Progenitor Mimic and removal
Asked by Schuesseled 11 years ago
This came up in my last FNM match, i wasn't sure if my opponent was correct but decided to just accept it.
Let's say I have on my field a Manaweft Sliver , Galerider Sliver and Thorncaster Sliver . I decide to play Progenitor Mimic and declare him entering as a copy of thorncaster, my opponent tells me he is bouncing thorny back to my hand with Simic Charm and that means my mimic enters as a 0/0 and therefore dies.
Is he correct? Or would I be able to choose something else to copy?
The reason you don't need to choose is because the card text does not say 'target'. When a card says choose, you do this as the spell resolves, not as you cast it.
This means you can ask if it resolves before declaring choices.
Note that if you do declare a choice earlier than you needed to, and your opponent does nothing in response, you are held to that choice. You may only change your choice if your opponent responds to your (unnecessary) early declaration.
September 15, 2013 1:37 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #3
Thanks, I thought it might be something like that, still wasn't really important for the match that I was right, having infinite Manaweft Sliver or Galerider Sliver wouldn't have made a difference to the outcome. Really need those extra Thorncaster Sliver 's to close out the game. :P
Absinthman says... Accepted answer #1
At the time you pass priority to your opponent to respond, Progenitor Mimic is still on the stack, unresolved. The time for you to choose the creature it copies comes only when it is entering the battlefield, at which point the time for your opponent to respond has already passed. Your opponent can bounce or kill something on the battlefield while the Mimic is on the stack without knowing what you want to copy, but in this case you can just choose to copy something else when te Mimic resolves. There is no window for your opponent to let you choose and then act upon it, because the copying ability is a replacement effect that doesn't use the stack (as opposed to triggered abilities). If it was a triggered ability (like "when Progenitor Mimic enters the battlefield, it becomes a copy of target creature you control") it would use the stack and the play your opponent was trying to exert would work.
September 15, 2013 9:50 a.m.