Krark-Clan Ironworks Interactions by the Rules

Introduction

Recently there was a post asking for clarification on rules regarding how interactions with [[Krark-Clan Ironworks]] work. I posted my response only to learn that I was at wrong about at least one thing. However, responses to responses kept getting more and more disjointed, and nobody was actually citing the rules.

I went to this blog to learn, but there is what looks like a fairly wrong full paragraph there as well. Accordingly, I went to the rules, and while the one area where I was clearly wrong was cleared up for me, I needed to delve deeply into the rules to determine that I was wrong about something else.

Accordingly, I want to start this thread for properly hammering this out with proper rules citations. I am using Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules from January 19, 2018.

Initial Board State

You own and control the following untapped permanents:

a. [[Krark-Clan Ironworks]]

b. [[Mox Opal]]

c. [[Chromatic Sphere]]

d. [[Myr Retriever]]

e. [[Scrap Trawler]]

How the Combo Works as a Card-Draw Engine

1. Tap Mox Opal for a mana (M).

2. Declare the intention to use the ability of Chromatic Sphere. This costs mana, so it opens up a “window” to use mana abilities. (I will refer back to this specifically because the hardest part of this process to understand is why this “window” is even necessary.)

3. Sacrifice Mox Opal to Krark-Clan Ironworks for (2). You now have (M) + (2). There is also a trigger (T⁰ ) from Scrap Trawler (even though there are no legitimate targets possible).

4. Sacrifice Myr Retriever to Krark-Clan Ironworks for (2). You now have (M) + (4), a trigger (T¹ ) from Myr Retriever to return any artifact card in your graveyard in your hand, and a trigger (T² ) from Scrap Trawler to return any artifact card in your graveyard with C.M.C. less than Myr Retriever’s C.M.C. to your hand.

5. Sacrifice Krark-Clan Ironworks to Krark-Clan Ironworks for (2). You now have (M) + (6), the two previous triggers, and a new trigger (T³ ) from Scrap Trawler to return any artifact card in your graveyard with C.M.C. less than Scrap Trawler’s C.M.C. to your hand.

6. Spend (1) to activate Chromatic Sphere for one mana (M). Sacrifice it. You now have (2M) + (5), a trigger (T⁴ ) to draw a card, and a trigger (T⁵ ) from Scrap Trawler to return an artifact card in your graveyard with C.M.C. less than Chromatic Sphere’s C.M.C. to your hand. EDIT: (T⁴ ) resolves immdiately because Chromatic Sphere’s ability is a mana ability. If Chromatic Star is used, it will trigger as described in the next step.

7. Load the triggers onto the stack, and resolve them. (T⁵ ) targets Mox Opal, (T⁴ ) allows you to draw a card, (T³ ) targets Myr Retriever, (T² ) targets Chromatic Sphere, and (T¹ ) targets Krark-Clan, while (T⁰ ) necessarily fizzles. You still have (2M) + (5).

8. Mox Opal, Myr Retriever, Chromatic Sphere, and Krark-Clan Ironworks return to your hand. The total C.M.C. of those four cards is 7, the amount of mana already in your mana pool. Recast them and return to step (1.) above.

Variations and Questions

(c.) does not need to be Chromatic Sphere. It could be Chromatic Star as well.

Question 1: Can Chromatic Star be employed in place of Chromatic Sphere to generate extra mana?

Chromatic Star can be used exactly as Chromatic Sphere above. However, it seems as though it could be used not only to draw out the deck but to generate extra mana as well. In place of step (7.), one could sacrifice Chromatic Star to Krark-Clan Ironworks. The card-draw trigger (T⁴ ) still happens, but the mana pool goes to (M) + (8). The declaration made in (2.) is moot because Chromatic Star is in the graveyard, but it (supposedly) enabled the “window”. Once all cards are returned to hand and recast, you have a net gain of (M) + (1) left over. There may be some rule which prevents this. I did not delve deeply enough into the rules to determine whether this is how it actually works.

Question 2: Is the “window” really necessary?

Initially, I did not understand the necessity of the “window”. I had to dig into the rules to deeply understand why such a window is necessary in order to allow repeated loading of mana abilities before addressing things which are to go onto the stack.

