Instructions 1. Instructions are a type of text that appears on spells and within abilities. 2. They describe actions to be performed by one or more players. 3. Instructions will self-describe when they are to be executed. If there is no timing described, they will execute during resolution. Example: An instruction says “as you play me, kill a unit as an additional cost.” That instruction will execute as the card is being played. If the card is given Repeat and the Repeat cost is paid, this instruction will not execute because the Repeat execution does not happen until resolution of the spell, after this instruction has executed. 4. Instructions can usually be recognized by the way they are written. An instruction is written in the imperative mood, using the base form of a verb and omitting the subject unless necessary. 5. A single instruction is made up of a game action and its complement. 5.a. The complement of a game action is made up of the players or Game Objects that perform that game action, that that game action is performed on, the condition under which it is performed, and the duration for its effect to last. Some game actions omit a complement entirely. Example: Void Seeker is made up of two instructions. The first is “deal 4 to a unit at a battlefield.” Here “deal 4” is the game action, while “a unit at a battlefield,” is its complement. The second instruction, “draw 1,” has no complement. Example: Teemo, Strategist’s defend trigger reads “When I defend, choose an enemy unit here and reveal the top 5 cards of your Main Deck. Deal 1 to that unit for each card with Hidden revealed this way, then recycle the revealed cards.” There are four instructions here: “choose an enemy unit here,” “reveal the top 5 cards of your Main Deck,” “deal 1 to that unit for each card with Hidden revealed this way,” and “recycle the revealed cards.” 6. Instructions do not include trigger conditions or the events or actions that a replacement effect defines as being eligible to be replaced. Example: An ability reads “When you play me, draw 1.” The trigger condition for this ability is not an instruction. “Draw 1,” is the only instruction included in the ability. Example: An ability reads “If a unit would die, banish it instead.” The text “If a unit would die,” is not an instruction of the ability. Example: An ability reads “As I’m revealed from your Main Deck, Add [2].” The text “As I’m revealed from your Main Deck,” is not an instruction of the ability.
