Geverifieerde rulings en officieel bevestigde community-inzichten, met per item de volledige bewijsketen: bron, citaat en klikbare §-verwijzingen.
Target – you and you alone choose (other players' choices excluded)
If another player is involved in the choice, the object is not a target. Cull the Weak has no targets because all players are instructed to choose and kill a unit — the choice is not made by you alone. Citaat uit de bron: “Cull the Weak doesn't have any targets, because you're instructed to kill a unit as part of an instruction for all players to choose and kill a unit.”
Target – publicly visible (Public zone)
A target must be in a Public zone: a player, a unit on the board, a spell on the chain, or a card in the trash can all be targets. A card in a player's hand cannot be a target because it is not in a Public zone; if you must choose a card from your hand, you do so as the spell or ability resolves. Citaat uit de bron: “A card in your hand cannot be a target, because it's not in a Public zone.”
Jhin, Meticulous Killer + countered spell (Singularity)
Jhin checks whether energy was spent to play a spell and whether it became a Finalized Chain Item—not whether it resolved. If Singularity is countered after being finalized, the energy was spent and Jhin's C cost condition is satisfied, allowing Jhin to be played for C that turn. Citaat uit de bron: “Jhin checks the energy spent to play a spell, not whether that spell resolved.”
Counter Strike vs. Elder Dragon (§437.2.a)
If Counter Strike (or any prevent effect) completely prevents Elder Dragon's 1 damage to a unit, that damage is never dealt per rule 437.2.a. Since no damage is dealt, Elder Dragon's passive ability—which redefines lethal damage thresholds for units that have damage marked on them by its controller—has no opportunity to apply to that unit. Citaat uit de bron: “If the damage is entirely prevented, it is never dealt per rule 437.2.a., and thus there is no opportunity for the passive ability of Elder Dragon to apply”
Baited Hook (187.4.c example) (§187.4.c)
When Baited Hook resolves, kills the targeted unit (the sole unit at a battlefield), and the player plays a unit from the top 5 cards, that unit goes pending on the chain. The outstanding cleanup cannot strip battlefield control while a chain item is pending, so the finalized unit can be played to the same battlefield where the kill occurred. Citaat uit de bron: “I can't lose control of the battlefield because the played unit is on the chain pending”
Cruel Patron (187.4.c example) (§187.4.c)
If a player kills their only unit at a battlefield to pay Cruel Patron's additional cost, a cleanup is triggered, but control of the battlefield is not lost because Cruel Patron is on the chain. The player may then choose to play Cruel Patron to that same battlefield. Citaat uit de bron: “because there is an item on the chain (Cruel Patron) I don't lose control of the battlefield”
Battlefield Control (open state, rule 187.4.c) (§187.4.c)
Per rule 187.4.c, a player loses control of a battlefield only in a cleanup that occurs while the turn is in an Open state and they have no units there (and no Combat/Showdown is ongoing). Control cannot be lost during a cleanup while items remain on the chain, enabling effects that kill or banish a unit and then play a new one to target that same battlefield. Citaat uit de bron: “If a player has no Units at a Battlefield and the turn is in an Open state, they lose Control of that Battlefield in the following cleanup”
Contested Status (§323.8)
When a player moves a unit to a battlefield they don't control, the Contested status is applied to that battlefield immediately upon the unit becoming located there — regardless of whether units controlled by another player are present. Per rule 323.8, a Showdown is then staged at that battlefield in the following cleanup. Citaat uit de bron: “apply the Contested status to that battlefield immediately upon becoming located there, regardless of whether there are units controlled by another player there or not.”
Repulse vs Alpha Strike (targeting arrow count)
Repulse counts all targeting relationships ('arrows') pointing from a spell to friendly units, regardless of whether those targets currently meet the spell's targeting restrictions. Units moved to base by Flash are still targeted by Alpha Strike (arrows are 'grayed out' but present), so Repulse counts them and cannot counter Alpha Strike unless all remaining targeted units have moved to a non-board zone. Citaat uit de bron: “Repulse cares about the number of those arrows that point to friendly units, not the color of the arrows.”
Victory condition – simultaneous VP (§323.1)
Per rules 323.1 and 467, a player wins during a cleanup only if they have points ≥ the Victory Score AND more points than any opponent. If both players are tied at the Victory Score, neither wins; they must score additional points to satisfy both conditions. Citaat uit de bron: “If both players are at 8 points, they have not fulfilled both requirements for winning the game. They will need to score additional points in order to win.”
