurmcoil Engine cannot be extracted half way through its ability resolving it is either in the graveyard therefore giving you 2 tokens and ready to have Surgical Extraction cast on it, or it is on its way to the graveyard meaning you have no tokens but it cannot be targeted yet. If i am wrong I apologize this is just what I think i cannot look up rules at work or anything but my brain is working haha
August 23, 2012 11:30 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #7
@mason87: Triggered abilities don't resolve immediately after they trigger. They go on the stack, and priority gets passed around for responses before they resolve.
When Wurmcoil Engine dies, his ability triggers and goes on the stack. If the opponent chooses to respond by playing Surgical Extraction , then there are currently no Wurm tokens to feed to Trading Post , because the ability that would have created them hasn't resolved yet. You'll have to sacrifice some other creature you already have out if you want to pull the Engine back in response to the Extraction.
August 23, 2012 12:02 p.m.
If your opponent puts Surgical Extraction onto the stack on top of the Wurmcoil's death trigger, Wurmcoil will be long gone before you get any Wurm tokens to sac.
If your opponent waits until your Wurmcoil's death trigger resolves, you'd be able to save it with Trading Post .
GreatSword says... #1
Well, assuming things happened in the order you stated, the Wurmcoil would go to your hand, because the Trading Post is on top of the stack, and would resolve first.
August 23, 2012 9:27 a.m.