Samurai of the Pale Curtain (Falls or fails?)

[Digital Devil]

I'm here to solve some of my problems with this card. Well, actually the problems my opponent can have while this card is on the board.

QUESTION 1
I have Samurai of the Pale Curtain and Flagstones of Trokair onto the battlefield. My opponent plays Smallpox. Do I still get the land? Does the trigger check the status into which my board was before Smallpox, or the status it is now due to Smallpox?

QUESTION 2
(Pretty basic question but since someone seems to disagree with me I'm still asking this to have a proof of my words)

Does Samurai's ability remove itself if it hits the graveyard?

QUESTION 3
My opponent has Kitchen Finks on the table. They someway die (Jitte, EE...) If a player plays a removal targeting SotpC in response to a "put into a graveyard from play" effect, does Samurai's ability have effect? What about Persist?

[dorsch]

1. When smallpox resolve, you follow the instructions in the exact order as written on the card. So Samurai gets sacrificed first and will not affect the sacrificed Flagstones.

2. Samurai exiles itself.
Right now I'm not in the mood to cite the exact rules, maybe I will later.

3. The only question is:
Is the Samurai on the battlefield at the moment Kitchen Finks would be put into the graveyard?
If you destroy Finks and destroy Samurai in response, Samurai will be put into the graveyard first and will not affect Kitchen Finks.

[Anusien]

You can't really respond to something going to the graveyard. You either respond to the ability from Engineered Explosives, or the ability resolves and the creature is in the graveyard.

That said, yes, if the Samurai of the Pale Curtain is killed in response to something that would kill a creature, the creature will not be exiled.

Samurai of the Pale Curtain has a static ability that generates a replacement effect that replaces a creature being put into the graveyard. If Pale Curtain is on the battlefield when a creature would be put into the graveyard, it will affect that creature. Otherwise, not. Samurai's ability is not triggered or activated and it does not use the stack.

[Anusien]

Sorry I typoed. Will update the original post.