split second vs. cycling ability reassurance

Asked by ramonthebadass 11 years ago

okay so the other day i was playing commander with my friend jp. we were both using mono blue decks and he decided to wipe away my consecrated sphinx back top my hand. now we all know that wipe away is a slit second card and players cant cast spells or activate abilities on the stack unless their mana abilities. i had about 7 open mana and i wanted to cycle my decree of slience in response since it isnt a spell and the cycling ability doest use the stack. am i right in doing so?? if yes or no plz verify the rulings.

AzrielBarakiel says... #1

Cycling is an activated ability. You can't activate abilities as long as spilt second is on the stack.

June 13, 2013 4:42 a.m.

Denial048 says... #2

702.27a Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player's hand. "Cycling [cost]" means "[Cost], Discard this card: Draw a card."

As AzrielBarakiel said, it is an activated ability, and as you noted in your original post, you cannot activate abilities with a Split Second spell on the stack.

June 13, 2013 4:44 a.m.

AzrielBarakiel says... Accepted answer #3

You can only take special actions while split second is on the stack, and then only if they are legal actions:

1. Special Actions 115.1. Special actions are actions a player may take when he or she has priority that don't use the stack. These are not to be confused with turn-based actions and state-based actions, which the game generates automatically. (See rule 703, "Turn-Based Actions," and rule 704, "State-Based Actions.") 115.2. There are six special actions: 115.2a Playing a land is a special action. To play a land, a player puts that land onto the battlefield from the zone it was in (usually that player's hand). A player can take this action any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of his or her turn, but only if he or she hasn't yet played a land that turn. See rule 305, "Lands." 115.2b Turning a face-down creature face up is a special action. A player can take this action any time he or she has priority. See rule 707, "Face-Down Spells and Permanents." 115.2c Some effects allow a player to take an action at a later time, usually to end a continuous effect or to stop a delayed triggered ability from triggering. Doing so is a special action. A player can take such an action any time he or she has priority, but only if the ability or effect allows it. 115.2d Some effects from static abilities allow a player to take an action to ignore the effect from that ability for a duration. Doing so is a special action. A player can take such an action any time he or she has priority. 115.2e A player who has a card with suspend in his or her hand may exile that card. This is a special action. A player can take this action any time he or she has priority, but only if he or she could begin to cast that card by putting it onto the stack. See rule 702.60, "Suspend." 115.2f In a Planechase game, rolling the planar die is a special action. A player can take this action any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of his or her turn. Taking this action costs a player an amount of mana equal to the number of times he or she has previously taken this action on that turn. See rule 901, "Planechase."

115.3. If a player takes a special action, that player receives priority afterward

June 13, 2013 5:10 a.m.