Playing the Game
- 303.
The phases of a turn are rigid, but the actions taken during those steps can be done in any order, unless otherwise specified.
- 305.
When there are no items on the Chain and the Turn Player cannot or chooses not to perform any Discretionary Actions, the current phase or step of the turn ends and the next phase, step, or turn begins.
- 306.
The Turn Player changes when the current Turn Player reaches the End of all of the Phases of their Turn.
- 308.1.a.
Only cards and abilities with the Action or Reaction keywords can be played or activated in a Showdown State.
- 309.1.a.
Only cards and abilities with the Reaction keyword can be played or activated in a Closed State.
- 310.1.a.
By default, cards can be played and abilities activated only when a player has priority on their turn in a Neutral Open state.
- 312.1.
Priority is the singular exclusive right to take Discretionary Actions.
See rule 410.1. Discretionary Actions for more information.
- 312.1.b.1.
Players can always take and make choices for Limited Actions when instructed, regardless of Priority.
- 312.3.
When a player is granted Priority, it is either created if no player has it or taken from the player with Priority.
- 313.1.
Focus is the permission to take appropriately timed Discretionary Actions when the turn is in a Showdown Open State.
See rule 307. States of the Turn for more information.
- 313.1.a.
The player with Focus must obey any additional restrictions on which Discretionary Actions may be performed.
Example: A player with Focus may not play spells or activate abilities that don't have the Action or Reaction keywords.
- 315.2.b.2.
1. The Turn Player Holds all Battlefields they Control.
See rule 467. Scoring for more information.
- 315.2.b.3.
Reminder: In Modes of Play with Teams, Battlefields controlled by a Teammate of
the Turn Player during this step are disqualified from being scored this turn by
the Turn Player.
- 315.4.b.1.
If there are no cards remaining in their Main Deck to draw, the Turn Player has been Burned Out.
See rule 431. Burn Out for more information.
- 316.5.a.was 316.2.a
A player may take any number of Discretionary Actions they are able to perform during this phase.
See rule 410.1. Discretionary Actions for more information.
- 316.5.b.was 316.2.b
This is denoted as a Neutral Open State, and only the Turn Player has the ability to play spells or activate abilities.
See rule 307. States of the Turn for more information.
- 316.5.b.1.was 316.2.b.1
In Modes of Play with teammates, the Turn Player's teammates may play spells and activate abilities, including ones without Action or Reaction. They can only do so when the Turn Player invites them to do so with their own Priority.
- 316.6.was 316.3
As a result of a player taking Discretionary Actions, one or more structured phases may occur.
- 316.7.a.was 316.4.a
A Combat occurs as a result of Units controlled by opposing players being present at the same Battlefield.
- 316.7.b.new
This could be the result of a Standard Move Intrinsic Ability, a Spell, or other Game Effect.
- 316.7.c.was 316.4.c
The source effect does not change the structure or flow of Combat once initiated.
- 316.8.b.new
A Showdown is marked as Staged at a Battlefield in the cleanup after the Contested status is applied to that Battlefield.
- 316.8.b.1.moved from 316.5.b.1
Showdowns that occur as a result of a player moving to an empty Battlefield are a stand-alone Phase and do not create a Combat.
- 316.8.b.1.a.new
These Showdowns are called Non-Combat Showdowns. During the proceedings of a Non-Combat Showdown, units controlled by a different player may become present at the Battlefield where the Showdown is ongoing. This will cause the Showdown to become a Combat Showdown in the following cleanup.
- 316.9.was 316.6
When a player has no more Discretionary Actions they wish to execute, they must indicate they are ending their turn.
- 320.1.
New Pending Items can be added, but Finalized Items cannot be executed and Priority and Focus are not passed or awarded.
- 321.1.
If an event occurs during the Resolution of a Chain Item that qualifies for a Cleanup, that Cleanup will be made an Outstanding Task.
- 322.
If an event occurs during a Cleanup that qualifies for a Cleanup, another Cleanup will occur immediately after the first completes, repeating until a Cleanup occurs with no new change in the game’s state.
- 323.1.
1. If a player has points greater than or equal to the Victory Score, and more points than any opponent, that player wins.
- 323.2.
2. Assign or Remove the Attacker or Defender designation from Units as needed if there is a Combat in progress
- 323.2.a.
If there are Units present at the Battlefield the Combat is taking place at, but do not have a designation, they gain the same designation as their Controller now
- 323.2.b.
If there are Units present at the Battlefield the Combat is taking place at, but have the opposite designation of their controller, they lose that designation, and gain the same designation as their controller now
- 323.2.c.
If there are Units at locations other than the Battlefield that the Combat is taking place at, but have either Attacker or Defender designations, they lose those designations now
- 323.4.
3a. All Units that have Lethal Damage marked on them and that have Deathknell or other abilities that trigger on their own death will trigger such abilities now, making note of their current location, attributes, and other information relevant to add the trigger as a Pending Item
See rule 808 Deathknell for more information.
- 323.5.
3b. All Units that have LethalDamage marked on themare killed and placed in their owners' Trash.
See rule 142.4. For more information on lethal damage.
- 323.6.
4. 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.
- 323.7.
5. Recall all Unattached non-Unit Gear and non-Unit Runes at Battlefields, and all Permanents and Runes in Bases other than their controller’s. Remove all Hidden cards from all Battlefields that are not controlled by the same player and place them in their owner's Trash.
- 323.8.a.
The Showdown remains Staged at that Battlefield as long as it is Contested and has units present controlled by the player that applied Contested.
- 323.9.
7. Mark a Combat as Staged at each Battlefield that Contested was applied to that have Units present controlled by opposing players.
- 323.9.a.
The Combat remains Staged at that Battlefield as long as there are Units present from two opposing players there.
- 323.10.
7a. If Units of two opposing players are no longer present at a Battlefield that has a Combat Staged before it has opened, the Combat will cease being Staged
- 323.11.
8. Remove Contested status from each Battlefield without Units controlled by the player who applied Contested to that Battlefield and without a Showdown or Combat ongoing there.
- 323.11.a.new
If as a result of the removal of Contested status there are Units located at an uncontested Battlefield that their controller does not control, their controller applies Contested status to that Battlefield.
- 323.12.
9. If the current state is a Neutral Open State and one or more Showdowns are Staged at Battlefields without a Combat staged, the Turn Player chooses one of those Battlefields. A Showdown begins there.
- 323.13.
10. If the current state is a Neutral Open State and one or more Combats are Staged at Battlefields, the Turn Player chooses one of those Battlefields. Combat begins there.
- 323.14.
10a. If the current state is Showdown Open State and Combat is Staged at a Battlefield where there is a Non-Combat Showdown ongoing, that Showdown becomes a Combat Showdown.
- 324.
