When playing Sett Brawler with Volibear's Legend ability, does Sett get his buff and become Mighty before triggering Volibear's ability?

Question

Accepted Answer

No. When you play Sett - Brawler, his "When I'm played" effect is a triggered ability that will be placed on the chain and will not have given him his buff yet at the moment triggered abilities check the play event. Volibear - Relentless Storm looks at whether the unit is already Mighty at the instant of the play event, so it will not trigger for Sett (who enters at 4 Might) unless Sett was already 5+ Might before the play.

When you play Sett - Brawler, Volibear - Relentless Storm will not trigger because Sett is not Mighty at the moment of the play event. Sett's buff (which would make him reach 5 Might) is given by Sett's own "When I'm played" triggered ability only when that ability resolves later on the chain, at which point other "becomes Mighty" effects (e.g., Fiora - Grand Duelist) could see him become Mighty, but Volibear - Relentless Storm's "When you play a [Mighty] unit" check has already been done and won't retroactively trigger.

You play Sett - Brawler; the unit is put onto the board with its base Might of 4. At that instant the game checks trigger conditions for abilities that watch "When you play a [unit]" or similar. Volibear - Relentless Storm's trigger is evaluated now: "When you play a [Mighty] unit" — Sett is currently 4 Might, so he is not Mighty and Volibear - Relentless Storm does not trigger. Sett - Brawler's own "When I'm played" ability also sees the play event and is placed on the chain (the ability's effect to buff Sett does not happen immediately; it will resolve later when the chain item resolves). When Sett's "When I'm played" triggered ability resolves, it grants Sett a buff (the +1 Might buff if he had no buff), which increases his Might from 4 to 5 and thus causes him to 'become Mighty' at that moment [709]. Any abilities that trigger on "a unit becomes Mighty" (e.g., Fiora - Grand Duelist) will see that moment and may trigger, but Volibear - Relentless Storm's "When you play a [Mighty] unit" check already happened and will not retroactively trigger.

If Sett somehow already had a buff or other permanent effect that made his Might 5+ at the moment he was played (for example, a replacement effect that applied prior to or as part of the play), then Volibear - Relentless Storm would see him as Mighty and could trigger. This ruling assumes no pre-existing buff. If an effect 'plays' a unit but also simultaneously applies a Might-changing effect in a single atomic action (not present in the provided context), you would need to know whether that effect changes Sett's Might before the trigger-check for "When you play" — the official trigger structure in [FAQ:unleashed#1] determines whether the Might change is part of the trigger condition or the effect. If a Reaction or replacement changes the unit's zone to a non-board zone during resolution of the play event (very unusual), target/trigger relationships may become null per [359.3.e.12], but that is outside the normal play sequence considered here.

Short answer: No — Volibear - Relentless Storm will not trigger when you play Sett - Brawler in the normal case. Explanation: When you play Sett - Brawler, the unit is placed on the board with its base Might of 4. Triggered abilities that watch the play event are checked at that moment and are placed on the chain if their conditions are satisfied [FAQ:unleashed#1]. Volibear - Relentless Storm's ability reads "When you play a [Mighty] unit..." — that condition is evaluated at the instant of the play event. Because Sett enters at 4 Might, he is not Mighty at that instant and so Volibear - Relentless Storm does not place its triggered ability on the chain. Sett - Brawler's own "When I'm played" is itself a triggered ability; its effect (to buff Sett) does not resolve immediately but will be placed on the chain and resolve later. When that ability resolves it grants Sett a buff (each buff contributes +1 Might) [703], which will raise him from 4 to 5 Might and make him "become Mighty" at that moment [709]. Other cards that detect a unit becoming Mighty (for example, Fiora - Grand Duelist) will see Sett's change when the buff resolves, but Volibear - Relentless Storm's "When you play a [Mighty] unit" check has already been made and will not retroactively trigger. This conclusion follows the triggered-ability structure and timing described in the official FAQ [FAQ:unleashed#1] and the definition of when a unit becomes Mighty [709] and how Must/Might values are evaluated [710].