Stack and ability resolutions seem counter-intuitive, can someone please explain...
Asked by BS-T 9 years ago
I was brought to this thought when looking up rules re: Split Second
It seems that I can activate my e.g. Nevinyrral's Disk, stack a Boomerang targeting said Disk and, presuming nothing else happens to get in the way: bounce my Disk, Disk's ability resolves, replay Disk.
The general explanation given is that abilities exist on the stack independently of their source, but this seems to be counter-intuitive -- if it isn't there how does it resolve?
In my mind the Stack represents a series of actions between two battling opponents, I see he is opening his scary looking Nevinyrral's Disk so I cast a Boomerang spell to bounce it from his hands to over there somewhere, hence the point of casting an 'instant' to mess with his plans. The way the explanation goes however, is that the Disk pings off into the corner, goes off anyway and somehow remains intact by virtue of being in the corner. And I'm not sure I follow that.
I expect the Stack is a well designed and thought through concept by the games-makers and that too many other synergies and things that seem perfectly sensible would go all sorts of wrong if things worked the way I look at it, but if someone could clear this up for me I'd be a happier player.
Ta.
Yeah OK Epoch... I kind of went off on one there.
Really what I want to know is if this is possible/accurate:
I can activate my e.g. Nevinyrral's Disk, stack a Boomerang targeting said Disk and, presuming nothing else happens to get in the way: bounce my Disk, Disk's ability resolves, replay Disk.
The right-ness or wrong-ness of it is largely academic.
Thanks
August 26, 2015 3:01 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #3
That is correct. Because Disk doesn't require you to sacrifice it or do anything that would cause it to change zones as part of its ability's activation cost, it remains on the battlefield while its ability is on the stack. If you bounce it, the ability will be unaffected (abilities exist independently of their sources). The ability will still resolve and will destroy all relevant permanents that exist at the time of resolution.
August 26, 2015 3:27 p.m.
Think of activating an ability as firing a gun. If, while the bullet is on the way towards you, somebody knocks the gun out of my hand, that doesn't stop the bullet from hitting you.
Epochalyptik says... #1
I'm not sure if this is a question about how the rules work or about why the rules are the way they are. Please clarify.
Abilities aren't tied to their sources. If it helps you envision everything canonically, imagine that the Disk releases some pulse and everything will be destroyed when the pulse hits. Removing something from the battlefield prior to that event means that object won't be around to get destroyed. And the pulse exists independently of the Disk.
Ultimately, the game rules dictate what happens. There may be some canonical gaps in places, but the choices are made largely on the basis that they result in a more playable game.
August 26, 2015 2:47 p.m.