Almost nothing — and the 'almost' is the interesting part. While a spell with split second is on the stack, players cannot cast othe...
Almost nothing — and the 'almost' is the interesting part. While a spell with split second is on the stack, players cannot cast other spells and cannot activate abilities that are not mana abilities. The spell is designed to be as close to unanswerable as Magic gets, which is why cards carrying the keyword are usually removal aimed at things that desperately need to die.
The example card, read exactly
Krosan Grip — Instant (mana cost {2}{G}):
Split second (As long as this spell is on the stack, players can't cast spells or activate abilities that aren't mana abilities.)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Rules answers live and die on exact wording, which is why every card named on this page can be checked in the MTGBrew card database before you rely on it at a table.
How it plays out, step by step
Here is the sequence. A player casts the split second spell; it goes on the stack. Triggered abilities can still trigger and be placed on the stack above it — split second does not stop triggers, and abilities like ward or morph's special action have their own specific exceptions — but nobody may cast a counterspell or a protection spell in response. Mana abilities may still be activated, because paying costs has to work. Once the split second spell resolves, the game returns to normal and the rest of the stack resolves as usual. If you are holding the answer, the lesson is timing: split second punishes waiting, so play your interaction before the must-die permanent's owner untaps with mana open.
When you build around interactions like this, the MTGBrew AI deck builder keeps the list honest — and the MTGBrew Learn guides collect more of these plain-English rules walk-throughs in one place.
If this topic is on your bench, keep going with Breya, Etherium Shaper Commander Guide: How the Deck Actually Wins — it covers the neighbouring decisions from a different angle, and the two pieces together give you a fuller picture than either one alone.
The short version
Here is the sequence. Everything else in this article is the working-out — and at a real table, the working-out is what settles the argument, so walk the steps in order and let the text of the cards involved make the final call.
Keep reading
Keep reading: Breya, Etherium Shaper Commander Guide: How the Deck Actually Wins and Sylvan Library in Commander: What It Does and Which Decks Want It.
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