Nivmagus Elemental ability usable repeatedly and is effective?

Asked by 9-lives 2 years ago

Say I have Nivmagus Elementaland use Counterspell on my opponent's turn, countering a Lightning Bolt. Will the ability for Nivmagus Elemental actually work if I exile the Counterspell when it is cast? And, does the spell Counterspell actually have an effect on the Lightning Bolt before the Counterspell is exiled?

Also, if I cast multiple instants and/or sorceries, can I exile them all in one turn to give Nivmagus Elemental a big buff?

Polaris says... Accepted answer #1

First, we need to go over casting basics. A spell is cast and resolves in a few steps. First, you announce your casting the spell. You make any choices (which mode of Abrade, how much is for Comet Storm and if you're kicking it, etc. Once you've done that, you select any targets and figure out the cost of the spell. You pay that cost and then it's cast. At this point, the spell goes into the stack.

Players now get a chance to respond (this is when you cast your Counterspell). If no player does, the top item on the stack resolves (this is when Counterspell would take effect). Once a spell or ability finishes resolving, it leaves the stack. A permanent spell enters play, an instant or sorcery goes to the graveyard, and an ability just disappears.

In this case, you then respond to your Counterspell by exiling it to Nivmagus Elemental. The exile is part of the cost, which means no one can respond to that part. By the time the ability goes on the stack, the Counterspell is exiled. Players get a chance to respond, and if they don't, you resolve it and put the 2 counters on your Elemental.

Now to your questions.

  • Yes, the ability works to exile the Counterspell.
  • No, any spell you exile to Nivmagus Elemental gets taken off the stack (into exile) and will not resolve. You're trading out the spell for +1/+1 counters, go their Lightning Bolt will resolve and deal damage since it wasn't countered.
  • Yes, you can activate Nivmagus Elemental any time you have a spell to exile to it. There's no tap requirement or other limiter slowing you down, so you can feed Nivmagus Elemental as many spells as you can cast. Even copies of spells are fair game, so if you manage to chain seven cantrips (like Manamorphose) and then cast Grapeshot, its storm ability will make seven copies and you could exile all of them plus the original to Nivmagus Elemental to put a total of 16 +1/+1 counters on it. In fact, spells exiled to Nivmagus Elemental still count for storm, so you could also get some of the cantrips for even more counters.
March 24, 2022 9:22 a.m.

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