The stack and how activated abilities resolve.
Asked by Dredgar 7 years ago
So I have a Karlov of the Ghost Council with 12 counters on him. I have two opponents, one has a Catapult Master, the other Temporal Adept. The one with Catapult Master taps her 5 soldiers to exile Temporal Adept(it's her turn). In response he activates his Temporal Adept ability to bounce karlov back to my hand. In response I pay the 4 and remove the 12 counters to exile Temporal Adept and Catapult Master. With those on the stack what resolves first and more importantly is anyone left standing?
Ok, makes perfect sense. The reason I exiled Adept was because I thought if I then exiled him it would resolve 1st and save me from the bounce. Thank you! Much appreciated!
November 26, 2016 10:16 p.m.
"112.7a Once activated or triggered, an ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won't affect the ability."
As Neotrup said, the only ones left standing would be the soldiers tapped to activate Catapult Master. As I saw in another similar thread: think of it as a soldier throwing a grenade. After pulling the pin (the activation cost), getting rid of the soldier won't stop that grenade from exploding (resolving).
November 26, 2016 10:27 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #4
It's also worth noting here that, had the second player been thinking about it, bouncing their own Temporal Adept would have been an option, and would have saved it from being exiled.
Neotrup says... Accepted answer #1
Assuming no further responses one of your abilities will resolve first, exiling either Temporal Adept or Catapult Master. You have to choose the order those activations are put on the stack when you activate them. Then everyone will be given a chance to respond again, starting with the player who's turn it is, if nobody does, your next ability will resolve exiling the other creature. Once again people can respond, then Temporal Adept's ability resolves, returning Karlov of the Ghost Council to your hand, even though the Adept is gone. Once again people can respond, then Catapult Master's ability goes to resolve, but get's countered because it's only target (Temporal Adept) is no longer on the battlefield. The four soldiers next to Catapult Master are the only ones left standing, and you should have exiled one of them instead of the Adept, given that it would have been exiled anyways.
November 26, 2016 10:12 p.m.