Question about the stack
Asked by InDirectX 10 years ago
I have a Setessan Oathsworn out on the battlefield.
I have a Spirit Mantle and an Ordeal of Heliod , and enough mana to cast both.
Is there any way I can cast Spirit Mantle , then Ordeal of Heliod , then before Ordeal of Heliod resolves, declare my attack with Setessan Oathsworn ? If I'm able to do this I can get one more +1/+1 counter from Ordeal of Heliod before I use its +10 health ability.
KrosanTusker says... #2
When I say "that doesn't use the stack," I mean declaring the intention to attack doesn't use the stack.
To clarify.
May 31, 2014 9:47 a.m.
If you would attack before Ordeal of Heliod resolved, you wouldn't get counters from Ordeal of Heliod , and neither would you gain 10 life because Ordeal of Heliod only checks the amount of counters whenever enchanted creature attacks.
You can get the maximum amount of counters and combat damage from these cards by doing this (assuming Setessan Oathsworn is able to attack this turn):
cast Ordeal of Heliod on Setessan Oathsworn , giving it 2 +1/+1 counters
cast Spirit Mantle to give it another 2 +1/+1 counters, as well as +1/+1
attack with Setessan Oathsworn , giving it the +1/+1 counter from Ordeal of Heliod and triggering the 10 life gained. At this point, you will have a 7/7 creature enchanted with Spirit Mantle
It's worth noting that Spirit Mantle does not create counters, so Ordeal of Heliod will never check for it in the first place.
May 31, 2014 10:01 a.m.
Got it. So I would cast Ordeal of Heliod and it would instantly sacrifice because Setessan Oathsworn has 4 +1/+1 counters?
May 31, 2014 10:03 a.m.
To clarify what Tusker said further, the stack is used for resolving spells and abilities. Moving into other phases doesn't use the stack, however it requires the stack to be empty for it to occur. The same basically goes for attacking and blocking. That is, you can't attack or block while things are still on the stack.
HOWEVER, due to the wording on Ordeal of Heliod, it will only be sacrificed as a part of it's ability triggering. As such, despite it having more than 3 counters on it, it won't be sacrificed until it's own ability puts a counter on it.
May 31, 2014 10:05 a.m.
Almost; Ordeal of Heliod only checks for the amount of counters on enchanted creature when it attacks, so it would not instantly check, but as soon as you attack the next time.
KrosanTusker says... #1
You can only declare attacks in the Combat Phase (and that doesn't use the stack anyway) and you can't move to the combat phase while the Ordeal of Heliod is on the stack.
May 31, 2014 9:46 a.m.