#ilharg

In MtG theology isn't a theorical subject, when a plane has a god, chances are you can make an appointment to meet them, or at least dig deep and greedy enough to find them, but in Ravnica, the closest to a physical manifestation of abstract concepts ruling over nature, lying hidden where society shouldn't find them (you know, what a god should be) would be the Nephilims; already beaten since OG Ravnica.

Which is why the Gruul claiming for centuries "Yeah, Ravnica has a god, and it's a god that hates cities, and only we know it" was part of the stuff that made the guild seem unhinged, conspiratorial and crazy.

And then Ilharg just showed up during WAR, ran over some buildings (I assume), and... Fucked off?

The Gruul prophetized it for centuries, and it WAS REAL, and it was supposed to be the end of times for the plane, but it... Didn't do anything?

And now the Gruul have MULTIPLE GODS? And the rest of the plane approaches it like "ugh, another God? I'm gonna be late for work" and "I'm sorry sir, is this your god? Do you have the required permit for it?"

So it’s Brawl, and I’m rocking Ilharg, the Raze-Boar, while my opponent has Golos, Tireless Pilgrim.

Most of the game is spent with me putting threats on the board only to have them pacified by seemingly every pacifism-like effect in the format, while my opponent kept playing Golos only for me to remove it before its activated ability could be used.

We’re ticking away at each other here and there, both with big board states that are more or less neutralized by each other. It’s very much up in the air but my opponent seems to be on the verge of pulling out the win.

Then I top deck Act of Treason with a Chromatic Lantern on the board and oodles of mana.

I steal Golos and get to use the activated ability for the first and only time it got used that game. And my draws from it are pure gas. Chandra, Awakened Inferno, Scorchmark, and I think it was Glint-Horn Buccaneer or some creature. I drop Chandra and -3, wiping out all of my opponent’s potential blockers. Then I drop the creature.

I swing in with all I’ve got, knocking my opponent down to just 2 life. Lastly, I cast Scorchmark targeting Golos (which I still control and which still has 3 damage from Chandra), which means I get one more turn where my opponent couldn’t use that activated ability. And if they chose to cast Golos again at this point it would mean they couldn’t do anything else. In all likelihood I had just won the game with these awesome top decks and that line of play.

Insteeeeeead...

Arena just bugs out and I can’t do anything to advance the game past the combat damage cleanup step. I think it very briefly offered me the prompt to decide if Golos should go to exile or the command zone (like so briefly I may have imagined it). Golos sat on the battlefield with 5 damage marked on it, 0 toughness showing in its stat box, mocking me with this last act of defiance.

Three timers came. Three timers went. I was warned I had been inactive and would lose if I didn’t do anything soon. I clicked every card I could. I opened the settings. I said “Hello!” and “Good game” to my opponent.

Happy Pride! Here’s some lgbt pigs

No, you’ll draw cards before you choose whether or not to put Ilharg into the library or not.

Remember, abilities that trigger because of the resolution of a spell or ability don’t go on the stack until that spell or ability finishes resolving completely. The only things that can interrupt a spell or ability resolving are replacement effects, which are templated differently from triggers.