When Spitebellows leaves the battlefield, MUST it deal damage to a creature?
Asked by rockgobbler 4 years ago
For example, If I have two attacking creatures, Spitebellows and Llanowar Elves, and the opponent assigns Volrath the Fallen to block the Spitebellows, will my poor Llanowar Elves get nuked as a consequence of the Spitebellows leaving the battlefield while Llany was the only remaining creature on the battlefield?
Rhadamanthus says... #2
Some additional clarification: the effect of a triggered ability is only optional if it specifically says "you may" or otherwise gives you a choice between doing something and doing nothing. Spitebellows ' ability doesn't give you any options, so you if you're able to choose a legal target then you have to do it.
October 15, 2019 12:34 p.m.
rockgobbler says... #3
Duly noted! And thank you for the response. Unfortunately for Spitebellows , that means that I have to reconsider the usefulness of the card in my deck; however, this is a fortunate turn of events for Llanowar Elves .
October 15, 2019 12:38 p.m.
rockgobbler says... #4
Rhadamanthus, you're absolutely right. Good call on that one!
Caerwyn says... Accepted answer #1
Please remember to link your cards with double brackets, since that makes it a bit easier to respond.
Spitebellows , Llanowar Elves , and Volrath the Fallen
Spitebellows dies (as does the Volrath the Fallen and its ability is put on the stack. Since the ability targets, you must choose a valid target for the ability. Unfortunately for your poor Llanowar Elves , they are the only valid target, so you'll be targeting them with your own Spitebellows ability.
October 15, 2019 11:56 a.m.