Hello,

in a discussion I had in another forum with some players, in which some questions were asked that are actually really interesting, and it makes me wonder if I'm correct in my understanding of the current policy on missed triggers.

Situation:

Player A controls a Grizzly Bear and a Cathedral of War. Player B has Last Breath in his hand and some creatures. Player A attacks with his Grizzly Bear. Player B doesn't declare any blockers. Player B says “Take 2?”. Player A points at his Cathedral of War and says “No, take 3?”.

Am I correct that under current missed trigger policy it is too late for Player B to react to the Exalted trigger by playing Last Breath? We're in the combat damage step, so he can't play spells before being dealt damage and Exalted has already resolved anyway?

Under current policy, a trigger like Exalted isn't forgotten if it's remembered when it first had a visible effect on the game. At this point, it might be too late for the opponent to respond who could have responded when the trigger was still on the stack. If the opponent wants to respond to the trigger on the stack, he might be required to point it out before it's controller does.

If I'm wrong in this understanding of the current policy, please educate me.

Edited Jasper König (Feb. 10, 2014 04:45:41 PM)

I remember there being plenty of discussion around exalted and other similar triggers nearer to when policy changed. The general consensus was: if you're hoping that your opponent misses the trigger then you are taking a risk that they have actually remembered it. If you really want to Last Breath it, you'll have to do it when the trigger goes on the stack during the Declare Attackers Step.

That's correct.

If the player wants to cast Last Breath, he needs to do it before the trigger resolves. And since his opponent doesn't need to say anything about the trigger until after it has resolved, he may need to remind his opponent of the trigger (although remembering the trigger likely won't matter because the creature will be exiled anyway.)

The IPG points out that:
“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.”

As Mark pointed out, hoping your opponent misses their trigger is not a good play to make. So if you want to respond to the exalted trigger you just need to say so.