AI DraftFeb 26, 2026
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons + Obelisk Spider + Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Overview
Whenever a -1/-1 counter is put on a creature by Hapatra, Obelisk Spider, or Yawgmoth, that event will trigger Hapatra’s token-creation ability and Obelisk Spider’s life-loss/you-gain ability; sacrificing creatures to Yawgmoth’s first ability puts -1/-1 counters (and draws a card), and Yawgmoth’s proliferate can add additional -1/-1 counters. If counters reduce a creature’s toughness to 0 or less it’s put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action , and if a creature is dealt damage by a source with deathtouch it’s destroyed as a state-based action after damage is marked (damage marking rules: ). Counters of opposite signs cancel each other automatically .
Step 1
Hapatra deals combat damage to a player — Hapatra’s first triggered ability ("Whenever Hapatra deals combat damage to a player, you may put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.") triggers and is put on the stack.
Step 2
If that ability resolves and you choose to put a -1/-1 counter on a creature, the counter is placed as part of the resolution of that ability. The event of putting one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature then causes both Hapatra’s "Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature, create a 1/1 Snake with deathtouch" trigger and Obelisk Spider’s "Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life" trigger to trigger.
Step 3
Those triggered abilities are placed on the stack. The controller(s) of those triggered abilities (you, if you control both creatures) order them and they then resolve in that order; when the Hapatra trigger resolves it creates a 1/1 green Snake token with deathtouch, and when Obelisk Spider’s trigger resolves each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. (See state-based action/trigger processing .)
Step 4
If Obelisk Spider itself dealt combat damage to a creature earlier in combat, Obelisk Spider’s "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a creature, put a -1/-1 counter on that creature" trigger will put a -1/-1 counter on that creature when that trigger resolves, and that placement of a -1/-1 counter will again cause the Hapatra-token and Obelisk-player-life triggers to trigger. Note the ruling that if Obelisk Spider leaves the battlefield before its ‘put a -1/-1 counter’ triggered ability resolves the later triggered ability that watches for you putting counters won’t trigger from Obelisk Spider if Spider has left the battlefield before that event resolves (Ruling [2017-07-14]).
Step 5
You may activate Yawgmoth’s first activated ability by paying 1 life and sacrificing another creature. When that ability resolves you put a -1/-1 counter on up to one target creature (you may activate without choosing a target and still draw a card per Ruling [2021-03-19]) and draw a card. The act of putting the -1/-1 counter from Yawgmoth’s ability again causes Hapatra’s and Obelisk Spider’s "Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature" triggers to trigger.
Step 6
If you sacrifice a Snake token (created by Hapatra) to Yawgmoth’s ability, the sacrifice happens as part of the cost; the Snake goes to the graveyard, and then the ability resolves and puts a -1/-1 counter as chosen. Sacrificing the Snake is legal because Yawgmoth’s cost requires "another" creature (the Snake is a different creature than Yawgmoth).
Step 7
If you later pay 
and discard a card to activate Yawgmoth’s second ability, Proliferate will add one additional counter of each kind already present on each chosen permanent/player. If the chosen creature already has -1/-1 counters, Proliferate will add another -1/-1 counter; if it has multiple types of counters, Proliferate adds one of each kind it already has (Ruling [2023-02-04]).
and discard a card to activate Yawgmoth’s second ability, Proliferate will add one additional counter of each kind already present on each chosen permanent/player. If the chosen creature already has -1/-1 counters, Proliferate will add another -1/-1 counter; if it has multiple types of counters, Proliferate adds one of each kind it already has (Ruling [2023-02-04]).Step 8
Whenever counters get added, check state-based actions: if the added -1/-1 counters make a creature’s toughness 0 or less, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard ; if a creature was dealt damage by a deathtouch source earlier in the turn, SBA will destroy it per . Also, if any permanents have both +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters, matching pairs are removed under .
Resolution
Putting -1/-1 counters (whether by Hapatra’s triggered ability, Obelisk Spider’s own triggered ability, or Yawgmoth’s activated ability) causes the "Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature" triggers to trigger — Hapatra’s token trigger and Obelisk Spider’s life-loss/you-gain trigger — and those triggers are placed on the stack to be resolved in the normal way (see state-based/trigger processing ). Sacrificing another creature to Yawgmoth’s first ability lets you put a -1/-1 counter on up to one target creature and draw a card (you may activate it without choosing a target; see Ruling [2021-03-19]). Proliferate from Yawgmoth’s second ability adds one additional counter of every kind a chosen permanent or player already has; if a permanent has multiple kinds of counters, proliferate must add one of each kind it already has (Ruling [2023-02-04]). If the added -1/-1 counters reduce a creature’s toughness to 0 or less it’s put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action ; if a creature was dealt damage by a deathtouch source earlier in the turn it will be destroyed by state-based actions as described in .
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