Vesuva + Karoo Land + City of Traitors

[yawg07]

This came up once while we were playing EDH one night.

My friend, Adam, had a Selesnya Sanctuary in play.
I have City of Traitors in play, and am playing Vesuva.
If I play Vesuva, having it come into play as Adam's sanctuary, do I get both triggers at once, so I can choose order of resolution?

We ruled that; yes, I could play Vesuva, copy Selesnya Sanctuary, put the CoT sac trigger on first and then the karoo bounce trigger on top of that one with its target being my City.
Thus, NOT losing my CoT and having a tapped WG producing land in play with CoT in hand.

Works? Yes? No?

[Tacosnape]

You're pretty much on.

Here's what happens.

1. You play Vesuva. Because playing a land is a special action that does not use the stack, neither player will get priority and state-based effects will not be checked until Vesuva is in play, therefore any events triggered will not go on the stack until the land is in play. Vesuva's static "As" ability works simultaneously with it entering play, and if you choose to copy a land in play and choose the Selesnya Sanctuary, Vesuva enters play as a tapped copy of Selesnya Sanctuary.

2. Because you played a land (CoT's Trigger), and because Selesnya Sanctuary (Formerly Vesuva) has come into play (SS's Trigger), two trigger conditions were met. As you control both of these triggered abilities, you choose the order they are put on the stack. Intelligently enough, you picked to put the CoT's ability on first, then the Selesnya's.

3. Selesnya's trigger resolves, and you wisely choose to bounce the City of Traitors. Then City of Traitors's trigger resolves, but since it's no longer in play to sacrifice, the action is ignored.

So, in other words, nice play.