Portcullis is in play (under my control) with no creatures yet on the board. It is my opponent's turn. He summons a creature. If I respond with an instant such as Sneak Attack or Shallow Grave adding two creatures on my side to the battlefield, would that allow me to send my opponent's creature to exile with the Portcullis?
Do players typically continue summoning creatures whilst Porcullis is played and "at creature capacity"? And if so, is the best way to handle the temporarily exiled creatures to put them under the Portcullis card?
Thanks. Follow up question... If there are two creatures in play and another two behind/under the Portcullis, if one of the two creatures on the battlefield is destroyed, the owner/controller of Portcullis decides which of the two creatures comes in, correct (i.e. creatures behind/under the Portcullis do not need to come in following the same order in which they were put behind/under the Portcullis)?
No, that's not how the card works (assuming I'm reading your question correctly).
Even if something causes there to be fewer than two creatures on the battlefield while there are creature cards exiled with Portcullis, nothing returns any of those creature cards to the battlefield until Portcullis itself leaves the battlefield.
Ahh, OK, I jumped to conclusions thinking the portcullis would open and let in creatures if there were less than two in play. I guess my interpretation would make it ridiculously overpowered if the controller only let his/her creatures through, lol.
Do creatures that were exiled by Portcullis return to play simultaneously when Portcullis is destroyed or does the owner of Portcullis decide the order by which they return to play?
Do creatures that were exiled by Portcullis return to play simultaneously when Portcullis is destroyed or does the owner of Portcullis decide the order by which they return to play?
In general, if you controlled Portcullis the entire time it was on the battlefield, you decide the order in which the cards exiled due to Portcullis return to the battlefield (C.R. 603.3b, 603.7e). Note that each ability that triggers this way refers to only one card exiled due to Portcullis.
Note that each ability that triggers this way refers to only one card exiled due to Portcullis.
I'm not quite clear as to what you mean by that. But, for example, if two creatures are exiled under Portcullis when it is destroyed, one of which is Nekrataal owned by me, and the other is a creature owned by my opponent (non-black, non-artifact), I can have my opponent's creature return first, then Nekrataal, thereby sending my opponent's creature to the graveyard?
I'm not quite clear as to what you mean by that. But, for example, if two creatures are exiled under Portcullis when it is destroyed, one of which is Nekrataal owned by me, and the other is creature owned by my opponent (non-black, non-artifact), I can have my opponent's creature return first, then Nekrataal, thereby sending my opponent's creature to the graveyard?
In this case, assuming you controlled Portcullis the entire time it was on the battlefield:
When Portcullis leaves the battlefield, two abilities will trigger: one referring to Nekrataal and the other referring to the other card (C.R. 603.7b). They will then go on the stack the next time a player would get priority, and you choose the order in which they go on the stack (C.R. 603.3, 603.3b, 603.7e). Thus, you can choose this way whether Nekrataal or the other card gets to return to the battlefield first; the two abilities will get to resolve in the reverse order in which they were put on the stack (C.R. 405.2, 116.4). See also this thread.
OK, I think I see what caused my confusion. What I was thinking/asking was when Portcullis is destroyed and the creatures exiled by it return to play, whether they came into play simultaneously or whether they enter the battlefield one after another in succession in the order chosen by the controller of the Portcullis. And I believe what happens, which is what you were saying indirectly (or directly and I missed it) is that the creatures return simultaneously but if any of the creatures have ETB abilities (e.g. Nekrataal) the controller of the Portcullis can choose how those ETB abilities are placed on the stack. Sound right? And yes, assuming the Portcullis was controlled by the same person the entire time it was on the battlefield.
OK, I think I see what caused my confusion. What I was thinking/asking was when Portcullis is destroyed and the creatures exiled by it return to play, whether they came into play simultaneously or whether they enter the battlefield one after another in succession in the order chosen by the controller of the Portcullis. And I believe what happens, which is what you were saying indirectly (or directly and I missed it) is that the creatures return simultaneously but if any of the creatures have ETB abilities (e.g. Nekrataal) the controller of the Portcullis can choose how those ETB abilities are placed on the stack. Sound right? And yes, assuming the Portcullis was controlled by the same person the entire time it was on the battlefield.
No, the cards don't return to the battlefield simultaneously, but rather one at a time, as each triggered ability in question resolves. (A similar case occurs with Elven Warhounds's ability when it becomes blocked at the same time by two or more creatures. Compare Portcullis and Elven Warhounds with Primal Surge and see also this thread.) Here is an illustration of this scenario.
Assume Portcullis is on the battlefield. Nekrataal and Venerable Monk, which you exiled earlier due to Portcullis and are the only cards exiled due to Portcullis, are in exile.
All players pass, then Naturalize resolves. Portcullis is destroyed and leaves the battlefield. The delayed triggered ability from its ability triggers twice: once for Nekrataal and once for Venerable Monk.
Now, those two abilities go on the stack, and you can put them there in any order, since you control them. Assume you put the ability referring to Nekrataal on the stack first, then the one referring to Venerable Monk.
