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I control Athreos, God of Passage, and Deathrender equipped to a nontoken creature.

I sacrifice the creature equipped with Deathrender to Victimize, and the opponent does not pay 3 life for Athreos's effect, so the creature will go back to my hand.

Can I choose that same creature card to return to the battlefield with Deathrender's ability?

3 Answers 3

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Yes, you can do that (if you place the abilities on the stack in the correct order[CR 603.3b]) because Deathrender chooses a card on resolution[CR 608.2d].

  1. You cast Victimize.
  2. Victimize resolves:
    1. Choose two target creature cards in your graveyard.
    2. Sacrifice the creature equipped by Deathrender.
      • Athreos's triggered ability triggers.
      • Deathrender's triggered ability triggers.
    3. Return the chosen cards to the battlefield tapped.
  3. You place Deathrender's triggered ability on the stack.
  4. You place Athreos's triggered ability on the stack.
  5. Athreos's triggered ability resolves:
    1. Return the sacrified creature to your hand.
  6. Deathrender's triggered ability resolves:
    1. Put the sacrified creature card onto the battlefield.
    2. Attach Deathrender to it.

Nice.


603.3b If multiple abilities have triggered since the last time a player received priority, each player, in APNAP order, puts triggered abilities he or she controls on the stack in any order he or she chooses.

608.2d If an effect of a spell or ability offers any choices other than choices already made as part of casting the spell, activating the ability, or otherwise putting the spell or ability on the stack, the player announces these while applying the effect.

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  • A reference to the rules for the ordering of simultaneously-triggered events would be useful here.
    – KRyan
    Apr 5, 2017 at 13:46
  • @KRyan, Done. Thanks to diego for digging them out.
    – ikegami
    Apr 5, 2017 at 14:10
5

As long as you stack your triggers correctly this will work. Two important things to remember here are that when you have multiple triggers that would be put on the stack at the same time you get to choose what order the ones you control go on the stack, and Deathrender's ability doesn't require you to choose a creature until the ability is resolving.

When the creatures Deathrender is equipped to dies two triggers will go on the stack, Athreos's and Deathrender's. Since you control both permanents you get to decide which order they go on the stack. To get the desired result, since the stack works in a Last In First Out method we need to put the Deathrender's ability on the stack first so it will resolve last, and Aethreos's ability above it.

What happens will be this:

The Stack:
(top)
1. Aethreos's trigger
2. Deathrender's trigger
(bottom)

When Aethreos's trigger resolves you opponent chooses to have the creature return to your hand. Then when Deathrender's trigger resolves since the creature is in your hand it is a valid option to choose with the ability.

603.3b If multiple abilities have triggered since the last time a player received priority, each player, in APNAP order, puts triggered abilities he or she controls on the stack in any order he or she chooses.

608.2d If an effect of a spell or ability offers any choices other than choices already made as part of casting the spell, activating the ability, or otherwise putting the spell or ability on the stack, the player announces these while applying the effect.

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  • 2
    I would recommend not choosing numbered lists to indicate the stack, as it's unclear if you mean the order they entered the stack, or in which you intend them so resolve. Apr 4, 2017 at 16:44
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Both abilities trigger when a creature dies, and since you control both abilities, you may stack those triggers in the order you choose.

If you stack them so that Athreos's trigger will resolve first, if your opponent does not pay 3 life, your creature will be in your hand when Deathrender's trigger resolves, allowing you to put the creature on the battlefield as part of the resolution. This is because Deathrender's ability doesn't require you to choose a card when it's put on the stack (such as choosing a target would), so you're free to choose cards that entered your hand after Deathrender's ability was put on the stack.

Keep in mind that you don't know what your opponent will choose to do until Athreos's ability resolves - if they recognize what you're doing with your triggers, they are probably more likely to choose to pay the 3 life if they can.

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