Using these two cards, can I force my opponent to pay life when attacking?
Asked by TypicalTimmy 2 years ago
I'm building a precon for Sivitri, Dragon Master and I was wondering if this interaction works or not.
One secret Commander I have is Silumgar, the Drifting Death for obvious reasons. But I also wanted a "prison / force" Commander as well, for her +1.
With Jon Irenicus, Shattered One (Who is budget at $0.35), I can give an opponent one of my Dragons. Now, that Dragon becomes Goaded, so it must attack each turn if able.
With Sivitri, her +1 says a creature can not attack unless an opponent pays 2 life for each attacking creature. So here's where I am being hung up: My opponent CAN pay the 2 life. They are given the choice to pay it, and they absolutely are able to.
Does this mean that when combat comes around, I can force my opponent to pay 2 life and attack someone else with one of my Dragons? And as the game progresses, suppose they have 3 of my Dragons. They are now forced to pay 6 life, and attack? Does that work?
Direct answer: You can't force someone to pay life, mana or any other resource; they can always choose not to pay. In the simplest example, if a creature is enchanted with Bloodshed Fever and Oppressive Rays, that creature's controller can choose not to pay the Rays fee, so it's unable to attack for the purposes of Fever.
For this question specifically, the premise is slightly off. Sivitri, Dragon Master prevents creatures from attacking you or planeswalkers you control unless its controller pays the fee. Goaded creatures can't attack you if there's another option. So the dragon you gave away can attack another opponent without paying the fee. If there aren't any other opponents, your opponent can choose to pay the fee and attack, or decline the fee and not attack.
September 22, 2022 11:36 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #3
Players can't even be forced to pay a cost of . War Tax allows people to just not attack with goaded creatures if activated for X=0.
Delphen7 says... Accepted answer #1
It does not force your opponents to lose life, as players do not have to attack if there is costs involved. I'll quote the whole rule for completeness sake, but the bolded part answers your question.
Rule 508.1d "The active player checks each creature they control to see whether it’s affected by any requirements (effects that say a creature attacks if able, or that it attacks if some condition is met). If the number of requirements that are being obeyed is fewer than the maximum possible number of requirements that could be obeyed without disobeying any restrictions, the declaration of attackers is illegal. If a creature can’t attack unless a player pays a cost, that player is not required to pay that cost, even if attacking with that creature would increase the number of requirements being obeyed. If a requirement that says that a creature attacks if able during a certain turn refers to a turn with multiple combat phases, the creature attacks if able during each declare attackers step in that turn."
September 22, 2022 11:34 p.m.