All players pass, then the ability referring to Venerable Monk resolves and returns Venerable Monk to the battlefield under its owner's control. This makes Venerable Monk's enters-the-battlefield ability trigger and go on the stack.
All players pass, then that ability resolves. Venerable Monk's owner gains 2 life.
All players pass, then the ability referring to Nekrataal resolves and returns Nekrataal to the battlefield under its owner's control. This makes Nekrataal's ability trigger and go on the stack. You target Venerable Monk with that ability.
All players pass, then that ability resolves. Venerable Monk is destroyed and can't be regenerated.
EDIT: Edited after comment 14 was posted.
EDIT (Dec. 10): Edited.
OK, well, I guess I was misled by a Reddit thread I was looking at which stated the creatures returned from exile simultaneously. So, if they enter one at a time, if one of the creatures was Crater Hellion for example, and I put his triggered ability on the stack last (i.e. his triggered ability would resolve first), none of the other creatures returning from exile would take 4 points of damage because they are entering the battlefield AFTER Crater Hellion? The Reddit thread I was looking at mentioned something about creatures "seeing each other" which confused me I guess.
OK, well, I guess I was misled by a Reddit thread I was looking at which stated the creatures returned from exile simultaneously. So, if they enter one at a time, if one of the creatures was Crater Hellion for example, and I put his triggered ability on the stack last (i.e. his triggered ability would resolve first), none of the other creatures returning from exile would take 4 points of damage because they are entering the battlefield AFTER Crater Hellion?
Correct. Replace Venerable Monk in the example in comment 11 with Crater Hellion, and replace the third-to-last step with "All players pass, then that ability resolves. Crater Hellion deals 4 damage to each other creature." (I assume that you mean "the ability that would return Crater Hellion to the battlefield" rather than "his triggered ability".)
EDIT: Note also that Portcullis's Oracle text now says "...when Portcullis leaves the battlefield", and no longer "If Portcullis leaves play...", as printed in Stronghold (C.R. 108.1). The "when" in this case indicates a triggered ability, more specifically a delayed triggered ability (C.R. 603.7, 603.1).
EDIT: Edited after comment 17 was posted.
Thanks. As the creatures return to play one by one when Portcullis is destroyed, players have the opportunity to play instants during the process, correct? So if one of the creatures returning to play was False Prophet (owned by me), could I have my opponent's creatures return to play first, then False Prophet, then destroy False Prophet with an instant like Go For The Throat, then have False Prophet's triggered ability destroy all the creatures on the battlefield, and then have my remaining creatures exiled under Portcullis return to the battlefield?
Thanks. As the creatures return to play one by one when Portcullis is destroyed, players have the opportunity to play instants during the process, correct? So if one of the creatures returning to play was False Prophet (owned by me), could I have my opponent's creatures return to play first, then False Prophet, then destroy False Prophet with an instant like Go For The Throat, then have False Prophet's triggered ability destroy all the creatures on the battlefield, and then have my remaining creatures exiled under Portcullis return to the battlefield?
Yes, that works. After a triggered ability on the stack resolves (such as an ability returning a card exiled due to Portcullis to the battlefield, in this case), players get priority to cast instant spells such as Go for the Throat (C.R. 117.3b, 117.1a).
Yes, that all possible. No object on the Stack (including all the triggers discussed here) can resole without all players having passed priority in succession first while it is on top of the Stack. And when you have priority, you can take action with it, like casting a spell, instead of passing. If what you do uses the stack, it goes on top of whatever is already there and gets to resolve first.
Do players typically continue summoning creatures whilst Porcullis is played and "at creature capacity"? And if so, is the best way to handle the temporarily exiled creatures to put them under the Portcullis card?
Thank you!
As with similar cards, typically the cards exiled by Portcullis will be kept under it so everyone knows what will be returned when it leaves play.
Even if something causes there to be fewer than two creatures on the battlefield while there are creature cards exiled with Portcullis, nothing returns any of those creature cards to the battlefield until Portcullis itself leaves the battlefield.
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When Portcullis leaves the battlefield, two abilities will trigger: one referring to Nekrataal and the other referring to the other card (C.R. 603.7b). They will then go on the stack the next time a player would get priority, and you choose the order in which they go on the stack (C.R. 603.3, 603.3b, 603.7e). Thus, you can choose this way whether Nekrataal or the other card gets to return to the battlefield first; the two abilities will get to resolve in the reverse order in which they were put on the stack (C.R. 405.2, 116.4). See also this thread.
EDIT: Edited after comment 14 was posted.
EDIT (Dec. 10): Edited.
EDIT: Note also that Portcullis's Oracle text now says "...when Portcullis leaves the battlefield", and no longer "If Portcullis leaves play...", as printed in Stronghold (C.R. 108.1). The "when" in this case indicates a triggered ability, more specifically a delayed triggered ability (C.R. 603.7, 603.1).
EDIT: Edited after comment 17 was posted.
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