Zilean + Deceiver (no infinite token loop)
When Deceiver's reflexive trigger copies Zilean, Time Mage, the two Reflection tokens resolve and become copies of Zilean. However, there is no subsequent 'play token' game action for Zilean's replacement effect to apply to, so no further tokens are produced and the loop does not repeat. Citaat uit de bron: “there is no subsequent play game action involving tokens to apply their replacement effects to”
Glasc Mixologist (Deathknell, Unleashed update) (§187.4.c)
As of the Unleashed rules update, when Glasc Mixologist dies alone at a battlefield it controls, the unit from its Deathknell can be played to that same battlefield regardless of whether Combat is occurring. Previously this was only possible during an active Combat. Citaat uit de bron: “whenever Glasc Mixologist dies alone at a battlefield with the same controller, regardless of if there is a Combat there or not.”
Spinning Axe (Temporary while attached) (§816.2.a)
When Spinning Axe is attached to a unit, its printed rules text—including its printed Temporary keyword—becomes inactive. If Spinning Axe is separately granted Temporary, only that granted instance is active. Because only one active instance exists, rule 816.2.a does not prevent it from triggering; the inactive printed Temporary is treated as if it did not exist. Citaat uit de bron: “the grey Temporary doesn't have any function. We can treat it as if it didn't exist for the purposes of rule 816.2.a.”
Spinning Axe – granted Temporary
If Temporary is granted to an attached Spinning Axe, it has two instances of Temporary: one inactive (the printed keyword, does not trigger) and one active (the granted keyword, does trigger). The active granted Temporary will kill the Spinning Axe at the start of its controller's Beginning Phase. Citaat uit de bron: “The Spinning Axe will have two instances of the Temporary keyword - one that is active and one that is inactive. The inactive keyword will not trigger”
Brush – Swap Back (§438.1)
When a Brush token is swapped back, the Brush token ceases to exist. A player can choose to swap back to any object that was replaced, including the original battlefield, because a replacing game object inherits all statuses and conditions of the game object it replaced (438.1). Citaat uit de bron: “The Brush token will cease to exist. When swapping back, a player can choose to swap back to any object that was replaced, including the original battlefield.”
Score at/above Victory Score (§466.1)
Per rule 466.1.b, when a player tries to gain a point through a Score and their current total is one point from the Victory Score or higher, every such point becomes the 'final point': if from Conquering, the player draws 1 instead of gaining the point, unless they have scored each battlefield that turn. Citaat uit de bron: “every point at or above the Victory Score becomes the final point”
Mandatory Actions and Private Information
A player cannot be compelled to perform an action on cards whose privacy is secret or private if that action specifies a type or quality of card. If such an effect would compel this, the player may ignore it instead. This means Rift Herald's Deathknell cannot force an opponent to play a unit from hand. Citaat uit de bron: “A player cannot be compelled to perform an action on cards whose privacy is secret or private if that action specifies a type or quality of card.”
Weaponmaster
Weaponmaster as a keyword is always optional. It is always a choice whether or not to use this play ability. The reminder text ('You may') is more accurate than the Core Rules wording, which implies a mandatory target; the Core Rules language will be cleaned up in the future. Citaat uit de bron: “Weaponmaster as a keyword is always meant to be optional... It is always a choice on whether or not to use this play ability”
Find Your Center
When Find Your Center is given Repeat via Temporal Portal, its cost reduction applies only once (to the base cost, not to the Repeat cost). The final spell costs 4: base cost 3, plus Repeat cost 3, minus the single cost reduction of 2. Citaat uit de bron: “Find Your Center's cost reduction applies only once and the final spell costs 4—its base cost of 3, plus its Repeat cost of 3, minus its cost reduction of 2”
Svellsongur
When Svellsongur is attached to Aphelios, Exalted, he gains a second copy of his triggered ability in time for both copies to trigger on that attach. The 'choose one that hasn't been chosen this turn' restriction applies separately to each instance of the ability, so the same option can be chosen for both, but tracking must be kept per-copy. Citaat uit de bron: “He does have the second copy of his ability in time, and it will trigger. The 'one that hasn't been chosen this turn' restriction applies separately to each instance of his ability.”