Special Cleanups are Cleanup steps invoked at specific times that have additional steps not present in a normal Cleanup.
- 324.1.
When a Special Cleanup is invoked, the unique steps added will be inserted and defined by the sub-section that invokes it.
Example: When a Combat Cleanup is invoked, the Combat section defines what steps are added to the Cleanup.
See rule 466. The Resolution Step for more information.
Example: When an End of Turn Cleanup is invoked, the End of Turn Phase subsection defines what steps are added to the Cleanup.
See rule 317. The Ending Phase for more information.
- 324.2.
If events during a Special Cleanup require another Cleanup, a normal Cleanup is invoked, not another iteration of the Special Cleanup.
- 326.
Players can act during the following Windows of Opportunity that occur during the course of regular play:
- 328.
The Chain is a Non-Board Zone that temporarily exists whenever a card is played or an ability is activated.
- 329.
Cards, tokens, and abilities added to the chain are added as Pending Chain Items that become Finalized Chain Items.
- 329.3.
When a Pending Chain Item is no longer Pending it is finalized and becomes a Finalized Chain Item.
- 330.2.
If a card or token would begin to be played while a Chain already exists, it is placed on the existing Chain.
- 333.was 334
A Task is one or more steps or processes that one or more Players must perform before continuing with any other actions.
- 333.1.
Tasks include, but are not limited to: Cleanups, the actions performed during the Start of Turn Process, throughout Combat in its various steps, and the actions performed during the End of Turn Process.
See rule 318. Cleanups for more information on Cleanups
See rule 315. Start of Turn for more information on the Start of Turn process
See rule 459. Combat for more information on the steps of Combat
See rule 317. Ending Phase for more information.
- 334.
Whenever a Player takes one or more actions that incur Tasks they should refer to the process of HOT FEPR: Handle Outstanding Tasks; then Finalize, Execute, Pass, Resolve.
- 334.1.moved from 335.1
In the course of Handling Outstanding Tasks, Chain Items may be added to the Chain. They will remain there until the Tasks are complete.
- 334.2.moved from 335.2
When all Outstanding Tasks are completed, all pending Chain Items will subsequently be processed by the FEPR process.
- 334.2.a.new
During the FEPR process, new Tasks may be incurred. Complete the current step of the process and then pause and complete the necessary Tasks before continuing.
- 335.
If there are no Outstanding Tasks, no pending Chain Items, no ongoing Showdown or Combat, and it is the Main Phase, the Turn Player receives priority. If there are no Outstanding Tasks, no pending Chain Items, no ongoing Showdown, and it is any other phase of the turn, proceed to the next substep, step, phase, or turn.
- 335.1.
If there are no Outstanding Tasks, no pending Chain Items, and there is an ongoing Showdown, the player with Focus receives priority.
- 336.
When there are no outstanding Tasks and there are pending Chain Items on the Chain, players should refer to the FEPR process to proceed.
- 336.1.
In the sequence of resolving FEPR more Chain Items may become Pending Chain Items. These will be processed by the same FEPR process that produced them.
- 337.1.
If there is at least one Chain Item Pending, the controller of the oldest Pending Chain Item must complete the steps of Playing that Pending Item until it is a Finalized Item or leaves the Chain.
See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information on finalizing chain items.
- 337.3.new
If, after finalizing the Chain Item, there are still Pending Chain Items, return to step 1. Finalize.
- 337.4.new
If, after finalizing the Chain Item, there are no more items on the chain to be Finalized, the controller of the next item on the chain gains Priority. Move to step 2: Execute.
- 338.1.a.2.
A Legally Timed Card or Activated Ability would be one with Reaction or one that will have Reaction when played under appropriate circumstances.
- 338.1.a.4.
The Card or Activated Ability will be added to the chain as a Pending Item, following the steps of playing a card.
- 338.1.a.5.
This can be an additional item to the item that Started the Chain in the case of the first player with Priority after creating the Chain.
- 338.1.a.7.
Playing a Card or Activated Ability will create one or more Pending Items. Return to Step 1: Finalize.
- 338.1.b.1.was 338.1.c.1
The player with Priority passes Priority to the next Player in Turn Order. Proceed to Step 3: Pass.
- 340.2.a.
If this occurs during a Showdown and the chain wasn’t initiated by a triggered ability or an ability that Adds resources, focus passes to the next player in turn order.
- 340.3.
If the Chain is not empty and there are one or more Pending Items, return to Step 1: Finalize.
- 340.4.
If the Chain is not empty and there are no Pending Items, the controller of the newest item on the chain gains Priority. Return to Step 2: Execute.
- 342.
A Showdown is a Window of Opportunity in which Players have an Open State in which they may play Spells in an alternating fashion.
- 343.
The State of the turn is partially determined by whether or not a Showdown or Combat is in progress.
- 344.
A Showdown begins when Control of a Battlefield is Contested during a Cleanup and the turn is in a Neutral Open State.
- 346.
When the last item on the chain resolves and the turn returns to an Open State during a Showdown, Focus passes, and the next Player gains both Focus and Priority.
- 346.1.
Focus will not pass in this way if the chain opened as a result of a triggered ability being added to the chain, nor if it opened as a result of an Add ability being added to the chain.
Example: the Combat Chain opens as a result of triggered abilities being added to the chain, so when the last item on the Combat Chain resolves and the turn returns to an Open State, Focus will not pass.
- 348.
If all players pass Focus without playing a spell or activating an ability, then the Showdown Closes.
- 348.2.a.
If only one player’s Units remain at the Battlefield, and if that player does not already Control the Battlefield, that player establishes Control over the Battlefield.
See rule 188. Control for more information on Control.
See rule 469.1. for more information on Conquering.
- 351.2.
Spells create game effects that are executed, then the card is placed in the trash when Played.
- 354.3.
If another Card Effect or ability is currently resolving, continue resolving it before proceeding with any further steps of this process.
- 355.1.
If the card has an effect that specifies a choice "As I am played," those choices are made now.
- 355.3.
For Spells and Abilities with a bulleted list of modes to choose from, make the appropriate choices now.
- 355.4.
For Spells and Abilities that Move one or more Units, choose a valid Location as the Move Destination for each Move that will be performed.
- 355.4.a.
A valid Location for a Move Effect is one other than the Units’ current Location where they are allowed to be present.
- 355.5.
If a card requires you to specifically choose one or more Game Objects, that choice is made now.
- 355.5.a.
This does not include cards that affect one or more Game Objects based on criteria.
Example: "Stun a unit at a battlefield" is a Choice.
Example: "Kill all gear" is not a Choice.
- 355.5.b.
This does not include making choices for Triggered Abilities of permanents, or Delayed or Reflexive Triggers generated by the item being finalized, even if those abilities trigger when the chain item is played.
