Flickering polukranos

[Birdbrain]

Could you make {polukranos, the world eater} monsterous. Deal damage to creatures, then flicker it before it dies?

[Ekann1]

I would say no, as I think dealing the damage and getting dealt the damage would all happen as the monstrous trigger resolves. You couldn't blink him out in the middle of that.

[Birdbrain]

Well. I think damage gets marked on him...wait, nevermind. What I'm thinking of is for state based actions...wait! I think you can put his ability on the stack, then flicker him?

[Ekann1]

Nope, the game thinks he is a new creature when he comes back after being flickered. When the old monstrous ability resolves, it won't have any creature to give counters to or anything and it will fizzle. I think it checks specifically for the creature it was activated on, not just a creature will that name.

[Birdbrain]

After he becomes monsterous, the second ability is put on the stack. It doesn't all happen at once

[Birdbrain]

The second ability says "when CARDNAME becomes monsterous" meaning it has to become monsterous before the ability is even put on the stack

[Ekann1]

Oops, good point. You still can't flicker him between him dealing damage and getting dealt damage, because that would happen all at once when the 2nd trigger resolves (I think)

[Kaleo42]

If you remove him before his ability resolves no damage will be dealt or recieved. If you wait till damage happens then you are too late to do anything about it.

[Ekann1]

If you remove him before his ability resolves no damage will be dealt or recieved. If you wait till damage happens then you are too late to do anything about it.

What I was trying to say, but sorta didn't :P

[Birdbrain]

If you remove him before his ability resolves no damage will be dealt or recieved. If you wait till damage happens then you are too late to do anything about it.

i had thought the value for X was set when he became monsterous, then the second ability was out on the stack. Which you could respond to. Oh well

[Ekann1]

I think you can respond to it, but if polukranos leaves the battlefield before it resolves, nothing happens and it fizzles.

[Birdbrain]

I think you can respond to it, but if polukranos leaves the battlefield before it resolves, nothing happens and it fizzles.

arn't monsterous and the ability that says "when CARDNAME becomes monsterous" two separate abilities though?

[Kaleo42]

If you remove him before his ability resolves no damage will be dealt or recieved. If you wait till damage happens then you are too late to do anything about it.

i had thought the value for X was set when he became monsterous, then the second ability was out on the stack. Which you could respond to. Oh well

The problem is that source of the damage is the creature not the ability. If you remove the creature the ability will still exist but will have no creature to deal or recieve damage. All mutual effects like {switcharoo} and {pit fight} require that both targets exist to resolve at all and this is no different.

[Kaleo42]

9/15/2013   An ability that triggers when a creature becomes monstrous won't trigger if that creature isn't on the battlefield when its monstrosity ability resolves.

[Birdbrain]

Oh. So {gift of immortality} would be a better option?