Raid trigger during Blockers step?
Asked by Enyeto 9 years ago
I am active player. I control Impetuous Sunchaser . During my pre-combat Main Phase, I cast Howl of the Horde and move to attack phase, declaring Impetuous Sunchaser as my attacker. After blockers are declared, I cast Titan's Strength targeting Impetuous Sunchaser .
This will trigger the first delayed trigger of Howl of the Horde . Will it also enable the second delayed trigger? I believe once declared as an attacker and changing step (still attacking) is also consider as the creature "has attacked" this turn.
Rhadamanthus says... #2
To answer your larger question: "attacked with a creature this turn" means "declared a creature as an attacker this turn". Attacking with Impetuous Sunchaser will enable any Raid effect that comes up after that point in the turn, even if the Sunchaser gets killed or removed from combat.
October 8, 2014 11:44 a.m.
Isn't it checked when the next instant or sorcery is cast? Delayed triggers only check when their conditions are met. Howl of the Horde would create a continuous effect for that turn and then check the conditions or attacked/not when the next spell is cast?
October 8, 2014 11:45 a.m.
I was doing some research trying to find support for either case and proved Rhadamanthus correct. The 'Raid' trigger condition is checked as Howl of the Horde resolves when originally cast.
October 8, 2014 12:48 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #5
It's not really a "trigger condition" being checked for Howl of the Horde 's Raid effect, namely because Howl doesn't have any triggered abilities. It's just a condition that part of the spell's effect depends on, like Predict or something similar.
Though many Raid effects are triggered abilities (Mardu Hordechief , etc.), they can also be replacement effects (War-Name Aspirant ), activated abilities (Bloodsoaked Champion ), or something else entirely (Howl of the Horde ). Part of the reason Raid is an "ability word" instead of a keyword is because though there is a common thread connecting the effects, those effects all do totally different things. Compare it to Ferocious, another ability word, and contrast it with Outlast, Prowess, and Delve, actual keywords.
I got Howl wrong the first time I read it, too. It's an unusual template for a very tricky card.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #1
Casting Howl of the Horde during the pre-combat main phase usually isn't too great of an idea. If you haven't yet attacked with a creature at the time you cast Howl then its "Raid" block of text won't do anything as the spell resolves. In your example, only one copy of Titan's Strength will be created.
October 8, 2014 11:40 a.m.