So the other night at an FNM I was wating a match and the end of round one. The only thing on the board was a Chain to the Rockson a Siege Rhino. The Rhino controller cast Banishing Light targeting the Chain. The other player then in response to the target of Banishing Light cast Utter End targetting the Banishing Light.
My understanding, and most of the people watching, the room was probably torn 50/50 on it. Is that the target would resolve removing the Chain from play. This would bring the Rhino back to the board so it's ETB effect would be put on the stack. Then the Chain would re-enter and could target Rhino again. What ended up happening, the plays agreed to this, but neither were quite sure. The banishing light trigger fizzles and doesn't remove chain to the rocks and the banishing light is then exiled...
People that agreed with that ruling were saying that it's not the same way Oblivion Ring. Nobody was saying it did work the same way. The would cause both the Chain and Banishing Light to be exiled. Would it not though still blink out the chain while abilities were on the stack?
Banishing Light's effect has a duration; until Banishing Light leaves the battlefield. In the scenario you describe above, the duration of the ability ends before it begins, meaning that it never happens at all. Chained to the Rocks never gets exiled, and thus Siege Rhino never returns just to get exiled again.
Quote from Comprehensive Rules »
611.2b Some continuous effects generated by the resolution of a spell or ability have durations worded “for as long as . . . .” If the “for as long as” duration never starts, or it ends before the moment the effect would first be applied, the effect does nothing. It doesn’t start and immediately stop again, and it doesn’t last forever.
My understanding, and most of the people watching, the room was probably torn 50/50 on it. Is that the target would resolve removing the Chain from play. This would bring the Rhino back to the board so it's ETB effect would be put on the stack. Then the Chain would re-enter and could target Rhino again. What ended up happening, the plays agreed to this, but neither were quite sure. The banishing light trigger fizzles and doesn't remove chain to the rocks and the banishing light is then exiled...
People that agreed with that ruling were saying that it's not the same way Oblivion Ring. Nobody was saying it did work the same way. The would cause both the Chain and Banishing Light to be exiled. Would it not though still blink out the chain while abilities were on the stack?