First of all, let us look at when mana abilities may be used:

605.3a A player may activate an activated mana ability whenever he or she has priority, whenever he or she is casting a spell or activating an ability that requires a mana payment, or whenever a rule or effect asks for a mana payment, even if it’s in the middle of casting or resolving a spell or activating or resolving an ability.

The rule gives four cases.

C1. The player has priority.

C2. The player is casting a spell.

C3. The player is activating an ability that requires a mana payment.

C4. A rule or effect asks for a mana payment.

As far as I can tell, all that is really needed is priority (C1.). However, once a mana ability is used once, all triggers must load onto the stack before the player regains priority to use the ability again. That was a critical understanding I had to track down through the maze of complex rules. Using condition (C2) or (C3) is akin to using parentheses to add before multiplying.

Mana abilities bypass the stack.

605.3b An activated mana ability doesn’t go on the stack, so it can’t be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after it is activated. (See rule 405.6c.)

We are referred to 405.6c where we learn that other effects of mana abilities resolve immediately and that using a mana ability does not pass priority.

405.6c Mana abilities resolve immediately. If a mana ability both produces mana and has another effect, the mana is produced and the other effect happens immediately. If a player had priority before a mana ability was activated, that player gets priority after it resolves. (See rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”)

Hence, according to 405.6c, in (4.) above, you get (2) immediately, Myr Retriever goes to the graveyard immediately, and you retain priority. All of this happens before any triggers go onto the stack.

Now, those things must resolve before Krark-Clan Ironworks mana ability can be used again.

605.3c Once a player begins to activate a mana ability, that ability can’t be activated again until it has resolved.

However, since the ability resolves immediately (without the stack), it seems like it should be possible to use it again immediately before the stack is addressed at all. However, 405.6c is missing some critical information. In previous discussion, the claim has been made that the ability cannot be used again until the triggers are loaded on the stack. Let us examine the support in the rules for this contention. 603 covers triggered abilities.

603.2. Whenever a game event or game state matches a triggered ability’s trigger event, that ability automatically triggers. The ability doesn’t do anything at this point.

603.3. Once an ability has triggered, its controller puts it on the stack as an object that’s not a card the next time a player would receive priority. See rule 116, “Timing and Priority.” The ability becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has the text of the ability that created it, and no other characteristics. It remains on the stack until it’s countered, it resolves, a rule causes it to be removed from the stack, or an effect moves it elsewhere.

603.3 makes it seem as though maybe loading the ability onto the stack is immediate. However, we are referred to 116. Noteworthy is a repetition of 605.3a:

116.1d A player may activate a mana ability whenever he or she has priority, whenever he or she is casting a spell or activating an ability that requires a mana payment, or whenever a rule or effect asks for a mana payment (even in the middle of casting or resolving a spell or activating or resolving an ability).

We also get expansion on 603.2.

116.2a Triggered abilities can trigger at any time, including while a spell is being cast, an ability is being activated, or a spell or ability is resolving. (See rule 603, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”) However, nothing actually happens at the time an ability triggers. Each time a player would receive priority, each ability that has triggered but hasn’t yet been put on the stack is put on the stack. See rule 116.5.

Key to understanding here is “would receive priority”. The triggers must be loaded onto the stack before the player gets priority back, which means their targets must be chosen before the mana ability can be used again. This is crucial information missing from 605.3b and 405.6c. Since we are referred to 116.5, we might as well look at it.

116.5. Each time a player would get priority, the game first performs all applicable state-based actions as a single event (see rule 704, “State-Based Actions”), then repeats this process until no state-based actions are performed. Then triggered abilities are put on the stack (see rule 603, “Handling Triggered Abilities”). These steps repeat in order until no further state-based actions are performed and no abilities trigger. Then the player who would have received priority does so.

Thus, the triggers must be loaded onto the stack before Krark-Clan Ironworks’s mana ability can be used again. Thus, in order to do the combo properly, a “window” must be opened by casting a spell or activating an ability which allows you to continue using mana abilities until you decide to activate the ability. The issue is that, for the combo to work, Chromatic Sphere, Myr Retriever, and Krark-Clan Ironworks all need to be in the graveyard before their triggers target.

Question 3: Why does the need for a “window” matter?

The combo can be pulled off with Chromatic Sphere or Chromatic Star, but it cannot be looped with [[Terrarion]]. That makes a big difference.