Heartwood: A Token Is a Real Artifact
BeginnerHungering Puppetbeast brings a Heartwood token along. When Doom Blade arrives, that token is your lifeline — if you know everything it can do.
Cards involved
You cast Hungering Puppetbeast
Five mana, and a 5/5 artifact creature goes on the stack. Nobody responds.
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”).
The ETB trigger
Puppetbeast enters the battlefield; "When this creature enters" triggers, and the triggered ability goes on the stack. Even creating a token doesn't happen instantly — only once the trigger resolves.
603.2Whenever 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.
603.3Once 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 117, “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.
The Heartwood token is created
Heartwood is a predefined token like Treasure or Food: the Comprehensive Rules define its values — a red and green artifact with "
: Add 
or 
." It's a permanent like any other, just without a card behind it.
111.10Some effects instruct a player to create a predefined token. These effects use the definition below to determine the characteristics the token is created with. The effect that creates a predefined token may also modify or add to the predefined characteristics.
111.10xA Heartwood token is a red and green Heartwood artifact token with “: Add or .”
What happens?
Question: Doom Blade arrives
Your opponent casts Doom Blade targeting Puppetbeast (nonblack, so a legal target). You have no mana left, but the untapped Heartwood token. Can you save yourself with Puppetbeast's ability "
, sacrifice another artifact"?
Pick an answer to continue.
The token has the type artifact (111.10x) — so it's "another artifact" without any restriction. Sacrifice as a cost is paid on activation (601.2h), the ability goes on the stack ABOVE Doom Blade and resolves first. Targets are rechecked on resolution: with hexproof, Puppetbeast is no longer a legal target for your opponent.
111.10xA Heartwood token is a red and green Heartwood artifact token with “: Add or .”
601.2hThe player pays the total cost. First, they pay all costs that don’t involve random elements or moving objects from the library to a public zone, in any order. Then they pay all remaining costs in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can’t be paid.
You pay smartly
You tap the Heartwood token for — a mana ability that doesn't use the stack and produces mana immediately. Then you activate Puppetbeast's ability: pay with exactly that mana and sacrifice the (tapped!) Heartwood. Being tapped doesn't stop a sacrifice. The token goes to the graveyard and immediately ceases to exist there.
605.3bAn 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.)
601.2gIf the total cost includes a mana payment, the player then has a chance to activate mana abilities (see rule 605, “Mana Abilities”). Mana abilities must be activated before costs are paid.
111.7A token that’s in a zone other than the battlefield ceases to exist. This is a state-based action; see rule 704. (Note that if a token changes zones, applicable triggered abilities will trigger before the token ceases to exist.)
The ability resolves
Puppetbeast gets a +1/+1 counter (now 6/6) and you choose hexproof until end of turn.
Doom Blade fizzles
Doom Blade tries to resolve, checks its target — and Puppetbeast has hexproof. The target is illegal, the spell doesn't resolve and goes to the graveyard. Rule of thumb: predefined tokens are full permanents with every type the rules give them — Heartwood is an artifact you can tap, sacrifice and destroy.
608.2bIf the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. If all its targets, for every instance of the word “target,” are now illegal, the spell or ability doesn’t resolve. It’s removed from the stack and, if it’s a spell, put into its owner’s graveyard. Otherwise, the spell or ability will resolve normally. Illegal targets, if any, won’t be affected by parts of a resolving spell’s effect for which they’re illegal. Other parts of the effect for which those targets are not illegal may still affect them. If the spell or ability creates any continuous effects that affect game rules (see rule 613.11), those effects don’t apply to illegal targets. If part of the effect requires information about an illegal target, it fails to determine any such information. Any part of the effect that requires that information won’t happen.
Stack
Hungering Puppetbeast
5/5 artifact creature. ETB: create a Heartwood token. , sacrifice another artifact: +1/+1 counter and trample, hexproof or haste
Triggered ability: Hungering Puppetbeast
Puppetbeast: create a Heartwood token
Heartwood
Red-green artifact token: : Add or
Doom Blade
Opponent: destroy target nonblack creature (target: Puppetbeast)
Activated ability: Hungering Puppetbeast
Puppetbeast: +1/+1 counter, choice: hexproof
The stack is empty.
Battlefield
—
In short
Can you sacrifice the Heartwood token as an artifact to pay a cost?
Show answer Hide answer
The token has the type artifact (111.10x) — so it's "another artifact" without any restriction. Sacrifice as a cost is paid on activation (601.2h), the ability goes on the stack ABOVE Doom Blade and resolves first. Targets are rechecked on resolution: with hexproof, Puppetbeast is no longer a legal target for your opponent.
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”).
603.2Whenever 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.
603.3Once 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 117, “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.
111.10Some effects instruct a player to create a predefined token. These effects use the definition below to determine the characteristics the token is created with. The effect that creates a predefined token may also modify or add to the predefined characteristics.
111.10xA Heartwood token is a red and green Heartwood artifact token with “: Add or .”
601.2hThe player pays the total cost. First, they pay all costs that don’t involve random elements or moving objects from the library to a public zone, in any order. Then they pay all remaining costs in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can’t be paid.
605.3bAn 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.)
601.2gIf the total cost includes a mana payment, the player then has a chance to activate mana abilities (see rule 605, “Mana Abilities”). Mana abilities must be activated before costs are paid.
111.7A token that’s in a zone other than the battlefield ceases to exist. This is a state-based action; see rule 704. (Note that if a token changes zones, applicable triggered abilities will trigger before the token ceases to exist.)
608.1Each time all players pass in succession, the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves. (See rule 609, “Effects.”)
702.11Hexproof
608.2bIf the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. If all its targets, for every instance of the word “target,” are now illegal, the spell or ability doesn’t resolve. It’s removed from the stack and, if it’s a spell, put into its owner’s graveyard. Otherwise, the spell or ability will resolve normally. Illegal targets, if any, won’t be affected by parts of a resolving spell’s effect for which they’re illegal. Other parts of the effect for which those targets are not illegal may still affect them. If the spell or ability creates any continuous effects that affect game rules (see rule 613.11), those effects don’t apply to illegal targets. If part of the effect requires information about an illegal target, it fails to determine any such information. Any part of the effect that requires that information won’t happen.