Moving local enchantments strikes again

Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules (More info?)

Zarin <arkadyz1@yahoo.com> wrote:
>let's say I control Autumn-Tail, Kitsune Sage (flipped version of
>Kitsune Mystic) , my opponent controls Arc-Slogger and there is Heart
>of Light in play on a creature other than Arc-Slogger (for example, on
>the aforementioned Autumn-Tail).

Okay.

>Kitsune Mystic 3W Creature - Fox Wizard
>2/3 At end of turn, if ~ is enchanted by two or more enchantments, flip it.
>-----
>Autumn-Tail, Kitsune Sage Legendary Creature - Fox Wizard
>4/5 1: Move target enchantment enchanting a creature to another creature.
>
>Arc-Slogger 3RR Creature - Beast
>4/5 R,Remove the top ten cards of your library from the game: ~ deals 2
> damage to target creature or player.
>
>Heart of Light 2W Enchant Creature
>Prevent all damage that would be dealt to and dealt by enchanted creature.

Since your Subject says "moving enchantments"; the Heart of Light can only
prevent damage that's dealt at the time it's on a given creature. It does
not 'remember what it enchanted earlier this turn', or "lock in where the
combat damage is from as it goes onto the stack", or anything; if you're
looking at Arc-Slogger damage, the Heart must be on the Arc-Slogger or on its
target creature, as the Arc-Slogger ability resolves, to prevent the 2 damage.

>Let's suppose that I'm at 2 life and the only way for my opponent to
>kill me is via Arc-Slogger's activations.

>It seems obvious that in response to Arc-Slogger's (A-S) activation I
>can activate Autumn-Tail (A-T,KS) targeting Heart of Light (HoL), and
>if the enchantment is on A-S as the latter's ability resolves the
>damage will be prevented.

Right.

> However, if the opponent activates
>Arc-Slogger once again in response to Autumn-Tail's activation, and I
>activate A-T,KS yet again and manage to move HoL to to A-S before its
>second activation resolves,

okay - so the stack bottom to top is "A-S on you, A-T moving Heart, A-S on you,
A-T moving Heart to A-S"

>the opponent may just let the first
>activation of A-T,KS resolve and I will HAVE to move HoL to a different
>creature (because A-T,KS says so).

Yep. But: after that use of A-T resolves you can use it again, before
the underlying A-S ability can resolve. Or, you could just, after the A-S
ability resolves, use the A-T in response to _itself_, so that THAT one would
move the Heart to another creature, then the one that was already there could
move it back to the A-S.

> Of course, I will then be able to
>move HoL back onto A-S for the cost of 1 additional mana. In general,
>it means that for X activations of A-S I will need 2X-1 activations of
>A-T,KS. Agreed so far?

....Depends on how things get done. But it looks correct.

>Of course, if I hold, say, Blessed Breath and A-S and A-T,KS are the
>only two creatures in play, I can wait until my opponent has exhausted
>his resources (be it sources of red mana or cards in library),
>responding to each activation of A-S with A-T,KS's ability, let the
>last A-T,KS's ability resolve, moving HoL onto A-S, then play Blessed
>Breath, giving A-T,KS protection from white.

....meaning there's no other creature its ability can legally move the Heart
-to-, so that any further uses of its ability that resolve have to leave the
Heart where it is. Also correct.

>I still think the opponent can maneuver a bit to make me spend more
>mana (if I'm able), but calculating all those possibilities starts
>feeling almost like chess...

Hee hee. Chess plus algebra plus Crazy Eights plus War plus D&D...

Dave
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