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Follow on to this question - with a similar setup, but a slightly different aim.

Setup: I have a Bazaar Trader in play and without summoning sickness and an Immortal Coil in hand. Neither I nor my opponent have any cards in their graveyard.

Question: Is there a way for me to win the game by casting the Immortal Coil and then immediately giving it to my opponent?

What I think happens:

  • I cast Immortal Coil
  • Immortal Coil resolves
  • Immortal Coil checks my graveyard and finds no cards
    • So it puts "I lose the game" on the stack
  • In response to that going on the stack I activate Bazaar Trader targeting my opponent and Immortal Coil
    • That goes on the stack too
    • Stack is now {"opponent gains control of Immortal Coil", "I lose the game"}
  • Top of the stack resolves and my opponent now controls Immortal Coil
  • Immortal Coil checks my opponent's graveyard and finds no cards
    • So it puts "opponent loses the game" on the stack
    • Stack is now {"opponent loses the game", "I lose the game"}
  • Top of the stack resolves and my opponent loses

What happens now? Do I win? Or does the other effect in the stack resolve and I also lose?

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  • That's a hard one but it would appear that you would need to have a card in your graveyard for you to win in that situation as the Effect on Immortal coil would resolve before you tapped the Bazaar Trader from what I can see that is... not 100% Sep 8, 2015 at 11:20
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    @NathanTaylor Nah, he can use Bazaar Trader in response to the Immortal Coin triggered ability going on the stack. As discussed here, it's still a triggered ability because of the word "when", even if it's triggered by a game state.
    – Samthere
    Sep 8, 2015 at 11:25
  • Altough this has nothing to do with why you would want to cast Immortal Coil at that moment, but if it is on the stack. You could just stack enough damage on the enemy player and let the stack play off. First it would kill the other player off because of the damage, and then the rest of the stack gets discarded because the game ended.
    – Lyrion
    Sep 8, 2015 at 13:27
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    This is not a duplicate. The question here is "Can a state trigger fire again if I give control of the source to my opponent before the first trigger resolves?" The previous question is "Can I give control of the source to my opponent before the first trigger resolves?" The answer to the previous question forms the basis of this one.
    – Rainbolt
    Sep 8, 2015 at 14:15
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    @John - and this one follows on to it to ask "Given that I can respond, and then the effect stays on the stack, can I make my opponent loose before I loose?"
    – Jonny
    Sep 8, 2015 at 16:33

4 Answers 4

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In general, you could win while a "you lose" effect is on the stack. Winning/losing is a state-based action and the stack doesn't finish resolving if the game is over (e.g. a 2 player game).

However, with the Immortal Coil situation you describe, you lose. This is because the Immortal Coil in question won't create another triggered ability on the stack until the first one isn't there.

603.8. Some triggered abilities trigger when a game state (such as a player controlling no permanents of a particular card type) is true, rather than triggering when an event occurs. These abilities trigger as soon as the game state matches the condition. They'll go onto the stack at the next available opportunity. These are called state triggers. (Note that state triggers aren't the same as state-based actions.) A state-triggered ability doesn't trigger again until the ability has resolved, has been countered, or has otherwise left the stack. Then, if the object with the ability is still in the same zone and the game state still matches its trigger condition, the ability will trigger again.

So the Immortal Coil can't trigger for your opponent until you've already lost the game, unless you're otherwise able to prevent or counter the ability on the stack.

Here's the bit I'm not certain about and will look up, but I think if you could flicker the Immortal Coil once the opponent controls it, it will trigger, because the "new" Immortal Coil has no memory of being attached to the previous ability (still on the stack) and thus will create a new one.

