What exactly can my opponent respond to when casting Disciple of Bolas?
Asked by thewiredmind 12 years ago
Scenario: My opponent has a Searing Spear and enough mana to cast it. I have 5 2/2 creatures. When I cast Disciple of Bolas I know he can respond to the cast and kill one of my creatures. Can he also respond to the enter the battlefield trigger and zap a creature before I have a chance to sacrifice? Or is sacrifice a cost in the scenario so I get to sac before the ETB triggers?
Additionally, I want to make sure that my opponent can never zap the "target" of my sacrifice and make my sac fizzle and why. I know the card doesn't say "target" but am interested from a rules stand point what is happening? Cost?
Thanks
Thanks.
Timekeeper says... #2
Epochalyptik, would he be able to change what he is sacrificing in response to the Searing Spear ? Or would he have to declare the sacrifice target first?
The way I'm thinking about this is:
- Disciple of Bolas enters the battlefield and his etb triggered ability goes on the stack
- Searing Spear is cast in response to the etb trigger. It resolves and kills one of the 2/2's.
- Only then does the etb triggered ability resolve, and he sacrifices a different creature.
November 9, 2012 10:05 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
The sacrifice is not targeted. You don't declare what you're sacrificing until the ability resolves (like how you don't declare what Phantasmal Image is copying until it resolves).
November 9, 2012 10:09 p.m.
Timekeeper says... #4
So would the Searing Spear be able to stop the ability or not, then?
November 9, 2012 10:54 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
Only if it kills the only possible sacrifice. You can't fizzle the ability because it's nontarget, so the only way to make it not do anything is to make sure its controller can't sacrifice anything when it resolves.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
If something is an additional cost, it will explicitly say that.
In this case, Disciple of Bolas has a triggered ability that causes you to sacrifice any creature you control when the ability resolves. Your opponent can respond to the casting of Disciple of Bolas as well as the ETB triggered ability it has.
The sacrifice is a nontarget effect of the ability. It isn't a cost.
November 9, 2012 7:46 p.m.