The Battlefield

Archangel of Thune

$51.72

Walking Ballista

$9.28

AI DraftFeb 26, 2026

Archangel of Thune + Walking Ballista

Overview

Archangel of Thune’s triggered ability cares about whenever you gain life, and Walking Ballista can deal damage by removing +1/+1 counters. If Walking Ballista deals damage and that damage causes you to gain life (i.e., the Ballista has lifelink or another source of life gain is involved), Archangel’s ability will trigger and put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control, including the Ballista if it’s still on the battlefield and . If the Ballista deals damage but you don’t gain life, Archangel won’t trigger .

Step 1

Activate Walking Ballista’s ability by removing a +1/+1 counter as part of the activation cost; that reduces Ballista’s counters immediately (costs are paid before the ability resolves).

Step 2

When the activated ability resolves, Walking Ballista’s ability deals 1 damage to the chosen target.

Step 3

If Walking Ballista had lifelink (or some other effect caused you to gain life from that damage), damage causes you to gain life and that life gain causes Archangel of Thune’s triggered ability to trigger because you gained life .

Step 4

The Archangel trigger is put on the stack and will resolve later; when it resolves it puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control (including Walking Ballista if it’s still on the battlefield).

Step 5

If the Ballista’s damage did not cause you to gain life, Archangel’s ability does not trigger and no counters are added .

Step 6

Repeat: if Ballista has lifelink and remains on the battlefield, each time you remove a counter, deal 1 damage, gain 1 life, and then get a +1/+1 counter back on each creature when Archangel’s trigger resolves — allowing the cycle to continue as long as nothing else stops it (see rulings about prior damage/toughness reductions) and [Ruling 2020-08-07].

Resolution

If Walking Ballista deals damage and that damage causes you to gain life (for example the Ballista has lifelink), you will gain life from that damage , and Archangel of Thune’s ability will trigger because you gained life . That triggered ability is placed on the stack and, when it resolves, it puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control (including Walking Ballista if it’s still on the battlefield). If the Ballista’s damage does not cause you to gain life, Archangel’s ability does not trigger . Also note the specific rulings about Walking Ballista: prior damage or toughness reductions can limit how many times you can remove counters in a turn, and if a creature is dealt lethal damage at the same time you gain life, the Archangel trigger won’t save it in time [Ruling 2020-08-07].

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