Scenario
Player A, during their Main Phase, casts Living Death and Player B immediately responds to the spell by tapping Cauldron of Souls.
Disagreement One - Part Un
Does tapping Cauldron of Souls go on top of the stack created by the Living Death spell [therefore resolving first and giving all of Player B's creatures Persist before they'd be put into the graveyard]? Or Do they resolve as independent stacks [thus not giving all of Player B's creatures Persist before they are put into the graveyard]?
Disagreement One - Part Deux
If the latter is true, and the result of Living Death caused Dispersal Technician to enter the battlefield, could that cause Cauldron of Souls to be returned to Player B's hand before the tap ability could trigger?
Disagreement - Finale
If Blood Seeker is one of the many creature cards that are returned from Exile to the battlefield, do opponents still take damage as the creatures they control that entered the battlefield at the same time [because 'they all see each other'], or does Blood Seeker need to be on the battlefield prior to the entry of other creatures?
Thanks for being part of this journey. As usual cites are best, since we're all lawyers here.
After Living Death is cast, activating Cauldron of Souls's ability in response will put that ability on the top of the stack, above Living Death, so that that ability will get to resolve first (C.R. 116.7, 405.2). (As a result, the question you give in "Part Deux" is moot in this scenario.) Note also that in most games, there is only one stack (an exception is the Grand Melee multiplayer variant [C.R. 807.5]); the stack always exists even if nothing is in it (C.R. 405.5 and C.R. 116.4 acknowledge that the stack can be "empty").
While Living Death resolves, the creatures exiled due to that spell are put onto the battlefield at the same time, since the single verb "puts" is used here (C.R. 608.2c). Blood Seeker's ability will trigger for each creature that enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, even if it does so at the same time as Blood Seeker, since that ability checks the state of the game right after the event happens to determine whether it triggers (C.R. 603.10, 603.6a).
I will note that the use of Cauldron of Souls here seems to be irrelevant.
Persist only matters when a creature dies (goes from field to grave). Living Death exiles all creatures on the field, then resurrects all creatures in the grave to the field, then puts the exiled creatures (formerly on the field) into the grave.
702.78a. Persist is a triggered ability. "Persist" means "When this permanent is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it."
Ignore this entire post - I didn't RTFC. Persist works fine.
I will note that the use of Cauldron of Souls here seems to be irrelevant.
Persist only matters when a creature dies (goes from field to grave). Living Death exiles all creatures on the field, then resurrects all creatures in the grave to the field, then puts the exiled creatures (formerly on the field) into the grave.
702.78a. Persist is a triggered ability. "Persist" means "When this permanent is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it."
You have it backwards: it exiles the cards from the grave, the creatures on the field are sacrificed, and then the exiled cards are put on the field. This is why it (and Living End) get around Grafdigger's Cage.
I have a related question. In a recent game of commander the active player (player 1) casts living death. Player two responds activating cauldron of souls targeting all his creatures. Player three has a Cataclysmic Gearhulk in the graveyard that is returned with the living death.
Will the creatures with persist now be subject to the sacrifice from the gearhulk?
In general: Yes, if Player 3 is closer to the active player in turn order than player 2 is, and no otherwise. (But note that Cataclysmic Gearhulk's triggered ability doesn't have each player sacrifice all creatures they control.)
More specifically, the answer largely depends on whose turn it is and who controls the creatures in question. Take the following scenario.
Assume all creatures player 2 controls have persist and player 3 has Cataclysmic Gearhulk in their graveyard. Assume no player other than player 2 controls any creatures, and that the only card in any graveyard is Cataclysmic Gearhulk. Living Death resolves.
Player 3 exiles Cataclysmic Gearhulk from their graveyard, then player 2 sacrifices all creatures they control (making each such creature's persist ability trigger), then player 3 puts Cataclysmic Gearhulk onto the battlefield. This makes Cataclysmic Gearhulk's triggered ability trigger.
Living Death goes to the graveyard, then the abilities that triggered go on the stack, starting with the ones controlled by the active player or, if there is none, the ones controlled by the player closest to the active player in turn order, and proceeding in turn order (C.R. 608.2m, 117.3b, 117.5, 603.3, 603.3b, 101.4). Thus, if player 2 is the active player or is closer in turn order to the active player than player 3, the persist abilities will go on the stack below the Cataclysmic Gearhulk ability, and so get to resolve after it. And vice versa otherwise.
Note that Living Death doesn't return any cards directly from a graveyard to the battlefield.
Note also that this answer doesn't depend on whether the Commander variant is played. The Commander variant is not synonymous with a multiplayer game, and nothing in the rules for that variant (under C.R. 903) explicitly precludes applying those rules to two-player games (C.R. 903.2).
EDIT: Clarification after comment 8 was posted.
EDIT (Feb. 26, 2021): One rule was renumbered in the meantime.
Player 1 was the active player(living death). Player 2 (with the cauldron) was second in turn order, and player 3 (with the gearhulk) was next in turn order.
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We had some pretty gnarly scenarios come up and there were disagreements aplenty.
Cards Involved
Living Death
Cauldron of Souls
Dispersal Technician
Blood Seeker
Scenario
Player A, during their Main Phase, casts Living Death and Player B immediately responds to the spell by tapping Cauldron of Souls.
Disagreement One - Part Un
Does tapping Cauldron of Souls go on top of the stack created by the Living Death spell [therefore resolving first and giving all of Player B's creatures Persist before they'd be put into the graveyard]? Or Do they resolve as independent stacks [thus not giving all of Player B's creatures Persist before they are put into the graveyard]?
Disagreement One - Part Deux
If the latter is true, and the result of Living Death caused Dispersal Technician to enter the battlefield, could that cause Cauldron of Souls to be returned to Player B's hand before the tap ability could trigger?
Disagreement - Finale
If Blood Seeker is one of the many creature cards that are returned from Exile to the battlefield, do opponents still take damage as the creatures they control that entered the battlefield at the same time [because 'they all see each other'], or does Blood Seeker need to be on the battlefield prior to the entry of other creatures?
Thanks for being part of this journey. As usual cites are best, since we're all lawyers here.
While Living Death resolves, the creatures exiled due to that spell are put onto the battlefield at the same time, since the single verb "puts" is used here (C.R. 608.2c). Blood Seeker's ability will trigger for each creature that enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, even if it does so at the same time as Blood Seeker, since that ability checks the state of the game right after the event happens to determine whether it triggers (C.R. 603.10, 603.6a).
It makes sense this way and I think it's great our group can look to those CR rules for their answers.
I will note that the use of Cauldron of Souls here seems to be irrelevant.
Persist only matters when a creature dies (goes from field to grave). Living Death exiles all creatures on the field, then resurrects all creatures in the grave to the field, then puts the exiled creatures (formerly on the field) into the grave.
Ignore this entire post - I didn't RTFC. Persist works fine.
Will the creatures with persist now be subject to the sacrifice from the gearhulk?
More specifically, the answer largely depends on whose turn it is and who controls the creatures in question. Take the following scenario.
Note also that this answer doesn't depend on whether the Commander variant is played. The Commander variant is not synonymous with a multiplayer game, and nothing in the rules for that variant (under C.R. 903) explicitly precludes applying those rules to two-player games (C.R. 903.2).
EDIT: Clarification after comment 8 was posted.
EDIT (Feb. 26, 2021): One rule was renumbered in the meantime.