Black Lotus + Dragon

Reviewed by a human. How pages are reviewed.

Overview

If Dragon deals combat damage to a player, its triggered ability can target that player's Black Lotus if Lotus is on the battlefield; the trigger is put on the stack and will attempt to change control on resolution [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities]. If the Lotus is sacrificed (for its , Sacrifice ability) in response before the trigger resolves, it will no longer be on the battlefield and the control-change will fail because the object isn’t there to gain control of [301.2] [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities].

The StackRules & CitationsDetails & Edge Cases

Step 1

Combat damage is dealt by Dragon to player; Dragon’s triggered ability triggers and is put on the stack [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities].

Step 2

When the trigger is put on the stack, a target is chosen; the target must be an artifact that the damaged player controls at that time, so Black Lotus is a legal target if it is on the battlefield [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities].

Step 3

Players get priority. The damaged player may respond by activating Black Lotus’s ability (, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color), which sacrifices Lotus and moves it off the battlefield (to the graveyard) to produce mana [301.2].

Step 4

If Black Lotus was sacrificed in response, when Dragon’s triggered ability resolves it refers to a target that no longer exists on the battlefield, so the ability can’t gain control of that object and has no effect on it [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities].

Step 5

If Black Lotus was not sacrificed and is still on the battlefield when the triggered ability resolves, control of the Lotus changes to the Dragon’s controller; Lotus remains an artifact and is now controlled by the new player [301.2] [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities].

Resolution

When Dragon deals combat damage to a player the triggered ability “Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, gain control of target artifact that player controls.” triggers and is put on the stack; you must choose a legal target at that time, which can be that player’s Black Lotus if it is on the battlefield [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities]. If Black Lotus is still on the battlefield when the triggered ability resolves, control of the Lotus changes to the Dragon’s controller. If the damaged player sacrifices Black Lotus in response (for example to add three mana), the Lotus is no longer on the battlefield when the trigger resolves, so the ability can’t gain control of it and does nothing to that object [301.2] [608. Resolving Spells and Abilities].