Cycling and Stifle

[keys]

If you stifle the activated Cycling ability on a card such as Gempalm Incinerator, does the triggered "when you Cycle this, you may have it deal X damage..." ability still trigger?

In other words, is the Cycling ability still considered activated even though it was countered?

[Valtrix]

It should still trigger. You're still cycling, whether or not the ability resolves.


702.26c Some cards with cycling have abilities that trigger when they're cycled. "When you cycle [this card]" means "When you discard [this card] to pay a cycling cost." These abilities trigger from whatever zone the card winds up in after it's cycled.

[quicksilver]

If you stifle the activated Cycling ability on a card such as Gempalm Incinerator, does the triggered "when you Cycle this, you may have it deal X damage..." ability still trigger?

In other words, is the Cycling ability still considered activated even though it was countered?

Stifling the cycling ability does not stop any triggered abilities.

When a player cycles a card any and all triggered abilities such as gem palms ability go on the stack before you even get priority to cast the stifle. At which point you can choose which one to stifle.

[keys]

Is there ever any distinction between when an activated ability is activated and when it resolves (like the difference between triggers that trigger from a spell being "cast" and comes-into-play triggers?

[quicksilver]

I'm not entirely sure what you are asking here. Activated abilities being activated and resolving happen seperatly. It is possible for there to be triggered abilities that happen when it resolves (such as a triggered ability that happens when you draw a card).

[Valtrix]

Well, I guess the distinction would likely come from the triggers. For example, you could have:

"When you cycle X, do Y."
Versus
"Whenever you successfully cycle X, do Y."

As two seperate triggers. Only the second cares about whether the ability goes through or not. I think there's a few cards that make things happen when a spell is successfully cast, but usually there's not a distinction.

[keys]

Well, I guess the distinction would likely come from the triggers. For example, you could have:

"When you cycle X, do Y."
Versus
"Whenever you successfully cycle X, do Y."

As two seperate triggers. Only the second cares about whether the ability goes through or not.

Right. I guess I just felt like the text "when you cycle", for example, is a little ambiguous. Without looking up comp rules it's hard to determine whether it means "when you activate the cycling ability" or "when the cycling ability resolves".

Now I can certainly see the distinction between the two wordings you gave above, but I don't think the second one exists (does it?).


I think there's a few cards that make things happen when a spell is successfully cast, but usually there's not a distinction.

CIP triggers count?

[quicksilver]

That second wording no longer exists (you can find it printed on old cards but they have been errated). They have all been errated to remove the word successfully.

[Valtrix]

Huh, you're right about "successfully" having been errated. I checked gatherer, and no cards have the word successfully on them.

What I was thinking about was Argothian Enchantress, as it was originally worded "successfully play," but now that's errata'd too.

[Maveric78f]

About the cycling, the ambiguity comes from the "to cycle X" verb, that means "to activate X's cycling ability" and not "to have X cycled". That's why a lot of people make the mistake, according to me.