Example: A unit with a triggered ability that says "When I'm played, kill a unit" does not require you to choose a target as it's played. The target will be chosen when the ability triggers.
Example: Targon’s Peak reads “When you conquer here, ready up to 2 runes at the end of this turn.” Readying up to 2 runes at the end of the turn is the effect of a delayed trigger; any choices involved are not made when finalizing the conquer effect but when finalizing the resulting delayed trigger at the end of the turn.
See rule 382. Triggered Abilities for more information.
- 355.7.
When a card Chooses one or more specific Game Objects to affect, it is Targeted unless indicated otherwise by the rules in this section.
- 355.9.a.
It is a permanent or rune on the board, a spell or ability on the chain, a player or zone, or specified explicitly or implicitly as being in some other zone.
e.g., “Kill a unit” targets a unit on the board.
e.g., “Recycle a unit from your trash” targets a unit card in your trash.
- 355.9.a.5.
“Chosen Champion” and “unit in the Champion Zone” refer to a unit in the Champion Zone unless specified otherwise.
- 355.9.b.
It meets all targeting restrictions.
e.g., A unit is a valid target for a spell that refers to a “unit at a battlefield,” “enemy
unit,” “unit you control,” or “unit with Might 4 or greater” only if it meets the
appropriate criteria.
e.g. A unit that reads “I can’t be chosen by enemy spells or abilities.” is not a valid
target for any enemy spell or ability, even if it meets other targeting restrictions.
- 355.9.c.
It is not the spell or ability itself.
e.g., A spell that says “Counter a spell” cannot target itself.
e.g., An ability of a permanent can target that permanent, because abilities and
their sources are separate objects.
- 355.10.
A game object, player, or zone mentioned in the text of a spell, activated ability, or triggered ability is a target UNLESS any of the following are true:
- 355.10.a.
It is in a zone whose information status is not Public.
e.g., “Ready a legend” targets a legend, because the Legend Zone is Public.
e.g., “Return a unit from your trash to your hand” targets a unit card in your trash,
because your trash is Public.
e.g., “You may play a unit from your hand, ignoring its costs” does not target a unit
card in your hand, because your hand is not a public zone.
- 355.10.a.1.
Public zones are Battlefield Zones, Bases, Trashes, Legend Zones, Champion Zones, and Facedown Zones.
- 355.10.b.
It is included only as part of a targeting restriction for another choice or only as a restriction or permission for a game action.
e.g., “Kill a unit at a battlefield” targets a unit, but not a battlefield, because the
units are targets and “at a battlefield” is a restriction.
e.g., “Kill all units at a battlefield” targets a battlefield, but not any units.
e.g., “Play a unit from your hand to a battlefield” doesn’t target a battlefield.
- 355.10.c.
It is included only as part of a cost, trigger condition, or replacement effect.
e.g., “As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit” doesn’t target anything.
e.g., “When a friendly unit dies, kill a gear” targets a gear, but not a friendly unit.
e.g., “When you play me, the next time a friendly unit would die this turn, return it
to your hand instead” doesn’t target anything. The replacement effect applies
when any friendly unit dies.
e.g., “Choose a friendly unit. The next time it would die this turn, return it to your
hand instead” targets a friendly unit, because “choose a friendly unit” is not part of
the replacement effect.
- 355.10.c.1.
This includes costs within instructions, identified by phrases like “[do X] to [do Y].” The cost within that instruction is “[do X].”
e.g., “When I hold, you may kill another friendly unit here to draw 1” does
not target anything.
e.g., “When you play me, you may spend a buff to move a friendly unit”
targets the friendly unit, but not the buff.
- 355.10.d.
It is programmatically selected based on its characteristics rather than chosen by the spell or ability’s controller.
e.g., “Kill all units at a battlefield” targets a battlefield, but does not target any
units.
e.g., “Kill all units at battlefields” doesn’t target anything.
e.g., “Kill a unit. Its controller draws 2” targets the unit, but not its controller.
e.g., “Ready your legend” doesn’t target anything, because you can only have one
legend.
e.g., “Ready a friendly legend” targets a legend, because in a 2v2 game there are
two friendly legends.
e.g., “Recycle all cards in your trash” doesn’t target anything, because it affects all
cards and you only have one trash.
- 355.10.d.2.
This exception does not apply to objects that are the only valid choice at the moment a spell or ability is placed on the chain, but which would require a choice under other circumstances.
e.g., “Kill a unit at a battlefield” always targets a unit, even if that unit is
the only unit currently at a battlefield.
- 355.10.e.
It is part of a set of objects chosen in whole or in part by other players.
e.g., “Each player kills a unit they control” does not target. Each player, including
the one who played the spell, chooses a unit to kill as the spell or ability resolves.
- 355.10.f.
It is identified in an instruction that a player “must” complete.
e.g., “You must recycle one of your runes” doesn’t target anything. You choose from
among your runes as the spell or ability resolves.
e.g., “Recycle a rune you control” targets a rune. You choose a rune you control as
you put the spell or ability on the chain.
- 355.11.
Some cards identify a group of Targets with Targeting Requirements that must be met by the group as a whole.
- 355.11.a.
As they’re finalized on the chain, such cards can choose any group of valid targets that collectively fulfill the targeting restriction.
- 355.11.b.
If the group of targets no longer collectively fulfill the targeting restriction as the spell or ability resolves, that spell or ability’s controller can choose a subset of the original targets that fulfills the targeting requirement for the spell or ability to affect.
Example: A player plays Fox-Fire, a spell that says in part “Kill any number of units at a battlefield with total Might 4 or less.” That player chooses four 1 [M] Recruit tokens at a single battlefield. As a Reaction, another player gives two of those Recruits +1 [M], so the Recruits’ Mights are 1, 1, 2, and 2. Then Fox-Fire resolves. The Recruits no longer have total Might 4 or less, so Fox-Fire’s controller must choose a legal subset of the original targets to affect. They could choose to kill the two 2 [M] Recruits, or the two 1 [M] Recruits plus one 2 [M] Recruit. The units they choose are Fox-Fire’s remaining legal targets. They can’t choose to affect units at the same battlefield that weren’t initially chosen as targets. They can, however, choose to affect units that were initially chosen as targets that left the chosen battlefield before Fox-Fire resolved as long as those units are all located at the same battlefield.
- 355.12.
If a spell specifies that a player may perform a Game Action on some number of Game Objects, then all choices are considered targeted and chosen independently of the decision to perform the Game Action.
- 355.13.
If a card specifies that a player chooses “any number” or “up to” some number of Game Objects to be affected, they may choose any number of available targets, including zero. If they choose zero, the spell or ability can be played without any targets.
- 355.14.a.
If a card specifies that an amount of damage may be split among some number of Units, then each Unit chosen is Targeted.
- 355.14.c.
