When you play a second Dazzling Aurora and get a Deadbloom Predator from the first Aurora's trigger, does the Deadbloom's showdown resolve before the second Aurora's trigger, and can you place the second Aurora's unit on the battlefield being contested if you win?

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Accepted Answer

No — the Deadbloom created by the first Dazzling Aurora does not automatically “resolve its showdown” before the second Aurora’s trigger. Each Aurora’s triggered ability resolves on the chain in the order those triggers were added, and the units they attempt to play become pending play actions that finalize after the chain and any cleanup. If, by the time you finalize the second Aurora’s played unit you control the contested battlefield (for example, because you win the Showdown once it opens), you may play that unit to that battlefield if doing so is a legal play for that unit.

When both end-of-turn triggers exist, the controller orders and resolves those triggers on the chain. Each Aurora’s resolution instructs you to play the revealed unit (ignoring cost); performing that instruction creates a play that becomes pending on the chain rather than immediately finalizing into a board state. See the example in [FAQ:unleashed#16] showing a played unit going pending and later being finalized to the battlefield. Therefore the second Aurora’s trigger can resolve while the first Aurora’s played unit (Deadbloom Predator) is still pending. After the chain and any cleanup, pending plays finalize. If, by the time you finalize the second Aurora’s unit, you control the battlefield that is contested (for example because you win the Showdown when it opens), you can choose that battlefield as the play location for the second unit provided that location is a legal play location for that unit. Cite: [FAQ:unleashed#16] [359.3.e.12] [323] [357].

At end of turn both Dazzling Aurora abilities trigger and are added to the chain in whatever order their controller chooses. The first of those triggers to resolve instructs you to reveal cards until you find a unit and then "play it, ignoring its cost". Playing it as part of that resolution initiates the play process and the played unit becomes a pending play on the chain (it does not immediately finalize into the board state) [FAQ:unleashed#16] [357]. The second Dazzling Aurora trigger can then resolve while the first Aurora's played unit is still pending; its revealed unit also enters as a pending play. After the chain finishes and any cleanups, pending plays finalize. Any Showdowns staged by applying Contested from units that were played will be handled at the appropriate Open State according to the Showdown staging rules [323]. If, by the time you finalize the second pending play you control the contested battlefield (for example, because the Showdown opened and you won), you may choose that battlefield when finalizing the play if that play location is legal for that specific unit [FAQ:unleashed#16] [323].

If the second Aurora’s revealed unit has its own restriction (for example it specifically says where it may be played or forbids playing to an enemy battlefield), that restriction still controls whether you may place it on the contested battlefield. If the two Aurora triggers were added to the chain in the opposite order, the same logic applies but the timing will differ—the pending plays finalize only after the chain and cleanup. If the contesting event removes the battlefield or changes the participating units such that the Showdown never opens or the battlefield becomes uncontrolled, then you may not be able to finalize a play to that battlefield (see [359.3.e.12] and [323]).

When both of your Dazzling Aurora trigger at end of turn, they are two separate triggered abilities that are added to the chain. The controller orders those triggers when they’re added and they resolve one at a time. Each resolution tells you to "play" the revealed unit, "ignoring its cost." Playing a unit as part of a resolving ability initiates the play process as an action of that ability; per the examples in [FAQ:unleashed#16], a unit played this way goes pending on the chain and does not immediately finalize as a permanent on the board. The FAQ specifically explains that a unit played by an ability (Baited Hook or Arcane Shift examples) remains pending while cleanup is outstanding, and that when finalizing that pending play you may choose the battlefield you still control to play it to [FAQ:unleashed#16].

Because each Aurora’s instruction creates a pending play, the second Aurora’s trigger can resolve while the first Aurora’s played unit (Deadbloom Predator) is still pending. Nothing in the provided rules forces the first pending play to finalize before the second trigger resolves. After the chain of triggers and any responses finishes, any outstanding cleanups and finalizations occur; then pending plays are finalized and any staged Showdowns are opened and resolved according to the Showdown staging rules [323].

Therefore, if the contested battlefield created by playing Deadbloom Predator results in a Showdown and you ultimately win control of that battlefield by the time you finalize the second Aurora’s pending play, you may choose that battlefield when finalizing the second play—provided that choosing that battlefield is a legal play location for that second unit. The relevant precedent is that pending plays can be finalized to a battlefield you still control even if the play that created the pending item occurred earlier in the chain [FAQ:unleashed#16]. Also note that if the second revealed unit itself has restrictions about where it may be played (for example only to friendly-controlled battlefields or only to specific locations), those restrictions will determine legality when the play is finalized. Finally, if the battlefield ceases to exist or becomes otherwise illegal as a play location by the time of finalization, you will not be able to place the unit there (see the guidance on checks becoming null in [359.3.e.12] and the Showdown/Contested handling in [323]).