It's my turn at the beginning of combat phase and I crew my Smuggler's Copter which resolves without being responded to. Do I again have to pass priority before my declare attackers step? What I'm essentially wondering is this: Can I crew the copter in such a way that I can guarantee it's attack ability will trigger? Or will my opponent always have a chance to kill my copter with an instant before I attack with it? Would my opponent be able to stop it's ability from triggering if I'm blocking with it?
Your opponent will always have the chance to respond with spells and abilities. This is because the active player gets priority after a spell or ability (such as the crew ability, but not a mana ability) resolves (C.R. 116.3b), and in general, before the game moves on to the next step or phase (such as the declare attackers step), all players must pass in a row while the stack is empty (C.R. 500.2). As a result, there is no way to resolve the crew ability and then immediately move on to the next step or phase.
No. Your opponent will always have an opportunity to kill your copter prior to the declare attackers step because the turn only ever advances when both players pass priority on an empty stack. When crew resolves, priority will pass to you, then you must pass priority to your opponent if you want to proceed.
Thanks in advance!!!!
EDIT (Apr. 13, 2018): Clarification.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
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