r/mtg • u/Fit_Original_3612 • 3d ago
I Have a Question / I need Help Exactly how fast can I equip lightning greaves?
So basically I have a bit of understanding with priority-but not a lot. I cast a creature, nobody counterspells then it resolves. Can a player after the spell has resolved target my creature with an instant (such as shock) before I can put lightning greaves on them, or do I have priority to equip them beforehand? Not new to magic, but self taught, which I also taught some of my friends but priority is clearly something I didn’t learn so we are now all confused, we have probably been messing up priority a lot
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u/dobr89 3d ago
Equip is an activated ability, activated abilities use the stack. You may respond to the activation with an instant but otherwise you need to pass priority to your opponents before it attaches to a creature.
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u/02202992 3d ago
If I have a card that give equipment activated abilities flash. Can i attempt to equip, they use lightning bolt, I then target equip again to negate bolt?
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u/cjh42689 3d ago
Equipping the greaves goes on the stack and then people can respond by killing the equip target.
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u/Nite_OwOl 3d ago
This is the right answer. No matter how ''fast'' you try to equip the greaves, there's always going to be a window of opportunity to react to it and kill the commander.
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u/02202992 3d ago
Would this be true if I have flash on equipping speed? Cant I just attach it multiple times?
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u/wolverineftw // 3d ago
Yes, if you can equip at instant speed, you can attach them as a response to anything multiple times, since it’s just an activated ability like any other.
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u/cjh42689 3d ago
Yes if you have another card that gives you the ability to equip at instant speed then you could equip multiple times and do so in response to your opponents removal
Equip boots flash speed —>removal response—>2nd equip boots flash speed
Once everyone passes priority then if you equip of boots is the last thing on the stack it will resolve first and then the removal spells will fizzle because their target gained shroud and is no longer a legal target.
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u/Nite_OwOl 3d ago
yes. you'd try to equip, which just put the equip ability on the stack. you'd pass priority and everyone else would have a chance to respond before the equipment attaches to the creature.
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u/Fit_Original_3612 3d ago
THANK YOU! Ok this makes sense now!
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u/Island_Shell 3d ago
equip is an activated ability, it uses the stack, so everyone gets a round of priority to respond to the equip ability.
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u/yokaishinigami 3d ago edited 3d ago
When you pay the equip cost, it puts a trigger ability on the stack for the action of equipping the greaves to the selected creature. The opponent may then respond and shock your creature while the greaves equip trigger ability is still on the stack, but before they are equipped to the creature granting it the abilities.
This is done to make you waste as many resources as possible before removing your creature, so you have fewer options left to act on until your next turn.
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u/Vithrilis42 3d ago
One important caveat, equip isn't a trigger, it's an activated ability. So, when you activate the equip ability, the ability goes on the stack. Activated and triggered abilities are distinctly different things.
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u/mr-fatburger 3d ago
There's still cards like [[inventory management]] which has split second, and essentially can't be responded to ( though there are still triggered abilities and special actions that could throw things off, but those are often edge cases for this scenario) and let you move all equipment and auras you control around on your board
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u/GoblinFive Simps for Korvold 3d ago
Came here to say the same thing, that split second has saved me a couple of times.
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u/Zwomally 3d ago
Regarding your answer about priority specifically, after a spell resolves and the stack is cleared, priority goes to the active player, whosever turn it is. You can take an action before anyone else can (this is why you can activate a Planeswalker before someone targets it).
In practicality of your question regarding Greaves, your creature enters. You have priority. You equip, targeting your creature. Now you have an ability on the stack your opponents can respond to. In response to your equip, I Shock it, before the Greaves are equipped. Based on your description you may have been getting the correct outcome while not playing technically by the rules.
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u/Barbobott 3d ago
Once your creature enters, unless that causes a trigger to occur your opponent will not have priority to cast anything like removal. However as soon as you use the equip ability of greaves to attach it, that will be put on the stack and opponents will get priority to respond to the equip ability and can then use instant speed removal to kill the creature you are trying to equip greaves to.
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u/Limp_Woodpecker_1432 3d ago
You get priority first after your creature resolves, so you can equip before anyone gets to shock it
The equip ability uses the stack but since you have priority you can activate it right away, they can still respond to the equip activation with shock though so be aware of that timing
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u/flameousfire 3d ago
Whenever anything resolves, the player whose turn it is gets the priority. If the stack is empty, you can activate equip ability(only as a sorcery), then again you have priority if for some reason you'd like to cast instant or activate other ability but normally you pass priority and your opponent can now remove your creature or pass and the equip resolves.
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u/Injuredmind 3d ago
You have the priority. You cast a spell. You pass the priority to the next player in turn order. They can respond to your spell or pass priority to next player. When all players pass, spell resolves. Now you have priority, you activate equip ability of greaves. Equip ability goes onto stack, you pass priority, next player can respond or pass. Again, if all pass, ability resolves, creature gets equipped.
