When do triggered abilities from attacking exert creatures put on to the stack vs regular attacking creatures?
Asked by Chaospyke 3 years ago
There are cards from Amonket and Hour of Devastation that have 'as this card attacks you may exert it. If you do..' ex:Combat Celebrant. My question is, when does the game see this and are such abilities put on to the stack at a separate time from a regular 'when this creature attacks'
Added to that, How does the attack step look like for abilities and priority?
I understand it to be:
Enter attack step Attackers are declared-no one has priority
Triggered abilities put on to the stack-no one has priority
After all abilities are put on to the stack- turn player gets priority
Gidgetimer says... #2
Each time a player would receive priority all triggered abilities that have triggered since the last time a player received priority will be put on the stack in APNAP (active player, non-active player) order and if a player controls multiple triggers being put on the stack at the same time that player gets to choose the order. All attack triggers and exert triggers happen during the turn based action of declaring attackers, so they will all be put on the stack at the same time. There is no differentiation made.
The middle bit of your explanation of priority in the declare attackers step is a bit unnecessary since the process of a player receiving priority involves putting triggered abilities on the stack. If it helps you to keep it straight though, there is no harm in separating checking SBAs, putting triggers on the stack, and a player receiving priority into distinct things as long as you realize that they happen in that order and any time an SBA is performed or a trigger is put on the stack you will start the sequence over by checking SBAs again.
January 9, 2022 8:18 p.m.
For your second question, the combat phase goes like this:
Declare attackers step: declare all your attackers. Any triggers go on the stack after all attackers are declared, and players get priority.
Declare blockers step: exactly the same, but with blocking creatures.
Damage step (there are two of these if any creatures in combat have first or double strike): All creatures in combat deal their damage. Then creatures dealt lethal damage die and any combat damage or death triggers go on the stack. Players get priority.
End of combat: any "at end of combat" effects trigger. Players get priority. At the end of this step, all creatures are removed from combat (they stop being attacking and blocking creatures for any effects that care).
January 9, 2022 8:28 p.m.
So to be clear, All triggered abilities from attacking and exerting while attacking go on the stack at the same time and no player has priority between any of the triggers being put onto the stack.
January 9, 2022 9:06 p.m.
Yes. It's similar to clone creatures (like Clone). They copy as they enter the battlefield, so they come in as whatever they're copying and can trigger ETB abilities of the creature they're a copy of (Torrential Gearhulk, for example). "As" effects are not triggered abilities and don't use the stack, they happen in the same moment as the event they add to.
Triggers are put on the stack as part of state-based actions anyway, and SBAs occur right before players get priority, so you can only have priority between the triggers going on the stack if another event took place between the first and second triggered abilities triggering, even if they triggered for different reasons.
Tl;dr: Yes, attack triggers and exert on attack triggers will trigger simultaneously and get put on the stack in the same group.
January 9, 2022 11:20 p.m.
Sorry, there's one bit I missed on combat phase steps. It doesn't come up all the time, but there is a beginning of combat step before the declare attackers step, which means any triggered abilities that happen "at the beginning of combat" (like, say, Blood Mist) will resolve before you declare attackers and put those triggered abilities on the stack.
Polaris says... #1
The short answer is no. It's not a "when this attacks" trigger, but since you exert it as you declare it as an attacker, it triggers at the same time and will go on the stack with any other attack triggers.
January 9, 2022 8:17 p.m.