I was playing Magic today wasn't sure how something resolved. I played a Torrential Gearhulk, my opponent immediately played an instant to remove the Torrential Gearhulk to the graveyard. However, I can still play an instant spell from the graveyard for free. If he has played an instant straight away, where does my instant fall on the stack?
If he has played an instant straight away, where does my instant fall on the stack?
If your opponent responded to the trigger, then his response resolved before the Gearhulk even gave you permission to cast the targeted instant. You get to cast it only during that trigger's resolution. And since that trigger is the bottom most object on the stack, so will be your spell after the trigger has resolved (your spell goes on top of the stack, which at that time means on top of the trigger, and then the trigger gets removed from the stack, leaving your spell as the only object on the stack). Essentially, your instant will take the place of the Gearhulk's trigger on the stack.
So even if my instant dispel counters his Sandblast The Gearhulk still dies?
1st of all, sandblast need gearhulk to be attacking.
Let's assume your opponent has Murder instead. You cast your torrential gearhulk at opponent's end step. He or she says it resolves. Now you put Gearhulk trigger onto stack - you need to choose legal targeta for it, before anything else happens. You can target any instant in your graveyard. Then your opponent in response to the trigger cast his murder. Your torrential gearhulk dies (assuming you let it resolve), then triggered ability resolves, and you get to cast your instant.
No, you can't dispel from the graveyard there. Your trigger will be on bottom of the stack, and murder will resolve before spell from graveyard.
The Gearhulk was flashed in to block his creature.
Even so, the first possible opportunity Torrential Gearhulk can block is as the declare blockers step begins, which won't happen until all players pass in a row during the declare attackers step on an empty stack (C.R. 506.1, 508.2, 500.2, 509.1). Merely because Torrential Gearhulk enters the battlefield and its ability resolves, that won't end the step or phase when Torrential Gearhulk entered the battlefield. Therefore, in general, Torrential Gearhulk won't be a blocking creature at that time unless it entered the battlefield blocking.
The Gearhulk was flashed in to block his creature.
In order to do that, you need to cast the Gearhulk during the declare attackers step, after attackers have been declared, because declaring blockers is the first thing that happens in the declare blockers step. Flashing the Gearhulk in the declare blockers step is too late. So what happens here is that the Gearhulk enters the battlefield, and the first thing that must happen after it enters is that you put its triggered ability on the stack and choose its target (an instant card in your graveyard). Only after that, with the ability on the stack, does your opponent gets the chance to do something. The Gearhulk is not yet blocking at that point, so Sandblast is not an option. If they have some other removal spell, say Murder, they can cast it there, but that doesn't stop the trigger from resolving and allowing you to cast the instant card in your graveyard that you targeted. They can also wait for the trigger to resolve and the instant to be on the stack, and even wait for the instant to resolve, with the game still being in the declare attackers step, to cast their kill spell, all before the Gearhulk can block.
Choosing Dispel as the card in your graveyard to counter a kill spell on Gearhulk won't work timing-wise, because the Gearhulk's trigger is at the bottom of the stack. If they respond to it, their spell resolves before the trigger resolves and allows you to cast Dispel. When you would cast Dispel, there is nothing on the stack for you to target with it. For Gearhulk to work with a counterspell, you must have cast the Gearhulk in response to the spell you wish to counter.
I'm a former judge (lapsed), who keeps up to date on rules and policy. Keep in mind that judges' answers aren't necessarily more valid than those of people who aren't judges; what matters is we can quote the rules to back up our answers. When in doubt, ask for such quotes.
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I was playing Magic today wasn't sure how something resolved. I played a Torrential Gearhulk, my opponent immediately played an instant to remove the Torrential Gearhulk to the graveyard. However, I can still play an instant spell from the graveyard for free. If he has played an instant straight away, where does my instant fall on the stack?
Thanks
Mark
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If your opponent responded to the trigger, then his response resolved before the Gearhulk even gave you permission to cast the targeted instant. You get to cast it only during that trigger's resolution. And since that trigger is the bottom most object on the stack, so will be your spell after the trigger has resolved (your spell goes on top of the stack, which at that time means on top of the trigger, and then the trigger gets removed from the stack, leaving your spell as the only object on the stack). Essentially, your instant will take the place of the Gearhulk's trigger on the stack.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
That was not a legal play then, because the Gearhulk is not a legal target for Sandblast at that time, since it is neither attacking nor blocking.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
1st of all, sandblast need gearhulk to be attacking.
Let's assume your opponent has Murder instead. You cast your torrential gearhulk at opponent's end step. He or she says it resolves. Now you put Gearhulk trigger onto stack - you need to choose legal targeta for it, before anything else happens. You can target any instant in your graveyard. Then your opponent in response to the trigger cast his murder. Your torrential gearhulk dies (assuming you let it resolve), then triggered ability resolves, and you get to cast your instant.
No, you can't dispel from the graveyard there. Your trigger will be on bottom of the stack, and murder will resolve before spell from graveyard.
Choosing Dispel as the card in your graveyard to counter a kill spell on Gearhulk won't work timing-wise, because the Gearhulk's trigger is at the bottom of the stack. If they respond to it, their spell resolves before the trigger resolves and allows you to cast Dispel. When you would cast Dispel, there is nothing on the stack for you to target with it. For Gearhulk to work with a counterspell, you must have cast the Gearhulk in response to the spell you wish to counter.