Hey there, me and a friend got into an arugemnt about Bosh, Iron Golem. He wanted to sac an artifact, Manalith. I put to stack a Mortify at instant speed, he says that Bosh's effect still resolves and does dmg regardless of if he's dead or not after the stack resolves. Is this the case?
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
You can't use Mortify to stop your opponent from activating Bosh's activated ability.
In general, while your opponent activates an ability, no player has priority, so no other player can cast spells or activate abilities (including those that would keep your opponent from paying the spell or ability's costs) (C.R. 601.2a-i and 602.2a-b have no priority window until the spell is cast or ability activated; C.R. 117.1a-b).
And once Bosh's activated ability is activated, removing Bosh from the battlefield won't keep that ability from resolving (C.R. 113.7a). Indeed, assuming the ability's target is still legal, Bosh can still deal damage even if Bosh has left the battlefield in the meantime (C.R. 113.7a, 608.2b) (in a similar way as the game looks at the last known mana value of the sacrificed artifact even after that artifact has left the battlefield [C.R. 608.2h]).
Okay great looking out, thanks! I totally assumed the stack worked from the top like usual but missed the fact that abilities give no Priority. I appreciate the clarification!
Okay great looking out, thanks! I totally assumed the stack worked from the top like usual but missed the fact that abilities give no Priority. I appreciate the clarification!
To be clear: In general, activated abilities (such as Bosh's) go on the stack as they're activated, just like spells (C.R. 602.2; compare with C.R. 601.2). However, players don't have priority while an ability is being activated (between the time a player announces they're activating the ability and the time all its costs finish being paid [C.R. 602.2a-b, 601.2b-h]).
However, if the activated ability is a mana ability (such as "T: Add G"), it doesn't go on the stack and it resolves immediately after it's activated (C.R. 605.1, 605.3b).
Okay great looking out, thanks! I totally assumed the stack worked from the top like usual but missed the fact that abilities give no Priority. I appreciate the clarification!
Abilities, just like spells, use the stack and can be responded to: players get priority while they are on the stack. However, just like when casting spells, the process and payment for activating an ability, including sacrificing something as a cost, cannot be responded to. The ability can only be responded to once it is fully activated and paid for, and permanents sacrificed as a cost for it are already gone.
Now in your scenario, it's Bosh you're killing. So you can only do it once the Manalith is sacrificed and Bosh's ability is on the stack. You can destroy Bosh at that point, before the damage is dealt, but as peteroupc stated, it won't remove his ability from the stack and won't prevent it from dealing damage. The ability on the stack is independent from Bosh and can still deal damage even if Bosh is the source of that damage.
I'm a former judge (lapsed), who keeps up to date on rules and policy. Keep in mind that judges' answers aren't necessarily more valid than those of people who aren't judges; what matters is we can quote the rules to back up our answers. When in doubt, ask for such quotes.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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
In general, while your opponent activates an ability, no player has priority, so no other player can cast spells or activate abilities (including those that would keep your opponent from paying the spell or ability's costs) (C.R. 601.2a-i and 602.2a-b have no priority window until the spell is cast or ability activated; C.R. 117.1a-b).
And once Bosh's activated ability is activated, removing Bosh from the battlefield won't keep that ability from resolving (C.R. 113.7a). Indeed, assuming the ability's target is still legal, Bosh can still deal damage even if Bosh has left the battlefield in the meantime (C.R. 113.7a, 608.2b) (in a similar way as the game looks at the last known mana value of the sacrificed artifact even after that artifact has left the battlefield [C.R. 608.2h]).
See also this thread.
However, if the activated ability is a mana ability (such as "T: Add G"), it doesn't go on the stack and it resolves immediately after it's activated (C.R. 605.1, 605.3b).
Now in your scenario, it's Bosh you're killing. So you can only do it once the Manalith is sacrificed and Bosh's ability is on the stack. You can destroy Bosh at that point, before the damage is dealt, but as peteroupc stated, it won't remove his ability from the stack and won't prevent it from dealing damage. The ability on the stack is independent from Bosh and can still deal damage even if Bosh is the source of that damage.