Rulings Summary: Cards (9/19/94)
Stephen D''Angelo
cards. There are only a few small changes since the last release.
Please check the General Rulings Summary if you do not find the answer
you are looking for in here.
The most recent gg-l/mtg-l digest used was #1057.
Credits and disclaimer are at the end of the text.
A '+' is used to mark changes since the last released version on 08/24/94.
Stephen.
----
Stephen D'Angelo == sdan...@usagi.eng.sun.com -or- dan...@netcom.com
Card Rulings Summary Last Updated 09/19/94
==============================================================================
Printing Information:
The Limited Edition
The Limited Edition was printed in two parts--the Alpha printing and Beta
printing. The entire Limited Edition was printed with black borders on
the face of the cards.
The Alpha printing used a different corner radius on the cards than all
further printings. The radius was about 2 mm instead of the 1 mm which
has been standard since then. The printing contained 295 unique cards.
Approximately 2.6 million cards were printed. Cards were available
from late August 1993 through late September 1993.
The Beta printing added one new picture for each of the five lands plus 2
new cards to the set to raise the total to 302 cards. Approximately
7.8 million cards were printed. Cards were available from mid October
1993 until mid December 1993.
In the Alpha printing, 23 cards had errors which were corrected in the
Beta printing. These cards are: Basalt Monolith, Birds of Paradise,
Channel, Circle of Protection: Red, Cyclopean Tomb, Death Ward, Demonic
Hordes, Drain Life, Elvish Archers, Force of Nature, Icy Manipulator,
Island Sanctuary, Karma, Mana Short, Orcish Artillery, Orcish
Oriflamme, Phantasmal Forces, Red Elemental Blast, Rock Hydra, Sedge
Troll, Tropical Island, Twiddle and Unsummon.
The Unlimited Edition
The Unlimited Edition cards were printed with white borders on the face
of the cards. In all other ways this edition matched the Beta printing
of the Limited Edition. Approximately 40 million cards were printed.
Cards were available from mid January 1994 through mid March 1994.
The Revised Edition
The Revised Edition was released in order to clean up a number of rules
problems that the First Edition (another name for the Limited/Unlimited
Editions) rules had. The cards still had white borders, but the fake
3-D beveling was removed, and the art was lightened up considerably.
Printing size is not known but is estimated to exceed 150 million
cards. Cards were available from mid April 1994 through the release of
this document.
About half of the cards had text or formatting changes. The list is too
long to include here. 35 of the cards in the First Edition were
retired, and 39 cards from the Arabian Nights and Antiquities
expansions were added, bringing the total card count to 306 cards.
Cards which were added or removed are noted in the section for the
card.
Multilands:
The Revised edition multilands differ from the Limited and Unlimited
edition ones in that they say that if "one land type is altered, the
other is unaffected". This applies only to spells like Conversion
which alter a land type. It does not mean that Phantasmal Terrain or
any other spell which changes a land card to a different type only
changes half of a multiland. [PPG Page 223]
Volcanic Island was not in the Alpha printing of the Limited Edition.
Tropical Island had the artist's name incorrect in the Alpha printing of
the Limited Edition.
Aladdin's Lamp:
This can be used any time you draw a card from the library. This
includes Sindbad, Ancestral Recall, and several other spells. It
affects only one of the cards drawn this way, though. [bethmo]
Cannot be used with X equal to zero because this makes no sense. [WotC
Rules Team]
Added in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Aladdin's Ring:
Added in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Ancestral Recall:
When used on a person when it is not their turn, they may keep all the
cards until the discard phase of their next turn when they must discard
as normal.
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Animate Artifact:
Artifact becomes an Artifact-Creature. It follows all the rules of
creatures while still being an artifact.
Animated artifacts cannot attack or use any special ability which
requires it to be tapped until it begins its controller's turn in play.
[Page 22] If it was in play on your side before you animated it, you
may use it immediately.
The Limited and Unlimited edition cards cannot be cast on
artifact-creatures. The Revised one can be cast on them but has no
effect. [Card Text] Note that the Limited/Unlimited edition card does
not cause itself to be removed from play once the creature is Animated.
[Aahz]
The Limited and Unlimited edition cards say that it destroys zero-cost
artifacts. This was meant to restate the obvious_a zero toughness
creature dies, but the card text did not account for things like Castle
which give +2 toughness when untapped. So, the artifact is not
destroyed just because its casting cost was zero, it is destroyed when
its toughness reaches zero. [Snark]
Animate Dead:
In general, an animated creature comes out as if it was just cast. Any X
in the casting cost is zero. So, animating the Clockwork Beast revives
it totally wound but at -1 power, and animating a Rock Hydra gives you
a hydra with zero heads. [PPG Page 92]
You can Animate a creature which was discarded from a hand and therefore
was never in play.
Animate Dead is not an "Enchant Creature" spell and so it does not activate
the Rabid Wombat or trigger other cards which use creature enchantments.
It is an "Enchant Dead Creature" spell, which means "Enchant a creature
card which is in the graveyard". [Aahz 7/26/94]
Animated creature cannot attack until it begins its controller's turn in
play. [Page 26]
Animating a dead Clone gets all the Clone's abilities but it mimics at 1
power. [Snark]
Armageddon:
The destruction can be prevented normally, such as with Consecrated Land
or Pyramids. [Aahz]
Armageddon Clock:
During your upkeep, add a counter, then allow people to remove counters,
then deal the damage from the clock at the end of upkeep.
[Duelist Magazine #2, page 15]
Players may remove tokens during their upkeeps as well.
[Duelist Magazine #2, page 15]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Aspect of Wolf:
The bonus is recalculated every time the number of Forests you have in
play changes. It is not a one-time bonus. [bethmo]
Atog:
Cannot use the ability unless you have an artifact to sacrifice. It is
part of the cost. [Aahz]
As with all fast effects, the bonus wears off at the end of the turn.
Only in the Revised edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Balance:
Creatures with Protection from White are ignored by Balance in both the
counting of the number of creatures and the decision of which ones to
destroy. [WotC Rules Team]
Consecrated Lands are protected, but the unconsecrated lands must be
removed first. [Snark]
Animated lands are considered both as lands and as creatures. Just
remove whatever you have to in order to achieve "balance". And yes,
this does mean that they get double-counted :-(
The word "discarded" should be read as "destroyed" [PPG Page 113]
Basalt Monolith:
Untapping this card is a fast effect and can be done at any time fast
effects can be done. [Snark]
The Basalt Monolith cannot be untapped with mana from a Basalt Monolith or
Mana Vault. This ruling is recommended in order to stop the abuse of
repeatedly tapping and untapping these artifacts.
[WotC Rules Team 7/27/94] Many homes also have a house rule limiting
the Basalt Monolith to only one untapping per turn (or even one per
round of turns) in order to eliminate this problem.
Text on this card was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the
Limited Edition.
Berserk:
The doubling effect of Berserk is constant. If the creature's base power
is changed at any time, recalculate the power of the creature by
backing up and applying all effects that turn over again in the same
order they were originally used. For example: If a 3/3 Plague Rat has
Giant Growth then Berserk cast on it, it is a 12/6 creature. If one of
the other two Plague Rats in play is destroyed, it becomes a 2/2 Plague
rat with the spells reapplied to get a 10/5 creature. [WotC Rules Team
1/24/94]
The creature can regenerate from dying due to attacking under Berserk.
Note the creature only dies if it attacks, not if it defends.
A Berserked creature is not considered to be "on its way to the
graveyard" until the end of the turn is reached. This means that it
maybe sacrificed before that time.
If the card stops being a creature before the end of the turn, it is
still destroyed. This happens with Jade Statue, and can happen with
other animated cards. [Snark]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Birds of Paradise:
Text changed between Alpha and Beta printings to explicitly say "one mana
of any color" instead of just "one mana".
Black Lotus:
Treat the word "discarded" as "destroyed" on the card. [PPG Page 113]
An Animated Lotus cannot benefit from Regeneration because cards which
destroy themselves are considered "sacrifices". [WotC Rules Team]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Blaze of Glory:
The text "controller of target creature may distribute damage among
attackers as desired" is a restatement of the combat rules and does not
override the attacker's right to distribute damage when attacking with
a banded group. [bethmo]
Does not allow a tapped creature to block, or allow a creature to block
any creatures it would not normally be able to block. [bethmo]
As per all fast effects, this lasts only until the end of the turn.
The wording of this card does not make sense under the Revised edition
because a creature is not "defending" until after it is declared as a
blocker. Read this card under the old rules where a "defending"
creature is just a creature on the defender's side. [Aahz 6/6/94]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Bottle of Suleiman:
Sacrificing the card is part of the activation cost although this is not
really clear from the text. [bethmo]
The Djinn is an artifact creature. [Card Text]
The Djinn is not a card, it is a token. There are a lot of rulings on
token creatures in the Token Creatures section of the General Rulings
Summary. Go read those for more information.
It cannot be used to attack in the turn in which it is "created" by
paying the artifact's cost. It must be in play at the beginning of
your turn in order to be used. Note that you can pay the costs during
an opponent's turn in order to use it when your turn comes around.
In the Revised Edition it need not tap it to use it. It must be untapped
in order to work, however, and because it does sacrifice itself it can
only be used once. [Aahz 7/29/94] The Arabian Nights version was a
Mono Artifact and needed to be tapped.
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Braingeyser:
When used on a person when it is not their turn, they may keep all the
cards until the discard phase of their next turn when they must discard
as normal.
Brass Man:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Camouflage:
Can be cast when you have no creatures in play since it does not say it
needs to be played during an attack. [bethmo]
(See the Face-Down Cards section of the General Rulings Summary for notes
on face-down creatures)
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Castle:
Note that attackers do not get the benefits of Castle. Even though the
Serra Angel does not tap when attacking it does not get the benefits
during the attack, but if it does not die in the attack it gets back
the benefit afterwards (since it will no longer be "attacking").
