Using Misdirection to stop FoW/Counterspell/Mana Drain

[trotch]

I am afraid I dont understand the exact stack, timing, and targetting issues involved.  Could someone please clarify this?  Thanks.

[Matt]

Using Misdirection to stop FoW/Counterspell/Mana Drain

Matt (the active player) casts Grizzly Bears. Bears go on the stack. Matt passes priority to Tony.

Tony, sensing impending fur-covered doom, casts Mana Drain, targeting the Bears. He passes priority.

Matt casts Misdirection, and chooses the Mana Drain as the target. Note that he does NOT yet declare to what he intends to change the target. He passes priority.

Tony passes back, so we resolve the top of the stack. Midirection resolves, and Matt chooses a new target for the Mana Drain. Matt chooses Misdirection to be the new target - spells can't target themselves, so he couldn't make the Drain target itself. Misdirection (like all spells) doesn't leave the stack until it's finished resolving, so it is still okay to have the Drain target the MisD. Misdirection leaves the stack and is put into Matt's graveyard. Matt gets priority.

Matt passes priority.

Tony passes priority. Both players have passed in succession, so the stack resolves the next item. As Mana Drain tries to resolve, it sees that its target - the Misdirection - is no longer on the stack! It's target has become illegal, so the Mana Drain is countered upon resolution (just like sacrificing the target of a Swords to Plowshares will keep the target from being RFG'd). Matt gets priority.

Matt passes.

Tony passes.

Grizzly Bears resolve. Matt goes on to win the game, easily defeating Tony's Need for Speed/Proposal deck.

[CmdrSam]

Grizzly Bears resolve. Matt goes on to win the game, easily defeating Tony's Need for Speed/Proposal deck.

...thus avoiding the thorny issue of whether gay marriage is legal in Magic: the Gathering.

--Sam L-L

[Tijnie]

@Matt:  Wait, so you're telling me I CAN use my MisD to counter a Counterspell??

[Matt]

Effectively, yes. Technically all you're doing is giving the Counterspell a target that won't be there when it tries to resolve, and then the game rules counter it.

It's exactly the same as when I try to Lightning Bolt your Kobold and you Unsummon the Kobold in response - the Bolt "fizzles" (gets countered upon resolution) because its target is gone. Same with Counterspell - it's trying to target a Misdirection that's no longer on the stack, so it (the Counterspell), too, fizzles.

Note that when a spell is ocuntered upon resolution ("fizzles"), it WILL trigger Multani's Presence.

[Gabethebabe]

Note that in Matt´s example there will be 0 mana for Tony from his precious NM signed English Mana Drain.

[Matt]

Note: It is not the case that Mana Drain resolves and just gives ; it actually never resolves at all, and so the mana-granting ability never happens at all, which is a slightly different thing than happening and returning a value of zero.