So, I had this issue come up in a game the other day. An opponent brought in a Dockside Extortionist while his opponents had 6 artifacts and/or enchantments on the field. I let the Dockside Extortionist resolve and with his enter the battlefield effect on the stack I played Cyclonic Rift overloaded. My question is this:
Does my opponent get the treasures from the trigger when it resolves, even though all the enchantments and artifacts have been returned to their owner's hands by that time, or does the Dockside Extortionist trigger only check once (when it is put on the stack)?
Thank you in advance!
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-MadMage
Dockside Extorsionist's ability checks the number of artifacts and enchantments on the battlefield at the moment the ability resolves. It doesn't look back to the moment it triggered.
608. Resolving Spells and Abilities
[...]
608.2h 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 113.7a. 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.
608.2h. 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 113.7a. 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.
Notice the part about "last known information" is for "a specific object" (like "the sacrificed creature's power" in Fling). General information like "the number of artifacts and enchantments" or even "the greatest power among creatures" doesn't use LKI, and looks just at the present.
You may be confused because of the presence of X in Dockside Extortionist's ability.
In this sense, compare Dockside Extortionist (and Alibou, Ancient Witness) with Archipelagore or Custodi Soulcaller, which both have abilities that contain an X that has to be set in order for targets to be chosen (C.R. 603.3d, 601.2b; see also C.R. 107.3e). In contrast, Dockside Extortionist's ability doesn't require setting X as the ability goes on the stack (review C.R. 603.3c-d, 601.2).
Long-time reader, first-time question asker.
So, I had this issue come up in a game the other day. An opponent brought in a Dockside Extortionist while his opponents had 6 artifacts and/or enchantments on the field. I let the Dockside Extortionist resolve and with his enter the battlefield effect on the stack I played Cyclonic Rift overloaded. My question is this:
Does my opponent get the treasures from the trigger when it resolves, even though all the enchantments and artifacts have been returned to their owner's hands by that time, or does the Dockside Extortionist trigger only check once (when it is put on the stack)?
Thank you in advance!
Using card tags is mandatory in the Magic Rulings forum. Please check your private messages to learn how to use them. I've added them for this post.
-MadMage
Thank you!
Former Rules Advisor
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(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
Notice the part about "last known information" is for "a specific object" (like "the sacrificed creature's power" in Fling). General information like "the number of artifacts and enchantments" or even "the greatest power among creatures" doesn't use LKI, and looks just at the present.
In this sense, compare Dockside Extortionist (and Alibou, Ancient Witness) with Archipelagore or Custodi Soulcaller, which both have abilities that contain an X that has to be set in order for targets to be chosen (C.R. 603.3d, 601.2b; see also C.R. 107.3e). In contrast, Dockside Extortionist's ability doesn't require setting X as the ability goes on the stack (review C.R. 603.3c-d, 601.2).
See also this submission on Reddit as well as this thread.