Empower Jace: The Token Only Shows Up on Resolution
Judge Level 1Countersculpt is meant to counter the Bolt and empower Jace — but your opponent holds Dispel. When exactly does the Jace token get created?
Cards involved
Your opponent goes first
You're at 20 life. Your opponent casts Lightning Bolt targeting you. The Bolt sits on the stack and you receive priority.
601.2To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell includes proposal of the spell (rules 601.2a–d) and determination and payment of costs (rules 601.2f–h). To cast a spell, a player follows the steps listed below, in order. A player must be legally allowed to cast the spell to begin this process (see rule 601.3). If a player is unable to comply with the requirements of a step listed below while performing that step, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 733, “Handling Illegal Actions”).
You cast Countersculpt
Countersculpt has an additional cost: behold a Jace or pay 
. You control no Jace and hold none in hand, so you pay 
plus . Behold is part of the cost and is handled WHILE CASTING, not on resolution. Target: the Bolt.
601.2fThe player determines the total cost of the spell. Usually this is just the mana cost. Some spells have additional or alternative costs. Some effects may increase or reduce the cost to pay, or may provide other alternative costs. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions. If multiple cost reductions apply, the player may apply them in any order. If the mana component of the total cost is reduced to nothing by cost reduction effects, it is considered to be 
. It can’t be reduced to less than . Once the total cost is determined, any effects that directly affect the total cost are applied. Then the resulting total cost becomes “locked in.” If effects would change the total cost after this time, they have no effect.
701.4a“Behold a [quality]” means “Reveal a [quality] card from your hand or choose a [quality] permanent you control on the battlefield.”
What happens?
Question: When is the Jace token created?
Countersculpt reads: "Counter target spell. Empower Jace 1." When do you get your Jace planeswalker token?
Pick an answer to continue.
Empower Jace is a keyword ACTION (CR 701.71a) inside the spell's effect text: "If you don't control a Jace planeswalker token, create one … Put N loyalty counters on it." Effects happen only on resolution, in text order — so first counter the Bolt, then create the token (with 0 loyalty) and one counter on it. Behold, by contrast, sat BEFORE the effect as an additional cost and was paid long ago.
701.71aTo empower Jace N means “If you don’t control a Jace planeswalker token, create a blue Jace planeswalker token with 0 loyalty, ‘[−1]: Surveil 1,’ and ‘[−3]: Draw a card.’ Choose a Jace planeswalker token you control. Put N loyalty counters on it.”
608.2If the object that’s resolving is an instant spell, a sorcery spell, or an ability, its resolution may involve several steps. The steps described in rules 608.2a and 608.2b are followed first. The steps described in rules 608.2c–m are then followed as appropriate, in no specific order. The steps described in rule 608.2n and 608.2p are followed last.
Your opponent responds with Dispel
Dispel targets your Countersculpt. The stack: Dispel on top, then Countersculpt, the Bolt at the bottom.
Dispel resolves
Countersculpt is countered and goes to the graveyard with no effect. No Bolt countered — and NO Jace token: it would only have been created on resolution. The you paid for the additional cost is gone regardless.
701.6aTo counter a spell or ability means to cancel it, removing it from the stack. It doesn’t resolve and none of its effects occur. A countered spell is put into its owner’s graveyard.
The Bolt hits
Lightning Bolt resolves and you drop to 17. Rule of thumb: everything in the effect text — including a keyword action like empower Jace — happens only on resolution. Counter the spell and you counter the token.
Stack
Your life:
Lightning Bolt
3 damage to any target
Countersculpt
Target: the Bolt; then empower Jace 1
Dispel
Target: Countersculpt
The stack is empty.
In short
When does Empower Jace create the Jace planeswalker token?
Show answer Hide answer
Empower Jace is a keyword ACTION (CR 701.71a) inside the spell's effect text: "If you don't control a Jace planeswalker token, create one … Put N loyalty counters on it." Effects happen only on resolution, in text order — so first counter the Bolt, then create the token (with 0 loyalty) and one counter on it. Behold, by contrast, sat BEFORE the effect as an additional cost and was paid long ago.
601.2To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell includes proposal of the spell (rules 601.2a–d) and determination and payment of costs (rules 601.2f–h). To cast a spell, a player follows the steps listed below, in order. A player must be legally allowed to cast the spell to begin this process (see rule 601.3). If a player is unable to comply with the requirements of a step listed below while performing that step, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 733, “Handling Illegal Actions”).
601.2fThe player determines the total cost of the spell. Usually this is just the mana cost. Some spells have additional or alternative costs. Some effects may increase or reduce the cost to pay, or may provide other alternative costs. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions. If multiple cost reductions apply, the player may apply them in any order. If the mana component of the total cost is reduced to nothing by cost reduction effects, it is considered to be . It can’t be reduced to less than . Once the total cost is determined, any effects that directly affect the total cost are applied. Then the resulting total cost becomes “locked in.” If effects would change the total cost after this time, they have no effect.
701.4a“Behold a [quality]” means “Reveal a [quality] card from your hand or choose a [quality] permanent you control on the battlefield.”
701.71aTo empower Jace N means “If you don’t control a Jace planeswalker token, create a blue Jace planeswalker token with 0 loyalty, ‘[−1]: Surveil 1,’ and ‘[−3]: Draw a card.’ Choose a Jace planeswalker token you control. Put N loyalty counters on it.”
608.2If the object that’s resolving is an instant spell, a sorcery spell, or an ability, its resolution may involve several steps. The steps described in rules 608.2a and 608.2b are followed first. The steps described in rules 608.2c–m are then followed as appropriate, in no specific order. The steps described in rule 608.2n and 608.2p are followed last.
701.6aTo counter a spell or ability means to cancel it, removing it from the stack. It doesn’t resolve and none of its effects occur. A countered spell is put into its owner’s graveyard.
608.1Each time all players pass in succession, the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves. (See rule 609, “Effects.”)