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”
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.”
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”
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.”
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”
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”
Janna, Savior's play trigger is revised to 'move up to one enemy unit,' making the enemy-unit selection optional. This allows her triggered ability to be placed on the chain and heal your units even when no enemy units are present at the battlefield.
Citaat uit de bron: “heal your units here, then move up to one enemy unit from here to its base.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
Rell, Magnetic is revised to use a reflexive trigger for Equipment attachment: when she attacks and you play a qualifying Equipment for free, 'then do this:' attaches it to her as a separate chain item, allowing players to respond before the attachment resolves.
Citaat uit de bron: “If you do, then do this: Attach it to me.”
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.”
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.”
Rule 344.2 updated: a Showdown is opened during the Cleanup at the end of the action that caused the Battlefield to become Contested if there aren't units controlled by different players at that Battlefield — replacing the old condition of 'the Battlefield is uncontrolled when it becomes Contested.'
Citaat uit de bron: “If Control of a Battlefield is Contested and there aren't units controlled by different players there, a Showdown is opened during the Cleanup at the end of the action.”
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”
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”
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.”
Draven, Vanquisher reads 'When I attack or defend, you may pay [C]. If you do, …' — because 'you may pay [C]' does not fall in the expected cost-within-instructions sequence position, the resource payment is not the base cost of the triggered ability. It is paid on resolution of the ability (not during finalization) and functions as a game action checked by 'if you do', not as a cost.
Citaat uit de bron: “those resources are not a cost and are paid on resolution of the ability and not finalization.”
Icathian Rain is no longer a reflexive trigger. All six targets are chosen upfront before anything resolves; the opponent can react before resolution; then each chosen unit takes 2 damage on resolution. The same unit may be chosen for multiple instances.
Citaat uit de bron: “you pick all the targets up front, the other player can react before any of it resolves, and then each of the units affected take the damage on resolution”
When Draven wins combat and conquers, his triggered ability resolves before you gain the regular point for scoring the battlefield and before any conquer effects trigger. Consequently, Draven's point is counted first—e.g., going from 6 to 7 points means the subsequent conquer gives a card draw instead of the 8th point.
Citaat uit de bron: “Draven's ability will trigger and resolve before you gain your regular point for scoring the battlefield and before any conquer effects are triggered.”
Cards that instruct you to play a card from your Main Deck must first banish that card, then play it from banish. This gives the game a defined zone for the card while it is being played and a place to return it if it cannot be played for any reason. This applies to Rek'Sai Swarm Queen, Void Burrower, Void Rush, and Reinforce.
Citaat uit de bron: “banishing the card ensures that the game has a place to put the card until it's actually played, and a place to send the card back to if it can't be played”
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”
Tianna Crownguard only prevents opponents from gaining points; she does not interfere with the process of conquering or holding battlefields. Opponents can still conquer and hold battlefields, receive conquer/hold triggers, and even draw a card if conquering a final point they cannot score.
Citaat uit de bron: “Tianna is solely concerned with points and doesn't interfere with the process of conquering or holding battlefields.”
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.”
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.”
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”