If I respond to Spinning Axe's temporary trigger with Angle Shot and attach it to a new unit, does the Spinning Axe still die?

Question

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you play Angle Shot in response to Spinning Axe's Temporary trigger and attach Spinning Axe to a unit before that trigger resolves, Spinning Axe will not be killed when the trigger resolves.

When Spinning Axe's Temporary trigger is placed on the chain at the start of the Beginning Phase you may respond with Reactions such as Angle Shot [819]. If Angle Shot attaches Spinning Axe to a unit before the Temporary trigger resolves, the trigger's condition (“If this is unattached, kill it…”) is false at resolution and the kill does not occur. The trigger was created while Spinning Axe was unattached and remains on the chain, but its effect is evaluated at resolution against the current game state [359.3.e.11] [359.3.e.12]. Note that an Equipment’s printed rules text is inactive while it is attached [135.4] [718.2], but that only affects creation of new triggers while attached; it does not retroactively make a trigger on the chain resolve as if it had never existed.

At the start of the controller’s Beginning Phase, Spinning Axe’s Temporary trigger is placed on the chain because it was unattached. Players may respond to that triggered ability with Reactions. Angle Shot is a valid Reaction and can be played in response [819]. When you resolve Angle Shot it attaches Spinning Axe to a unit (or detaches it) as part of its effect; that change to Spinning Axe’s attached/unattached status happens before the Temporary trigger resolves. When the Temporary trigger later resolves, its instruction checks the current state: “If this is unattached, kill it…”. Because Spinning Axe is now attached, the condition is false and the kill does not occur [359.3.e.11] [359.3.e.12].

If Angle Shot cannot legally target an Equipment and a unit with the same controller (for example, the equipment is not a legal target), it cannot be played in response and Spinning Axe will remain unattached and be killed when the trigger resolves. If Spinning Axe was already attached when the Beginning Phase started, it would not place its printed Temporary trigger then (printed rules text is inactive while attached) — triggers are created based on game state when the relevant moment occurs [135.4] [718.2]. The scenario in the question presupposes the Temporary trigger already exists because Spinning Axe was unattached at the start of the phase. If a different effect reattaches or detaches Spinning Axe between the trigger being created and resolving, the trigger will evaluate the current attached/unattached state at resolution and act accordingly [359.3.e.11]. Granting Temporary to an attached Spinning Axe is a different case (see [FAQ:unleashed#15]) and can produce apparently counterintuitive results; that FAQ explains how active vs inactive instances of Temporary interact.

When Spinning Axe is unattached at the start of its controller’s Beginning Phase its printed Temporary trigger is created and put on the chain. Triggers and other abilities on the chain can be responded to with Reactions, and Angle Shot is a Reaction that can legally be played in response to that trigger [819]. Resolving Angle Shot will attach Spinning Axe to a unit (if it is a legal target), changing its attached/unattached state before the Temporary trigger resolves. When the Temporary trigger then resolves it evaluates its instruction against the current game state: its instruction is conditional — “If this is unattached, kill it…” — so if Spinning Axe is now attached the condition is false and the kill is not executed. This follows the general guidance that instructions are evaluated and executed against the game state at resolution, and that instructions which can’t be followed are ignored or skipped as appropriate [359.3.e.11] [359.3.e.12]. Note also that a card’s printed rules text is inactive while it is Attached [135.4] [718.2]; that means Spinning Axe wouldn’t create its printed Temporary trigger if it were already attached at the start of the phase, but it does not prevent a Temporary trigger that was already created while unattached from later resolving and checking the current state. The official FAQ examples about Spinning Axe (and granting Temporary to an attached equipment) clarify related corner cases [FAQ:unleashed#15].