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Asked by luisserpa 7 years ago

Hello guys and thank you so much in advance for even reading this. My question is about Iona, Shield of Emeria. Let's say I play her and say choose the color black. Now, before her effect kicks in, can my opponent play a Doom Blade to destroy her? I already saw doing this type of play with Vendilion Clique, but I don't know if it's possible to do it with Iona.

Thank you all and best regards

Lame_Duck says... Accepted answer #1

Before asking a question, you should check the Gatherer page for a card to see if the rulings there explain it. In this case:

"Once the color is chosen, it's too late for opponents to respond by casting spells of that color. Iona is not yet in the battlefield at the time the color is chosen, so, for example, theres no way for an opponent to destroy it by casting Doom Blade if the chosen color is black."

February 1, 2017 5:59 a.m.

luisserpa says... #2

Cool, didn't know that website. Thank you for your anwser, it helped a lot.

February 1, 2017 6:02 a.m.

Panzerforge says... #3

Worth noting, luisserpa that any ability that can affect her on the stack (e.g., Counterspell) can still be cast regardless of what color is chosen, since she needs to be fully resolved before they even have a chance to declare the color.

Also, if you KNOW your opponent is going to declare black, and you've got Doom Blade in hand, you can at the very least blade something else they have in play while Iona is on the stack, so you can still cast the spell before Iona and her effect go into play.

February 1, 2017 7:30 a.m. Edited.

luisserpa says... #4

Ok, thank you for the input Panzerforge, I'll make sure to keep that in mind.

February 1, 2017 7:54 a.m.

Worth noting that Gatherer has a ruling for a scenario exactly like this:

10/1/2009 Once the color is chosen, its too late for opponents to respond by casting spells of that color. Iona is not yet in the battlefield at the time the color is chosen, so, for example, theres no way for an opponent to destroy it by casting Doom Blade if the chosen color is black.

February 1, 2017 5:46 p.m.

Panzerforge says... #6

Raging_Squiggle, which is why you empty your hand of useful instants while Iona is on the stack if you're playing a mono-color (or mostly-color...) deck.

Once Iona resolves, she enters the battlefield, and the color choice goes into effect.

February 1, 2017 7:58 p.m.

This discussion has been closed