When you play a card like Deathgrip, when does the controller have to announce which friendly unit they are going to kill?
When you play a card like Deathgrip, you must announce and choose the friendly unit you intend to kill when you play the spell, as part of the process of placing it on the chain.
According to the Core Rules and the established sequence for playing cards, the process is as follows:
- Declare the intent to play the card: You place the card on the chain.
- Make relevant choices (Rule 355): You must choose all targets and make all relevant choices required by the card's text at this time. Because Deathgrip targets a friendly unit to be killed, you must select that specific unit now.
- Determine Total Cost (Rule 356): Calculate the total cost of the card.
- Pay the card's costs (Rule 357): Pay the energy and power costs.
- Check legality (Rule 358): Ensure all choices and targets are legal.
Why this is the case:
- Targeting: Rule 355.7 states that when a card chooses one or more specific game objects to affect, it is targeted. Rule 355.8 explicitly requires that "in order to put a spell or ability on the chain, valid choices must be made for all targets."
- Deathgrip FAQ: As clarified in RiftJudge FAQ #8401 and #9295, the friendly unit in Deathgrip is a target, not a cost. Because it is a target, it must be chosen when the spell is played and placed on the chain, not upon resolution.
Summary of the sequence:
- On Play (Chain): You choose the friendly unit to kill. This unit is now locked as the target for the spell.
- On Resolution: The spell resolves. You kill the chosen unit. If the unit is still a legal target and is successfully killed, you then proceed to the next part of the effect (giving Might to another friendly unit and drawing 1). If the unit is no longer a legal target or the kill is replaced (e.g., by Zhonya's Hourglass), you do not give the Might, though you still draw 1.