Stack question: Blasphemous Act and Devour Flesh
Asked by Sweet-Nightmare 12 years ago
Okay, so let's say I have a Guttersnipe , Invisible Stalker ciphered with Hands of Binding s, and a 6/7 Nivmagus Elemental out. My opponent is a RDW with lots of little dudes pounding on me, so I decide to act. Blasphemous Act that is. With all their dudes and my dudes, I only have to pay the one red.
Now, I don't want all those +1/+1 counters from nivmagus to go to waste, plus I need some life. So, in response to my own spell, I cast Devour Flesh on myself and sac Nivmagus Elemental to gain life.
If my understanding of the stack is correct, the last spell on the stack, here meaning Devour Flesh , will resolve before the first spell, Blasphemous Act , gaining me the life, then obliterating the field. I'm just wanting to confirm that is what happens. Also, once the sacked creature is gone, do I have to change what I paid for the Act now that there are less creatures? The last part of the question is, would both Devour Flesh and Blasphemous Act in this scenario trigger the two damage each from Guttersnipe to my opponent?
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #2
Your understanding is correct.
Once a spell is cast or an ability is activated, nothing will retroactively change the casting process for that spell or the activation process for that ability. Blasphemous Act gives you a cost reduction that applies at the time of casting, which is when you pay the cost. Adding or removing creatures to or from the battlefield after casting Blasphemous Act won't do anything.
Guttersnipe 's ability triggers whenever you cast a spell, so its ability will go on top of the stack and resolve before that spell does. Since you're casting both Blasphemous Act and Devour Flesh , you get both triggers.
Note that Devour Flesh only causes you to sacrifice a (nontarget) creature when it resolves. You neither name nor sacrifice a creature on casting.
February 7, 2013 5:59 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
@Chubbub: It doesn't matter if Guttersnipe dies before its ability resolves. Once on the stack, an ability exists independently of its source. Destroying or otherwise removing the source from the appropriate zone will not counter the ability.
February 7, 2013 6 p.m.
Sweet-Nightmare says... #4
Sweet! Thanks guys, that's all exactly what I wanted to know.
Chubbub says... #1
Devour Flesh resolves first and you don not have to change what you paid because Blasphemous Act is already on the stack. You would deal the 2 damage from both because Guttersnipe 's triggered ability resolves before the other spells would kill it.
February 7, 2013 5:57 p.m.