When two Dazzling Aurora triggers resolve, one revealing Deadbloom Predator and another revealing Whiteflame, what is the correct order of resolution? Can Whiteflame buff Deadbloom before the showdown?

Question

Accepted Answer

When two Dazzling Aurora triggers are on the chain, the newest trigger resolves first [340]. Each time a Dazzling Aurora resolves it plays the revealed unit as a new chain item that is pending and will finalize before the remaining aurora trigger(s) resolve [340] [FAQ:unleashed#16]. Therefore whether Whiteflame can buff Deadbloom Predator before the showdown depends entirely on which Dazzling Aurora trigger is newer on the chain: if the trigger that found Whiteflame is newer, Whiteflame will be played and finalized before Deadbloom Predator is played and can provide its buff; if the trigger that found Deadbloom Predator is newer, Deadbloom Predator will be played and finalized first and will not be buffed by Whiteflame before the showdown.

Resolve the newest Dazzling Aurora trigger first [340]. When that Dazzling Aurora resolves and "play[s]" its revealed unit, that play becomes a new, newer item on the chain and will finalize before the other Dazzling Aurora trigger resolves [340] [FAQ:unleashed#16]. So Whiteflame only buffs Deadbloom before the showdown if the Dazzling Aurora that revealed Whiteflame was the newer trigger on the chain.

Identify which of the two Dazzling Aurora triggers is the newest item on the chain. The newest item resolves first [340]. Resolve that newest Dazzling Aurora: reveal cards until you reveal a unit, then play that unit, ignoring its cost (that play is executed as part of the aurora's resolution). When you play the revealed unit as part of the aurora's resolution, that play becomes a new chain item that is newer than any remaining aurora trigger(s) and therefore resolves next [340] [FAQ:unleashed#16]. Finalize the play of that unit (it enters the board). After that play finalizes, return to resolving any remaining items on the chain (the remaining Dazzling Aurora trigger will resolve next). Because of step ordering, whichever Dazzling Aurora was newer determines which revealed unit is played and finalized first; only a Whiteflame that has been finalized before Deadbloom Predator is played can buff Deadbloom Predator before showdown.

If the deck contains no units for one of the Dazzling Aurora resolutions, the instruction to "reveal until you reveal a unit" may be partially or wholly unfulfillable; instructions that can be partially followed are followed as much as possible [359.3.e.11]. If Whiteflame's buff is a "When you play me" triggered ability rather than a static/continuous buff while it is on the battlefield, then the buff timing may depend on whether that "When you play me" ability itself creates further chain items when it resolves; that could change whether its effect is available to subsequent plays. The provided Core Rules excerpt does not include the exact text for Whiteflame, so I cannot adjudicate those specific timing interactions without that card text. Also, the provided excerpt does not state how simultaneous triggers are initially ordered on the chain (which trigger becomes "newest"), so deciding which unit is played first requires knowing that ordering in-game (e.g., controller choices or AP/NAP conventions not present in the excerpt).

The decisive principle is that the newest item on the chain resolves first [340]. Each Dazzling Aurora end-of-turn trigger, when it resolves, instructs you to reveal cards until you reveal a unit and then "play it, ignoring its cost." Playing a card as part of another effect creates a pending play that becomes a chain item; such played units go pending on the chain and finalize as their own chain item, and the presence of a pending played unit prevents immediate loss of control of a battlefield until the pending item finalizes [FAQ:unleashed#16]. Concretely: suppose two Dazzling Aurora triggers are on the chain. Resolve the newest Dazzling Aurora first [340]. As that aurora resolves you reveal and choose a unit and play it; that play is put onto the chain as a newer item and will be resolved/finalized before the remaining Dazzling Aurora trigger(s) resolve [340] [FAQ:unleashed#16]. As a result, whichever Dazzling Aurora trigger is newest determines which revealed unit is played and finalized first. Therefore, Whiteflame will only be on the battlefield in time to buff Deadbloom Predator before the showdown if the Dazzling Aurora that revealed Whiteflame was the newer trigger on the chain and so caused Whiteflame to be played and finalized prior to the aurora that reveals Deadbloom Predator. If the Dazzling Aurora that revealed Deadbloom Predator is the newer trigger, Deadbloom Predator will be played and finalized first and will not receive a buff from Whiteflame prior to showdown. Note also that instructions that can only be partially followed are followed as much as possible [359.3.e.11], and specific timing differences can arise if Whiteflame's buff is implemented as a trigger on its own play instead of a static buff; I cannot resolve that precise corner without the exact Whiteflame text (see Assumptions).