Can you respond to Reckoner's Arena trigger by killing a unit (like Qiyana) to prevent its conquer effect?

Ruling: Yes, you can respond to the Arena trigger by killing a unit to prevent its conquer effect from being added to the chain.

Sequence:

  • Arena's trigger goes on the chain
  • You can respond by killing the unit before the trigger resolves
  • When Arena's trigger resolves, it checks which units are present at the battlefield with conquer abilities
  • Only units present when the trigger resolves are added to the chain
  • If a unit was killed in response, it will not be included