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During a game I cast Fall of the Hammer (an instant) to kill my opponent's 2/2 Young Wolf. I targeted my Torch Fiend, which would've killed the Young Wolf. (Torch Fiend has 2 power.) He then also cast an instant, Burst of Strength to give his wolf +1/+1. Would this save the wolf, or is he unable to save the wolf since the wolf is already dead? I've searched this a million times in thousands of different ways and couldn't find a direct answer.

Cascabel
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Azalore
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1 Answers1

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Fall of the Hammer doesn't just kill something as soon as you say you're casting it. It goes on the stack. At that point, your opponent gets to choose what to do. If they do nothing, and let Fall of the Hammer resolve, then their Young Wolf dies like you said. But if they respond by casting Burst of Strength, that goes on the stack on top of Fall of the Hammer. It will then resolve first, making their Young Wolf a 3/3, and then Fall of the Hammer will resolve, with your Torch Fiend dealing only two damage, not enough to kill the Young Wolf.

So: no, Burst of Strength can't save a creature that's already dead, but the creature wasn't already dead here. It was still right there on the battlefield, and your opponent did something to prevent it from dying.

I would suggest making sure you're familiar with the stack before you run into many more situations like this one. The answers to this question might be a good starting point to read: In plain English, how does casting spells and using creature abilities work with the stack and priority?

Cascabel
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  • I thank you, its been about 2011 since I played last and a lot has changed and has been added. – Azalore Apr 15 '18 at 00:40
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    @Azalore : ​ I'm pretty sure this has been the answer since April 1999. ​ ​ ​ ​ –  Apr 15 '18 at 08:10
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    @RickyDemer That rules change seems to only regard interrupts (which were played during the act of casting another spell like mana abilities the way I understand it; it was before my time). Stack and responses are older than that, I think. It wouldn't surprise me if successfully responding to lightning bolt with a giant growth has been possible since alpha. – Arthur Apr 15 '18 at 12:18
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    @Arthur I may be totally wrong, but I was under the impression that the act of casting wasn't well defined, and instants couldn't respond to instants (that's what interrupts were for). – Samthere Apr 15 '18 at 13:08
  • @RickyDemer not saying that it has changed, rather that I haven't played in a long while. I appreciate the random remark though. – Azalore Apr 15 '18 at 19:53