Stack Clarification: Jace's Archivist
Asked by landofMordor 8 years ago
Hey, my brother and I were playing with Jace's Archivist in a Nekusar, the Mindrazer deck, and we came up with the following conundrum.
My opponent controls 3 untapped Swamps and no permanents, but has 7 cards in hand. I control Jace's Archivist and an Island, both untapped. He casts Murder, targeting my Jace's Archivist. From what I understand of the stack, I receive priority and can activate Jace's Archivist, whose ability will go on the stack above Murder. My opponent passes priority, and the activated ability resolves. What does this mean for the resolution of Murder? My guess would be that my opponent no longer has the spell in hand, so it's illegally cast -- in other words, my opponent can't resolve Murder but he still has BBB floating. But I could be wrong, and it seemed important enough to ask about specifically. I've done a fair amount of reading on the stack, casting spells illegally, and priority, but this seems to be a special case.
Thanks! Any help is appreciated (I'd love to be referred to the relevant rule text, especially).
landofMordor says... #2
Thank you very much, Epochalyptik; sorry I missed the Q&A thread. That's very helpful!
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
701.4a To cast a spell is to take it from the zone it's in (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. A player may cast a spell if he or she has priority. See rule 601, "Casting Spells."
Spells exist only on the stack. By the time you receive priority in this situation, Murder is on the stack; it is no longer in your opponent's hand. Therefore, discard abilities can't affect it.
August 15, 2016 10:01 a.m.