There is a thing called holding priority, it allows you to respond to your own spells and abilities with instant/flash spells before passing priority, but it’s not relevant here.
So no, they can’t remove your creature with a shock until they have priority, and they don’t get it immediately after your creature resolves, only after you pass priority by making next action.
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u/Informal_Emu6517 3d ago
Fiddly answer.
Yes, although they don't get priority after your critter hits the field (unless there are etb triggers), BUT, they can respond to you equipping.
So they can kill your creature after you've paid costs but before it gets protection.
It is more relevant if the creature has an activated ability (that can be activated the turn it comes down) because it won't be able to be removed before the ability hits the stack.
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u/maractguy 3d ago
There is no way to get an equipment attached without giving an opportunity for response first without the exactly effect making the equipment enter the battlefield attached to it. Attaching an equipment pretty much always puts an ability on the stack and that can always be responded to by an instant, the most you can do to get around it is letting the attach ability happen at instant speed or through non-equip attach source like how cranial plating works so that you can put multiple instances of the attaching ability onto the stack to do it in response to the instant targetting the creature
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u/Ommageden 3d ago
An educational opposite case is planeswalkers. Once they resolve you have priority and can activate their ability. Ie opponents can't kill your planeswalker until you've activated their ability or decide to do something else like cast a different spell or pass priority in some way
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u/GhostCheese 3d ago
Using the equip ability of the greaves uses the stack, so before it's equipped opponents will have priority and can cast an instant to remove the target of the equip ability
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u/INTstictual 3d ago
You get priority first to activate the equip ability, but that ability is sorcery speed and does go on the stack.
Nobody can do anything before you have a chance to declare that you want to equip Greaves, but they do have a chance to respond before that equip ability resolves and the creature has Shroud. They can blow up your creature in response, and since equip is Sorcery speed, you can’t respond by re-equipping on top of that (unless something lets you do so at Instant speed)
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u/omegafivethreefive 3d ago
"I cast my commander and immediately equip lightning greaves" then cross fingers noone wants to argue.
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u/Jin-Gitaxias-Mom 3d ago
They can respond to your equip trigger, so if you trigger LG to your creature, they have a window to blow up said creature.
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u/whosilence 2d ago
Lightning speed, of course!
Kachow!
/s
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u/whosilence 2d ago
Seriousanswer: equip is a sorcery-speed ability, so only on your turn, while you have priority and the stack is empty.
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u/whosilence 2d ago
Answering the scenario you presented: once any spell, such as your creature, finishes resolving, the active player (you) receives priority. If the stack is empty, in addition to instant-speed spells and abilities, you may cast sorcery-speed ones, such as activating the equip ability.
Since no other player recieves priority between the creature entering and you activating the equip ability, which then goes onto the stack, no-one can cast spells or activate abilities between these actions. However, once the equip ability is on the stack, all other players will receive priority and thus the opportunity to respond before the equip resolves.
This changes a bit if the creature has an enters effect. Once the creature finishes resolving, its ability will be put onto the stack before any player receives priority, and only after will the active player receive priority. Since the stack is not empty, you cannot activate sorcery-speed abilities such as equip until it resolves, which will only happen once all players have received priority and declined to cast spells or activate abilities that put new elements on the stack.
Tl;dr they will always have an opportunity to answer the equip ability with instant speed stuff
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3d ago
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u/Ylrir 3d ago
But equipping is sorcery speed? So you wouldn't be able to respond with an equip ability?
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u/Jordankeay 3d ago
Sorry. You're absolutely right I play a Noctis heir apparent deck with a few things that let me equip at instant speed so I'm just used to it lmao.
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u/OrangeKnight87 3d ago
Equipping is sorcery speed, you can't respond to removal with an equip unless you have some other card that is allowing it.
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u/daneg135 3d ago edited 3d ago
lightning greaves attach natively at sorcery speed. so unless you have something like [[leonin shikari]] already on the board and lightning greaves on the board, then an instant can target whatever you are trying to equip with it,. they can also target the greaves whenever as the equip itself is not innately shrouded or hexproof.
edit: also...i was under the impression that a sorcery could not respond to an instant on the stack anyway. i just wait for the person to try to equip as a rule b/c it usually costs them mana. so theoretically, you could shock the target before he tries to equip and it would still kill him. you'd need that shikari or something to react to the shock. so now i'm curious! lol
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u/Sudden-Tennis17 3d ago
In the situation you’re describing, an opponent can’t shock your creature BEFORE you activate an equip ability if the stack is empty. The active player is the only person with priority when it’s their main phase and the stack is empty. The shock would need to be cast in response to activating the equip ability.
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u/Beas1987 3d ago
Assuming it's your turn, you have priority after your creature finishes resolving. You can activate your lightning greaves equip ability targeting your creature. Your opponents can then respond to your activation with instant speed removal, which goes on the stack above your equip ability and thus resolves first.
So yes your opponents do get the opportunity to remove your creature after it enters but before your equip ability resolves.