[bethmo]
Tapping a creature removes the +2 toughness from the creature and may
kill it if it has already taken damage.
Channel:
This is not damage, it is loss of life. It cannot be prevented by any
current spell (including Conservator). [PPG Page 113]
The amount of life converted into mana is not a decision as part of the
casting of Channel. [WotC Rules Team]
Text on this card was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the
Limited Edition.
Chaos Orb:
You can arrange your cards any time before the Orb is put into play, but
not after. [Snark]
You cannot interfere in any physical way with the playing of this card.
[PPG Page 221]
It must flip 360 degrees (that's what "flip entirely" means). [FAQ]
"Cards it touches" refers to cards it touches once it stops moving.
[Snark]
If the Orb does not touch a card because a pente stone or other token is
between them, the Orb counts as not touching the card. [bethmo]
If you have sleeves on cards, they count as the cards. [bethmo]
Can only affect cards that are in play. Cards that are in the game but
not in play (such as the Library and Graveyard) or cards that are held
out of play by such effects as Oubliette and Tawnos's Coffin cannot be
affected.
You cannot regenerate or otherwise save the Chaos Orb when it is
destroyed in use. A card which destroys itself is considered to be a
sacrifice. [WotC Rules Team]
This is a not a targeted effect. Creatures with Artifact Ward or other
means of preventing being targeted by artifacts are destroyed by the
Orb. [bethmo]
Ripping the Chaos Orb into confetti and then scattering it (as each piece
flops 360 degrees) across your opponent's cards is only legal in games
which are not the final round of a tournament. [bethmo] :-)
The word "discarded" should be read as "destroyed". [PPG Page 113]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Circle of Protection: Black:
Was not in the Alpha printing of the Limited Edition.
Circle of Protection: Red:
Artist's name was incorrectly listed in the Alpha printing of the Limited
Edition.
Clockwork Beast:
Loses a token at the end of the attack phase in which it attacks or
defends. [WotC Rules Team 7/27/94] This is a REVERSAL of a previous
ruling which had the token being removed immediately upon declaration
of attack of defense.
Animate Dead on the Clockwork Beast revives it totally wound but at -1
power. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
Resurrection on the Clockwork Beast revives it totally wound. [WotC Rules
Team 2/7/94]
Clone:
There are a lot of rulings dealing with copy cards in the Copy Cards
section of the General Rulings Summary. Go read those first.
Animating a dead Clone gets all the Clone's abilities but it mimics at 1
power. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
The Clone of an artifact creature can be Shattered or Disenchanted
because it is an artifact creature too. [Aahz]
Can be used to copy a base Doppelganger. You get a Doppelganger which is
always blue, and the Clone is mimicking the same creature the
Doppelganger was until the next upkeep. [PPG Page 223]
The Limited and Unlimited edition cards said "all normal characteristics"
instead of "all characteristics". In either case, this means that you
treat the Clone as having the exact same text on it as the original
card had. This includes name, casting cost, power/toughness, etc. It
does not gain any benefits the original creature may have had
temporarily through instants like Giant Growth or through Enchantments.
[bethmo]
The Clone is the same color as the creature it copies. It is no longer
blue (even if the card looks blue) unless the creature it copied was
blue too. [bethmo]
The decision of what to Clone is part of the casting decisions. [bethmo]
This spell is targeted, so a creature with Protection from Blue cannot be
Cloned. [WotC Rules Team]
+ The Clone is treated as a Summon Creature card even if it is copying an
artifact creature. Thus, spells that affect Summon Creatures, such as
Dance of Many, can be used on a Clone of anything. [Aahz 9/15/94]
Cockatrice:
In all ways, the Cockatrice is like the Thicket Basilisk. Look there for
rulings.
Consecrate Land:
Prevents direct use of enchantments on the land. Indirect effect by
enchantments such as Conversion, Living Lands, Kormus Bell, and Mana
Flare are not prevented and the land can still be targeted by Gaea's
Liege, Cyclopean Tomb, and other non-enchantment effects. [Snark]
Does not prevent a land from sending itself to the graveyard, as the
Strip Mine can do. Cards which send themselves to the graveyard are
considered to be sacrifices. [bethmo 5/18/94]
A living Consecrated Land cannot be destroyed. It is effectively an
unkillable 1/1 creature. [Snark]
If it ever takes enough damage to be killed, it automatically is
regenerated and this regeneration does not cause the land to come back
tapped as normal regeneration would. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
If its toughness is reduced to below zero by some effect (such as Weakness),
the land gets stuck in an infinite loop of dying and regenerating.
Because this regeneration does not cause the land to tap, however, no
effect will be noticed. The land stays alive until the Consecration
is removed.
This power works similarly for immunity to the Basilisk ability,
Disintegrate, and anything else that would kill it. [bethmo]
Note that Trample damage beyond the Land's toughness would still come
through to the player. [Aahz]
The Assembly Worker formed from Mishra's Factory follows all the rules
for any other living land with Consecrate Land on it.
Consecrate Land will not override a Legendary Land being buried because it
is the second one into play. [Wotc Rules Team 7/27/94]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Conservator:
The card should be read as "prevents up to 2 damage to any player".
[Duelist Magazine #2, page 68]
Note that the loss of life caused by Channel, Lich, death of a Personal
Incarnation, Shahrazad, and Bronze Tablet cannot be prevented so the
Conservator is not useful against those. [PPG Page 113]
Can prevent zero, one or two points of damage to the player. [WotC Rules
Team] This makes it a good way to use up extra mana.
Control Magic:
Steals ownership of a creature, but enchantments on the creature are
still controlled by the caster. [Snark]
Note that the controlled creature cannot be tapped or used for an attack
until you begin a turn with the creature in play. [Page 25]
The word "discarded" should read "until enchantment is removed". [WotC
Rules Team]
Conversion:
Once in play, Mountains produce white mana and this white mana is
acceptable for paying the upkeep cost.
Mountains are not protected by the Consecrate Land enchantment. [Snark]
The word "discarded" should be read as "destroyed". [PPG Page 113]
Copper Tablet:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Copy Artifact:
There are many rules covered in the General Rulings Summary under Copy
Cards which should be read before reading further.
The copy of the artifact is still blue. The copy is both an artifact and
an enchantment, so it is a blue artifact-enchantment. [Card Text]
It can be tapped like an artifact and is the only exception to the rule
that enchantments are never tapped. [WotC Rules Team]
The decision of what to copy is part of the casting decisions. [bethmo]
Creature Bond:
You do not lose life if Swords to Plowshares is used on the creature.
Swords to Plowshares causes the card to leave the game, not to be
destroyed. [Snark]
Creatures "discarded from play" to the graveyard still cause damage
because "discarded" means the same as "destroyed". [WotC Rules Team]
This means that City in a Bottle and other effects which cause
discarding do trigger this spell.
Crumble:
Only in the Revised edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Cyclopean Tomb:
The lands so changed are not considered "Enchanted" and so Consecrate
Land will not protect them. [Snark]
Can be used to change any non-swamp land (not just basic lands) into a
swamp. [bethmo]
Cannot change Swamps (or multilands which are part Swamp) into Swamps.
[Card Text]
A changed land is considered to be the new land type in all ways. This
is not just a change of name. It changes the color of mana produced
too. [bethmo]
Remove one counter per turn once it leaves play. If by any chance more
than one counter is on the same land, you can remove older ones before
newer ones. For example Mountain changed to Swamp by the Tomb, then
someone Phantasmal Terrains the land to Island, then you Swamp it
again. Removing the newest token reverts the land to an Island.
Removing the oldest one leaves the newer one in effect. [bethmo
5/9/94]
No casting cost was listed in the Alpha printing of the Limited edition.
This was corrected in the Beta printing to show a cost of 4 colorless
mana. [Duelist Magazine #2, page 68]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Dancing Scimitar:
Only in the Revised edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Darkpact:
If you use some spell or effect (like Natural Selection) which allows you
to peek at cards in the library, you can still use Darkpact.
Dark Ritual:
Changed to use mana symbols instead of the word black mana between the
Limited/Unlimited edition and the Revised edition versions of the card.
The Revised card can not be affected by Sleight of Mind. [Aahz 7/29/94]
Deathgrip:
The Limited/Unlimited edition version of the card says "destroys a green
spell as it is being cast" but should be read as "counters a green
spell". [bethmo]
Death Ward:
The artist's name was incorrectly listed in the Alpha printing of the
Limited Edition.
Demonic Hordes:
May not be tapped until its upkeep is paid for that turn. [bethmo]
Paying the Hordes is optional. You may choose not to pay them but then
you take the consequences. [bethmo]
The Alpha printing version of this card had 'B's where the black mana
symbols are in later printings.
Demonic Tutor:
You do not show the card you pick out of your library to your opponent.
[bethmo]
Desert Twister:
Only in the Revised edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Dingus Egg:
If multiple lands are destroyed at once, each land causes the Egg to do 2
points of damage. These are all from the same source but come in
separate chunks. [bethmo]
Disenchant:
Regenerating artifacts can regenerate from Disenchant because "discard"
from play is the same as "destroyed". [PPG Page 113]
Disintegrate:
Creatures killed with Disintegrate cannot regenerate because in the
Limited and Unlimited edition versions of the cards this was spelled
out and because in the Revised rules any card "removed from play" may
not be regenerated. [Page 31]
Some people feel the language "if it dies this turn" can be misread
because if something is Regenerated, it does not "die". This text was
not cleaned up from Limited/Unlimited edition to the Revised edition.
Basically, just read this card to say that it cannot regenerate.
Officially, this is an error correction to the card.
