If an opponent plays Abandon targeting your spell while you control an empowered Mel, Newly Awakened, Abandon attempts to counter the spell and fails. Abandon's return-to-hand replacement effect has nothing to replace because the "put in Trash" event never occurred. Abandon resolves with only the Predict effect. The replacement effect does not linger—if the spell resolves later, it goes to the Trash as normal.
Citaat uit de bron: “that event never occurred, so there is nothing for the replacement effect to replace. Thus, Abandon will resolve to no effect.”
A spell played for its Flow cost is banished even if countered by Abandon. "Then banish it" means: if the flow spell would leave the chain after becoming a finalized chain item, and leaving the chain was not instructed by the spell's own execution, banish it instead. Abandon returning the spell to hand counts as such a departure, so the spell is banished rather than returned. This also applies to effects like Kai'Sa, Evolutionary and Fizz, Trickster.
Citaat uit de bron: “No matter how it happens, as long as the flow spell leaving the chain wasn't instructed by the execution of the spell itself, it will be banished.”
Units with the Ganking ability may move directly from one Battlefield to another, whereas normal units can only move between their controller's Base and a Battlefield.
community (2 bronnen, trust 0.75, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“only units with the Ganking ability may move between battlefields”
Each Battlefield can only award 1 point per turn; moving a unit away and replacing it with another unit in the same turn does not grant additional points.
community (2 bronnen, trust 0.75, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“Moving away from a battlefield and back to it with another unit the same turn will not gain you a bonus point.”
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.”
Ravenborn Tome's Bonus Damage effect now applies only to the next spell played 'this turn,' preventing the bonus from carrying forward to future turns.
community (1 bron, trust 0.50, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“The next spell you play this turn deals 1 Bonus Damage.”
When a player controls the battlefield but has no units there (achievable via Hostile Takeover or Stormbringer), the current rules have a gap with no obvious outcome. The interim ruling is to start a noncombat showdown as the least disruptive way to handle this scenario.
Citaat uit de bron: “starting a noncombat showdown is the least disruptive way to handle this scenario”
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”
When an Attacker destroys all Defending units and still has units remaining, they conquer the Battlefield and immediately score 1 point; additionally, every time a Battlefield is conquered without winning the game, the conquering player draws a card.
community (1 bron, trust 0.50, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“every time you conquer a Battlefield but it doesn't win you the game, you get to draw a card”
An 'ignored' instruction is one not performed because its target was not a legal target on resolution (mistargeted). A 'negated' instruction is one prevented by a replacement effect, an ability (e.g., Vilemaw's Lair), or game state—its effects are skipped or replaced. A negated instruction does NOT cause linked instructions to be ignored; an ignored instruction does cause linked instructions to be ignored.
Citaat uit de bron: “A negated instruction has its effects skipped, replaced, or prevented. A negated instruction will not cause any linked instructions to be ignored”
Baron Nashor's passive generates a delayed replacement effect ('I enter there') that replaces his entering any other location with entering the Baron Pit, bypassing play-location restrictions such as Mageseeker Warden. Dragon Roost is only a permission on play location, not a replacement effect, and therefore cannot bypass such restrictions.
Citaat uit de bron: “Baron Nashor's passive ability generates a delayed replacement effect...This replacement effect replaces the event of him entering to any other location with him entering to the Baron Pit.”
Action Spells may be played during the controller's turn or during a Showdown; on an opponent's turn, a player may only play Action Spells during Showdowns.
community (1 bron, trust 0.50, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“Most Spells are labeled Action, which means you can play them during your turn or during a Showdown. If it's not your turn, you can only play Action Spells during Showdowns.”
Rule 323.6 is corrected to read: 'Players lose control of any controlled Battlefields without their Units occupying them if the turn is in an open state and there is no Showdown or Combat ongoing there.' This replaces the old wording, which incorrectly made unoccupied battlefields with no Showdown or Combat become universally Uncontrolled rather than stripping control only from the player whose units are absent.
Citaat uit de bron: “Players lose control of any controlled Battlefields without their Units occupying them if the turn is in an open state and there is no Showdown or Combat ongoing there.”
