Lochmere Serpent final ability
Asked by Unlife 4 years ago
This came up today during a draft. I attacked with Lochmere Serpent , my opponent responded with Festive Funeral . I tried to use the serpent's final ability, but they argued that since it wasn't in a graveyard, I couldn't. I conceded because at the time it didn't seem worth the argument, but I can;t seem to find a definitive answer:
is there any reason I can't active Lochmere Serpent 's third ability while it is on the battlefield?
100% agree with Kogarashi, but just wanted to add a tiny thing I felt was missed and somewhat relevant. Lochmere Serpent 's last ability also states "You can only activate this ability any time you could cast a sorcery", which translates into only during your turn and the stack is empty. This means that even if the part "return Lochmere Serpent from your graveyard to your hand" didnt exist, you still wouldn't even get the chance to respond to Festive Funeral (which was on the stack).
October 20, 2019 10:03 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #3
Rules reference for Kogarashi's answer:
113.6k An ability whose cost or effect specifies that it moves the object it’s on out of a particular zone functions only in that zone, unless its trigger condition or a previous part of its cost or effect specifies that the object is put into that zone or, if the object is an Aura, that the object it enchants leaves the battlefield. The same is true if the effect of that ability creates a delayed triggered ability whose effect moves the object out of a particular zone.
Kogarashi says... Accepted answer #1
Because the wording of Lochmere Serpent 's last ability specifically says to return it from your graveyard to your hand, you can't activate it while the serpent is in any other zone. This is because when activating an ability, the entire ability must be legal at the time that you put it on the stack (must have the requisite number of legal targets and, in this case, the Serpent must be in the graveyard in order to be moved to your hand). Since if the Serpent is not in the graveyard, the ability is not legal, and the game will rewind to the point before you proposed activating it.
October 20, 2019 9:26 p.m.