[Duelist Magazine #2, page 68]
If creature is not killed by the Disintegrate but is later in the turn
given enough damage to kill it, it may not regenerate. This is true
even if all damage from the Disintegrate is prevented or if zero damage
is done in the first place (X=0). [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
It may not regenerate even if the damage is redirected to another target.
The effect is not a nature of the damage, it is an effect of the
spell. [bethmo]
Disintegrated creatures do go to the graveyard very temporarily before
leaving the game. They do trigger all effects which happen due to
a creature going to the graveyard. [Aahz 7/27/94]
As always "a target" means any creature or player.
Disrupting Scepter:
Forces discard from opponent's hand and not from cards in play.
Can only be used during your turn. [Card Text]
Dragon Engine:
Pumping mana into this all at once counts as one activation, regardless
of the amount of mana. [bethmo]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Dragon Whelp:
Can spend up to RRR each turn without it dying. It does not remember
between turns as to how much was spent on it. [Chris Page/Revised Card
Text]
Drain Life:
You can put as much Black mana as you want into this spell, but you
cannot drain more life than the creature's toughness. You may gain up
to the total toughness of the creature even if it was already damaged.
[PPG Page 70]
The amount of mana put into the spell is determined at time of casting,
but is not considered part of the casting cost. [bethmo]
The Alpha printing version of this card had a 'B' where the black mana
symbol is in later printings.
Drain Power:
Since this is a sorcery, your opponent may use instants and interrupts in
response to this spell before you get the mana from his mana pool and
lands.
If a land can draw more than one color of mana (by choice) then the
target player (not the caster of this spell) chooses which colors are
drawn. [bethmo]
The Limited/Unlimited edition versions of this card required tapping of all
lands, not just mana producing ones. The Revised edition version only
taps lands for mana. [Aahz 7/29/94]
Dwarven Demolition Team:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Dwarven Warriors:
Can be tapped at any time to make a creature unblockable. For example,
if you had Orcish Oriflamme in play, you could tap the Dwarves to make
a 2/2 creature unblockable before you declare an attack. Once the
attack is declared, the creature is 3/2 because the Oriflamme.
[bethmo]
Can enhance the creature any way you want after the Dwarves make it
unblockable without losing the effect. [bethmo/Revised Card Text]
Can be used after a creature is blocked but has no effect. Once a
creature is blocked, it cannot be unblocked by anything other than
False Orders. [bethmo]
Dwarven Weaponsmith:
Only in the Revised edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Earthbind:
The two damage happens only once, and just like other damage it goes away
at the end of the turn. [PPG Page 222/Revised Card Text]
If Flight is cast on an Earthbound creature, it gains flying again. In
general, if two enchantments contradict each other, the most recently
cast wins. [PPG Page 222]
The Limited and Unlimited editions of this card were only castable on
flying creatures. The Revised edition card can be cast on any creature
but has no effect on non-flying creatures. Note that the
Limited/Unlimited versions of this spell do not remove themselves once
the creature is not flying.
Earthquake:
This is not a targeted spell, so it may be cast when there are no
creatures in play. [bethmo]
Ebony Horse:
The attacking creature is untapped, and it leaves the combat. That is
all that his meant by the "as if it never attacked" phrase. [bethmo]
The Clockwork Beast did not last until the end of combat so it does
not lose a counter. [bethmo 8/8/94]
The creature is not considered to have attacked for purposes of "attack or
die" effects like Siren's Call. [bethmo 8/8/94] This is a REVERSAL
of a previous ruling.
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
El-Hajjaj:
Earns you life for the total amount of unprevented damage inflicted
regardless of the toughness of the target. For example, if an
El-Hajjaj with Unholy Strength is blocked by a 1/1 Goblin, you get 3
life, but if a Samite Healer prevents one point, you get 2 life. [WotC
Rules Team]
Only in the Revised edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Elvish Archers:
The Alpha printing version of this card was a 1/2 creature. All further
printings were corrected to make it a 2/1 creature.
Energy Flux:
The Guardian Beast will prevent your artifacts from being destroyed, so
it can make you immune to this effect.
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Erg Raiders:
If tapped and unable to attack, they still do 2 damage to the controller
of this card. [Snark]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Evil Presence:
A changed land is considered to be the new land type in all ways. This
is not just a change of name. It changes the color of mana produced
too. [bethmo]
Eye for an Eye:
Can be used for damage from creatures, spells and the effects of
permanents, but not from mana burn. [Card Text] The Arabian version was
not usable on artifact damage.
Cannot be used on effects that cause loss of life. This includes
Shahrazad, Channel, and death of a Personal Incarnation. It can only
be used on damage. [bethmo]
Since it does allow you to reduce damage, you may use a Circle of
Protection or other form of damage prevention to reduce the damage and
still do full damage to your opponent. [bethmo]
Can only be used during a damage prevention in which the player is
damaged. It cannot be used retroactively like Reverse Damage and
Simulacrum can. [Aahz 6/6/94]
Does white damage to your opponent.
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
False Orders:
This spell can be cast after defenders are chosen and effectively changes
a decision made by your opponent as to if and how one creature blocks
or does not block. [Snark]
Can only give legal orders to a creature. If your opponent could not
make the choice on his own, False Orders cannot make him do it.
[bethmo]
You cannot use this spell to make a creature not block a Lured creature
because that is not a legal action. [bethmo]
If something happens between the casting and resolution of False Orders
which makes the blocking choice illegal, then the spell fizzles. [Aahz
6/6/94]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Farmstead:
Only one life per turn can be gained from this card. [bethmo] Some
people have read the card to say that it can be used multiple times
during a turn, but this is incorrect.
Payment is not an activation cost, so it is not affected by the Revised
Gloom card. [Aahz 6/6/94]
Fastbond:
You can only play land cards when it would otherwise be legal to play a
land.
Playing a land is not a fast effect, so they must be played out one at a
time.
Fireball:
If split for multiple targets, each target can receive only one of the
splits. You may not multiply target something. [bethmo]
If the damage to creatures is redirected to the player (via Jade Monolith
or other effect), each split of the fireball is a separate damage
packet for purposes of Circle of Protection. [WotC Rules Team 1/24/94]
As always "a target" means any creature or player.
Flying Carpet:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Fog:
Stops a Desert from doing damage. [WotC Rules Team 1/24/94]
Can be played before an attack, or during an attack before damage is
dealt. [bethmo]
The Limited and Unlimited edition versions of this card prevent damage
during the combat but do not prevent other special effects such as the
Thicket Basilisk's kill of any creature that blocks it. This was
changed in the Revised edition to prevent such effects.
Forcefield:
In the Revised edition rules, the Forcefield removes all but one point of
damage from an unblocked creature. The remaining point of damage
retains its color and may be prevented or redirected as per normal
means (including the Veteran Bodyguard). [PPG Page 113]
The "Errata" article in Duelist Magazine #2 incorrectly lists the cost of
Forcefield as (T,3). Ignore this typo. [Duelist Companion #2, page 3]
Can not be used to prevent damage caused by a blocked creature with
Trample ability. [bethmo]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Force of Nature:
It is not mandatory to pay the upkeep cost. You may choose not to pay
and to take the damage. [WotC Rules Team]
COP:Green can be used to prevent damage due to not paying upkeep.
[Snark]
The Alpha printing version of this card had 'G's where the green mana
symbols are in all further printings.
Fork:
You need not (and may not) pay any additional mana to use the spell which
is Forked. You get control over a complete copy. [bethmo 7/18/94]
If mana or other costs need to be spent at resolution of the spell, the
caster of Fork would still be responsible for paying that cost.
[bethmo 7/18/94]
You maintain full control over the copy of the spell regardless of who
cast the original. [Snark]
The text "just cast" should read as "being cast". [Snark]
For spells like Fireball that allow mana to be used for damage or for
additional targets, the controller of the copy decides how to divide
things up. In other words the copy of a Fireball need not have the
same number of targets as the original. [bethmo]
When Forking a sorcery, resolve them in sequence with the original going
last. [bethmo 5/3/94]
When Forking Shahrazad and you lose both sub-games, you lose half of your
life, and then half of what is left. [WotC Rules Team]
Timing can get complicated if other interrupts are used. If you are Forking
your own spell, your Fork will go before any other interrupts if you want
it to. If you are Forking your opponent's spell, their interrupts will
precede your Fork if they want them to. See the General Rulings Summary
under Timing Issues for more on resolving interrupts.
Fungusaur:
Regeneration prevents death, so even if it would have died, it took
damage and lived so it gets its +1/+1. [bethmo]
The Limited and Unlimited versions of this card gain +1/+1 every time it
is damaged and not killed. This can occur more than once in a turn.
The Revised edition card only gains one token at the end of any turn in
which it is damaged.
Gauntlet of Might:
Multilands which have Mountain as one of their types produce an extra red
mana when tapped for either color. [bethmo]
Mountains do not produce two mana when Conversion is in play because all
the Mountains are now Plains instead. [Snark]
If a Mountain is tapped using Twiddle or Icy Manipulator while the
Gauntlet is in play, the owner of the Mountain gets one red mana added
to her pool. The Gauntlet says that if the land gets tapped, an
additional red mana gets generated. [bethmo]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Gaea's Liege:
If you have 5 Forests and your opponent has 10 Forests and the Liege
takes 7 damage during an attack, that once the attack is over, the
Liege is no longer attacking and will be killed. [bethmo]
The "change to forest" effect cannot be prevented by Consecrate Land or
removed by Tranquility because it is not an enchantment. [Snark]
This can change any land (not just basic lands) into a Forest. [bethmo]
A changed land is considered to be the new land type in all ways. This
is not just a change of name. It changes the color of mana produced
too. [bethmo]
The Limited and Unlimited edition versions of this card define conditions
for "attacking" and "defending" when it should say "attacking" and
"not-attacking". [Snark]
Gloom:
The additional 3 mana cost is colorless. [bethmo]
+ The extra mana is not considered part of the casting cost. A Spell Blast
would still only require the original casting cost as X in order to
counter the spell. [Aahz 9/2/94]
+ The extra mana is not considered part of the activation cost. It is a
separate cost. So, if an artifact with an activation cost were Purelaced,
Power Artifact could be used to reduce the base cost, but not the Gloom
cost. [Aahz 9/2/94]
Farmstead's cost is not an activation cost and so it is not affected by
the Revised Gloom.
