Merfolk Question

[KobeBryan]

1. I have a phantasmal image in play. He casts lightning bolt, I counter it, but he said well i'm targeting the image already, whether it resolves or not, it dies. Is that true? I thought the spell needs to resolve first before it can target.

2. Question with vial and stifle. I have vial at 2. I tap it, show silvergil, he says stifle. He then says i throw my silvergil to the GY. Is that true?

did i misplay the vial? Should i have tapped the vial, ask him whether it resolves, then put the silvergil in play so that he cannot stifle it?

[Atwa]

Your opponent is right. Part of casting a spell is chosing a target fot it (when required). As soon as a Lightning Bolt is cast, targets have been chosen and it doesn't matter if it's coutered or not, the Image will die.

A smart trick in M12 limited when playing against Illusions like the Image is to cast a Fireball for way less mana then you would think nessisary. Imagine your Opponent having a 4/4 and a Image copying it. You can get rid of both by playing a Fireball for x=4 and pay 1 mana extra to also target the Image. Since you are targeting the Image, it's "whenever it get's targeted" ability triggers and will resove before the Fireball. Now the damage from the Fireball doesn't have to be devided between both creatures and it deals the full amount of damage to the remaining creature. Normally with a Fireball you have to pay 10 mana total to get rid of 2 4/4 creatures, but when one of them is a Phantasmal (Image, Bear, Dragon, etc), you only have to pay 6.

2. You keep the Silvergail in your hand. When he counters the ability of Vail, you simply aren't able to put the Silvergail into play, you don't even have to show him the card you want to put into play. There is no reason whatsoever to put the card into your graveyard.

You tap the Vial and ask him if he wants to respond. If he Stifles the activation, nothing else will happen. If he doesn't have any responses, it's ability will resove and there is nothing he can do to prevent the Silvergail from comming into play. The only thing he could Stifle is to counter it's come into play ability (you drawing a card).

[dorsch]

1. One of the early steps of _casting_ a spell, is chosing the target(s). So the ability of Phantasmal Image triggers when Lightning Bolt is cast, some time before it would resolve. (Then, Lightning Bolt would "fizzle", because it's target would no longer be on the battlefield, when it resolves.)

2. You are wrong. If you want to use Aether Vial in a correct way, tap it and ask your opponent whether the ability resolves. Only when he answers with ok, you reveal the creature and put it onto the battlefield. If your opponent counters (Stifle) the ability, you simply do not reveal a creature and do not put anything on the battlefield nor in the graveyard.
If you play sloppy and reveal the creature too early and your opponent counters the vial activation, you also just keep the creature in your hand.