#attacking creature

[magicjudge]

How does Reconnaissance give creatures a kind of vigalince and still allow them to deal combat damage and trigger the creatures attacking ability?

If you activate Reconnaissance on an attacking creature you control after it has dealt combat damage, either in the combat damage step or the end of combat step, then you’re able to untap it after it has dealt its combat damage, giving it pseudo-vigilance. This is possible because a creature doesn’t stop being an attacking creature until the combat phase ends and so it can still be targeted by Reconnaissance between combat damage being dealt and the second main phase beginning.

[magicjudge]

How did Mr. Tabak clarify the Neckbreaker/Stonebrow question? I always assume anything I don't get is layers. My assumption would have been: vanilla creature attacks, Stonebrow trigger, gets +1/0 trample in continuous effect. Are continuous effects layered before triggers?

It comes down to the technicalities of declaring attackers and the fact that there’s currently not a clear line on when a creature actually becomes declared as an attacker. This will be clarified in the comprehensive rules update for Eldritch Moon.

@tabakrules’s ruling is that it happens after all the steps in 508.1a-j are completed. This means that a creature is already an attacking creature by the time it’s declared as an attacker. 

In the scenario presented, it means that the creature will have +1/+0 and trample from Neck Breaker at that time and thus Stonebrow will trigger.

Or for another example, if I control Raid Bombardment and Nobilis of War and attack with a 1/1 creature, Raid Bombardment won’t trigger because the creature has 3 power by the time it’s declared as an attacker.