The Limited and Unlimited versions of this card only affected the casting
of white spells and the use of Circles of Protection. The Revised
edition card affects any white spells and the use of white enchantments
with activation costs. Players with Holy Armor and such are in for a
surprise. Note that this does not include upkeep costs, and that the
Revised card will not affect Circles which are xxxxlaced to another color.
Goblin Balloon Brigade:
Does not grant flying to all goblins, just this one card. [PPG Page
225/Revised Card Text]
Can power it up repeatedly during a turn. This has no additional effect,
but can use up a red mana each time. [Aahz]
Goblin King:
Grants the abilities to all cards which say "Summon Goblins" and not
itself. [PPG Page 225]
The abilities begin once the King is in play and immediately cease if it
leaves play.
Grants these abilities to Goblins owned by all player. [Snark]
Helm of Chatzuk:
This is a targeted effect so it must have a target in order to be used.
[Aahz 7/29/94]
The Hive:
The Wasps created by the Hive are artifact creatures. [Car Text]
The Wasp is not a card, it is a token. There are a lot of rulings on
token creatures in the Token Creatures section of the General Rulings
Summary. Go read those for more information.
Hurkyl's Recall:
Retrieves all artifacts owned by the target player regardless of who
controls them. Ignores artifacts owned by other players even if target
player has control of them.
Treat the word "discarded" as saying "destroyed". [Aahz 7/29/94]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Hurricane:
This is not a targeted spell, and so it may be cast when there are no
creatures in play. [bethmo]
Hypnotic Specter:
Must do at least 1 point of damage to cause opponent to discard because
the effect is a property of the damage. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
If damage is redirected to opponent by some spell or effect and is not
prevented, opponent must discard a card as if he were attacked
directly. Equally, if damage is redirected away from the player, no
card needs to be discarded. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
If a player discards due to the Specter and later that turn retroactively
removes the damage (Simulacrum or other effect), the player does not
get the card back. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
Ice Storm:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Icy Manipulator:
Opponent gets a chance to use the card being Manipulated during the same
instant if he/she so wishes. The "no effect" text can be easily
misread. It means that your tapping has no effect, not that your
opponent cannot respond by using the card to some effect (if that would
be a legal action).
Can only target an untapped card. It cannot be used on an already tapped
card in order to use up mana, and if the card taps after being targeted
but before resolution then the Icy effect fizzles. [bethmo 7/9/94]
The text was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the Limited
Edition to include the "no effect" statement.
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Illusionary Mask:
There are a lot of rules dealing with face-down creatures. See the
Face-Down Creatures section of the General Rulings Summary for those
rulings.
This card does not affect in any way the original spell casting cost
(amounts or colors). It just allows you to spend X additional mana of
any color to disguise what the real cost was. [Card Text]
If the Mask is destroyed, the creatures still remain face-down until one
of the conditions of turning it over are met. [bethmo]
Only usable on summoned creatures, not on artifact creatures or animated
lands. [bethmo] Similarly, it can't be used for Resurrected or
Animated creatures.
The true casting cost of the spell can be masked. If your opponent wants
to Spell Blast the creature, they need to guess at the casting cost of
the creature exactly. Overspending on Spell Blast will cause it to
fizzle. [Aahz 6/24/94]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Instill Energy:
The creature so instilled cannot be tapped, untapped, and then tapped
again all in the same instant. It may be tapped for some effect, and
then untapped by the Instill Energy during the resolution of that batch
of effects. [bethmo]
Any enchantments (or other effects) which are on the creature that would
cause it to not be untapped (or have a cost to be untapped) during
untap phase do not in any way hinder or imply a cost to use the
ability to untap once during the turn. [bethmo]
If cast on a creature the same turn it is summoned, the creature may
attack that turn. [Card Text] It may not be tapped for special
abilities because the card does not say that it can. [bethmo]
If played on an opponent's creature, the creature will be untapped during
the controller of the creature's untap phase (unless prevented) and can
be untapped during the controller of the enchantment's turn. [bethmo]
Invisibility:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Ironclaw Orcs:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Island Fish Jasconius:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Island Sanctuary:
Only skip drawing one of your cards on a given turn to get the Sanctuary.
If Howling Mine is in play, you only get to forego one of the draws,
but you cannot look at the first card before deciding. [bethmo
5/30/94]
If you have multiple Sanctuaries in play, you may decline to draw a card
for each of them. [Aahz]
Does not count as an Island for any spell which expects Islands.
[bethmo]
The Alpha printing of the Limited edition version of this card only
prevented damage from creatures that are not flying or IslandWalking.
All other printings prevent such creatures from even being used to
attack. The distinction is subtle, but with the non-Alpha versions you
can use the Nettling Imp or Siren's Call to kill off creatures since
they cannot attack you. [bethmo]
The text was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the Limited
Edition.
Ivory Tower:
You can take the bonus life points at any time during your upkeep. This
means that you may cast spells after gaining life, and that if a Black
Vise is in play, you may gain life, cast spells, and then take damage
from the Vise with (hopefully) fewer cards in your hand.
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Jade Statue:
It can only be a creature during attack phases and therefore can only
have instants and interrupts cast upon it. Enchantments cannot be used
at that time, and so no Enchant Creature spells are usable on the
Statue. [PPG Page 223]
Paying mana to use it for defense does not tap it. [bethmo]
It is legal to power it up even if it is already a creature. This has no
effect other than to use up 2 mana. [Aahz]
It cannot be used for attack the turn in which it is created. [WotC
Rules Team] The Pocket Player's Guide FAQ incorrectly says that you
can. Ignore it. [Duelist's Supplement, 5/94]
The statue is destroyed at the end of the turn if it attacks when
Berserked. [Snark] Similarly for any other effect which kills it at
the end of the turn, even though it is not a creature then. [bethmo]
If Animate Artifact is used on it, you get a 4/4 artifact creature which
becomes a 3/6 artifact creature during an attack phase if 2 mana are
spent. [bethmo] While animated, it can have enchantments placed on
it. Once the Animate Artifact is removed, all Enchant Creatures will
be removed because they no longer apply. [Page 23]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Jandor's Ring:
When used with Howling Mine, Ancestral Recall, etc. you must draw one
card at a time and decide with each card if you want to use the Ring.
You do not draw all the cards then decide to use the Ring on one of
them. [Snark]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Jandor's Saddlebags:
Only in the Revised edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Jayemdae Tome:
It can be used to draw a card during your upkeep phase. This may give
you one chance to get a card to prevent damage caused during upkeep.
[Snark]
Can only be used once a turn because tapping is part of the cost of using
it. [Card Text]
In the Limited and Unlimited edition, the term "Mono Artifact" was used
to indicate that tapping was part of the use cost.
Juggernaut:
Invisibility can make the Juggernaut unblockable. The "can only be
blocked by walls" of Invisibility does not override the text on the
Juggernaut which says it cannot be blocked by walls. [bethmo]
There is no penalty if for some reason the Juggernaut cannot attack, but
if it can attack you must do so. [bethmo 8/5/94]
Jump:
Cannot be used after a blocker is assigned in order to avoid being
blocked. (See the Attack Sequence section of the General Rulings
Summary for more information.)
Karma:
Is considered one source of white damage and the damage comes in one
packet. [Aahz 7/29/94]
The text was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the Limited
Edition.
Kird Ape:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Kormus Bell:
Lands are now Creature-Lands and while being creatures in all senses are
also lands. [Snark]
This does mean lands owned by any and all players.
New lands of this type played out cannot be tapped to attack until they
are in play at the beginning of your turn (as per the creature rules).
They may still be tapped for mana though. [WotC Rules Team]
Lands in play at the beginning of a turn in which they are animated may
be tapped for mana or to attack immediately. [WotC Rules Team]
Wrath of God will destroy them without possibility of regeneration.
Nevinyrral's Disk and Armageddon will destroy them.
With Balance, consider them both as lands and as creatures. Just remove
whatever you have to in order to achieve "balance". And yes, this does
mean that they get double-counted :-(
Affected by Smoke and Winter Orb. [bethmo]
Consecrate Land does not protect the land from being affected by the
Bell. [bethmo]
A living Consecrated Land cannot be destroyed. It is effectively an
unkillable 1/1 creature. [Snark] (See Consecrate Land for more
information.)
Kudzu:
If the land with Kudzu on it is destroyed by some spell or effect (rather
than tapping) Kudzu is placed in the graveyard. [Snark]
Replace the word "may" with "must" on the card. Kudzu must be moved to
another land when it is activated. [Snark]
Yes, you can move it to any other player's land whenever you get to move
it. [Card text]
Leaves play once there are no lands which it can be placed on.
Consecrated lands are protected. [bethmo]
Treat "discarded" as "destroyed" and also note that a card which destroys
itself cannot have that destruction prevented. [WotC Rules Team]
Although the person making choices with this spell changes regularly, the
"controller" of the enchantment always is the caster. See General
Rulings.
Lance:
Playing this on a creature which already has First Strike has no effect.
There is no such thing as double First Strike. [Aahz]
Library of Leng:
If you are forced to discard from your hand you may discard to the top of
your library. This cannot be done with a discard of a card in play.
[bethmo]
You can discard to the top of the libary when using Bazaar of Badhdad,
Sindbad or Wheel of Fortune because they are forcing you to discard.
