How does the interaction between a Sprite token, Dusk Rose Lab, and Janna, Savior work during my Beginning Phase, and is it possible to play Janna, Savior in response to the Dusk Rose Lab trigger, kill the Sprite token, draw a card, and then play Janna onto the battlefield in time to gain the Hold point?

Question

Accepted Answer

Yes — you can play Janna - Savior in response to the Dusk Rose Lab trigger and have her resolve before the Lab ability resolves so that when Dusk Rose Lab resolves you may kill the 3 [M] Sprite token and draw 1, and Janna - Savior will be on the battlefield before scoring. However, simultaneous triggers (the Sprite's Temporary-trigger and Dusk Rose Lab's trigger) and their ordering can change whether the token is still available for Dusk Rose Lab to kill; ordering matters.

At the start of your Beginning Phase the following triggered abilities are relevant: the Sprite token's Temporary-trigger to kill itself [816.1.b] and the Dusk Rose Lab trigger that may kill a unit you control here to draw 1. Both triggers are created at the start of the Beginning Phase and become pending chain items. You may play Janna - Savior as a Reaction in response to those pending chain items (Janna - Savior's Reaction allows you to play her any time, including before spells and abilities resolve). If you place the play of Janna - Savior on the chain above the Lab trigger, Janna - Savior will resolve first and enter the battlefield. When the Lab trigger later resolves, its instruction to “kill a unit you control here” checks the battlefield at execution time and may choose the Sprite token (if it still exists) to be killed and draw 1 [359.3.f.2] [184.2] [816.1.b]. As a result, Janna - Savior can be on the battlefield before scoring and thus be present for any Hold/scoring that occurs after these before-scoring effects. Note that if the Sprite's Temporary-trigger (or some other effect) resolves earlier and kills the token first, Dusk Rose Lab will no longer be able to target that token — trigger ordering and simultaneous events determine availability [816.1.b] [373.2].

At the start of your Beginning Phase the Sprite token's Temporary-trigger to kill itself and Dusk Rose Lab's "you may kill a unit you control here to draw 1" trigger are created and become pending chain items [816.1.b] [184.2]. Those triggered abilities will be ordered/resolved as the rules for simultaneous triggers prescribe (the exact simultaneous-trigger ordering rule text is not in the provided context; see assumptions). You may play Janna - Savior as a Reaction in response to those pending triggers (Janna - Savior can be played any time, even before spells and abilities resolve). Paying to play her can use Add Reactions as allowed during Pay Costs [357.1.a] [429.3]. If you put Janna - Savior on the chain above the Lab trigger, Janna - Savior resolves first and enters the battlefield. When the Lab trigger resolves, its instruction to kill a unit you control here checks the battlefield at execution time and may choose the Sprite token (if it remains) to kill and then draw 1 [359.3.f.2]. After these before-scoring kills/draws resolve, scoring occurs; Janna - Savior will be on the battlefield for scoring provided she resolved before scoring.

If the Sprite token's own Temporary-trigger is ordered to resolve before Dusk Rose Lab's trigger, the token may already be dead when the Lab trigger resolves and therefore cannot be chosen by the Lab trigger [816.1.b]. If some replacement effect or another ability replaces or redirects the token's death (or kills a different unit), it can change which permanents die and whether Dusk Rose Lab can kill the token; simultaneous replacement-effect ordering can alter outcomes [373.2]. If you attempt to play Janna - Savior but cannot legally pay its costs, you cannot place it on the chain; Add Reactions can be used while paying costs per [357.1.a] and [429.3], but you must actually pay the costs to finalize the play. If control of the battlefield would be lost by cleanup while a unit play is pending, pending plays can prevent losing control so that finalization can still choose that battlefield (see [FAQ:unleashed#16]).

Why this works: The Sprite token has Temporary, which creates a triggered ability that fires "At the start of this permanent's controller's Beginning Phase, before scoring, kill this" [816.1.b]. Dusk Rose Lab also has a triggered ability that fires at the start of your Beginning Phase: "you may kill a unit you control here to draw 1" (before scoring). Both abilities are triggered at the same time and become pending chain items. You are allowed to play Reactions while there are pending chain items; Janna - Savior's Reaction text explicitly allows it to be played any time, even before spells and abilities resolve, and playing a card follows the normal play process (you may use Add Reaction abilities to help pay costs during Pay Costs) [357.1.a] [429.3]. If you play Janna - Savior in response to the pending Lab trigger, the play of Janna - Savior will become the top chain item and will resolve first, putting Janna - Savior onto the battlefield. When the Lab trigger then resolves, its instruction to kill a unit 'here' is checked and executed at resolution time; it can choose to kill the Sprite token (if it is still present at that battlefield) and then draw 1 [359.3.f.2] [184.2]. Because these kill/draw effects happen before scoring, and because Janna - Savior resolved earlier and is now on the battlefield, she will be present for scoring and thus be counted toward whatever Hold/scoring condition you referenced (scoring rules not provided). Caveat: because the Sprite's Temporary-trigger is itself a simultaneous trigger, if your ordering places that Temporary-trigger to resolve before Dusk Rose Lab's trigger then the token will die before the Lab resolves and Lab won't be able to kill that token to draw. Also, replacement effects and other interactions can change which permanents die; simultaneous events and replacement effect ordering can affect the final result [373.2]. Therefore the practical answer is: yes, you can play Janna - Savior in response and achieve the draw and have Janna - Savior present for scoring — provided you place and resolve Janna - Savior before the Lab trigger resolves and the Sprite hasn't already been removed by the token's own Temporary-trigger or other effects.