A number of Targets can only be chosen up to, and not exceeding, the initial amount of damage available when the spell is played.
Example: A player playing a spell that instructs them to "Split 5 damage" may only choose up to 5 units, but may choose fewer.
- 355.14.e.
The choice of how much damage is divided across the split is not decided until the resolution of the spell or ability.
- 355.14.h.
If, at resolution of the spell or effect, there are more Targets than available damage to divide, then the player who controls the effect dealing damage determines which Targets cease being Targets.
- 355.14.h.1.new
That player cannot choose to have fewer Targets than they have damage to split when choosing which Targets cease being Targets.
Example: A player plays Alpha Strike, which reads in part “Choose a friendly unit. It deals damage equal to its Might split among enemy units at battlefields.” They target their 5 [M] unit and five 1 [M] enemy Recruits at battlefields. In reaction, their opponent plays Feral Strength targeting one of their recruits, and Frigid Touch targeting the 5 [M] unit. When Alpha Strike resolves, they have 3 damage to split, and must choose which targets cease being targets. They can’t choose for 4 of the units to cease being targets so that they can deal 3 to the 3 [M] recruit. They can only choose at most 2 of the targets to cease being targets.
- 355.14.i.
Any costs that were paid, or effects that were triggered as a result of those Game Objects being chosen as Targets remain in effect, paid, or otherwise triggered.
- 355.16.
A player may not make choices during this step that will deterministically result in illegal choices or actions later in this process unless they have no choice.
Example: A player plays a card which reads “As an additional cost to play this, kill the unit you control with the most Might. Give a friendly unit +[M] equal to the killed unit’s Might this turn. Predict 2.” They cannot choose to target their unit with the highest Might during this step of finalization.
- 355.17.
If a spell or ability requires one or more players to make choices that are not outlined in this section, they are made on resolution.
- 356.1.a.
If an ability or instruction allows you to play a card “for [Cost]”, replace the card’s Base Costs with [Cost].
- 356.1.b.
If an ability or instruction allows you to "ignore" one or more of a card's costs, set the appropriate Base Cost(s) of the card to zero.
- 356.1.b.1.
If a card allows a player to play a card "ignoring its cost," its base Energy cost and base Power cost are set to zero.
- 356.1.b.2.
If a card instructs a player to play a card "ignoring its Energy cost" or "ignoring its Power cost," only the appropriate cost is set to zero, and the remaining cost still applies.
- 356.1.b.3.
Further additional costs and/or cost increases applied in subsequent steps may raise the card's Total Cost above zero.
Example: Legion Rearguard is a Fury unit that costs 2 Energy and 0 Power and has Accelerate. A player plays Legion Rearguard and is instructed to ignore its costs, but chooses to pay the Accelerate cost. They ignore Legion Rearguard's Base Cost of 2 Energy, but the optional additional cost of 1 Energy and 1 Fury Power is added to its Total Cost and must be paid.
- 356.1.c.new
Effects that refer to the Base Cost of the card refer to the Printed or Copied Base Cost of said card, and not the modified Base Cost that is used when determining the total cost of the card.
- 356.2.a.1.
Some Additional Costs specified by Passive Abilities on the card being played or another card are Mandatory, and must be paid to complete playing the card. They use the phrase "as an additional cost" and don't include the word "may."
Example: A unit has the passive ability "As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit." To play that unit, a player must kill a friendly unit.
See rule 363. Passive Abilities for more information.
- 356.2.a.2.
The cost imposed by the Deflect keyword is a Mandatory Additional Cost.
See rule 809. Deflect for more information.
- 356.2.b.1.
Some Optional Costs specified by Passive Abilities on the card being played or another card are Non-Mandatory, and must be paid only if the player made the choice to pay them in step 2. They use the phrase "as an additional cost" and the word "may."
Example: A unit has the ability "As you play me, you may discard 1 as an additional cost. If you do, reduce my cost by [2]." While playing the unit, its controller declares their intention to pay the additional cost in step 2, applies that additional cost in rule 356.2, applies the discount granted by paying that cost in rule 356.4, and discards a card to pay that additional cost in rule 357.2.
See rule 363. Passive Abilities for more information.
- 356.4.b.
Discounts may say that cards "cost [amount] less" or that one or more of their costs are "reduced by [amount]."
- 356.4.c.
Discounts that only apply to a component of the cost will be applied when that component is added to the cost of the spell and before any other discounts.
Example: Ezreal, Prodigy reads “optional additional costs you pay cost [1] or [A] less.” When playing a Frigid Touch and choosing to pay the additional cost in step 2, as soon as the additional cost is added to the cost of the spell, Ezreal, Prodigy’s discount is applied to it.
- 356.4.c.1.
Discounts that apply to a given component of a spell’s cost may be applied in any order to that component.
- 356.4.d.
Discounts that apply to the total cost of a spell and not any one component of the cost must be applied after any discount that applies only to a component of the cost.
- 356.4.d.1.
These discounts may be applied in any order as long as they are applied after component discounts.
- 356.4.e.
If a discount applies a minimum cost, that minimum applies only to that discount.
Example: Eager Apprentice says "While I'm at a battlefield, the Energy costs for spells you play is reduced by [1], to a minimum of [1]." A player who controls Eager Apprentice and a unit with 7 Might plays Sky Splitter, a spell that costs 8 Energy and says "This spell's Energy cost is reduced by the highest Might among units you control." That player can choose to apply Eager Apprentice's discount first, reducing Sky Splitter's Energy cost to 7, then apply Sky Splitter's discount, reducing its Energy cost to 0. If they applied these discounts in the other order, Sky Splitter's Energy cost would be 1.
- 356.4.f.1.
An optional additional cost was "paid" if the player made the decision to pay it. It doesn't matter how much the player actually paid.
Example: Clockwork Keeper is a unit that costs 2 Energy and 0 Power and says "As you play me, you may pay [C] as an additional cost. If you do, draw 1." A player controls a card that says "Units you play cost [A] less." That player plays Clockwork Keeper and chooses to pay the optional additional cost of [C]. They will draw a card, even though the optional additional cost was reduced to 0.
- 356.5.a.new
If an effect allows a player to play a card ignoring “any and all costs,” set the total cost to [0], including any non-standard costs.
- 356.7.was 356.6
Costs may be Energy costs, Power costs, or non-standard costs.
Example: A card reads "As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit." Killing a friendly unit is an additional cost to play that card.
- 357.2.
In addition, pay any non-standard Cost summed in step 3 in any order.
Example: A card reads in part “As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit and discard a unit.” When paying the costs for that card, its controller can pay those two costs in any order; they can kill a friendly unit first and then discard a unit, or they can discard a unit and then kill a friendly unit.
- 357.2.a.
Costs that are replaced with other events by replacement effects are still considered paid.