[Aahz 7/26/94]
You cannot discard to the top of the library when using Land's Edge because
this is a voluntary rather than forced discard. [Aahz 7/25/94]
The Limited and Unlimited versions of this card would not allow you to
discard during discard phase even if you had more than 7 cards in your
hand. The Revised version of this card causes you to skip the discard
phase entirely. This distinction is very subtle, but the Revised card
allows you to avoid spells such as Cursed Rack.
If the Limited or Unlimited edition Library of Leng is destroyed during
the discard phase, then you must discard down to 7 cards as per
normal.
Lich:
This can only be played on yourself, not on opponents. [PPG Page 221]
You cannot destroy a creature which has lethal damage on it if you take
damage at the same time. [bethmo]
Cards destroyed by taking damage generate death events and in all ways are
similar to normal destroy actions. [bethmo]
Cards are destroyed by the player and not by the Lich. So Protection
from Black has no effect. [bethmo]
The phrase "You lose if this enchantment is destroyed" is an absolute
statement. Casting a Healing Salve or using a "lucky charm" after the
destruction will not save you. [WotC Rules Team 1/29/94]
A Lich player is not affected by loss of life effects such as Shahrazad,
the death of a Personal Incarnation, or anything else like that.
[Aahz 7/12/94]
If you play Simulacrum after destroying some cards, you do not get them
back. [bethmo]
If you have multiple Lich cards in play, you must destroy 1 card for each
damage done to you for each Lich. Similarly, you draw 1 card for
each life gained for each Lich.
Note that because a Lich has no life points, "loss of life" effects do
nothing to a Lich. This means that Channel cannot be used, Personal
Incarnation death and losing in a Shahrazad game do not harm the Lich,
and Ali from Cairo cannot help because the Lich does not lose life.
[Aahz 6/6/94]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Lifeforce:
The Limited/Unlimited edition version of the card says "destroys a black
spell as it is being cast" but should be read as "counters a black
spell". [bethmo]
Lifetap:
This card gives one life for each and every Forest tapped. [bethmo]
Since it detects a Forest becoming tapped, it even works if the Forest is
tapped with Twiddle or Icy Manipulator.
It also works if the land being tapped is only part Forest or "counts as
a Forest" regardless of what mana type it is tapped for. [Aahz 7/28/94]
Living Artifact:
Tokens are associated with the Living Artifact card so, tokens go away if
the enchantment is removed. This is errata to the card which says that
the tokens go on the artifact. [Duelist Magazine #2, page 68]
If you have two or more in play, you may trade in one token from each.
[WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
If you have two or more in play on the same artifact, they cannot use
each other's tokens. [Aahz]
You can play it on your opponent's artifacts. The controller of the
enchantment (not the controller of the artifact) uses the Living
Artifact ability. [bethmo]
Living Lands:
Living Lands is identical in effect to the Kormus Bell (except it
animates Forests instead of Swamps), so see its entry for rulings.
Living Wall:
The card says "Counts as a wall" and it means that it is a Wall in all
ways. [bethmo 05/03/94]
Llanowar Elves:
A green mana symbol was put in place of the words "green mana" between the
Limited/Unlimited and Revised editions of this card. The Revised edition
card cannot be affected by Sleight of Mind. [Aahz 7/29/94]
Lord of Atlantis:
Does not grant the abilities to itself. [PPG Page 225]
The abilities begin once the Lord is in play and immediately cease if it
leaves play.
Grants the abilities to all Merfolk controlled by all players. [Snark]
Lord of the Pit:
If you have a creature, you must sacrifice it. The "or take 7 damage"
option can only be taken if no creature can be sacrificed. [WotC Rules
Team]
You cannot sacrifice the Lord of the Pit to itself. [Snark]
+ You can sacrifice a Lord of the Pit to a different Lord of the Pit, but
you cannot simultaneously sacrifice them to each other. [Aahz 9/14/94]
A sacrifice of a creature cannot be prevented by either player. [Page
21]
Can select creatures with Protection from Black to be sacrificed. [Aahz]
COP:Black can be used to avoid damage from not paying the upkeep.
[Snark]
Lure:
Opponent does not have to power special effects in an attempt to make all
creatures block the Lured creature. For example, you do not need to
power a Goblin Balloon Brigade to block a flying creature with Lure,
but if you do power it, the Brigade must block. [bethmo]
If a Lured creature is in a band, only blockers able to block the Lured
creature are affected by the Lure. [bethmo]
Magical Hack:
Alters all occurrences of a land word on the given card. These words
must occur in the text box on the card. Any card without such a word
is not a valid target for this spell. [WotC Rules Team]
Cannot Hack proper nouns (i.e. card names) such as Island Fish Jasconius.
[WotC Rules Team]
The card forgets the change if it goes to the graveyard or is Unsummoned.
[Chris Page] In a multiplayer game, this means it persists even after
the player who cast the Magical Hack leaves the game.
Magnetic Mountain:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Manabarbs:
Each land tapped acts a new instance of damage, but all damage is from
the same source. [bethmo]
The Limited/Unlimited edition version did damage whenever a land was
tapped. The Revised edition version only does damage when the land
is tapped for mana. [Aahz 7/29/94]
Mana Flare:
When used with multilands produces 2 of one color, not one of each.
[bethmo 5/12/94]
When used with Urza's lands (and other colorless producing lands) they
produce one extra colorless mana each. [bethmo 5/12/94]
Only produces extra mana when land is tapped for mana, not when tapped by
Twiddle or for some other effect. [bethmo]
Mana Short:
Since this is an instant, your opponent may use any fast effects in
response to the casting of this spell. Note that such effects will be
resolved before the mana pool is emptied by the Mana Short. [bethmo]
The text was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the Limited
Edition.
Mana Vault:
Can be untapped at any time at the cost of 4 mana. [bethmo]
Does one damage if it ends your upkeep in the tapped state regardless of
whether it was untapped at some point during that upkeep. [Aahz
6/6/94]
Cannot untap the Mana Vault using mana from a Basalt Monolith or Mana Vault.
[WotC Rules Team 7/27/94]
Meekstone:
Note that creatures with power>2 cannot untap once they become tapped,
but since they do not tap when blocking, these creatures are still
useful for defense.
Does not prevent cards from being untapped outside the untap phase.
[bethmo]
Mijae Djinn:
If Nettling Imp, Siren's Call or similar effect is used on the Djinn and
the coin toss fails, then it does not attack and will be killed at the
end of the turn. [bethmo]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Millstone:
Library of Leng has no effect on the Millstone because cards are moved to
the graveyard. They are not "discarded". [bethmo]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Mishra's War Machine:
You may choose to take damage or to discard. You cannot avoid taking
damage if you have no cards to discard. [bethmo]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Mox Emerald, Jet, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Natural Selection:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Nether Shadow:
Note that bringing the Shadow back into play from the graveyard is not a
spell, it is a special ability. It cannot be counterspelled. [bethmo
5/14/94]
The Limited/Unlimited edition version of this card required the payment
of its casting cost in order to return it to play. The Revised edition
version returns to play for free. [Aahz 7/29/94]
Nettling Imp:
Creature nettled is destroyed if it cannot attack. This includes a Sea
Serpent which cannot attack if opponent has no Islands, non-flying
creatures which cannot attack if the opponent has an Island Sanctuary,
or if the creature is tapped before it is nettled. [Aahz]
Creature does not have to attack immediately, but it must attack if it is
not prevented from doing so (by being tapped already, by being tapped
for a special ability afterwards, or due to some effect). If it does
not attack, it is destroyed. [PPG Page 224]
It can nettle a tapped creature. [Snark]
Cannot nettle a creature with Protection from Black. [bethmo]
Cannot nettle any Wall, even an Animated one. [bethmo]
Creatures can regenerate if they die from being nettled.
Creatures which are brought into play by means other than Summoning
(casting from your hand) are not valid targets for the Imp. The card
should be treated as if it reads "May not be used on creatures which
cannot attack because they were not in play on their controller's side
at the beginning of the turn." [Duelist Magazine #2, page 68]
The "should be played" text can be misinterpreted. If you choose to
nettle a creature, it must be done before the player's attack phase.
[Aahz 6/6/94]
Nevinyrral's Disk:
Creatures can be regenerated although the enchantments on them will still
be destroyed by the Disk. [PPG Page 222]
Nightmare:
The Beta printing version of this card has a blotch over the word Swamp
that is not in any of the other printings.
Northern Paladin:
Treat the word "cancel" as saying "counter". [Aahz 7/29/94]
Onulet:
Only works when a card goes to the graveyard from play, not from a
player's hand. At that time, the card is not an artifact.
[Duelist Magazine #2, page 14]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Orcish Artillery:
COP:Red can be used to avoid damage from the artillery. Makes it a nice
2 point directed attack.
You do not take the 3 points of damage if the effect fizzles. [Aahz
6/6/94]
The Alpha printing version of this card had a casting cost of "1R". All
further printings have has a "1RR" casting cost.
Orcish Oriflamme:
The casting cost on the Alpha printing version of this card was just
"1R", and not "3R" as appears in all other printings.
Ornithopter:
The zero casting cost is not a misprint.
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Paralyze:
Note that enchantment is permanent. It does not leave once it is paid.
This is a common mistake.
Because Paralyze is paid during upkeep, the creature does avoid
restrictions on the untap phase such as Smoke, and can untap when
Stasis is in effect, or untap around the Meekstone. [bethmo]
As with all upkeep costs, you may pay it only once per turn. [bethmo
5/30/94]
It is not mandatory that you pay the mana cost. It is optional, but must
be paid in order to untap.
If two Paralyzes are on a creature, 8 mana must be spent to untap it.
