Akshan, Mischievous
If my Dazzling Aurora plays Akshan, Mischievous at the end of my turn, will the Dazzling Aurora I take from my opponent trigger that turn?
No — you gain control of it too late for it to trigger that turn. It can trigger at the end of your future turns for as long as you control it.
Dazzling Aurora's trigger condition is "At the end of your turn." "At" identifies a triggered ability keyed to a specific point in time during the turn sequence[383.1] — here, the Ending Step, when end-of-turn game effects take place.[317.1][317.1.a] A trigger's condition is evaluated once, immediately after that point in time is reached[383.2.c] — it is not re-checked continuously for as long as the game remains in the Ending Phase.
Your Dazzling Aurora's end-of-turn ability plays Akshan after that point in the turn has been reached. After Akshan enters the board, his play effect is added to the chain as a pending item.[383.4.a][383.4.a.2] You gain control of the enemy Dazzling Aurora only when that play effect later resolves.
At the end of your turn, Dazzling Aurora was still controlled by your opponent, so its controller-relative "your turn" condition did not refer to your turn. By the time you gain control of it, that point in the turn has passed; there's no second check waiting for it later in the phase.
This result is specific to Akshan being played by your Dazzling Aurora's end-of-turn ability. If you take control of an enemy Dazzling Aurora before the Ending Step, it triggers normally at the end of that turn.
If both players use Akshan, Mischievous to take the same gear, who controls it when either one dies?
While both Akshans remain on the board, the player whose Akshan took the gear most recently controls it. When one Akshan dies, the surviving Akshan's effect determines who controls the gear.
Each Akshan's play effect creates a delayed passive ability: "You control it until I leave the board."[390.4][391] These abilities generate continuous effects that change the gear's controller — an inherent trait of every game object.[477.1][477.1.a] Since both effects operate in the same layer and neither depends on the other,[478] they are ordered by timestamp: the earliest-established effect applies first, and the most recently established effect applies last, winning out.[480][480.1][480.3] Your opponent's Akshan was played after yours, so it carries the later timestamp — its control effect is the final one applied, and your opponent controls the gear.
When an Akshan leaves the board, its "until I leave the board" duration ends and its control effect ceases immediately. The remaining effects are then re-evaluated in timestamp order:
- Your opponent's Akshan dies: their effect ceases. Only your Akshan's effect remains, giving you control of the gear.
- Your Akshan dies: your effect ceases. Your opponent's Akshan's effect was already the deciding one — they continue to control the gear unchanged.
- Both Akshans die: both effects cease. Control reverts to your opponent, since it was their gear to begin with. If the gear is unattached and now finds itself in a base it doesn't belong to, it will be recalled to your opponent's base during the next cleanup.[323.7]
Related rulings
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Written by Christian I. (Near).
Last updated on .