Discussion Forum

Sacrificing the rector is a payment and cannot be responded to. However, the exiling and tutoring out an enchantment is a trigger that happens when she hits the graveyard. It happens at the same time as the first ability is put on the stack and the trigger goes on the stack immediately, before priority is passed.

At this point, the stack looks like: +2/+2 until end of turn > exile the rector to go get an enchantment and then priority is passed. It sounds like the intention of the other player was to cast reins of power in response to the trigger rather than in response to the zombie's +2/+2 but you weren't really clear on that. Either way, if he cast the reins before the trigger resolved, all of the creatures would go to the graveyard, then the reins would resolve giving you your opponent's creatures if he had any, then you would exile the rector and pull out your enchantment so it would not be in play when your other creatures died, then the original +2/+2 would fizzle since the zombie is no longer in play...

This entire issue is more of a problem with shortcuts. If your ally is sacrificing, exiling and declaring the search target before even giving the opponent the chance to respond he's setting himself up for failure since the opponent still has the chance to respond and now knows exactly what he's planning (infinite thopter sac) in order to counter it before it even happens.

If he waited to find out what you tutor out, they would all be in hand. If he responded to the trigger, they would all be in the graveyard. If your ally didn't allow a pause, it would be assumed that he was responding to the trigger. Assuming that you've been playing together a while and know eachother's decks, it's most likely that he was responding to the trigger and they'd all be in the graveyard.

Ever since I started playing tournaments on a regular basis I always clearly state the state of the stack and when I wish to pas priority, as in me asking "do you wish to respond" before I resolve something that could potentially give vital information away about my intestions. It often happens that someone says I'll do that in respons to something I do and then I always clearly state "you can't do that because you don't have priority" even if a second later I'll pass priority in order to resolve the stack. I do this to educate my fellow players and to keep things clear, prevent people from falling into shortcuts that lead to confusion. And it's increadible how much confusion there is amongst casual players because they've used shortcust for years, gets even worse in multiplayer games and the last thing you want is to set back the clock.

Typical examples are people that think they can play instants whenever they want because they are instants, people responding to mana abilities, people responding to casting of a spell, people responding after a permanent resolves and when it enters play, morphing stuff, people trying to respond to the payment of a cost etc...

That said the players I play with are all experienced players so it's not like we lose a lot of time being clear, it's almost second nature and very smooth.

How one use a counter? If they dont have priority and the spell resolves before priority passes? Before I started playing fnm I didn't know about the short cuts. I alway thought you had to state all the steps. I'm trying break the habbit but I do it with out thinking. And people look at me weird.

At the time only my partner and myself were aware the Enduring Renewal was the needed linchpin he wanted to search for. The action was in response to the ghoul getting +2/+2. He had not started searching yet. Not sure if that would have made a difference. Apologies for not placing that info in the first post.