When Teemo's ability resolves (flip 5 cards and deal damage), does it all resolve at once, or can players react between the flipping and the damage?

Question

Accepted Answer

If the ability that flips 5 cards and then deals damage is a single effect on one chain item, the flipping and the damage occur as part of that same resolution and players may not react between the flipping and the damage resolving. The whole sequence is one resolving effect, so no reaction window opens between its internal steps [359].

The flip and the damage are resolved together as one chain item; players cannot play Reactions in between the flip step and the damage step. If the flip causes a separate play/action to be created (for example, an instruction to put a card onto the chain), that new play becomes pending while the current effect finishes resolving and only becomes a separate chain item available for response after the current effect finishes and finalization proceeds [354] [359].

Put the Teemo ability on the chain and finalize it as a single chain item by making any choices required as it is placed on the chain [355]. When that chain item resolves, perform its instructions in order: flip the five cards as the first instruction, then perform the damage instruction as the next instruction. These are internal steps of one resolving effect and do not create a reaction window between them [359]. If the flip instruction produces results that cause parts of the instruction to be impossible or partially performable, follow as much as possible and ignore the rest (partial execution) [359]. If the flip reveals effects that cause a separate play/action to be created (e.g., “you may play a revealed unit”), that play is put pending on the chain during resolution and will be finalized only after the current resolving effect completes and outstanding cleanups/tasks are handled; players cannot react between the flip and the damage while the original ability is finishing resolution, though they can respond to the new pending chain item once it is a separate chain item per the normal chain process [354] [FAQ:unleashed#16].

If the card text is worded such that the flip is a trigger that says "When you flip X, do Y" and that phrase creates a separate triggered ability, the flip could create a new triggered/activated ability that becomes its own chain item; in that case players can react between separate chain items. Check the card's exact wording to see whether it is a single instruction or multiple triggers (see FAQ guidance on splitting) [FAQ:unleashed#3]. If flipping the cards changes legality of targets or values used by the damage instruction, apply the checks at resolution time; parts that become impossible are ignored and the rest still occur [359]. If the resolving effect instructs you to play a revealed card (or otherwise place another item on the chain), that new play becomes Pending while the current effect continues; it is not finalized until the current effect finishes and cleanup runs, so it does not create an immediate reaction window inside the original effect [354] [FAQ:unleashed#16].

Short answer: flipping and damage are part of the same resolving effect, so you cannot react in between them. When a spell or ability is a single chain item, its instructions resolve in order as part of that single resolution; you do not get to play Reactions between internal steps of that resolution [359]. Choices that are not required when the item was placed on the chain are made on resolution [355.17], so the flipping and subsequent damage are executed as the effect resolves, not as separate chain items. If the flip causes a separate play (for example, "you may play a revealed unit"), that play is placed Pending on the chain while the current resolving effect finishes, and is then finalized afterward — players cannot interrupt the current resolution to react between the flip and the damage, but once the new item is a separate chain item it can be responded to per normal chain rules [354] [FAQ:unleashed#16].

Because the provided Teemo - Swift Scout text in your context does not include a flip-5-cards instruction, I assumed your Teemo ability is a single-sequence effect that says "flip 5, then deal damage." If the printed wording instead splits those parts into separate triggers or otherwise places the second part where it would be a separate chain item, that would change things; consult the exact card text and apply the FAQ splitting guidance if the wording places the second piece where a separate chain item would be created [FAQ:unleashed#3].

Relevant rules: instructions are executed during resolution and can be partially followed if some parts become impossible [359]. Decisions that are not made during finalization are made on resolution [355.17]. If an effect puts another card onto the chain while resolving, that new item becomes Pending and is finalized only after the current effect resolves and any outstanding tasks/cleanups are handled [354] [FAQ:unleashed#16].