Gear cards enter play in the Ready state (not Exhausted), so they can be used immediately; Gear always enters at the controller's Base.
community (2 bronnen, trust 0.75, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“Gear cannot hold or conquer battlefields, and can only exist in base. If a Gear card is played at a battlefield, it is immediately recalled to the base.”
If Ride the Wind targets a unit at Vilemaw's Lair and instructs it to move to base, Vilemaw's Lair's 'Units can't move from here to base' negates (does not ignore) the move instruction. Because the instruction is negated rather than ignored, linked instructions such as readying the unit still execute—the unit will be readied.
Citaat uit de bron: “They will be readied...An instruction is not ignored if an ability, effect, or circumstance of the game prevents it from occurring.”
During the Beginning Phase, each player channels 2 Runes from the top of their Rune Deck; the second player channels 3 Runes on their very first turn to compensate for going second.
community (1 bron, trust 0.50, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“If you're going second on your very first turn, you get 3 Runes instead to help catch up.”
When Akshan, Mischievous steals Shady Spectacles and his controller chooses to copy Aphelios, Aphelios's triggered ability does not trigger. The attach event has already completed before the copy effect is applied, so Aphelios's new triggered ability (gained via copy) cannot react to an attachment event that already occurred.
Citaat uit de bron: “if his controller chooses to make him a copy of Aphelios, it's too late by that point for his new triggered ability to see the attachment event”
Units cannot be played to a base of a player other than their own controller under any circumstances. If instructed to do so (e.g., Temporal Breach choosing an opponent's unit you temporarily control via Hostile Takeover), the unit fails the legality check during finalization and is returned to banishment.
Citaat uit de bron: “Units cannot be played to a base of a player other than their own controller under any circumstances.”
Signature Cards are Legend-specific cards that can only be included in a deck matching their designated Legend, with a maximum of 3 total Signature Cards permitted across the entire deck.
community (1 bron, trust 0.50, officieel bevestigd, status=unreviewed — nog niet gereviewd)
“You can only use them with their matching Legend, and you can't put more than 3 total Signature Cards in your deck.”
When two mandatory positive requirements conflict on where to play a unit (e.g., Elder Dragon's AA instructing play to Dragon Roost and another effect specifying a different location), the player chooses one requirement and ignores all others. This only applies to mandatory positive requirements that specify a location or method without also preventing play elsewhere.
Citaat uit de bron: “the player chooses one of those requirements and ignores all others”
Astral Heron's triggered ability discounts the next card played (added to the chain and queued for finalization) this turn after the ability resolves. Erratum wording: 'When you play your first card each turn, if I'm at a battlefield, the next card you play this turn costs [2]AA less.'
Citaat uit de bron: “It discounts the next card played (added to the chain and queued for finalization) this turn after the ability resolves.”
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”
Accelerate creates a delayed replacement effect that causes the card to enter ready. This delayed replacement effect persists on the card even after the Accelerate keyword itself is no longer present when the card resolves.
Citaat uit de bron: “Accelerate creates a delayed replacement effect that causes Atakhan to enter ready. Although he lacks the Accelerate keyword when he resolves, he still has the delayed replacement effect”
Blood Rush was printed without 'this turn' in its effect. The Assault 2 bonus it grants a unit is temporary and lasts only this turn, matching design intent and the pattern of Convergent Mutation.
Citaat uit de bron: “the phrase 'this turn' was accidentally omitted … Give a unit Assault 2 this turn.”
Forgotten Monument completely prevents the process of scoring at its battlefield, meaning no conquer triggers, no hold triggers, and no points from those activities. This differs from Tianna Crownguard, who only blocks gaining points. Extra points from other sources (e.g., Renata Glasc, Mastermind) are unaffected. You can still gain control of the battlefield after a showdown—you just cannot conquer it.
Citaat uit de bron: “Forgotten Monument completely prevents the process of scoring there. That means no conquer triggers, no hold triggers, and no points from doing those things.”
Elder Dragon's passive ('Any amount of your damage is enough to kill enemy units') alters the lethal damage threshold for units with damage marked by Elder Dragon's controller to any non-zero amount. As a result, Elder Dragon can check damage marked on units before it enters the board, and its controller need only assign one damage per unit during the Combat Damage step.
Citaat uit de bron: “Elder Dragon can check damage marked on units by its controller before it enters the board, and that players need only assign one damage to units during the Combat Damage step while they control Elder”