One of the gatherer notes for Helm of the Host seems to contradict itself:
If the equipped creature leaves the battlefield before the triggered ability of Helm of the Host resolves, or if there is no equipped creature, no token is created. However, if Helm of the Host leaves the battlefield while its triggered ability is on the stack, a token will be created of the creature it last equipped. If that creature has also left the battlefield, its last known information is used to determine what the token looks like.
So first it says if the equipped creature leaves the battlefield before the trigger resolves, no token. But aha, if the Helm leaves the battlefield with the trigger on the stack, as well as the creature, you DO get a token. Why does this make sense?
The Helm's trigger looks at the current game state when it resolves, so it determines what creature to copy by what creature the Helm is attached to at that time. If the Helm is not attached to a creature at that time, but it's on the battlefield, there is no reference for what to copy, no characteristics known for a copy, so you get no token there is no equipped creature to copy. If, otoh, the Helm is gone at that time, the game uses Last Known Information to determine what it was attached to before it left. If it was attached to something at its last moment on the battlefield, you get a token copy of that someting. If it was not attached to anything, you don't get a token either.
The reason for all this is this rule:
608.2g If an effect requires information from the game (such as the number of creatures on the battlefield), the answer is determined only once, when the effect is applied. If the effect requires information from a specific object, including the source of the ability itself, the effect uses the current information of that object if it’s in the public zone it was expected to be in; if it’s no longer in that zone, or if the effect has moved it from a public zone to a hidden zone, the effect uses the object’s last known information. See rule 112.7a. If an ability states that an object does something, it’s the object as it exists—or as it most recently existed—that does it, not the ability.
The object of interest here is the Helm, not the creature it is/was attached to if any.
What happens if Helm of the Host is Equipped to a Theros Block God, and the God loses its Devotion requirement while Helm of the Host is still attached, does the HOTH remain attached and if it does, does it continue to copy the non-creature God?
So first it says if the equipped creature leaves the battlefield before the trigger resolves, no token. But aha, if the Helm leaves the battlefield with the trigger on the stack, as well as the creature, you DO get a token. Why does this make sense?
there is no reference for what to copy, no characteristics known for a copy, so you get no tokenthere is no equipped creature to copy. If, otoh, the Helm is gone at that time, the game uses Last Known Information to determine what it was attached to before it left. If it was attached to something at its last moment on the battlefield, you get a token copy of that someting. If it was not attached to anything, you don't get a token either.The reason for all this is this rule:
The object of interest here is the Helm, not the creature it is/was attached to if any.
Former Rules Advisor
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