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”
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 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”
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.”
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”
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.”
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 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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
Arise! is revised to use a reflexive trigger: it first plays a 2 [M] Sand Soldier unit token for each Equipment you control, then 'Then do this:' readies up to two of them, allowing players to respond between the two effects.
Citaat uit de bron: “Play a 2 [M] Sand Soldier unit token for each Equipment you control. Then do this: Ready up to two of them.”
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.”
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.”
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”
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”
Jax's Equipment everywhere have Quick-Draw: each gains [Reaction], meaning when you play it, you attach it to a unit you control. This is captured in the revised text.
Citaat uit de bron: “Your Equipment everywhere have [Quick-Draw]. (Each gains [Reaction]. When you play it, attach it to a unit you control.)”
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.”
Reckoner's Arena's activate effect simulates a conquer event without an actual conquer occurring. Because the card specifies units, only units with conquer effects at Reckoner's Arena see this conquer event and can potentially trigger.
Citaat uit de bron: “Reckoner's Arena's case it specifies units, so only units with conquer effects at Reckoner's Arena will see this conquer event”
Yone's ability checks the control status of the battlefield immediately before he conquers it. He triggers at the end of a noncombat showdown in which he conquers an uncontrolled battlefield. He also triggers in 'surprise defense' scenarios where units move during a showdown and he ends up defending a battlefield he doesn't control—if he conquers it, the battlefield was uncontrolled before he conquered it.
Citaat uit de bron: “We're tweaking his text to cue off the control status of the battlefield immediately before conquering it.”
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.”
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.”
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”
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.”
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”