#ruinous path

[magic-the-beefening]

That last step is a doozy.

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[magicjudge]

My opponent casts Ruinous Path targeting Nihir, the harbinger. In responce I cast Display of Dominance. Does Ruinous path still hit its target or does it miss and go into the graveyard?

When Ruinous Path goes to resolve, it checks to see if its target is still legal. Display of Dominance makes Nahiri an illegal target for Ruinous Path, so Ruinous Path will be countered instead of resolving. 

That’s if Ruinous Path wasn’t cast for its Awaken cost, though. If it was cast for the Awaken cost, then the land will still be a legal target and Ruinous Path will resolve since it still has a legal target remaining. It won’t be able to destroy Nahiri, since it can’t affect an illegal target, but the land will still get counters and become a creature.

[magicjudge]

Interaction we came across last night; my opponent awakens Ruinous Path against my Edlrazi Displacer, I play Center Soul giving protection from Black. Does my opponent still get to awaken?

Yes.

When Ruinous Path is cast for its Awaken cost, it targets both the creature or planeswalker it would destroy and the land it would awaken. It will only be countered on resolution if both of those targets are illegal at that time.

In the situation you describe, the land is still a legal target so the land will get four counters and become an elemental creature even though Ruinous Path won’t destroy your Displacer.

[raremtggallery]

[magicjudge]

If I target a facedown creature with ruinous path and the creature is turned face up and has hexproof what happens.

The creature is an illegal target for the spell and won’t be destroyed by it when it goes to resolve. If Ruinous Path wasn’t cast for its awaken cost, then all of its targets are illegal and it’s countered. Otherwise, the spell will only awaken the targeted land and have no effect on the targeted creature.