Planeswalker Ability and Death Timing

Question

A planeswalker with 7 loyalty counters has:

• a –7 loyalty ability that creates a 5/5 dinosaur token
• a passive ability that makes all summoned dinosaurs enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.

Would the dinosaur summoned be a 6/6 or a 5/5?

My guess would be 5/5 as the planeswalker dies first, then the ability resolves.

Answer 1

The dinosaur enters the battlefield as a 5/5 because, as you say, the planeswalker will be dead before the ability resolves. This is the exact sequence of events:

1. You activate the planeswalker's ability, putting the ability on the stack and removing 7 loyalty counters to pay the ability's cost.
2. The planeswalker dies as a state-based action because it has no loyalty counters.
3. All players gain priority, and pass it or respond to the ability.
4. The ability resolves and the dinosaur enters the battlefield.

Answer 2

After the loyalty ability goes on the stack, state based actions are being checked; they'll see a planeswalker without loyalty counters and it's put into the graveyard.

The ability will resolve (if nothing else happens) and create a token 'long' after the planeswalker is gone, so it won't enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.