Vexing Devil and convoke

Asked by Barclay96 8 years ago

i have seen this question in regards to Fling , but I am curious. It is it possible for me to, in response to my opponent choosing to take 4 damage and sacrifice Vexing Devil , cast Stoke the Flames using the Vexing Devil for Stoke the Flames convoke ability?

erabel says... #1

Once you've given the opponent the choice, you've started to resolve the trigger on Vexing Devil. So, no, you can't cast a spell once your opponent has said they'll take 4.

June 18, 2015 12:58 a.m.

Devonin says... #2

When it enters the battlefield, the ability triggers and goes onto the stack. They only make a choice to take 4 damage or not as that ability resolves. If they choose to take the 4 damage, the Vexing Devil is sacrificed as part of the resolution of the ability, and you have no time to use it to pay a convoke cost.

You could cast it, and while its ability is on the stack but has not yet resolved, you could tap it to help pay for Stoke the Flames and have that go onto the stack on top of the ability, it would resolve, deal 4 damage, and then the Devil's ability would resolve and they would choose to take damage or not.

June 18, 2015 1 a.m.

TheRedMage says... #3

Worth mentioning however, that the opponent needs to give you the time to respond. If you cast your Vexing Devil and your opponent immediately goes "Ok, I'll take 4" without giving you the time to respond to your trigger, you can definitely say "Whoa, wait a second, I need to cast Stoke the Flames while the trigger is on the stack".

This matter mostly in tournament magic, but in general it's good practice to make sure that you are being clear on how the stack is being resolved. Consider the following scenarios:

  • You: "Cast Vexing Devil. Do you take four?" (or any similar question concerning the fate of the devil). In this case, by asking your opponent about his choice, you are offering to go to the resolution of the trigger. If the opponent doesn't do anything in response, but just makes his choice, you cannot answer the trigger.
  • You: "Cast Vexing Devil.", then you do nothing and wait for your oppponent to do something. Your opponent realizes in a second or two, and says: "Take Four". In this case you would have had ample time to respond to your own trigger. By waiting for your opponent, you once again offered to pass priority to him. It's too late to respond.
  • You: "Cast Vexing Devil.". Opponent (immediately after you stop talking, while you go to put the card on the field): "Yep. Take Four!". and goes for the pen/dice/life-tracking device of choice. In this case he did not give you the time to properly respond before he jumped to resolving the trigger. You can stop him and say that you want to respond to the Vexing Devil trigger. Note that after you cast Stoke the Flames your opponent is not bound to his previous choice to take four damage and might choose to have the devil stick around.
June 18, 2015 1:28 p.m.

filledelanuit says... Accepted answer #4

TheRedMage In your second example judges would have to ask more questions because we don't know where the players though they were. Vexing Devil could have been on the stack and its owner could have been waiting to see if there was a response. This scenario doesn't have a clear answer and depends on other circumstances.

June 18, 2015 9:13 p.m.

Barclay96 says... #5

Thank you for clearing that up to me. Was gold fishing and that scenario had never came up before.

June 18, 2015 11:59 p.m.

Devonin says... #6

Don't forget to choose an answer to remove it from the unanswered queue.

June 19, 2015 12:58 a.m.

GoblinsInc says... #7

Also note that by default, you pass priority after casting/activating/placing something on the stack. You need to specify if you plan on retaining priority and respond to your own spell/ability

June 19, 2015 2:10 a.m.

This discussion has been closed