1. I have 1 Marionette Master on battlefield (4/6 (with 3 +1/+1)) + 1 Piston Sledge (unequipped) + 3 Thopter (artifact), I decided to sacrifice a Thopter to equip Piston Sledge on Marionette Master...how many damage will I do with the Master....part 2...the equipment is now equip on the Master...I decided to sacrifice a Thopter to equip the sledge on another Thopter...how many damage will I do with the Master
2. I have 1 Marionette Master on battlefield (4/6 (with 3 +1/+1)) + 1 Grafted Wargear (unequipped) + 3 Thopter (artifact) + Liquimetal Coating, I decided to equip Grafted Wargear on a Thopter, then I equip Grafted Wargear on Marionette Master, how many damage will I do with the Master (from Thopter death)....part 2...the equipment is now equip on the Marionette Master that was changed into an artifact by Liquimetal Coating...I decided to equip on another Thopter...how many damage will I do with the Master (from her own death)
1. In your scenario, the targeted opponent would lose 4 life. Marionette Master's second ability will trigger and get to resolve before the equip ability resolves and changes Marionette Master's power. (In general, if an ability triggers as you pay the cost of a spell or ability, that ability will go on the stack on top of that spell or ability [C.R. 405.2] and get to resolve before it [C.R. 117.4].)
Part 2: The targeted opponent would lose 7 life. Again, Marionette Master's second ability will trigger and get to resolve before the equip ability resolves; only then do you attach Piston Sledge to the Thopter.
2. In your scenario, the targeted opponent would lose 7 life. You attach Grafted Wargear to Marionette Master, then sacrifice the Thopter when Grafted Wargear's triggered ability resolves, then Marionette Master's second ability triggers and gets to resolve.
Part 2: The targeted opponent would lose 4 life. You attach Grafted Wargear to a Thopter, then sacrifice Marionette Master when Grafted Wargear's triggered ability resolves. But Marionette Master's second ability will still trigger, even though it's the artifact that's going to the graveyard from the battlefield, because it's a leaves-the-battlefield ability (C.R. 603.6c, 603.10a, 603.10). Here you use Marionette Master's power at the last moment it was on the battlefield (C.R. 608.2g, 113.7a).
Note that:
In all these cases, you check Marionette Master's power as its second ability resolves (C.R. 608.2g).
Marionette Master's second ability doesn't cause damage, but loss of life (under C.R. 120.3, damage to players usually causes loss of life, but not always).
Thopter is a creature type, not an artifact type (C.R. 203.5g, 203.5m); you can't sacrifice a Thopter using Piston Sledge's equip ability unless it's an artifact.
EDIT (Nov. 11): Update some rule citations for Commander 2016.
EDIT (Nov. 12): Add a rule citation.
EDIT (Mar. 20): Clarification.
EDIT (Jan. 12, 2020): Some rules were renumbered with Core Set 2020.
1. I have 1 Marionette Master on battlefield (4/6 (with 3 +1/+1)) + 1 Piston Sledge (unequipped) + 3 Thopter (artifact), I decided to sacrifice a Thopter to equip Piston Sledge on Marionette Master...how many damage will I do with the Master....
Since the trigger goes on top of the activated ability, the Master will not yet have the bonus from the equipment and will just make the opponent lose only 4 life, the Master's current power. (This is not damage, just to be clear.)
part 2...the equipment is now equip on the Master...I decided to sacrifice a Thopter to equip the sledge on another Thopter...how many damage will I do with the Master
Same deal, the trigger goes on top of the activated ability, so it resolves before the equipment changes to be attached to the Thopter, which means 7 life lost. Note, that you could just as easily target the Master again with the equip ability, and leave the equipment where it is.
Again, it's not damage but loss of life. The trigger will now go on the stack after the equip ability has resolved (since the equipment has to actually unattach to trigger the sacrifice), so the Wargear is attached to the Master when the game looks at its power to determine how much life is lost: 7.
part 2...the equipment is now equip on the Marionette Master that was changed into an artifact by Liquimetal Coating...I decided to equip on another Thopter...how many damage will I do with the Master (from her own death)
Again, the equipment moves to the other creature before the trigger goes off (since that is what triggers it), so the Bonus it gives to the Master is no longer there when the sacrifice trigger resolves, so the Last Known Information about the Master is without the equipment's bonus. The life loss will thus be only 4.
If I can add another question in the same subject...can I Sacrifice multiples creatures using Demonmail Hauberk but keep the equipment attach to the Marionette Master...re-equiping to the master each time...
If I can add another question in the same subject...can I Sacrifice multiples creatures using Demonmail Hauberk but keep the equipment attach to the Marionette Master...re-equiping to the master each time...