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  • 4
    With 603.8 what happens if you have Immortal Coil and a Platinum Angel. Does it just keep triggering and resolving without doing anything? Thus locking the game out?
    – Cameron
    Sep 8, 2015 at 13:02
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    @Cameron As suspected, it forces a draw if nothing can be done about it. There's a ruling on Immortal Coil: Similarly, if the third ability resolves but you don't lose the game for some reason (because you control Platinum Angel, perhaps), it will immediately trigger again if your graveyard is still empty. Immortal Coil + Platinum Angel + an empty graveyard is an involuntary infinite loop. Unless a player disrupts it, the game will end in a draw.
    – Samthere
    Sep 8, 2015 at 13:07
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    @Samthere, While Flicker/Blink will cause the Immortal Coil to trigger again, those effects put the creature into play under the Owner's control, so it would come back to you, triggering another "you lose" ability for YOU, not your opponent.
    – GendoIkari
    Sep 8, 2015 at 13:47
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    @GendoIkari Right you are. There are a few effects that flicker and return under "your control" rather than owner's, but that also defeats the point here :D
    – Samthere
    Sep 8, 2015 at 14:27
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    Your assessment of what happens if you flicker the Immortal Coil (that it will trigger "again") does seem correct.
    – ikegami
    Sep 8, 2015 at 14:57
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A tricky one, and I fear I might be mistaken, but I suppose the answer still lies in 603.8 rule in the linked question (emphasis mine):

603.8. Some triggered abilities trigger when a game state (such as a player controlling no permanents of a particular card type) is true, rather than triggering when an event occurs. These abilities trigger as soon as the game state matches the condition. They’ll go onto the stack at the next available opportunity. These are called state triggers. (Note that state triggers aren’t the same as state-based actions.) A state-triggered ability doesn’t trigger again until the ability has resolved, has been countered, or has otherwise left the stack. Then, if the object with the ability is still in the same zone and the game state still matches its trigger condition, the ability will trigger again.

Therefore, even if Immortal Coil is now owned by your opponent with no cards in his graveyard, it won't trigger since its ability is on the stack. However, if you, for example Stifle it before it resolves, it will trigger again, but for your opponent now.

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  • That's a brilliant little sneaky way to kill off your opponent I like it Sep 8, 2015 at 11:49
  • If you stifle the ability, you won't lose anyway, at least if the Stifle goes to the graveyard :P Sep 8, 2015 at 19:52
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    @SillyFreak, not really single Stifle is not enough. Coil would trigger again during resolution of Stifle and put on the stack when a player receives priority, so you will lose anyway.
    – Vilmar
    Sep 8, 2015 at 20:37
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    Ah, you're right. I was thinking at first that Stifle is in the graveyard soon enough (obviously no), and then was mistaken on whether you'd lose the game on resolution of the ability. (Mortal Coil doesn't use an intervening if clause, so yes.) Sep 9, 2015 at 5:13
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One thing to note though is rule 109.5:

The words “you” and “your” on an object refer to the object’s controller, its would-be controller (if a player is attempting to play, cast, or activate it), or its owner (if it has no controller). For a static ability, this is the current controller of the object it’s on. For an activated ability, this is the player who activated the ability. For a triggered ability, this is the controller of the object when the ability triggered, unless it’s a delayed triggered ability. To determine the controller of a delayed triggered ability, see rules 603.7d–f.

To my understanding, this means even if the ability resolves when Immortal Coil is under you opponent's control, the ability will still cause you to lose.

However do see the last part of Vilmar's answer.

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    This point was never really in contention in the question or any of the answers.
    – murgatroid99
    Sep 9, 2015 at 2:41
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The given answers are correct - you can win with a "you lose the game" trigger on the stack as long as you win the game before the trigger resolves. There's actually a known Modern deck that can do exactly this: Ad Nauseaum. You can read more about the deck and how it works here. To quote from the section "Why should you play Ad Nauseam?"

c) Opponent: "I cast [some lethal spell]/swing for lethal."

You: "In response, Pact of Negation/Slaughter Pact. On my turn, untap, upkeep: while the Pact trigger is on the stack, Angel's Grace + Ad Nauseam, draw my entire library, kill you."

In principle Angel's Grace would also keep you alive through the Pact's you-lose-the-game trigger, without having to play Ad Nauseaum.

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