Example: A player plays Cruel Patron, which says "As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit." They also control Zhonya’s Hourglass, which says “If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it.” They choose to kill a friendly unit during step 3, but as they pay the cost in step 4, Zhonya’s Hourglass replaces that unit’s death. The cost is considered paid, and the player can continue playing Cruel Patron.
- 357.3.
A player may not pay costs during this step that will deterministically result in illegal choices or actions later in this process unless they have no choice.
Example: A player plays a card which reads “as an additional cost to play this, you may kill a friendly unit. Give a friendly unit +2 [M] this turn. If you paid the cost, give that unit +7 [M] this turn instead” If they chose to pay the cost, they must choose to kill a unit other than the targeted unit unless they have no choice.
- 358.3.
Check that the outcome of the effect of this card being played would not create an illegal state.
Example: Check that a spell's execution does not create a state where a Battlefield has Units controlled by 3 different players.
- 358.3.a.new
If a Game Effect prevents the performance of a game action, that effect doesn’t prevent cards and abilities that instruct a player to perform that game action from being played or finalized. On resolution, that game action will be skipped as it is an impossible instruction.
Example: A player plays Here to Help when their opponent controls a Mageseeker Warden at a battlefield. Here to Help is legal to play under these circumstances. On resolution, no unit will be played.
- 358.4.
Check that the card has the appropriate permissions to be played at this timing.
Example: If the state is Showdown Closed and the card was the one that Closed the state, ensure that it has [Action] or [Reaction].
Example: If the state is Closed and the card wasn’t the one that Closed the state, ensure that it has [Reaction].
- 358.5.new
If any of the above checks fail, the actions taken in this process are undone and the action is cancelled.
- 359.3.d.
Otherwise, execute the game effect of the spell, from top to bottom of the rules text of the card and then place the card in the Trash of the owning player.
- 359.3.e.2.
A target is illegal as the spell resolves if it no longer meets the targeting requirements of the spell, or if it has changed Zones to or from a Non-Board Zone.
- 359.3.e.3.
If a target ceases to meet the targeting requirements while the spell is on the chain, then meets them again, it's a legal target.
Example: A spell targets "a unit at a battlefield." A player reacts with a spell that moves the unit to base, then another player reacts with a spell that moves it back to that battlefield, then the original spell resolves. The unit is a legal target.
- 359.3.e.4.
If a target changes Zones to or from a Non-Board Zone and then returns to its original zone, it is no longer a legal target, because it's not treated as the same object.
Examples: An enemy unit at a battlefield is no longer a legal target if it is no longer an enemy, no longer a unit, or no longer at a battlefield. A unit with 3 or less Might is no longer a legal target if it is no longer a unit or if its Might is greater than 3. Something that's exhausted is no longer a legal target if it is no longer exhausted. (It can't stop being "something.")
- 359.3.e.5.
If any of the spell's targets are no longer legal, those game objects, players, or zones are unaffected by the spell as it resolves. Any instructions related to an illegal target can’t be followed.
Example: A player plays Void Seeker, a spell that says "Deal 4 to a unit at a battlefield. Draw 1." The unit's controller uses a Reaction to move the unit to their base. Since the unit is no longer a legal target, it is not dealt any damage. Void Seeker's controller still draws 1.
Example: A player plays Bellow’s Breath targeting a unit in combat that reads in part “I can’t be chosen by enemy spells and abilities unless I’m in combat.” In reaction, that unit’s controller plays Flash, moving the unit to their base. The unit is no longer in combat, so it is no longer a legal target for Bellow’s Breath. The unit will be unaffected by Bellow’s Breath as it resolves.
Example: A player plays Hidden Blade from the facedown zone at a battlefield, targeting an enemy unit. In reaction to Hidden Blade, their opponent plays Tideturner from facedown at another battlefield, choosing to swap locations with the unit Hidden Blade targeted. When Hidden Blade resolves, the chosen unit is no longer at the appropriate battlefield, so any instructions related to that unit are ignored.
- 359.3.e.6.
Instructions that can't be followed, either because of illegal targets or other circumstances, are ignored.
Example: A player plays Ride the Wind choosing to move their unit at
Vilemaw’s Lair to base. Base is a legal move destination for Ride the
Wind, but on resolution of Ride the Wind’s effect, the move instruction will
be ignored because Vilemaw’s restriction makes the instruction
impossible.
- 359.3.e.7.
If all of an instruction's Targets become Invalid or Unavailable by the time the spell begins resolving, that instruction will not execute.
- 359.3.e.8.
If an instruction has more than one Target and fewer than all of the Targets become Invalid or Unavailable by the time the spell begins resolving, the instruction will execute, with only the Targets available and valid being operated on.
Example: Singularity reads “deal 6 to each of up to two units.” The
instruction will execute even if one of those units is made unavailable
before the spell begins.
- 359.3.e.9.
The process for a card's choice becoming Invalid or Unavailable is referred to as mistargeting.
Example: A spell has the instruction "Deal 2 to a unit at a battlefield." Before that instruction can execute, the chosen unit is moved to its base. The instruction will not be executed, because it specifies that the unit it chooses must be at a Battlefield, and by the time it attempted to execute, the unit was no longer valid as a choice.
- 359.3.e.9.a.new
If another spell or ability attempts to reference the number of game objects, players, or zones that a Finalized Chain Item targets, it will include any mistargeted choices, but not any targets that have changed to a non-board zone.
Example: When a player moves their Volibear, Furious to an occupied enemy battlefield and combat initiates, Volibear’s attack trigger goes on the chain targeting three of the units at that battlefield. In reaction, the defending player plays Flash moving two of the three units back. That player cannot then target the attack trigger with Repulse, which reads “Choose a friendly unit at a battlefield. Counter an enemy spell or ability that chooses it and no other friendly unit.” If the defending player instead played Heedless Resurrection twice, killing the two units, Repulse can legally target the attack trigger, because two of the targets have changed to a non-board zone.
- 359.3.e.10.
It is possible for none of a spell's instructions to be executed as it resolves, due to all of them requiring targets to act on and all of those targets becoming Invalid or Unavailable. In this case, the spell has no effect but is still considered played.
Example: A player plays a spell that reads "Deal 2 to a unit at a battlefield" with no other instructions, and chooses an enemy unit at a battlefield. They also control a unit with the ability "When you play a spell, give me +1 [M] this turn." Before the spell resolves, the chosen unit is moved to its base. The spell resolves and its only instruction cannot be executed, but the unit's ability still triggers as the spell resolves and gives it +1 [M].
- 359.3.e.11.
Instructions that can be partially followed are followed as much as possible and ignored otherwise.
Example: A player plays a spell that says "Discard 2, then draw 2." If their hand is empty, the instruction to discard 2 will be ignored. They'll still draw 2. If they had 1 card in hand, they would discard it and draw 2.
