Will mana producers still produce mana if they are destroyed by Royal Assassin?

Asked by russell_nmf 14 years ago

I was playtesting two of my decks against each other and have run into this situation several times and wondered exactly how it should work... On one side I have 5 Forest, an [Elvish Harbinger], an [Overgrown Battlement], and a [Wall of Tanglecord] out on the field, and was going to play a [Liege of the Tangle] with my five mana and the 2 Mana I could get from [Overgrown Battlement] and the one from [Elvish Harbinger]. On the other side I had a [Royal Assassin], so when I tapped all my mana and the creatures for mana to play [Liege of the Tangle], I used [Royal Assassin]'s ability to destroy the [Overgrown Battlement].

Since abilities go on the stack (or so I think) the [Overgrown Battlement]'s mana would not have been produced, thus causing me to not have enough to have played [Liege of the Tangle], or could I have? I'm not quite sure how it'd happen. And if I wasn't able to play [Liege of the Tangle], what would happen with all the mana in my mana pool?

Thanks!

russell_nmf says... #1

Blah, just realized I needed double []'s... Here are the cards I mentioned:

Royal Assassin , Liege of the Tangle , Overgrown Battlement , Wall of Tanglecord , Elvish Harbinger

December 4, 2010 3:27 p.m.

Siegfried says... Accepted answer #2

Sorry mate, gotta use 2 of the [ brackets.

Elvish Harbinger , Overgrown Battlement , Wall of Tanglecord , Liege of the Tangle , Royal Assassin

Mana abilities, i.e. the tap ability of Overgrown Battlement, have some special rules around them, the most relevant of which is this: 605.3b An activated mana ability doesnt go on the stack, so it cant be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after it is activated. In any case, destroying the source of an ability once the ability has been put on the stack does not cause the ability to go away. The ability exists as a separate object to whatever activated/triggered it.

December 4, 2010 3:32 p.m.

Siegfried says... #3

Oh, and once mana has been put in your mana pool it stays there until the end of the next step/phase of the current turn, when mana pools empty.

December 4, 2010 3:34 p.m.

russell_nmf says... #4

Thanks again, man! Well that makes things easier for me, knowing that mana abilities activate immediately.

Cheers!

December 4, 2010 3:37 p.m.