Retraction Helix VS Removal
Asked by TommiHawk 11 years ago
Hi,
I was just playing against a friend and i used a banishing light on a creature, in response he applied a retraction helix to his creature and then tapped it to bounce it back to his hand. As far as i can tell this is illegal?
After the retraction helix resolves, the banishing light would resolve and once the stack is empty THEN the creature can be tapped to return something (in this case it cant as its been exiled)?
Am i right or was his play correct?
harrydemon117 says... #2
As long as the creature does not have summoning sickness (meaning it was on the battlefield at the beginning its controller's turn).
Tap abilities cannot be activated if the creature has summoning sickness
May 20, 2014 3:24 p.m.
is that because Banishing Light is an "enters the battlefield" effect? So he can cast retraction helix in response to my banishing light, then after banishing light resolves tap the creature to return it before banishing light triggers? Also, im then assuming Banishing Light Remains on the battlefield as it does not require a target in order to resolve?
What would happen, for example, if i Lightning Strike his creature and he uses Retraction Helix in response, surely he cant wait for his spell to resolve before further adding things onto the stack? If so that seems incredibly backwards.
May 20, 2014 3:42 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #4
@TommiHawk: In a sense.
Your opponent can respond either to Banishing Light as a spell or to Banishing Light 's ability. If he or she responds to the spell, Banishing Light still enters the battlefield, and you'll choose a target from among what legal options there are at that time. If he or she responds to the ability, the ability will fizzle because its target, which was already declared, is now illegal. Banishing Light itself will remain on the battlefield exiling nothing.
To resolve your second question: yes, your opponent can. As I said, players must pass priority to resolve each individual object on the stack. The stack never resolves all at once. During any round of priority, players may cast spells or activate abilities. This means that players can allow the topmost object of the stack to resolve, then cast a spell or activate an ability in response to the next object before that object actually resolves.
May 20, 2014 4:07 p.m.
Thanks alot for the answer, it makes sense to me now. I find it interesting that the banishing light persists, a constelation trigger through and through.
Epochalyptik says... #1
Link all cards in your question. There's a formatting guide at the bottom of the page.
Banishing Light
Retraction Helix
You're incorrect. The stack does not resolve all at once. Rather, players pass priority to resolve the topmost object on the stack, then they must pass priority again to resolve the next object on the stack.
After Retraction Helix resolves, your opponent may activate the ability in response to Banishing Light . The creature will be returned to its owner's hand, and Banishing Light 's ability will fizzle (be countered by game rules for having no legal targets).
May 20, 2014 2:43 p.m.