Rules Challenge - Fireball
Asked by KrazyCaley 12 years ago
My opponent controls Grizzly Bears , Dawntreader Elk , and Llanowar Elves . I cast Fireball with X = 8 targeting the Bears, the Elk, the Elves, and my opponent. In response, he uses Dawntreader Elk 's ability, sacrificing it and getting a land.
What will happen when it comes time for Fireball to resolve, if nothing else happens?
Fireball's cost is based upon how many targets you choose on announcement of the spell, but the damage division is done as the spell resolves.
If X=8 and you have only 3 targets still legal upon resolution, it will deal 8/3=2.666 (rounded down to 2) damage to each of the remaining targets.
If X=9, and all 4 targets were alive, they would each take 2 damage (9/4=2.25 rounded down to 2) but in your example where there are now only 3 targets legal upon resolution, the damage would be 3 to each of them.
May 26, 2013 11:34 p.m.
I had a feeling it would divide upon resolution, but didn't want to put that in my first post. So in this scenario, it deals 2 damage to each of the remaining targets.
May 26, 2013 11:36 p.m.
Interestingly, the behaviour of Fireball combos with Horobi, Death's Wail to turn Fireball into "XR, Destroy X target creatures"
May 26, 2013 11:45 p.m.
Oh wow, that's an awesome combo! Makes the cost (2xN)R, where N is the number of creatures you want to destroy, but that's still cheap!
May 26, 2013 11:54 p.m.
It's even better than that.
The spell will just divide the amount of damage you deal among all the targets you chose. The game is perfectly capable of dividing 0 damage rounded down among 10 creatures and just dealing 0 to each of them.
It's actually JUST XR, not (2X)R
May 27, 2013 12:02 a.m.
Oh crap! I didn't think that would work, which is why I assumed (2X)R!
May 27, 2013 5:51 a.m.
wouldnt it me like 2R with the X could be 0 so your only doing 0 damage but targeting the creatures so therefore they die because they are being targeted?
May 27, 2013 8:03 a.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #9
Not sure how you meant the challenge to be so 2 scenario
X=8, and you allready have paid additionnal costs for additional targets. Here the damage would be divided in 3 remaining targets, dealing 2 damage each to the cratures and opponent.
x=8 and additional cost are not paid yet. Here you target 4 things, so fireball would deal 4 damages divided evenly. Upon resolution it would be 4/3 dealing 1 damage to each, killing only the Llanowar Elves .
In the end, challenge not clear enough, what is the total cost you paid for fireball? 8R? 12R?
May 27, 2013 9:59 a.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #10
My second scenario is incorrect, it would be 8 - 3 additional target = 5, uppon resolution 5 divided by 3 remaining targets, dealing 1 damage to each.
May 27, 2013 10:07 a.m.
Absinthman says... #11
@Bobgalarneau I don't think this is a two-scenario challenge. The additional cost is not a part of X, it is added to X. When you cast Fireball, you declare what X is, then pay it. If the spell requires additional costs, you pay those as well, but you don't include those in the value of X you declared earlier. He declared X to be 8, and because he says that Fireball is targeting 4 objects, he actually must have paid additional 3, because otherwise he couldn't have declared them as targets. There is no "additional cost was not paid" scenario. Fireball has been cast for total of 11R.
May 27, 2013 10:55 a.m.
Absinthman says... #12
@Devonin and Denial048: Actually, the combo doesn't make Fireball XR - Destroy X taget creatures. It makes it XR - Destroy X+1 target creatures. Because you don't need to pay an addtitional 1 for the first target, you can cast it for R (X=0) to kill one target. 1R kills two targets, 2R kills three and so on...
May 27, 2013 11:01 a.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #13
The challenge just seemed too simple if additional cost where allready paid...
May 27, 2013 11:11 a.m.
I thin the 2 damage that was supposed to be dealt to Dawntreader Elk will just be countered.
May 27, 2013 11:25 a.m.
Absinthman says... #15
@203995014: It will not be countered. You can see the rulings on this situation on the Gatherer.
Fireball's damage is divided as Fireball resolves, not as it's cast, because there are no choices involved. The division involves only targets that are still legal at that time.
May 27, 2013 11:42 a.m.
KrazyCaley says... #16
It does indeed divide on resolution; the spell is not countered, nor is the damage ignored that would have been assigned to the Elk. It's just that in this case, eight divided by three rounded down is still 2.
Denial048 says... #1
I believe it will deal 2 damage to Grizzly Bears , 2 to Llanowar Elves and 2 to your opponent, with the remaining 2 doing nothing (the Fireball still tryes to hit the Elk, but failed)
May 26, 2013 11:31 p.m.