From: Paul Barclay Subject: [O] July Rulings & Errata To: MTG-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM X-UIDL: da147ad99d3a49eec440c479eddb8657 ------- Forwarded message follows ------- July 1998 *Magic*(R) Rulings & Errata A Summary of Recent, Significant Rulings compiled by Beth Moursund GENERAL RULES 1) When a permanent's ability refers to "opponent" and the permanent itself isn't targeted, it refers to an opponent of the player playing the ability, regardless of who controls the permanent. For example, Oath of Scholars reads, "During each player's upkeep, if that player has fewer cards in hand than target opponent, the player may discard his or her hand and draw three cards." Each player plays this ability during his or her own upkeep, choosing one of his or her opponents as the target at the time the ability is played. Contrast this with Miser's Cage, which reads, "At end of target opponent's upkeep, if that player has five or more cards in hand, Misers' Cage deals 2 damage to him or her." Because the target is identified in the first clause, before any conditions or effects, Miser's Cage is a targeted permanent. You choose the target opponent when you play the Cage, and the target can't be changed. Even if your opponent takes control of the Cage, it still targets him or her. 2) If a triggered ability gives a particular player a chance to do something, that player plays the ability, makes all choices for it, and is considered the controller of the ability (even if someone else controls the permanent). When the ability triggers, the player who will play the ability is determined; this information becomes part of the "pseudo-spell" created by the triggered ability and can't be changed. For example, if Pandemonium is in play and you play a creature, but your opponent somehow gains control of the creature before Pandemonium's ability is played, you still play that ability. If a triggered ability gives each player the chance to do something, the ability is played and controlled by the permanent's controller, but each player makes his or her own choices. The active player must choose first. For example, Noble Benefactor's ability is played by its controller, and the nonactive player can wait to see whether the active player searches his or her library before deciding what to do. 3) All asterisks (*) in creatures' power and/or toughness are considered 0 when the creature is not in play. For example, your Volrath's Shapeshifter is 0/0 if Minion of the Wastes is on top of your library. (This simplifies some weird Shapeshifter combinations and questions that rules gurus have been dreaming up and clears the way for possible future cards.) ERRATA 1) Oath of Lieges should read, ". . . put that land into play under his or her control." Similarly, Oath of Druids should read, ". . . puts that creature into play under his or her control . . . ." (Without this errata, the permanents would come into play under the control of the Oath's controller, regardless of who played the ability.) 2) Mogg Assassin should read, "{T}: Flip a coin. Then, if . . . ." Adding "then" allows regeneration spells and abilities to be played. (Without the "then," you'd have to play regeneration spells and abilities before flipping the coin--and because you wouldn't know which creature was going to be destroyed, you couldn't legally play them.) 3) Ebony Charm, Oath of Ghouls, Phyrexian Grimoire, and Sylvan Hierophant now target the card(s) in a graveyard they affect. (The rules state that choices must be made when playing a spell or ability, but the lack of "target" on a few that involved choosing cards from a graveyard has confused players into thinking that such choices are postponed. This errata makes it clearer that the choice must be made when the spell or ability is played.) SPECIFIC CARD RULINGS 1) If Invasion Plans is in play, creatures that require paying a cost to block cannot block. This is true because blocking costs must be paid when blocks are declared, but Invasion Plans causes the attacking player to declare blockers, and that player cannot pay the costs. _EXODUS(TM)_ FAQs 1) Disenchant is not modal, so it will destroy a Transmogrifying Licid even if the Licid changes from artifact to enchantment or vice versa in response to the Disenchant. 2) When Fade Away resolves, each player counts the number of creatures he or she controls, then makes the required number of payments and/or sacrifices. The active player must announce his or her choices first, but all sacrifices and payments take place simultaneously. For example, if you have no mana and permanents in play except 2 creatures, you must sacrifice both of them. Note that you can't play mana sources during the resolution--you must do so before the spell begins to resolve. 3) Pandemonium causes creatures to deal damage equal to their current power (when the ability resolves), not their base power. For example, if Pandemonium and Crusade are in play when a White Knight comes into play, it will do 3 damage. But if the creature leaves play before Pandemonium's ability is played (because of some other triggered ability or mana source), it will do 0 damage. This could occur if, for example, your opponent controls Aether Flash and you bring a creature into play with 1 or 2 toughness during your opponent's turn. Aether Flash's ability will be played first, so the creature will most likely be destroyed before you can play Pandemonium's ability. # # # Paul. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- -- -- Paul Barclay -- -- Magic: the Gathering List NetRep -- -- Churchill College, Cambridge, England CB30DS -- (Phone: 0958-980-180) --