[Snark]
The creature becomes tapped when Paralyze is resolved, not when it is
declared. [Aahz 7/29/94]
The Limited and Unlimited versions of this card said to pay the mana
during the untap phase. This is not valid under the Revised rules and
so it should be paid during the upkeep phase, just like the Revised
version of the card states. [PPG Page 113]
Personal Incarnation:
The loss of life caused when the Incarnation dies cannot be prevented by
any spell or effect. It is not damage, and it is not prevented by the
Conservator, Circle of Protection, Reverse Damage or anything else.
[PPG Page 113]
You do not lose life if Swords to Plowshares is used on it. [Snark]
If the Incarnation has Creature Bond on it, when it dies, the controller
of the Incarnation decides whether to lose the Creature Bond damage
before or after the Incarnation's loss of life. [WotC Rules Team]
If two Incarnations die at once, you lose half of your life, then half of
what is left. [WotC Rules Team]
+ Note that the owner of the Incarnation loses life when it is destroyed,
not the controller. So if you control your opponent's Incarnation you
can let it die to make them lose life. [bethmo 9/9/94]
Note that loss of life only occurs if Incarnation goes to the graveyard from
play, not from your hand. [Duelist Magazine #2, page 68]
Pestilence:
It is legal to power it up with X for an X mana single damage or for X
sequential attacks of 1 damage because it says "B:Effect". [bethmo]
Each usage is considered a new "damage effect". As above, a usage may be
1 or more points of damage. [bethmo]
It goes away at the end of the turn if no creatures are in play, even if
a new creature (such as a Rukh) comes into existence at the end of turn
also. [Snark]
The word "discarded" should be read as "destroyed". [PPG Page 113]
Phantasmal Forces:
Paying the upkeep is optional, but if you do not pay it the Forces are
placed in the graveyard. [Aahz]
The Alpha printing version of this card had a 'U' where the blue mana
symbol is on all further printings.
Phantasmal Terrain:
Only the basic land types can be declared. Multilands are not basic
types nor are the expansion set lands. However, multilands and
expansion set land cards are valid targets for the spell. [bethmo]
A changed land is considered to be the new land type in all ways. This
is not just a change of name. It changes the color of mana produced
and removes any and all special abilities the land may otherwise have
had. [bethmo 6/21/94]
This change lasts until another spell or effect overrides it, or until
the enchantment is removed. [bethmo 5/3/94] This works just like all
other enchantments.
Plague Rats:
"Rats in play" means rats in play by any and all players.
Power Sink:
Only lands and mana pool must be expended. Artifacts and other mana
sources need not be used to counter this spell. [bethmo]
Special lands (even if they provide no mana) must be tapped in an attempt
to pay the Sink (if you cannot or do not pay by other sources). If the
land provides mana only for specific purposes (like Mishra's Workshop),
the land is tapped but does not contribute to the X mana you have to
pay. [bethmo]
Does not increase the casting cost of the spell. It just requires a
separate expenditure in order for it to succeed. [bethmo 5/5/94]
Power Surge:
Does damage during upkeep, but damage amount depends on number of
untapped lands at the start of your turn. [PPG Page 113]
Is considered one source of red damage and damage comes in one packet.
[bethmo]
Primal Clay:
Clones and Doppelgangers of this card may not choose a different form
than the original. [bethmo]
Should say "When you bring Primal Clay into play" and not "When Primal
Clay is cast" in order to cover Resurrection and other ways to bring
the creature into play. [Aahz 7/29/94]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Prodigal Sorcerer:
As always "a target" includes any creature or player.
Psionic Blast:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Psychic Venom:
Whenever the land is tapped for any reason (including by Twiddle or Icy
Manipulator), damage is done. [bethmo]
The Rack:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Raging River:
Two Raging Rivers result in one extra long river. Not more splits.
[Snark]
This is not a targeted spell. [bethmo]
Opponent chooses which side of the river each creature is on before you
even choose what creatures you are attacking with. [bethmo]
When using Jade Statue, the defender does not have to decide which side
it is on until it actually becomes a creature, which will happen after
attackers are declared. [bethmo]
The wording on this card uses "defending" creature in a way that does not
make sense under the Revised edition rules. Treat it as saying
"defending player's creatures". [Aahz 6/6/94]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Raise Dead:
You must show the card you bring out of the graveyard to your opponent.
[bethmo]
You can Raise Dead a creature which was discarded from your hand and was
therefore never in play.
Reconstruction:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Red Elemental Blast:
The Alpha printing of the Limited edition had this card as an Instant.
Because it is able to counter other spells, it is played as an
Interrupt regardless. It is an Interrupt in all other printings.
Regrowth:
You must show the card you bring out of the graveyard to your opponent.
[bethmo]
You can Regrow a card which was discarded from your hand and was
therefore never in play.
Resurrection:
Resurrected creatures cannot be tapped to attack or to use a special
effect on the turn in which they come into play.
Treat the creature like it has been summoned but with zero applied to any
'X' in the casting cost. So, a Resurrected Clone would get to choose a
creature to copy and a Resurrected Rock Hydra would have zero heads.
[PPG Page 92]
No creature (including the Serra Angel) can attack on the turn in which
it is Resurrected because there is a rule that a creature cannot attack
until it begins a turn in play on your side. [Page 25]
You can Resurrect a creature which was discarded from your hand and was
therefore never in play.
Reverse Damage:
This can be played when the damage occurs (as a form of damage
prevention) or later in the same turn to retroactively remove damage.
If used later in the turn, any effects that were caused by the damage
(i.e. Hypnotic Specter, Drain Life, etc.) are not undone. [bethmo]
If a source does damage to you multiple times in the same turn, you can
reverse all of it, not just one time. [Card Text]
Actually removes damage when it gives you life, so you gain nothing by
casting two of these in a row. [WotC Rules Team]
When being used to retroactively affect damage, it is not targeted. This
means that it can be used even if you have taken no damage this turn,
in order to waste the spell. [bethmo 6/6/94]
Can be used on damage from mana burn. [bethmo 8/12/94]
Reverse Polarity:
Actually removes damage when it gives you life, so you gain nothing by
casting two of these in a row. [WotC Rules Team]
When being used to retroactively affect damage, it is not targeted. This
means that it can be used even if you have taken no damage this turn,
in order to waste the spell. [bethmo 6/6/94]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Righteousness:
Can only be used during the attack phase on a blocking creature because
it says "defending" creature. [Aahz 6/6/94]
The benefits last until the end of the turn like all instants.
Rocket Launcher:
Because it does not have tapping as part of its activation cost, you can
power it many times in one turn, but it is destroyed at the end of any
turn in which you use it. [Card Text]
Can be powered for more than one point of damage in a single activation
by putting in all the mana at once. [bethmo]
Can choose different targets for each use. [bethmo]
Can be animated and enchanted with Regeneration to become reusable.
Guardian Beast can prevent it from being destroyed. This gets around the
normal "a card which destroys itself cannot be prevented" rule because
the Launcher is destroyed at the end of the turn, rather than as an
effect on itself. [Aahz]
Only in Revised edition. (Migrated from Antiquities)
Rock Hydra:
The Rock Hydra loses tokens instead of taking damage until it runs out of
tokens. Then damage is applied normally. By spending R, the damage is
actually being prevented. Losing a token is another way to prevent the
damage. So damage does not accumulate in either of these cases. [WotC
Rules Team 1/24/94]
Since the Hydra loses heads due to damage before accumulating damage
points, instants like Giant Growth are not totally useful with a Rock
Hydra. A Hydra with 4 heads and a Giant Growth is 7/7, but after
taking 4 damage (without paying the mana to keep the heads) it will
lose all of its heads and die once the Giant Growth wears off.
[bethmo]
Regeneration does not make much sense with the Hydra. It loses a head
each time it dies until it reaches 0/0. Regenerating the creature
results in a creature with exactly as many +1/+1 tokens as it had when
it died. If it died due to taking damage, it will have no tokens,
hence it will, be 0/0 and will only live if its toughness is increased
by something like Castle. If, however, it dies by say Blue Elemental
Blast, it could indeed regenerate and keep its tokens. [Chris Page]
When it dies it "forgets" how many heads it had, so Resurrection, Animate
Dead and other cards which pull out of the graveyard result in a 0/0
creature. This creature will only live if its toughness is increased
by something like Castle. [PPG Page 92]
Note that once a spell is case, any X is considered to be zero when
calculating its casting cost. [PPG Page 56] This means that
Metamorphosis on a Hydra gives only 2 mana.
The Alpha printing version of this card had 'R's where the red mana
symbols are on all further printings.
Royal Assassin:
As with all targeted effects, the requirements for targeting are checked
when declaring the effect and when resolving it. So, if the creature
is no longer tapped (it untaps by Twiddle or other effect) when the
Assassin is resolved, then the effect fizzles. [Aahz]
Cannot target a creature with Protection from Black. [bethmo]
You can kill your own creatures. [bethmo]
Sacrifice:
Cannot be used on a creature with lethal damage, but can be used before
the creature receives the damage. [bethmo]
Sacrificing an animated artifact gives the casting cost of the artifact.
[bethmo]
Sacrificing an animated land gives no mana since casting cost was zero.
Sacrifice does not give any mana for the enchantments on the creature.
[bethmo]
+ The Revised edition version of this card actually sacrifices the creature,
and since sacrifices cannot be prevented , this can be used even on
creatures with Protection from Black. The Limited and Unlimited edition
versions of this card merely "destroy without possibility of regeneration"
and so cannot be used on creatures with Protection from Black.
[Aahz 9/12/94]
Scavenging Ghouls:
They gather tokens at the end of the turn so they cannot gather tokens
for dead creatures until that point. Note that they still get to claim
tokens even if summoned after the creatures died. [bethmo]
The Ghouls do not gain for cards "removed from the game".
