Royal AssassinS

Asked by twospires 11 years ago

This might be a stupid question that Zer0w and I were wondering about. But here goes. Say I have a Royal Assassin and a Vampire Nighthawk . My opponent controls a Royal Assassin . Nobody has summoning sickness, and I attack with my Vampire Nighthawk . In response, my opponent uses his Royal Assassin to kill it before damage. In response to that, I tap my Royal Assassin to kill his.

So here's my question: What happens? I think the rules say that my Assassin's ability would resolve and kill his Assassin, then that ability would resolve and kill his Royal Assassin . But the way I've been playing it for years is that my ability would resolve, kill his Royal Assassin , and prevent its ability from resolving. So, really, does my Vampire Nighthawk die or not?

Sorry if this is a confusing situation, I can set up a new one if it's not clear enough.

Matsi883 says... #1

An ability resolves independent of its source. Vampire Nighthawk dies.

January 25, 2014 1:53 p.m.

PrimeEpoch says... #2

Yes, you've paid the cost for that ability, so the ability resolves without checking if royal assassin is still in play.

January 25, 2014 2:20 p.m.

Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #3

@nayaftw: That answer is a little misleading. There are some abilities that check whether the source is still in the relevant zone upon resolution. Also, paying the cost is not the important factor here.

The more complete answer is:
Once an an activated ability is fully activated or a triggered ability has been addressed, that ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Removing the source from its current zone will not counter the ability. The ability itself is an independent object and must specifically be countered.

Because your opponent's Royal Assassin 's ability is already on the stack, destroying his Royal Assassin won't prevent its ability from resolving. You'd need to counter the ability by using a spell/ability like Voidslime or Azorius Guildmage 's second ability, or by making all of its targets illegal.

January 25, 2014 2:32 p.m.

twospires says... #4

Thanks, I was pretty sure that was the answer, but my friends taught it to me differently, so I've been playing that situation wrong for a long time. Glad to have that cleared up.

January 25, 2014 4:31 p.m.