If I have 5 Dwarven Drillers on the field due to an ability that lets me create token copies of it(Rite of Replication, for example) and I activate the ability of all 5 at the same time and put them on the stack, do I pick the target as they go on the stack or as they resolve?
For an activated ability with one or more targets, you always need to pick them as you activate the ability, even if the ability is such that it may have no effect on the target.
Note that you can't technically activate multiple activated abilities at the same time; the closest would be to hold priority after activating one to activate another immediately, but you have to specifically state that you're doing this, because it is otherwise assumed that you're waiting for each activation to resolve before activating the next and are just proposing a shortcut when you do it in one move, which is to your advantage in most cases, you don't usually gain anything by holding priority here.
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.
For an activated ability with one or more targets, you always need to pick them as you activate the ability, even if the ability is such that it may have no effect on the target.
Okay, so let’s say I pick the same target 5 times and they destroy it the first time. I know with “unless” abilities, you have to do the second part if you can’t do the first. So if I pick the same land 5 times and they destroy it the first, would they have to take the other 8 damage since they can’t destroy the land due to it no longer being there or would the ability fizzle due to the target no longer being there? I know with cards like Mogis, God of the Slaughter, if there’s no creatures to sacrifice, they have to lose the life. Would this work the same way?
Okay, so let’s say I pick the same target 5 times and they destroy it the first time. I know with “unless” abilities, you have to do the second part if you can’t do the first. So if I pick the same land 5 times and they destroy it the first, would they have to take the other 8 damage since they can’t destroy the land due to it no longer being there or would the ability fizzle due to the target no longer being there? I know with cards like Mogis, God of the Slaughter, if there’s no creatures to sacrifice, they have to lose the life. Would this work the same way?
If the land is destroyed by the first of those five abilities, then the remaining abilities have lost their only target, as the land is no longer there.
So the remaining four abilities will 'fizzle' - be countered by the game rules for lack of legal target, so no more damage will be done.
You have that backwards. "[effect] unless [player] [does Q]" means "[player] may [do Q]. If not, [effect]". The choice is to let the Dwarf deal damage.
However, these are abilities with a target, so if that target is illegal, because it doesn't exist, then they are countered instead of resolving.
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Note that you can't technically activate multiple activated abilities at the same time; the closest would be to hold priority after activating one to activate another immediately, but you have to specifically state that you're doing this, because it is otherwise assumed that you're waiting for each activation to resolve before activating the next and are just proposing a shortcut when you do it in one move, which is to your advantage in most cases, you don't usually gain anything by holding priority here.
Okay, so let’s say I pick the same target 5 times and they destroy it the first time. I know with “unless” abilities, you have to do the second part if you can’t do the first. So if I pick the same land 5 times and they destroy it the first, would they have to take the other 8 damage since they can’t destroy the land due to it no longer being there or would the ability fizzle due to the target no longer being there? I know with cards like Mogis, God of the Slaughter, if there’s no creatures to sacrifice, they have to lose the life. Would this work the same way?
If the land is destroyed by the first of those five abilities, then the remaining abilities have lost their only target, as the land is no longer there.
So the remaining four abilities will 'fizzle' - be countered by the game rules for lack of legal target, so no more damage will be done.
Hope that helps.
However, these are abilities with a target, so if that target is illegal, because it doesn't exist, then they are countered instead of resolving.
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