- 359.3.e.12.
If the spell checks information about a target that is no longer legal or a card or permanent whose location, zone, or status has changed such that that information is no longer available, that check returns "null" and all calculations based on it are ignored.
Examples: A unit that is no longer on the board is treated as having null Might, null cost, etc. A unit that is no longer on the board has no location, is neither exhausted nor readied, etc. Baited Hook says "[1][C], [E]: Kill a friendly unit. Look at the top 5 cards of your Main Deck. You may banish a unit from among them that has Might up to 1 more than the killed unit and play it, ignoring its cost. Then recycle the rest." While Baited Hook’s ability is on the chain, an opponent reacts with a spell that returns the friendly unit to its owner's hand. Because the friendly unit is no longer a legal target, it can't be killed and its Might is treated as null. Baited Hook’s controller looks at the top 5 cards of their Main Deck, but can’t choose any unit from among them. Strike Down reads “Choose an equipped friendly unit. It deals damage equal to its Might to an enemy unit. Then detach an Equipment from it.” While Strike Down is on the chain targeting a unit with only one Equipment attached to it, that unit has its Equipment detached via Angle Shot. When Strike Down goes to resolve, the targeted unit is no longer legal, so the unit’s Might will return as “null” and the instructions related to it are ignored.
- 359.3.e.12.a.
If the spell checks information about a target that is legal or a card or permanent whose location, zone, or status has not changed such that information is no longer available, that information is accessible.
- 359.3.e.13.
A spell or ability that moves something to a different zone as a cost or effect can "look back" at its characteristics before it changes zones.
- 359.3.e.14.
Some instructions may reference Game Objects affected by, or Game Actions performed in, other instructions in a card. The referenced and referencing instructions are called “linked instructions.”
Example: Hidden Blade reads “Kill a unit at a battlefield. Its controller
draws 2.” The “its” in the second instruction references the unit in the first,
so the two instructions of the spell are linked.
- 359.3.e.14.a.
In order for a later linked instruction to execute, its earlier linked instruction must have executed. If the earlier linked instruction is ignored for any reason, the later linked instruction will also be ignored.
Example: Hidden Blade reads “Kill a unit at a battlefield. Its controller draws 2.” If the chosen unit changes zones or moves to base in reaction to Hidden Blade, the spell will mistarget and the first instruction will be ignored. If the first instruction is ignored, the second instruction will not execute and the unit’s controller will not draw 2.
- 359.3.e.14.b.
If the Game Action performed in an earlier linked instruction is replaced, this will not affect the later linked instruction, unless the later linked instruction directly references the Game Action being performed.
Example: Hidden Blade reads “Kill a unit at a battlefield. Its controller draws 2.” This effect is split into two instructions: killing the unit and the targeted unit’s controller drawing 2. The later linked instruction doesn’t reference an action directly, so it will execute even if the kill action of the earlier linked action is replaced by some other event.
Example: Deathgrip reads “Kill a friendly unit. If you do, give +[M] equal to its Might to another friendly unit this turn.” If the friendly unit in question is not killed by Deathgrip because its death is replaced with another event, the later linked instruction will not execute because “if you do” directly references the game action.
- 359.3.e.14.c.new
Referencing a game action in this way only refers to the game action being performed and the object or player it was performed on, not the circumstances of its performance. Example: A spell reads “Deal 3 to an enemy unit at a battlefield. If you do, heal units you control at the same location as that unit.” If some but not all of that damage is prevented, the later linked instruction will still execute. Example: A spell reads “Banish an enemy unit at a battlefield, then play it to any battlefield. Then if you do, do this: stun all enemy units there.” A player plays it targeting a unit that has a passive replacement effect that reads “I enter in base.” The replacement effect causes the unit to enter in base, but this does not prevent the reflexive trigger of the spell from being placed on the chain. All that matters is that the unit was played.
- 359.3.e.15.
A spell or ability that leaves the chain during the process of its resolution will cease further execution of its instructions. This immediately causes the spell or ability to finish resolving.
- 359.3.e.16.new
If a Delayed Ability’s duration has ended before it was generated, the Delayed Ability is not generated and any instructions related to it are ignored.
Example: Targon’s Peak is a battlefield that reads in part “When you conquer here, ready up to 2 runes at the end of this turn.” If Targon’s Peak is conquered during the Ending Phase after the beginning of the ending step, such as via an effect like thrill of the Hunt, the delayed trigger will not be generated.
Example: Akshan, Mischievous reads in part “When you play me, if you paid the additional cost, move an enemy gear to your base. You control it until I leave the board. If it's an Equipment, attach it to me.” If Akshan leaves the board in reaction to his play effect, the delayed passive ability “You control it until I leave the board,” will not be generated. You will not gain control of the targeted gear even for a moment.
- 359.3.f.1.
Some information used by abilities is referenced from the source of those abilities, or from one or more targets of a spell or ability. This can usually be recognized by the presence of words like “here,” “my,” or “its.”
- 359.3.f.2.
Information referenced in an instruction in this way will be checked on execution of the instruction.
Examples: A player moves Yasuo, Remorseful to an occupied enemy battlefield and initiates combat there. In reaction to the Yasuo, Remorseful attack trigger, their opponent plays Fight or Flight from hidden targeting Yasuo, moving him back to base. When the attack trigger resolves, “here” is no longer the battlefield where combat is ongoing and the attack trigger mistargets. In reaction to a Yasuo, Remorseful attack trigger, an opponent plays Stupefy targeting Yasuo. When Yasuo’s attack trigger resolves, it will deal damage equal to his current Might of 5.
- 359.3.f.2.a.new
When a referent checks information on execution of the instruction related to a target, and that target isn’t legal, that referent will return “null” and all instructions related to it will be ignored.
- 359.3.f.3.
Some information used by triggered abilities is referenced from the trigger condition of the ability. This information is checked when the trigger condition is fulfilled.
Example: Lillia, Fae Fawn reads “when I move from a location, play a 3 [M] Sprite token with Temporary there.” If Lillia moves to a battlefield, her triggered ability will be placed on the chain and it will note the location she moved from when it does so. If she moves to a non-board zone in reaction to the triggered ability on the chain, it will not affect where the Sprite token will be played when the triggered ability resolves.
- 359.3.f.3.a.
In the case of a delayed triggered ability, the information is referenced when the triggered ability is created unless specified otherwise.
- 359.3.f.3.b.moved from 359.3.f.3.a.1
In the case of a linked ability that references information from a linked triggered ability, that information may be referenced from the trigger condition of the linked triggered ability if specified.
Example: Iascylla reads “When I hold, at the start of your next Main Phase, you may move an enemy unit to this battlefield.” The “this battlefield” in her delayed triggered ability refers to the battlefield she held, and so will be referenced from the trigger condition, when the triggered ability is generated.