Sedge Troll:
The artist's name was incorrectly listed on the Alpha printing version of
this card.
Sengir Vampire:
Gets tokens when creatures go to the graveyard. If it dies at the same
time as a creature it killed, it does not get the token. If it
regenerates or otherwise lives past the creature being killed, it gets
the token. [bethmo]
Serendib Efreet:
Due to a printing error, this card has a green background and the picture
of the Ifh-Biff Efreet while having the blue casting cost and
characteristics of the Serendib Efreet.
It is a blue card because casting cost sets the color, not the
background. [WotC Rules Team]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Serra Angel:
Although not tapped to attack, it must follow the rule all creatures do
that it cannot attack in the same turn in which it comes into play.
Shatter:
Regenerating artifacts can regenerate from this because this is a simple
"destroy" which is the same as being killed. [Snark]
Shatterstorm:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Simulacrum:
All damage retains its color when you assign it to a creature. [Snark]
Cannot be cast unless there is a creature to target the damage to.
[bethmo 6/6/94] Note that it will fizzle if the creature becomes an
invalid target after it is declared but before it is resolved.
You cannot Simulacrum damage to a creature with Protection from Black
because this is a black spell and cannot target such a creature. [WotC
Rules Team 1/24/94]
You can Simulacrum damage due to an unblocked or trampling creature to
another creature involved in the attack, even if that creature has
already taken fatal damage, because creatures are not removed until
after damage prevention is allowed. [WotC Rules Team 1/24/94] (Note
that this only works during the damage prevention step... once
resolution is over the creature is removed.)
You cannot Simulacrum Loss of Life to a creature, just damage. [Card
Text]
Can be used (in its retroactive damage removal mode) even if no damage
has been taken this turn. [bethmo 6/6/94]
Simulacrum does not grant regeneration ability to the target creature, it
just allows any existing regeneration ability to be used. [bethmo]
Sinkhole:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Siren's Call:
This cannot be used after an attack. The word "should" should be
interpreted as "can only". [bethmo]
The creatures affected must attack unless prevented from doing so (by
being tapped already, by being tapped for a special ability, or
otherwise prevented). [PPG Page 224]
Creatures Called are destroyed if they cannot attack. This includes a
Sea Serpent which cannot attack if opponent has no Islands, non-flying
creatures which cannot attack if the opponent has an active Island
Sanctuary, or if the creature is tapped before it is nettled. [Aahz]
Kills creatures even if they were tapped before card was played. [Snark]
Creatures can regenerate if they die due to not attacking.
Only creatures in play when the spell is cast are affected. This means
that the Jade Statue and any creatures which come into play after this
spell is cast are not affected. [bethmo]
Creatures which are brought into play by means other than Summoning
(casting from your hand) are not valid targets for the Call. Treat this
card as if it said "does not affect creatures which cannot attack
because they were not in play on their controller's side at the beginning
of the turn." [Duelist Magazine #2, page 68]
Sleight of Mind:
Alters all occurrences of the color word on the given card. These words
must occur in the text box on the card. Any card without such a word
is not a valid target for this spell. [WotC Rules Team]
You cannot Sleight proper nouns (i.e. card names). This means that you
cannot affect Black Vise. [WotC Rules Team]
Change lasts until the card so-changed is taken out of play. In a
multiplayer game, this means it persists even after the player who cast
the Sleight of Mind leaves the game. The card forgets the change if it
goes to the graveyard or is Unsummoned. [Chris Page]
This spell can be used to change the "flavor text" (the italicized text)
on the card. This has no game effect but uses up the spell. [bethmo]
Smoke:
Lands animated by Living Lands or Kormus Bell are affected by this
spell.
Does not prevent cards from being untapped outside the untap phase.
[bethmo]
Sorceress Queen:
It changes the text on the card to read 0/2. Any counters or
enchantments which improve (or weaken) the creature's combat values
remain in effect. [WotC Rules Team 1/24/94] Note that this may
actually make a Rock Hydra stronger or kill a creature with two or more
-1/-1 tokens on it.
May not target herself since it says "another creature" rather than "any
creature". [bethmo]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Soul Net:
Can catch discard from play or destroy events on creatures. [bethmo] This
card can be used whenever a creature goes to the graveyard from play.
[Card Text]
It cannot be used on creatures which are Disintegrated, Swords to
Plowshared or otherwise removed from the game.
If animated, it cannot be used for its own destruction since it will not
be in play after it goes to the graveyard. [Aahz 6/6/94]
Stasis:
Does not prevent cards from being untapped outside the untap phase.
[bethmo]
Steal Artifact:
Can steal artifact creatures. [bethmo]
The word "discarded" should be replaced with "until enchantment is
removed". [WotC Rules Team]
Stone Giant:
The Giant can throw itself (if its power is enhanced). [bethmo] This
does not seem to do any good since you now have a tapped flying Giant,
but it might be useful sometime.
Swords to Plowshares:
The creature does not die and therefore cannot be regenerated or drive
any effect which is triggered by a creature dying (including Creature
Bond, Personal Incarnation, Soul Net, etc.). The creature just leaves
the game. [bethmo]
The controller of the creature may decide to "pump up" the creature
before it leaves in order to get more life out of the deal because the
total power of the creature (including enchantments and such) is
counted.
If the creature has a negative power, the player does not lose life. It
the same as if it had a power of zero. [Aahz]
Terror:
As with all targeted effects, the requirements for targeting are checked
when declaring the effect and when resolving it. So, if the creature
is becomes a black or artifact creature after this spell is declared
and before it is resolved, then the effect fizzles.
Thicket Basilisk:
Creatures can regenerate from the Basilisk's power.
If the Basilisk is killed before damage dealing but after blocking or
being assigned blockers, the blockers still die. [bethmo]
If a group (or banded group) is used to block a Basilisk (or a group
banded with a Basilisk), all of the non-wall defenders are killed via
the Basilisk's power. [Garfield]
Protection from Green does not prevent the Basilisk's power because it is
not a targeted effect. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
An attacking Animated Wall which is blocked by a Basilisk dies since only
blocking walls (not attacking ones) are protected from the Basilisk's
power. [Card Text]
First Strike ability (if given to the Basilisk) only applies to damage
dealing. The "destroys all blockers" ability still happens after all
other damage dealing. [Aahz 5/23/94]
The Limited and Unlimited versions of Fog do not prevent the Basilisk's
power from working. The Revised version does prevent it. (see Fog).
Timetwister:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Time Vault:
Can use Twiddle to untap without skipping a turn. [Snark]
Instill Energy works similarly once the Vault is Animated with Animate
Artifact. [bethmo]
The card says to "skip a turn to untap it". You must skip a turn. On
your following turn, it untaps during your untap phase.
If you have multiple Time Vaults, you must skip a turn for each one you
wish to untap, not one turn to untap them all. [bethmo]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Time Walk:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Titania's Song:
Is not prevented by Guardian Beast. [bethmo]
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Antiquities.)
Tranquility:
The word "discarded" should be read as "destroyed". [PPG Page 113]
Destroys all cards that read "Enchant xxx" as well as those reading
"Enchantment". [bethmo]
Twiddle:
Can be used to untap the Time Vault without skipping a turn [Snark]
Tapping an artifact deactivates it. [Page 22]
Opponent gets a chance to use the card being Twiddled during the same
instant if he/she so wishes. The "no effect" text can be easily
misread. It means that your tapping has no effect, not that your
opponent cannot respond by using the card to some effect (if that would
be a legal action). Note that any enchantments on the card will still
generate effect when the card is tapped.
Twiddle to tap can only target an untapped card and Twiddle to untap can
only target a tapped card. [bethmo 7/9/94]
Note that this is not a toggle effect. If you use Twiddle to tap a card
and before it takes effect your opponent taps it, Twiddle will not
untap the card. [bethmo]
The text was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the Limited
Edition to add the "no effect" statement.
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Two-Headed Giant of Foriys:
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Unstable Mutation:
Only in the Revised Edition. (Migrated from Arabian Nights.)
Unsummon:
This can be used all the way up to the damage dealing phase of an attack,
but cannot be used after that if the creature was killed. [Snark]
Unsummoning an Animate Dead creature pulls it into the owner's hand.
[Snark]
If this causes an opponent to go over 7 cards when it is not their turn
they need not discard until the discard phase of their next turn.
An Unsummoned creature forgets its entire previous life.
Unsummoning a token creature just removes it from the game. [bethmo]
The word "discarded" should be read as "destroyed". [PPG Page 113]
The text was changed between the Alpha and Beta printings of the Limited
Edition.
Vesuvan Doppelganger:
There are many rulings related to this card in the Copy Cards section of
the General Rulings. Go read those first.
The Doppelganger of an artifact creature can be Shattered or Disenchanted.
Can only switch creatures once per upkeep phase.
[Duelist Magazine #2, page 15]
If switches away from a creature, any upkeep costs on that creature need
not be paid. If switching to a creature, the upkeep costs must be paid
before the end of upkeep (if the creature has any). [bethmo]
Animating a dead Doppelganger gets all the Doppelganger's abilities but
it mimics at -1 power. [WotC Rules Team 2/7/94]
The "normal characteristics" text means that you treat the Doppelganger
as having the exact same text on it as the original card had. This
includes name, casting cost, power/toughness, etc. It does not gain
any enhancements the original creature may have had temporarily through
Instants like Giant Growth or through Enchantments. [bethmo]
Whenever it changes creatures, it "resets" and loses any tokens or other
gains it made as the creature it was originally copying. [WotC Rules
Team] It does not lose tokens due to enchantments or other effects
when it switches. Only the ones gained due to its creature type are
removed. [WotC Rules Team]
A Doppelganger of a Clone is just a copy of the creature the Clone
copied.[PPG Page 224]
When the Doppelganger switches creatures, the creature it used to be is
considered to have left play. This means that if it was a Gaea's
Liege, converted lands revert to their old form, and that if it was
Aladdin, stolen artifacts return to the owner as normal. [bethmo]
The decision of what to copy is part of the casting decisions. [bethmo]
+ The Doppelganger is treated as a Summon Creature card even if it is
copying an artifact creature. Thus, spells that affect Summon Creatures,
such as Dance of Many, can be used on a Doppelganger of anything.
