So, two things...
Asked by DocProc95 6 years ago
The scenario is... Faceless Butcher and Phantasmal Image ETB at the same time both wanting to target the same creature... How does this resolve? Also, I intend on using Faceless Butcher as a flicker effect, but I know other creatures with similar "exile/return" effects directly exile and don't return the creature because of how the stack resolves... How would I use him as a flicker effect?
Epochalyptik says... #2
Note also that Phantasmal Image's ability doesn't target anything, which means you don't declare what you're copying until Phantasmal Image is entering the battlefield, and you can copy things with shroud or hexproof.
Caerwyn says... Accepted answer #1
Phantasmal Image's ability is a "Replacement Ability"--it happens automatically and does not use the stack. As such, your Phantasmal Image will enter the battlefield as a copy of that creature before it is exiled by Faceless Butcher.
Note: Because this is a replacement ability, Phantasmal Image will trigger any ETB effects of the creature it copies. So, if you copied a Faceless Butcher, you would get to exile a creature.
For Faceless Butcher's second ability to not trigger, you have to let the first ability resolve before you flicker Faceless Butcher. The stack should look like this:
Faceless Butcher enters the battlefield successfully. Its first ability triggers.
Faceless Butcher's first ability resolves. The creature is exiled.
You Bounce/Flicker/Kill/etc. Faceless Butcher, the other creature returns to the battlefield.
Compare to this:
Faceless Butcher enters the battlefield successfully. Its first ability triggers.
While the first ability is on the stack, Faceless Butcher is killed/bounced/flickered, etc. This triggers Faceless Butcher's second ability.
The stack now looks like this: (1) Faceless Butcher's ETB ability; (2) Faceless Butcher's leave the battlefield ability.
Ability (2) resolves first, since it was put on second. There is nothing to return, so the ability does nothing notable.
Ability (1) resolves second, exiling the creature. However, since that Faceless Butcher is now gone, there is no way for the return ability to ever trigger.
April 9, 2018 12:33 p.m. Edited.