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Here's my question... Since both O ring & Journey resolve onto the battlefields as permanents before picking a target, Can my opponent use the target cards ability before it resolves....?

By my reading of the rules since it isn't in the stack then it should resolve before he has a chance to activate the ability & start a new stack because I have Priority on the stack since its my turn (they being enchantments, they can only be cast in of my 2 Main Phases)

Thanks
Nathan

Mar 1, 2013 -- 10:49PM, zuul88 wrote:

Here's my question... Since both O ring & Journey resolve onto the battlefields as permanents before picking a target, Can my opponent use the target cards ability before it resolves....?

Which ability are you refering to? If you mean O-Ring and Journeys abilities, the targets for those are chosen when the abilities are put on the stack. Which happens almost immediately after the enchantment has been put on the battlefield.

Mar 1, 2013 -- 10:49PM, zuul88 wrote:

By my reading of the rules since it isn't in the stack then it should resolve before he has a chance to activate the ability & start a new stack because I have Priority on the stack since its my turn (they being enchantments, they can only be cast in of my 2 Main Phases)

Hold on, there's so much wrong here. First, the stack is a game zone, it exists at all times and there is only one. It may be empty at times or it may contain one or more objects. Before any object on the stack can resolve, all players must pass priority in succession (meaning without taking any action). If they do, the top object on the stack resolves. If the stack was empty and all players pass priority in succession, the next step or phase begins. This also means, that for everything that is put on the stack, all players get at least one chance to respond to it. Being the active player matters for priority only in so far as you get it first when a step or phase begins and after an object on the stack has resolved. But in order to have anything resolve (except for mana abilities, which are abilities that produce mana), you must pass it.

No, it's a triggered ability.

And while it seems like nitpicking, you need to be exact on these forums because the answers to some question can change drastically with even just one word added/missing/wrong. That said, the enchantment has resolved fully before the trigger is put on the stack. That it causes a trigger to be put on the stack doesn't change this. That trigger is an entirely seperate object, (and can/must be countered seperately).

Perhaps some examples would help:

let's say I have a Sun Titan on the field and you have a Loxodon Smiter and there are no other nonland permanents on the field.

You have a Oblivion Ring in your hand that you're itching to use on my Titan.

You cast the Ring, you are not required to announce a target at this point because Oblivion Ring the spell has no target (it's not an aura like Arrest ). You can announce a target when you cast it, but I'll come back to that later.

A spell can be responded to. I can Negate it for example and Ring will never hit the field. So its trigger would never trigger.

I could cast Unsummon targeting my Titan in response to the spell as well and my Unsummon would bounce the Titan back to my hand and then Ring would resolve and enter the field.

Once Ring hits the field, its ability triggers (going to the stack, while Ring stays on the field) and you are required now to choose a legal target for it, assuming there is one (if there isn't one, the trigger is just removed from the stack) 

If I had no response to your Ring spell, then it'll enter the field and trigger and you'll choose to target my Titan.
Now Ring's trigger is on the stack and can also be responded to.
eg. I could Voidslime it to save my Titan or I could cast Unsummon at my Titan and make the trigger's only target illegal (countering the trigger when it goes to resolve).

Now let's say I cast the Unsummon at my Titan, depending on when I cast it the result will be different.
I can cast it in response to the Ring spell or the Ring trigger.
If I cast it at my Titan in response to the Ring spell, you will have to choose a legal target for the Ring trigger when Ring enters the field (yes, you'd have to exile your own Smiter in this example as you can't choose the Ring itself because it says another nonland permanent, but if I did have another nonland permanent you could choose to exile it though)  
If I cast Unsummon at my Titan after Ring resolves and enters the field in response to its trigger, then the trigger won't exile anything because it will be countered.

Ring gets even weirder, let's say I don't respond to the Ring spell or the Ring trigger and the Ring trigger is still on the stack and you have a Boomerang in hand.
You could cast Boomerang at your own Ring. Boomerang would resolve and return Ring to your hand and this would trigger Ring's leave the field trigger and place it on top of its first trigger (which is still waiting to resolve). Ring's leaves the field trigger will then resolve and return nothing (because nothing has been exiled yet) and then Ring's first trigger will resolve and exile my Titan permanently.

Now earlier I said that you can indicate the target of Ring when you cast it. This is true, but you need to understand that you are actually proposing a shortcut of future events to your opponent.

Saying "I ring your Titan" is really saying "I cast Ring as a spell. I assume you have no response so it resolves and enters the field where it triggers and I will choose your Titan to exile and I assume you have no response so its trigger resolves and your Titan is exiled."

It has a built in assumption that your opponent won't repond - he might Cancel it, he might Unsummon his Titan, you don't know.

If your opponent says "Ok" then he accepts the sequence of events as you proposed them.
If he chooses to respond, he should indicate at what point he's responding (unless it's obvious)
eg. Counterspell won't do anything to the triggered ability. 

and if he does respond, you aren't bound by the shortcut you proposed from the point of response onwards.
eg. if he Unsummons his Titan in response to the Ring spell, you have to choose another legal target even if it means you have to target your own Smiter.

Mar 2, 2013 -- 2:16PM, Coredump00 wrote:

Using that example.

Player casts Ring and uses the shortcut "I Ring your Titan"

I then say "I unsummon the titan"

How do we resolve if I unsummoned as response to the enchantment, or in response to the triggered ability?

I assume it is totally up to me, but not sure.

You are the one casting Unsummon, so its up to you when you are doing it. Im not sure if there is a "deafult", ruleswise however (this may be relevant if your opponent jumps in with a response of his own before you specify when you are casting it).

~ Tim