Vengeful Archon

If multiple effects modify how damage will be dealt, the player who would be dealt damage chooses the order to apply the effects. For example, say you’ve activated Vengeful Archon’s ability with X = 3 targeting Player A, and you’ve activated Vengeful Archon’s ability with X = 1 targeting Player B. You’re dealt 2 damage. You can apply the first prevention effect (dealing 2 damage to Player A), or you can apply the second prevention effect (dealing 1 damage to Player B) followed by the first prevention effect (dealing 1 damage to Player A). The unused portions of the prevention effects remain.

The only target of Vengeful Archon’s ability is the player it may deal damage to. You choose that target as you activate the ability, not at the time it prevents damage.

If Vengeful Archon’s ability prevents damage, Vengeful Archon deals its damage immediately afterward as part of that same prevention effect. This happens before state-based actions are checked, and before any player can cast spells or activate abilities. If a spell or ability would have caused that damage to be dealt, this happens before that spell or ability resumes its resolution.

The effect of Vengeful Archon’s ability is not a redirection effect. If it prevents damage, Vengeful Archon (not the source of that damage) deals damage to the targeted player as part of that prevention effect. Vengeful Archon is the source of the new damage, so the characteristics of the original source (such as its color, or whether it had lifelink or deathtouch) don’t affect this damage. The new damage is not combat damage, even if the prevented damage was.

If you would be dealt combat damage by multiple attacking creatures, you choose which of that damage to prevent. For example, if X is 3 and you’d be dealt combat damage by a 1/3 Scroll Thief and a 3/5 Siege Mastodon, you might choose to prevent 1 damage from the Scroll Thief and 2 damage from the Siege Mastodon. You don’t decide until the point at which the creatures would deal their damage.

If the targeted player is an illegal target by the time the ability resolves, the entire ability doesn’t resolve. No damage will be prevented.