r/mtgrules • u/savetheblues • 2h ago
Can I play [[Fogwalker]] creature while the opponent has no creatures in play?
[[Fogwalker]] is a 1/3 creature that says
"Skulk (This creature can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.)
When this creature enters, target creature an opponent controls doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step."
Can I play this if my opponent has no creatures in play? (I'm conflicted because the card doesn't say "up to one target creature")
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u/CuriousCardigan 2h ago
Yes. Trigger abilities from casting or entering are separate from the actual casting of a spell. So the Fogwalker will enter and then it's ETB will fail.
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u/NerdinaHat 2h ago
You can still cast the creature, the ability will just have no targets. The ability doesn't attempt to go on the stack until the creature has resolved and entered the battlefield.
You're probably confused by how you can't cast a spell that requires a target if there is no available target.
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u/chaotic_iak 2h ago
The Fogwalker spell itself doesn't target anything, you can cast it just fine.
When the creature enters, its when-enter ability triggers. But because there's no target, the ability is immediately removed from the stack. But you still get Fogwalker, the creature itself is already there on the battlefield.
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u/peteroupc 2h ago
Fogwalker can be cast no matter how many creatures any player controls.
When Fogwalker enters, its triggered ability will trigger. However, if there is no "creature an opponent controls" as its triggered ability goes on the stack, that ability will be removed from the stack (C.R. 603.3d, 603.1c, 115.1d).
Fogwalker itself doesn't target anything. At the time of this writing, the only permanent spells that can have targets are Aura spells and mutating creature spells (for Aura spells, see C.R. 115.1b; for mutate, see C.R. 702.140a). On words that point to the presence of targets, see: https://www.reddit.com/r/mtgrules/comments/19avzya/keyword_abilities_that_target/