Can I cast Searing Blaze.

[DragoFireheart]

Searing Blaze

I'm in a argument with a friend: she says I must have a creature to target to also burn the opponent. I say that as long as there is one legal target, I can cast searing blaze: the creature part will be countered, but the opponent part won't.

Who's right?

[say no to scurvy]

Always try checking gatherer first :)

"You must choose two targets as you cast Searing Blaze: a player and a creature that player controls. If you can't (because there are no creatures on the battlefield, perhaps), then you can't cast the spell."

[cdr]

You must always choose the appropriate number of targets to be able to cast a spell.

If one of two targets become illegal after the spell has been cast, the spell will resolve since it has at least one legal target.

[DragoFireheart]

Since I got two answers and both are conflicting, can you support your argument with Oracle rules?

608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target
that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game
state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed
or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it
was in, its last known information is used during this process. The spell or ability is countered if
all its targets, for every instance of the word “target,” are now illegal. If the spell or ability is not
countered, it will resolve normally. However, if any of its targets are illegal, the part of the spell
or ability’s effect for which it is an illegal target can’t perform any actions on that target or
make that target perform any actions. The effect may still determine information about illegal
targets, though, and other parts of the effect for which those targets are not illegal may still
affect them.

[Nonex]

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from the zone it’s in (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 714, “Handling Illegal Actions”). Announcements and payments can’t be altered after they’ve been made.

601.2c The player announces his or her choice of an appropriate player, object, or zone for each target the spell requires. [...]

[DragoFireheart]

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from the zone it’s in (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 714, “Handling Illegal Actions”). Announcements and payments can’t be altered after they’ve been made.

601.2c The player announces his or her choice of an appropriate player, object, or zone for each target the spell requires. [...]


Ok, thank you.

[cdr]

The answers above never conflicted. There's a difference between casting a spell and resolving a spell, but you seem to get it now.