Is Synod Artificer able to untap himself?
Asked by cncfan 7 years ago
So Synod Artificer has 2 abilities where you pay X, then tap him, meaning this all happens before his ability resolves, so could you not target him with his untap ability as he will be tapped when the ability resolves?
If Synod Artificer stops being a creature (perhaps because of Soul Sculptor's ability) and starts being an artifact (perhaps because of Liquimetal Coating's ability, then yes, you can choose Synod Artificer with it's own ability, in order to untap it and a number of other things, perhaps forming an infinite mana combo if those artifacts tap for mana. However, assembling this combo is exceptionally difficult as you have to both remove a permanent type and add a different one.
February 1, 2017 2:14 a.m.
Having two relevant answers above, I'll add a third regarding what I thought was asked :D
The way activating abilities work is that you choose targets and pay costs (in that order, but that's irrelevant here - see below) as you put the ability on the stack. Everything before the colon is a cost, including the symbol, which means Synod Artificer (assuming it could target itself) would be tapped when activating the ability, be tapped while players may respond to you activating the ability, and eventually untapped again on resolution of the ability.
To be perfectly exhaustive, let's assume a card with the following ability (such a card does not exist, it's purely for demonstrative purposes):
: Untap target tapped permanent.
That permanent could never untap itself, as you choose targets before you pay costs, meaning you would have to target a tapped permanent, then be able to tap it to pay the cost - both at the same time is obviously impossible.
February 1, 2017 3:01 a.m.
And while we're talking nonexisting abilities for demonstrative purposes, let's add a completely nonsense case (that's still interesting in theory):
: Untap target untapped permanent.
This card couldn't untap itself either, but for entirely different reasons - you could put the ability on the stack (you choose itself as a target, which works because it's tapped, then tap it to pay the costs), but upon resolution, the ability would counter itself due to not having any legal targets, as this card is not untapped anymore.
Nobilior says... Accepted answer #1
Well, he can't target himself since he does not fit the criteria (he is a creature, and the target must be a non-creature artifact). Also, him tapping is part of the activation cost since it is behind the :. So, you wouldn't be able to put multiple triggers on the stack.
January 31, 2017 10:31 p.m.