Priority, equipment vs instant?
Asked by joeyb11223 8 years ago
Quick query...
So as I understand it if I cast a creature, and no one plays a counter spell, its now hit the battlefield. At this time I as the active player still have priority right? If I have something like Swiftfoot Boots in-play, can I pay to equip it to my creature BEFORE an opponent can announce they want to play say Doom Blade, or as soon as the creature ETB, can they kill it before I can protect it? Or is it that I still have priority when the creature has entered the battlefield, but once I pay for Swiftfoot Boots they can cast Doom Blade, which kills it before the boots equip, and so there's no legal target for my boots anymore and it just fizzles out?
Rhadamanthus says... #2
It's the last one. You do have priority after the creature resolves and enters the battlefield, but other players will still be allowed to make responses to your next action, whatever it is.
February 17, 2016 4:17 p.m.
joeyb11223 says... #3
Cheers guys, assumed I probably couldn't protect it but wasn't sure when the Doom Blade could do its thing.
February 17, 2016 4:21 p.m.
What if in this scenario you waited for your opponent to throw some removal down, i.e. doom blade, and then used the equip? If this is all happening during my main phase I would still be able to use the quip ability and it would resolve first no?
April 11, 2016 1:46 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #5
It's best to ask a new question in a new topic if the old topic is more than a few days old. Because of how quickly topics cycle off the front page of the Q&A section, the only users who will notice your post are the ones who have already commented on this topic.
The words "activate this as a sorcery" in the rules/reminder text of an activated ability mean "during a main phase on your turn when the stack is empty" (emphasis added). In your example the stack isn't empty, so Equip can't be activated.
April 11, 2016 2:50 p.m.
Oh wow, I have never heard "when the stack is empty" for a sorcery,that's interesting. Thanks
April 11, 2016 7:51 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #7
Yes, that's the key reason you can't cast a sorcery spell in response to something.
TheHroth says... Accepted answer #1
Your second scenario is the correct one:
After your creature spell resolves, you are correct that you hold priority. This means you have the power to do whatever you want.
Paying
for Swiftfoot Boots will place that ability on the stack. At this point, priotiry passes and other players may add things to the stack. If someone wishes to Doom Blade your creature, this is when they would do that.
Now, as the stack resolves top to bottom, and their Doom Blade is above your Swiftfoot Boots equip, your creature will be destroyed before the Boots can be equipped to it.
Note that equip abilities can only be activated as a sorcery, so you could not then respond to Doom Blade by paying
again.
February 17, 2016 4:16 p.m. Edited.