- 359.3.f.4.
Some information used by the effect of a triggered ability is referenced from the triggered ability itself, such as “enemy” and “friendly” status. This information is checked on execution of the referencing instruction.
Example: Yasuo, Remorseful reads “when I attack, deal damage equal to my Might to an enemy unit here.” Yasuo moves to an occupied enemy battlefield and his attack trigger goes on the chain. In reaction to the attack trigger, the defending player plays a hidden Hostile Takeover and gains control of Yasuo. The triggered ability is unaffected by Yasuo changing controllers, and “enemy” is in reference to the triggered ability itself, so it will resolve with no issue.
Example: In reaction to the same Yasuo, Remorseful trigger, say the defending player had instead played a spell that reads “[Reaction]. Gain control of a triggered ability. You may make new choices for it.” They chose the attack trigger. When Yasuo’s attack trigger resolves, if they didn’t make new choices for the trigger, the controller of the triggered ability will no longer be an enemy to the targeted unit, so the triggered ability will mistarget and do nothing. If they instead chose Yasuo with the attack trigger, he would be an enemy unit to the triggered ability and so it would deal damage equal to his Might to himself.
- 361.1.
An Ability has multiple structures. Passive Abilities Replacement Effects Activated Abilities Triggered Abilities Delayed Abilities
- 364.1.
These abilities have a wide variety of formats to recognize.
Example: "I get +1 [M] while you have 2 or more cards in your hand."
Example: "Friendly Yordles at my battlefield have [Shield]."
- 364.3.a.
Conditional Passive Abilities can be recognized by the occurrence of "if" or "while" as part of the statement of the ability.
Example: "While I'm attacking or defending alone, I have +2 [M]."
Example: "If an opponent controls a battlefield, I enter ready."
- 366.1.
Passive Abilities of cards in zones that are outside of the Board will self-describe their context.
Example: The passive ability "Play me only during an opponent's turn." applies in any zone from which that card can be played.
Example: Undying Legion has a passive ability that reads “[Legion][>] You may play me from your trash for [3][C].” That passive ability only applies when Undying Legion is in the trash.
- 369.1.
A Replacement Effect can usually be identified by the presence of the terms “as,” “would,” or "instead."
Example: Zhonya's Hourglass reads "The next time a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it." This is a replacement effect that alters the execution of any Game Effect that would kill a friendly unit.
Example: Undertitan is a unit that reads in part “As I’m revealed from your deck, [Add] [2].” This is a replacement effect that alters the execution of any Game Effect that reveals Undertitan from your deck.
- 369.2.
Some Game Actions are themselves Replacement Effects.
Example: Burning Out is a replacement effect.
Example: Preventing Damage is a replacement effect.
- 369.3.new
Replacement Effects that apply to a unit as it enters the Board can be identified by describing how the unit enters, or by describing a game action that occurs “as” a unit enters.
Example: Master Yi, Honed reads “I enter ready.” This applies a replacement effect to the way that units normally enter. The event of him entering exhausted is replaced by one where he enters ready.
Example: Baron Nashor reads “As you play me, add the Baron Pit battlefield token to the board if it's not there already. If you do, I enter there.” The last sentence of his ability is a replacement effect that replaces the event of him entering at his original play location with him entering at the Baron Pit if it was created.
- 370.1.
Replacement Effects apply to any event or instruction that qualifies for their application. A Replacement Effect will specify the circumstances by which an event or instruction will qualify to be replaced.
- 370.1.a.
An event is the singular moment that results from a Game Action being performed or from a Game Object changing state.
Example: The moment that results from a unit being killed is an event that can be referenced by game effects, or even skipped entirely.
Example: The moment that results from a unit becoming Mighty is an event that can be referenced by game effects, or even skipped entirely.
- 370.1.a.1.new
Modifying or replacing an event is the same as modifying or replacing that Game Action or change in state that generated that event.
Example: Zhonya’s Hourglass reads in part “If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it.” A unit’s death being replaced by Zhonya’s Hourglass is the same as the kill action that caused that death not occurring.
Example: A card reads in part “The next time an enemy unit would become Mighty this turn, banish it instead. Its controller plays a 3 [M] Mech unit token to its location.” A unit becoming Mighty being replaced by this effect means the unit never became Mighty—no effects that trigger on units becoming Mighty will trigger.
- 370.1.a.2.new
An event can occur simultaneously with other events only when those events are all the result of the same Game Action or change in state occurring.
Example: A spell reads in part “Kill up to two units at battlefields.” When that spell resolves, the units targeted are killed simultaneously because their deaths result from the same game action.
Example: A spell reads in part “Kill a friendly unit. If you do, kill an enemy unit with no more Might than it.” When that spell resolves, the units are not killed simultaneously. There are two kill game actions being performed in the instructions of the spell. The friendly unit is killed first, followed by the enemy unit.
- 370.1.b.new
When a Replacement Effect applies, it replaces the qualifying event with one or more Game Actions or events, or the qualifying instruction with another instruction.
- 370.1.b.1.new
In the case of Replacement Effects that describe a game action to occur “as” an event occurs, the described event is replaced by that same event plus the game action being performed.
Example: Undertitan is a unit that reads in part “As I’m revealed from your deck, [Add] [2].” The event of Undertitan being revealed from your deck is replaced by Undertitan being revealed from your deck and adding [2] Energy to your Rune Pool.
- 370.2.
A Replacement Effect can only be applied once to an event, or to any Game Actions or events that replace that event.
Example: A player plays a spell that reads “gear you control become 1 [M] gear units this turn.” They control two copies of Zhonya’s Hourglass when the spell resolves. If one of those copies is killed, both of their Replacement Effects will be applied. Whichever is applied first, that Replacement Effect can’t be applied again. When it is applied, it kills its source, which creates an event the other can apply its Replacement Effect to. Once they’ve both applied their Replacement Effect to the original death event and the event that replaced it, they cannot go any further. At that point, whichever Zhonya’s Hourglass applied its Replacement Effect last will die.
- 370.3.
If a Game Object has a Replacement Effect that is active in a specific zone, it is evaluated and subsequently applied if it enters that zone before an event occurs that it could replace.
Example: A unit that reads “if a unit you control would die, you may banish me from your trash instead. If you do, heal that unit, exhaust it and recall it.” The first unit dies simultaneously with a 1 [M] Recruit token. It does not enter the trash before the Recruit dies, so it will not be able to replace its death.
- 370.4.new
A Game Object can apply its Replacement Effects to any qualifying events that occur simultaneously with it leaving the zone that its Replacement Effect is active in.
