If a unit survives Death from Below with Zhonya's Hourglass, can I still recast Death from Below?

unverified
FAQ #13147·asked by Evee·October 31, 2026·Rules v1.5
Answer

Yes — you can still play Death from Below from your trash for [A] even though Zhonya's Hourglass stopped the unit from dying.

The recast isn't gated on the kill succeeding; it's gated on the chosen unit's Might ("if it had 3 might or less"). When a replacement effect negates the earlier action, the later linked instruction still executes unless it directly references the action being performed — the "if you do" wording, like Deathgrip, is what breaks in that case (.b). Death from Below's condition only looks at the unit's Might, which Zhonya's doesn't touch, so the "do this" reflexive trigger still goes on the chain and you can play the card from trash for [A].

Two things to watch: the Might check uses the unit as it was when chosen, so a buffed 4 [M] unit means no recast; and the saved unit gets recalled to Base, so the second Death from Below needs a different unit at a battlefield — it can't target the one it just spared. Note also that Zhonya's is mandatory, so its controller can't decline the save to force a death.

References

Suggested answer — derived from the references below

Rules

Core Rules 2026-10-09 > Section 300: Playing the Game > Rule 369

Core Rules 2026-10-09 > Section 300: Playing the Game > Rule 370.1

Core Rules 2026-10-09 > Section 300: Playing the Game > Rule 373

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