Demonmail Hauberk's equip ability can target any "creature you control", even if it's the creature that Demonmail Hauberk is attached to (C.R. 702.6a, 115.1c), because when activating an ability, you choose targets before you pay costs (C.R. 602.2b, 601.2c, 601.2h); it's just that the ability will do nothing when it resolves if Demonmail Hauberk is already attached to the targeted creature (C.R. 701.3b). Note, however, that since you can activate the equip ability "only as a sorcery" (which means during your main phase while you have priority and nothing is on the stack [C.R. 307.5]) (C.R. 702.6a), you will have to wait until the stack is empty and you have priority again (which usually happens after each equip ability resolves [C.R. 608.2k, 117.3b]) before you can activate it again.
EDIT (Jan. 12, 2020): Correction. One rule was renumbered with Core Set 2020.
EDIT (May 9, 2020): Add rule citation and add to comment.
EDIT (Mar. 12, 2022): Edited to conform to updated text for equip in the meantime.
1. I have 1 Marionette Master on battlefield (4/6 (with 3 +1/+1)) + 1 Piston Sledge (unequipped) + 3 Thopter (artifact), I decided to sacrifice a Thopter to equip Piston Sledge on Marionette Master...how many damage will I do with the Master....part 2...the equipment is now equip on the Master...I decided to sacrifice a Thopter to equip the sledge on another Thopter...how many damage will I do with the Master
2. I have 1 Marionette Master on battlefield (4/6 (with 3 +1/+1)) + 1 Grafted Wargear (unequipped) + 3 Thopter (artifact) + Liquimetal Coating, I decided to equip Grafted Wargear on a Thopter, then I equip Grafted Wargear on Marionette Master, how many damage will I do with the Master (from Thopter death)....part 2...the equipment is now equip on the Marionette Master that was changed into an artifact by Liquimetal Coating...I decided to equip on another Thopter...how many damage will I do with the Master (from her own death)
Thanks
Part 2: The targeted opponent would lose 7 life. Again, Marionette Master's second ability will trigger and get to resolve before the equip ability resolves; only then do you attach Piston Sledge to the Thopter.
2. In your scenario, the targeted opponent would lose 7 life. You attach Grafted Wargear to Marionette Master, then sacrifice the Thopter when Grafted Wargear's triggered ability resolves, then Marionette Master's second ability triggers and gets to resolve.
Part 2: The targeted opponent would lose 4 life. You attach Grafted Wargear to a Thopter, then sacrifice Marionette Master when Grafted Wargear's triggered ability resolves. But Marionette Master's second ability will still trigger, even though it's the artifact that's going to the graveyard from the battlefield, because it's a leaves-the-battlefield ability (C.R. 603.6c, 603.10a, 603.10). Here you use Marionette Master's power at the last moment it was on the battlefield (C.R. 608.2g, 113.7a).
Note that:
EDIT (Nov. 11): Update some rule citations for Commander 2016.
EDIT (Nov. 12): Add a rule citation.
EDIT (Mar. 20): Clarification.
EDIT (Jan. 12, 2020): Some rules were renumbered with Core Set 2020.
Since the trigger goes on top of the activated ability, the Master will not yet have the bonus from the equipment and will just make the opponent lose only 4 life, the Master's current power. (This is not damage, just to be clear.)
Same deal, the trigger goes on top of the activated ability, so it resolves before the equipment changes to be attached to the Thopter, which means 7 life lost. Note, that you could just as easily target the Master again with the equip ability, and leave the equipment where it is.
Again, it's not damage but loss of life. The trigger will now go on the stack after the equip ability has resolved (since the equipment has to actually unattach to trigger the sacrifice), so the Wargear is attached to the Master when the game looks at its power to determine how much life is lost: 7.
Again, the equipment moves to the other creature before the trigger goes off (since that is what triggers it), so the Bonus it gives to the Master is no longer there when the sacrifice trigger resolves, so the Last Known Information about the Master is without the equipment's bonus. The life loss will thus be only 4.
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)
Aren't all Thopters artifact creatures?
No. For example, the Lorwyn changelings are thopters that aren't artifacts.
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)
I wrote Thopter (artifact)...I guess I should have been more explicit
Demonmail Hauberk's equip ability can target any "creature you control", even if it's the creature that Demonmail Hauberk is attached to (C.R. 702.6a, 115.1c), because when activating an ability, you choose targets before you pay costs (C.R. 602.2b, 601.2c, 601.2h); it's just that the ability will do nothing when it resolves if Demonmail Hauberk is already attached to the targeted creature (C.R. 701.3b). Note, however, that since you can activate the equip ability "only as a sorcery" (which means during your main phase while you have priority and nothing is on the stack [C.R. 307.5]) (C.R. 702.6a), you will have to wait until the stack is empty and you have priority again (which usually happens after each equip ability resolves [C.R. 608.2k, 117.3b]) before you can activate it again.
EDIT (Jan. 12, 2020): Correction. One rule was renumbered with Core Set 2020.
EDIT (May 9, 2020): Add rule citation and add to comment.
EDIT (Mar. 12, 2022): Edited to conform to updated text for equip in the meantime.