Demon of Death's Gate can be paid for by sacrificing 3 creatures and paying 6 life. Do these 3 creatures need to be simultaneously available to sacrifice? For example #1, can I have 2 Doomed Dissenter on the battlefield and sacrifice both and then sacrifice one of the created zombie tokens as the third creature? For example #2 (which I doubt but might as well ask), can I initially have a Doomed Dissenter on the battlefield and one untapped black mana, and then: sacrifice the Doomed Dissenter, sacrifice the created zombie token, pay Bone Picker for 1 mana, and sacrifice it?
Demon of Death's Gate can be paid for by sacrificing 3 creatures and paying 6 life. Do these 3 creatures need to be simultaneously available to sacrifice?
They have to be available to sacrifice; the payment can't include a promise to sacrifice some other creature that you will have Real Soon Now.
701.16. Sacrifice
701.16a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s graveyard. A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a permanent they don’t control. Sacrificing a permanent doesn’t destroy it, so regeneration or other effects that replace destruction can’t affect this action.
For example #1, can I have 2 Doomed Dissenter on the battlefield and sacrifice both and then sacrifice one of the created zombie tokens as the third creature?
Instead, let's say you have two Doomed Dissenters and one pre-existing 2/2 black Zombie creature token (which I will call Z0). You could then have a sequence like this:
Your main phase begins.
You get priority and cast Demon of Death's Gate. You choose to use its alternate cost, which you pay at this time by paying 6 life and sacrificing your two Doomed Dissenters and Z0. This triggers the abilities of the two Doomed Dissenters.
You would get priority, but there are two triggered abilities to put on the stack. A) You put "When Doomed Dissenter dies, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token." on the stack. B) You put "When Doomed Dissenter dies, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token." on the stack.
You get priority and pass.
Opponent gets priority and passes.
The top object on the stack (the ability put there in step 3B) resolves. You create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token, which I will call Z1. You can not send Z1 back in time to step 2 and use it in the cost paid back then.
You get priority and pass.
Opponent gets priority and passes.
The top object on the stack (the ability put there in step 3A) resolves. You create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token, which I will call Z2. You can not send Z2 back in time to step 2 and use it in the cost paid back then.
You get priority and pass.
Opponent gets priority and passes.
The top object on the stack (the spell cast in step 2) resolves. You put Demon of Death's Gate onto the battlefield.
You get priority and ....
If you didn't have Z0 or some other creature to sacrifice at step 2, you wouldn't even be able to proceed with that step.
601.2h The player pays the total cost in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can’t be paid.
601.4. If a player is no longer allowed to cast a spell after completing its proposal (see rules 601.2a–d), the casting of the spell is illegal and the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 722, “Handling Illegal Actions”). It doesn’t matter if a rule or effect would make the casting of the spell illegal while determining and paying that spell’s costs (see rules 601.2f-h) or any time after the spell has been cast.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Why bother with mere rulings when so many answers can be found in the Rules?
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Thank you.
They have to be available to sacrifice; the payment can't include a promise to sacrifice some other creature that you will have Real Soon Now.
Instead, let's say you have two Doomed Dissenters and one pre-existing 2/2 black Zombie creature token (which I will call Z0). You could then have a sequence like this: