Can a player gain priority during the resolution of a spell or ability?

Once a spell or ability begins resolving, it resolves completely before any player gains priority again. This is established by CR 608.2: the game follows the instructions of the spell or ability in order, and no player may take actions or cast spells during this process.

Priority only exists in a zone called the stack during specific windows — before resolution begins, or after it ends. CR 117.3b states that a player may only act when they have priority, and CR 117.4 confirms that priority is only granted after a spell or ability has finished resolving (or after the game checks state-based actions and triggered abilities following resolution).

This means even if a spell or ability has multiple steps or generates a complex sequence of events during resolution — such as a spell that deals damage and then draws cards — no player can respond between those steps. All instructions execute as one uninterrupted process.

Example: Your opponent casts Divination (draw two cards). Once it begins resolving, you cannot cast Counterspell or activate any abilities between the first card being drawn and the second. Both cards are drawn, and only after the spell is fully done does anyone get priority.

This rule is fundamental to how the stack works and prevents players from interrupting individual steps within a single resolving spell or ability. See CR 608.2 and CR 117.3–117.4 for the full framework.