When Blue Ezreal's 'when I defend' deflect ability triggers, can the controller choose not to trigger it to avoid paying the deflect cost? And can Blue Ezreal use both his damage ability and then his recycle ability to return to base?

Ruling: When a deflect ability triggers, the controller can choose not to pay the deflect cost, which causes the trigger to fail to enter the chain. Blue Ezreal can use his damage deflect ability when defending and then separately use his recycle action ability during his action focus to return to base.

Sequence:

• Blue Ezreal's 'when I defend' ability triggers during the initial attack/defend chain
• Controller decides whether to pay the deflect cost (if not paid, trigger fails to enter chain)
• If paid, the damage ability resolves
• Later, during action focus, the controller can separately activate Blue Ezreal's recycle ability to return him to base

Nuances:

• This optional payment only applies to abilities with deflect costs, not all triggers
• 'While' abilities (like Yi legend's +2) are passive and cannot be opted out of
• The damage ability and recycle ability are separate - one is a triggered ability during the chain, the other is an action ability used during action focus