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I have a Pristine Talisman on the board, alongside a Well of Lost Dreams. I activate the Talisman to add 1 mana and gain 1 life. Gatherer says
01.06.2011 Pristine Talisman has a mana ability. Its ability doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
But is this true for the lifegain, too? Or can opponents react to the lifegain and e.g. destroy the Well before I can use the mana to draw a card?
605.3b An activated mana ability doesn’t go on the stack, so it can’t be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after it is activated. (See rule 405.6c.)
405.6c Mana abilities resolve immediately. If a mana ability both produces mana and has another effect, the mana is produced and the other effect happens immediately. If a player had priority before a mana ability was activated, that player gets priority after it resolves. (See rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”)
Pristine Talisman's ability resolves immediately (including the life gain, which is part of the resolution), and triggers the Well's ability which goes on the stack. That will be the first time your opponents can do anything, and destroying the Well is too late by then; its ability will resolve even if it is destroyed (rule 112.7a).
No, assuming you have legally activated the Talisman, your opponents do not have time to stop you from drawing a card from the Well's ability by destroying the Well.
The rules define what a mana ability is (emphasis mine):
605.1. Some activated abilities and some triggered abilities are mana abilities, which are subject to special rules. Only abilities that meet either of the following two sets of criteria are mana abilities, regardless of what other effects they may generate or what timing restrictions (such as “Activate this ability only any time you could cast an instant”) they may have.
605.1a An activated ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn’t have a target, it could add mana to a player’s mana pool when it resolves, and it’s not a loyalty ability. (See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”)
So the fact that you gain life doesn't change the fact that the ability is a mana ability. So it doesn't use the stack. So once you activate it, the next time anyone gains priority, you have the mana, you have gained the life, and the Well has triggered and that triggered ability has been put on the stack, as detailed in
605.3b An activated mana ability doesn’t go on the stack, so it can’t be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after it is activated. (See rule 405.6c.)
and
405.6c Mana abilities resolve immediately. If a mana ability both produces mana and has another effect, the mana is produced and the other effect happens immediately. If a player had priority before a mana ability was activated, that player gets priority after it resolves. (See rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”)
People can respond to the lifegain trigger and destroy the Well, but they can't stop you drawing a card.
When Gatherer says Pristine Talisman's ability “can't be responded to”, that means the ability is not ever on the stack to be countered by Stifle or to have people say “before that resolves...”. The ability simply resolves immediately as it's activated. The entire ability resolves in this way, so you'll gain life too as part of this.
Well of Lost Dreams will see the lifegain and its ability will be triggered. When people would next gain priority, its trigger would be put on the stack. (If you activated Pristine Talisman while casting a spell, it will go on the stack immediately after you're finished casting the spell. Otherwise, it'll probably go on the stack immediately after you've activated Pristine Talisman.)
At this point players have priority and one of them can destroy the Well, but it's too late: the ability is already on the stack. Removing a permanent doesn't remove its abilities from the stack. As the ability resolves, you can optionally pay {1} to draw a card.
Your opponent cannot prevent the triggered ability from entering the stack. Your opponent will never have priority in between the mana ability resolving and the triggered ability triggering and entering the stack. They can respond to the triggered ability of Well of Lost Dreams, but by then it is too late as the ability doesn't care if the Well still exists.
