So here's an interesting situation that came up at Eternal Weekend and that has generated a lot of discussion both there and on a local Facebook group.

Annie casts Show and Tell, it resolves and she puts in Omniscience while Nate puts in Snapcaster Mage. Annie pauses for a bit (10ish seconds), then after no comment from Nate casts Dig Through Time. Nate responds by saying he's going to flashback Pyroblast targeting it. What is the status of the Snapcaster trigger?

Nate makes no mention of his trigger or its target when it goes on the stack, the trigger sounds missed to me

Intuitively: What Gareth said.

Upon closer read of the IPG: “The point by which the player needs to demonstrate this awareness dpends on the impact that the trigger would have on the game: A triggered ability that requires its controller to choose targets (other than ‘target opponent’), modes, or other choices made when the ability is put onto the stack: The controller must announce those choices before they next pass priority”

Nate hasn't had to pass priority. This is awkward.

On a first glance i see it the same way Gareth does, and would probably rule this way.

But if we strictly apply the IPG the Snapcaster Mage trigger would simply be on the stack since Nate didn't pass priority and thus didn't have to show awareness of the trigger at that moment. If we go down this path, Dig Through Time would resolve before the Snapcaster Mage trigger does, and he can't flashback anything.

There is no way he could have just flashbacked Pyroblast into Dig Through Time without showing any kind of awareness of the trigger.

This isn't a missed trigger, whether the interval between playing the Snapcaster and the Dig is 10 seconds or the lifespan of a star - until someone takes an action, we won't know if it's missed or not. So if Annie's course of action will be dependent on Nate's choice, she should probably just ask Nate what he's targeting. While she might complain that she was hoping that he'd miss the trigger, that would make for a good educational opportunity about how a missed trigger is a bonus, not a right, and that communicating with your opponent is a good way to avoid a blowout.

Of course, now you need to figure out with the players whether Annie is casting Dig in response to the ETB trigger or after it resolves…

I think I'd have to ask why Nate was sitting there so long. 10 seconds seems a really long time to take to choose a target (especially if he was making no indication of being in thought). How often do we wait for our opponent to prod us for an answer our own card requires us to give?

Was his selection a misunderstanding of how trigger targets work? Or was he taking advantage of time to try to bait information out from his opponent (were there other cards in the graveyard that could have been chosen if Annie didn't cast a blue spell)?

His answer to that might send me into some uncomfortable places.

Annie has not made any indication that show and tell has fully finished resolving. She hasn't said anything, neither has Nate. Annie is moving the game forward without properly passing priority. Nate clearly has a choice in his graveyard. Without any communication, I would rule that Show and Tell is still finishing it's resolution. Nate can allow his trigger to finish resolving, as he has demonstrated awareness of this trigger at his first opportunity to have priority (Annie moving to cast Dig through time).

Of course, this is having an investigation rule out any forms of cheating.

While it wasn't stated in the question, I assumed that she put Show and Tell in the graveyard. If she didn't, then yeah, that adds another funny element.

But by completing the steps of the spell and having it in the graveyard, I think it's clear it's done resolving. And I can't imagine her opponent required her to explicitly announce completion during the other spells of her game.

Originally posted by Chris Nowak:

I think I'd have to ask why Nate was sitting there so long. 10 seconds seems a really long time to take to choose a target (especially if he was making no indication of being in thought). How often do we wait for our opponent to prod us for an answer our own card requires us to give?

Was his selection a misunderstanding of how trigger targets work? Or was he taking advantage of time to try to bait information out from his opponent (were there other cards in the graveyard that could have been chosen if Annie didn't cast a blue spell)?

His answer to that might send me into some uncomfortable places.

Or it was round 8 and Nate was mentally fatigued. Or it was round 3 and Nate was thinking of delicious food that he intended on acquiring when next he could. Or Nate's attention was briefly drawn to a passing spectator. It's possible even that Nate himself would be unable to properly articulate why he took so long.

I may be curious too. I may ask Nate. I would caution against going in expecting a troubling answer.

As far as the original post: as John said: trigger hasn't been missed.

I think John Brian has cracked the case here. If priority hasn't been passed, then the trigger is not missed. However, the trigger is also on the stack below the Dig, meaning that Pyroblast can't do anything yet.

I'm less concerned about the 10 seconds and more concerned about what happened during and after the Dig was cast. Annie can't takes actions to force Nate to miss his trigger, but Nate still could have missed it.
When Annie cast Dig, did Nate say anything like “hold up, still deciding what to target.” Or some other indication that Annie was moving the game forward without his agreement, or immediately announce the Trigger target…those things are fine.
If Dig is firmly on the Stack, and Nate has given indications of such, *then* tries to give his trigger a target, that trigger is missed.

Answers to “hey what were you thinking during that long 10 second pause” can further influence the call either way.

Originally posted by Joshua Feingold:

I think John Brian has cracked the case here. If priority hasn't been passed, then the trigger is not missed. However, the trigger is also on the stack below the Dig, meaning that Pyroblast can't do anything yet.

This is a really interesting point. What is the status of the trigger before Nate declares its target?

As part of placing an ability on the stack, we need to choose its targets. In order for a trigger not to be missed when it targets, awareness needs to be shown before Nate passes priority. Given that Annie has priority to cast Dig Through Time, should the snapcaster trigger be below or above it?

I'd agree with your comment that the Dig was on the stack above the trigger, but am unsure how I would justify the trigger being on the stack yet without having a target.

The trigger has been on the stack the whole time. Nate just hasn't mentioned it yet.

Assuming no cheating comes out of talking to Nate, and we determine that the Snapcaster trigger is simply still on the stack targeting the Pyroblast, followed by the Dig Through Time being cast, would we consider issuing a GRV to Nate for attempting to cast a spell that could not yet be legally cast? Or is that a simple “no you can't do that, carry on” situation?

Originally posted by Joshua Feingold:

The trigger has been on the stack the whole time. Nate just hasn't mentioned it yet.

Technically, the trigger isn't on the stack until a target is chosen - so Nate's been waiting to put the trigger on the stack all this time. (Yeah, that's a bit odd…)

Interesting discussion, but I keep coming back to this:

If an opponent requires information about the precise timing of a triggered ability or needs details about a game object that may be affected by a resolved triggered ability, that player may need to acknowledge that ability’s existence before its controller does.

It seems that Annie needs to acknowledge that trigger, in order to learn what card is targeted to gain Flashback.

Instead, she assumes the trigger is missed and tries to advance the game … and, like too many assumptions, this one proves costly.

d:^D