Newer player with a quick ruling question about Decree of Silence.
We were playing and Decree had two counters when a player cast trailblazer boots. My thought was the boots went on the stack and generates two triggers from Decree. The first being a counter spell targeting the boots and then the second being the third counter generation which generates a trigger to sacrifice Decree of Silence. The owner of Decree then cast Render Silent in response targeting the boots. The ruling we went with was Decree doesn't get a counter since the boots were countered by Render Silent. I thought that it would still be sacrificed since the third counter was still on the stack.
Assuming that Render Silent was cast by the player controlling Decree of Silence, and that Trailblazer Boots was cast by an opponent of that player:
Decree of Silence's triggered ability triggers only once for each spell cast by an opponent of its controller (C.R. 603.1, 603.1c). Thus, when such a player casts Trailblazer Boots, that ability triggers only once (C.R. 603.1, 603.1c) (compare Decree of Silence with Azorius Herald). After that, when Render Silent is cast, that ability won't trigger (since it's Decree of Silence's controller that cast Render Silent, not an opponent of that player). Even if Trailblazer Boots is countered, however, the Decree of Silence ability referring to that spell will still get to resolve (see also C.R. 112.7a), so that a depletion counter is still put on Decree of Silence and Decree of Silence is still sacrificed if there are now three or more depletion counters on that permanent (C.R. 609.3) (note that those actions don't depend on whether the spell was countered this way; e.g., that ability doesn't say "...counter that spell. If you do, put a depletion counter..." [review C.R. 117.12; see also this thread]).
Newer player with a quick ruling question about Decree of Silence.
We were playing and Decree had two counters when a player cast trailblazer boots. My thought was the boots went on the stack and generates two triggers from Decree. The first being a counter spell targeting the boots and then the second being the third counter generation which generates a trigger to sacrifice Decree of Silence. The owner of Decree then cast Render Silent in response targeting the boots. The ruling we went with was Decree doesn't get a counter since the boots were countered by Render Silent. I thought that it would still be sacrificed since the third counter was still on the stack.
Thanks in advance for any help.
"Whenever an opponent casts a spell, counter that spell and put a depletion counter on Decree of Silence. If there are three or more depletion counters on Decree of Silence, sacrifice it." is a single triggered ability. (It doesn't even create a delayed triggered ability.)
112.2c An object may have multiple abilities. If the object is represented by a card, then aside from
certain defined abilities that may be strung together on a single line (see rule 702, “Keyword
Abilities”), each paragraph break in a card’s text marks a separate ability. If the object is not
represented by a card, the effect that created it may have given it multiple abilities. An object
may also be granted additional abilities by a spell or ability. If an object has multiple instances
of the same ability, each instance functions independently. This may or may not produce more
effects than a single instance; refer to the specific ability for more information.
Here is what the sequence would look like (assuming a two-player game):
A main phase begins.
Activer player (AP) gets priority and casts Trailblazer's Boots. AP pays the cost using 2 obtained in an unspecified way. This triggers the ability of Decree of Silence.
AP would get priority, but there is a triggered ability to put on the stack. Nonactive player (NAP) puts "Whenever an opponent casts a spell, counter that spell and put a depletion counter on Decree of Silence. If there are three or more depletion counters on Decree of Silence, sacrifice it." on the stack.
AP gets priority and passes.
NAP gets priority and casts Render Silent. NAP chooses the spell cast in step 2 as the target, and pays the cost using WUU obtained in an unspecified way.
NAP gets priority and passes.
AP gets priority and passes.
The top object on the stack (the spell cast in step 5) resolves. Trailblazer's Boots is countered and is put in AP's graveyard. AP can't cast spells this turn.
AP gets priority and passes.
NAP gets priority and passes.
The top object on the stack (the ability put there in step 3) resolves. Trailblazer's Boots can't be countered (because it is no longer on the stack), so that part doesn't happen. The rest still happens, though. NAP puts a depletion counter on Decree of Silence. It now has three depletion counters, so it is sacrificed.
609.3. If an effect attempts to do something impossible, it does only as much as possible.
AP gets priority and ....
There are some similar cases in which rule 608.2b would alter this, but it doesn't apply to Decree of Silence's first ability.
608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. If all its targets, for every instance of the word “target,” are now illegal, the spell or ability doesn’t resolve. It’s removed from the stack and, if it’s a spell, put into its owner’s graveyard. Otherwise, the spell or ability will resolve normally. Illegal targets, if any, won’t be affected by parts of a resolving spell’s effect for which they’re illegal. Other parts of the effect for which those targets are not illegal may still affect them. If the spell or ability creates any continuous effects that affect game rules (see rule 613.10), those effects don’t apply to illegal targets. If part of the effect requires information about an illegal target, it fails to determine any such information. Any part of the effect that requires that information won’t happen.
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Why bother with mere rulings when so many answers can be found in the Rules?
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Newer player with a quick ruling question about Decree of Silence.
We were playing and Decree had two counters when a player cast trailblazer boots. My thought was the boots went on the stack and generates two triggers from Decree. The first being a counter spell targeting the boots and then the second being the third counter generation which generates a trigger to sacrifice Decree of Silence. The owner of Decree then cast Render Silent in response targeting the boots. The ruling we went with was Decree doesn't get a counter since the boots were countered by Render Silent. I thought that it would still be sacrificed since the third counter was still on the stack.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Decree of Silence's triggered ability triggers only once for each spell cast by an opponent of its controller (C.R. 603.1, 603.1c). Thus, when such a player casts Trailblazer Boots, that ability triggers only once (C.R. 603.1, 603.1c) (compare Decree of Silence with Azorius Herald). After that, when Render Silent is cast, that ability won't trigger (since it's Decree of Silence's controller that cast Render Silent, not an opponent of that player). Even if Trailblazer Boots is countered, however, the Decree of Silence ability referring to that spell will still get to resolve (see also C.R. 112.7a), so that a depletion counter is still put on Decree of Silence and Decree of Silence is still sacrificed if there are now three or more depletion counters on that permanent (C.R. 609.3) (note that those actions don't depend on whether the spell was countered this way; e.g., that ability doesn't say "...counter that spell. If you do, put a depletion counter..." [review C.R. 117.12; see also this thread]).
"Whenever an opponent casts a spell, counter that spell and put a depletion counter on Decree of Silence. If there are three or more depletion counters on Decree of Silence, sacrifice it." is a single triggered ability. (It doesn't even create a delayed triggered ability.)
Here is what the sequence would look like (assuming a two-player game):