[Aahz 9/15/94]
Veteran Bodyguard:
If a creature is blocked but Trample damage is still done to a player,
this damage cannot be redirected to the Bodyguard because the Bodyguard
only takes damage from unblocked creatures. [bethmo]
If a creature which does Trample damage is not blocked, the damage is
taken by the Bodyguard. The damage loses its Trample nature. [Snark]
Cannot be used against spell or other non-creature attack damage. Note
that the Prodigal Sorcerer and other creatures have non-attack ways to
deliver damage.
Redirected damage retains its color. [Snark]
Using the damage resolution steps (see General Rulings), you may use any
form of damage prevention (including Circles of Protection) on the
damage before it redirects to the Bodyguard. [bethmo]
In the Limited and Unlimited editions, the Bodyguard did not state that
only one of them could take damage during a given turn, so if two (or
more) Veteran Bodyguards are in play (for the same player), each of the
bodyguards takes all of the unblocked damage. [Snark] If a Martyr of
Korlis is in play, unblocked artifact creature damage must go to a
Martyr because its text overrides the Veteran Bodyguard. All other
unblocked creature damage can and will be taken by your Veteran
Bodyguard. [Aahz]
In the Revised edition, only one Bodyguard can take damage during a given
turn, even if one of the other Bodyguards is a Limited or Unlimited
edition one, or if it is a Martyr of Korlis. This means that you may
choose among your various Bodyguards which one takes creature damage
(with Martyrs usable for artifact creature damage). Note that if a
Martyr takes some artifact damage (creature or not) then none of the
other Revised Bodyguards may take damage for you, even if the damage is
not artifact damage.
Volcanic Eruption:
You can power this spell up for more mana than your opponent has
Mountains in play. If you do so, the additional destruction must be
taken from your own Mountains. You cannot do more damage than there
are Mountains available. [PPG Page 223]
Can be used with X equal to zero. This is useful if no Mountains are in
play. [bethmo]
You must pick which Mountains are targeted when the spell is cast. [WotC
Rules Team 2/7/94]
Magical Hack will not allow you to change the targets of this spell
because you chose the targets when the spell was declared and before a
Hack can interrupt it. The Hack will just cause it to fizzle [WotC
Rules Team 2/7/94]
The Limited/Unlimited edition version of this card does X damage even if
the Mountains are removed. This is because the damage is in no way
ties to the number of mountains destroyed, just the number of mountains
originally targeted. The Revised edition version of this card only
does damage for each land destroyed. [bethmo]
Wild Growth:
The Limited and Unlimited versions of this card have the land provide the
mana no matter how it is tapped. This includes tapping it for mana,
tapping to attack (as with a Living Land) or tapping it with Twiddle.
The Revised version of this card has the enchantment provide the mana
only when the land is tapped for mana.
Winter Orb:
Lands animated by Living Lands or Kormus Bell are affected by this
spell.
Word of Command:
The caster of Word of Command controls all aspects of the spell he/she
has the opponent cast, including the amount of mana and target of the
spell. Note that if the spell just enables something, you cannot power
it in addition to casting it. For example, you cannot cast Pestilence
then tap additional mana to power the card, or summon a Nether Shadow
and declare an attack with it. Spells with an X casting cost have X
decided by the player. [WotC Rules Team 1/24/94]
Since casting this spell is an action, your opponent gets a chance to cast
interrupts and instants in response to your spell. Once the current
batch of effects it resolved, then you can look at your opponent's
hand. Note that if damage occurs during this instant, it must be
resolved before the Commanded spell. [bethmo 5/18/94] It is standard
practice to use up any spells or mana you can before letting your
opponent at your hand.
You opponent cannot counter the Word of Command once he lets you look at
his hand, but he can attempt to counter the spell you force him to
cast. [WotC rules team 1/24/94]
You must order your opponent to cast a spell if it is possible to do so.
[Card Text]
The spell which is cast is considered as being cast by the player
targeted by Word of Command and not by the caster of Word of Command.
[Arab FAQ 1/5/94]
Only land and mana pool are available to the caster. Other sources of
mana are not allowed.
You do get to choose which lands get tapped. [bethmo] This means you can
choose ones with Psychic Venom or other bad effects on them, but does
not allow you to tap a wrong amount of mana (possibly causing mana
burn) is there is a possible way to tap the right amount of mana. For
example, if one Forest and one Forest with Wild Growth are available,
you may not use the one with Wild Growth to cast Giant Growth (cost
'G'). [Aahz]
You may Command your opponent to play a land (if they have not already
done so this turn). [Aahz]
With Channel, the amount of mana converted is not a decision in the
casting of the spell. [WotC Rules Team 1/24/94]
Only in the Limited and Unlimited Editions.
Wrath of God:
White-Warded creatures cannot avoid this spell's effects. Destruction by
means of Wrath of God is not targeted. [Snark]
Zombie Master:
Does not grant the abilities to itself. [PPG Page 225]
The abilities begin once the Master is in play and immediately cease if
it leaves play.
Grant abilities to all Zombies owned by all players. [Snark]
Acknowledgments:
This summary is collected from rulings made by officials and network
representatives of Wizards of the Coast, along with a number of
unofficial rulings also collected from the net. Whenever a source for
a ruling is known, the name of that person is listed with the ruling.
"bethmo" is Beth Moursund, the network representative for the "gg-l"
mailing list. "Aahz" is Tom Wylie, the network representative for the
"rec.games.deckmaster" newsgroup. "Chris Page" was Tom Wylie's
predecessor. "Snark" is Dave Howell of WotC. "Garfield" is Richard
Garfield of WotC. Official rulings from the rules team are marked as
"WotC Rules Team". Rules from the Revised Edition rule book are marked
with "Page #" and rules from the Pocket Player's Guide are marked with
"PPG Page #"
Every attempt has been made to make this summary accurate, but errors do
creep in. Nothing in this work is guaranteed to be accurate. Use at
your own risk.
Magic: The Gathering and all of the cards listed herein are copyrights of
Wizards of the Coast.
J. Hunter Johnson
Stephen D''Angelo <dan...@netcom.com> wrote:
>Disintegrate:
> Disintegrated creatures do go to the graveyard very temporarily before
> leaving the game. They do trigger all effects which happen due to
> a creature going to the graveyard. [Aahz 7/27/94]
>Soul Net:
> It cannot be used on creatures which are Disintegrated, Swords to
> Plowshared or otherwise removed from the game.
These seem to contradict one another. Tom, can we get a re-ruling?
--
J. Hunter Johnson
jhun...@io.com (Illuminati Online)
jeff.j...@columbiasc.ncr.com (Windows Desktop)
"What's the point of trying if you can't be a winner?" -- Calvin (5/7/93)
Joseph William Dixon
: There was a bit of confusion for a while on how exactly Disintegrate
: was supposed to work, caused by its rewording for Revised. The latest
: word is that a Disintegrated creature should be treated as if it had
: never entered the graveyard, so the 7/27/94 ruling is now incorrect,
: and the Soul Net entry is right.
So, this means that creatures/items that are Removed from Game and do
*not* trigger any "death event" related activities? Just want to be
absolutely sure. If not, which are the RfG effects that are exceptions?
[IE which ones do and don't trigger "death events"?]
--
* Joseph W. Dixon *
* aa...@cfn.cs.dal.ca *
Trevor Barrie
>There was a bit of confusion for a while on how exactly Disintegrate
>was supposed to work, caused by its rewording for Revised. The latest
>word is that a Disintegrated creature should be treated as if it had
>never entered the graveyard, so the 7/27/94 ruling is now incorrect,
>and the Soul Net entry is right.
Does this apply to the Runesword as well? (And any other cards with similar
abilities; I believe the Whipperwill is one). On the one hand, the card
wording seems pretty clear that there is a death event; on the other hand, thw
wording is almost identical to that of Disintegrate, so I thought the ruling
was meant to apply here as well.
************************************************************************
Trevor Barrie tbarrie@ "If the gods could build me a ladder
87 Kennedy Drive bud.peinet.pe.ca to the heavens, I'd climb up the
West Royalty, PEI ladder and drop a big elbow on the
C1E 1X7 CANADA (902)628-6845 world." - Cactus Jack
************************************************************************
Tom Wylie
> So, this means that creatures/items that are Removed from Game and do
>...If not, which are the RfG effects that are exceptions?
Simply leaving the game won't trigger any death effects. If a card
just yanks the card directly from the game (Swords to Plowshares,
Ashes to Ashes) then no such effects will be generated. If a card has
to send something to the graveyard before removing it from the game,
(like we thought Disintegrate did, and like Runesword might) then it had
to enter the graveyard, which would have triggered death effects as usual.
Tom Wylie rec.games.deckmaster Network Representative for
aa...@hal.com Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Tom Wylie
>>There was a bit of confusion for a while on how exactly Disintegrate
>>was supposed to work, caused by its rewording for Revised. The latest
>>word is that a Disintegrated creature should be treated as if it had
>>never entered the graveyard, so the 7/27/94 ruling is now incorrect,
>>and the Soul Net entry is right.
>Does this apply to the Runesword as well? (And any other cards with similar
>abilities; I believe the Whipperwill is one). On the one hand, the card
>wording is almost identical to that of Disintegrate, so I thought the ruling
>was meant to apply here as well.
Good question, and one that I keep forgetting to ask. I'll go ask
that now :)