Example: Soraka, Wanderer has a Replacement Effect that reads, “If another unit you control here would die, if it has less Might than me, instead heal it, exhaust it, and recall it.” Soraka’s replacement can be applied to any qualifying event that occurs simultaneously with her leaving the board, including to units that die simultaneously with her.
- 371.1.
These Replacement Effects may only be applied to the specified number of events each turn. Once they have been applied to that many events, they cannot be applied to a later event in the same turn.
- 371.2.
If the Replacement Effect says a player “may” apply the Replacement Effect, the player has the choice of whether or not to apply it.
- 371.2.a.moved from 371.1
When an event the Replacement Effect could apply to occurs, the player who controls the Replacement Effect may choose to apply it to the event.
- 371.2.b.moved from 371.2
If they do not, it has not been applied this turn.
Example: Zilean, Time mage reads “Once each turn, if you would play a token unit while I'm at a battlefield, you may play that token and an additional copy of it instead.” When his controller plays a token, they can choose not to apply the replacement effect to that event. If they do, they can choose to apply it to a later event of a token being played.
- 372.
If more than one Replacement Effect applies to the same event being executed, then the controller of the object being acted on determines the order the Replacement Effects will apply.
- 373.
If more than one event occurs simultaneously that Replacement Effects could apply to, each event is treated separately and individually for the purposes of Replacement Effects, and Replacement Effects with the same controller are applied in the order of their controller’s choosing.
Example: Two units controlled by the same player die in the same cleanup. That player also controls Zhonya’s Hourglass. They must decide which event to apply Zhonya’s Hourglass to first.
- 373.1.
Although these events are simultaneous, the applied Replacement Effects are ordered. If multiple applied Replacement Effects with different controllers would execute simultaneously, they execute in turn order.
- 373.1.a.new
When executing Replacement Effects, the Game Actions that comprise their instructions are performed before any simultaneous unmodified events.
Example: Two units die simultaneously. One of those units has their death replaced by being healed, exhausted, and recalled. The healing, exhausting, and recalling of that unit will be performed before the other dies.
- 373.2.
When applying Replacement Effects to events that occur simultaneously, each Replacement Effect may only be applied in one sequence, to any number of events that are qualified to be replaced. Example: Soraka, Wanderer reads “If another unit you control here would die, if it has less Might than me, instead heal it, exhaust it, and recall it.” Soraka dies simultaneously with two 1 [M] Recruit tokens at the same battlefield and two 1 [M] Recruit tokens in base. Soraka has a Guardian Angel attached to her when she dies, which appends “If I would die, kill Guardian Angel instead. Heal me, exhaust me, and recall me” to Soraka’s rules text. There are several possible ways to order the Replacement Effects being applied to the various events: If Soraka’s Replacement Effect is applied first, it saves the Recruits at the same battlefield as her but not the Recruits in base. If the Replacement Effect appended by Guardian Angel then saves Soraka, she cannot apply her Replacement Effect to the Recruits in base as her Replacement Effect has already been applied to an event simultaneous with it dying. If the Replacement Effect appended by Guardian Angel is applied first, it saves Soraka and recalls her - then when Soraka’s Replacement Effect is applied, it can only save the Recruits in base.
- 373.2.a.
A sequence of Replacement Effects is an uninterrupted series of applications to a set of simultaneous events.
- 373.2.a.1.
A Replacement Effect that replaces an event or Game Action that is part of another Replacement Effect will not interrupt the sequence of the replaced Replacement Effect’s application.
- 374.
A Replacement Effect’s controller is the player that controls the source of the Replacement Effect.
- 375.
If an event that a Replacement Effect applies to would be modified by the Game Effect that generated that event, or the results of that event would be modified by a Game Action from a linked ability that references the replaced event, the Replacement Effect will inherit those modifications.
Example: Treasure Hunter reads “When I move, play a Gold gear token exhausted.” A Replacement Effect that says “if you would play a token gear, play that token and an additional copy instead” is applied to the event of the Gold gear token being played. The additional copy will also be exhausted, as it inherits the “exhausted” modification.
Example: Another Replacement Effect says “if you would play a token, draw 1 instead.” The modification from Treasure Hunter’s ability cannot apply, so we ignore it.
Example: A spell reads “play a ready 3 [M] Mech token. Then do this: Give it Temporary.” A Replacement Effect that says “if you would play a unit token, play that token and a 1 [M] Recruit token instead” is applied to the event of the Mech token being made. The Recruit token enters ready and is given Temporary.
- 377.
Activated Abilities are repeatable effects with a cost. They follow a process of going onto the chain and resolving, similar to Playing a Card.
See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
- 377.1.
Activated Abilities are recognized by the presence of a ":" in the text of the card, preceded by a cost and succeeded by an effect.
Example: "[2]: Draw 1" is an activated ability. The cost is 2 energy. The effect is to draw 1 card.
- 377.2.a.
If “using” or “playing” an Activated Ability is part of a trigger condition, that condition is fulfilled when the Activated Ability resolves.
- 377.2.b.
If an Activated Ability has a condition on “using” or “playing” it, that condition must be true in order to activate the ability in question.
Example: Ultrasoft Poro reads “[E]: Play two 1 [M] Bird unit tokens with [Deflect]. Use this ability only while I'm at a battlefield.” In order to activate the ability, Ultrasoft Poro must be located at a battlefield.
- 377.3.a.1.
The ability goes on the chain but has no card to represent it, so players need to take note that it is now a Closed State.
- 377.3.b.1.
Follow the steps of “Playing or Activating Abilities” in rule 398. This ability will become a Pending Chain Item.
- 377.3.b.2.
Opponents have an opportunity to respond, as appropriate, as if a card was played onto the chain.
- 381.
All Activated Abilities can only be activated on the Controlling Player's Turn and during an Open State.
- 383.1.
Triggered Abilities can usually be recognized by the word "when" followed by a game action or event; the word "at" followed by a point in time during the turn sequence; or the phrase “the [Nth] time” followed by a game action or event.
Examples: "When you conquer here, you may spend a buff to draw 1." "At the end of your turn, ready 2 runes." “The first time I move each turn, you may ready something else that's exhausted.”
- 383.1.a.
The phrases that identify triggered abilities do not always appear at the beginning of sentences or abilities.
- 383.1.b.
If an ability triggers “the [Nth] time” something happens and that trigger condition is met multiple times simultaneously, the ability’s controller picks one of those instances to serve as the trigger condition. The ability triggers only once, due to the chosen condition.
Example: Wraith of Echoes reads “The first time another friendly unit dies each turn, draw 1.” That ability hasn’t triggered yet this turn. Two other friendly units die simultaneously (say, due to combat damage). The Wraith’s controller chooses one of those deaths to trigger Wraith’s ability.
- 383.2.a.1.new
Any additional conditional statement immediately after the Condition must be true in order for the Condition to be fulfilled. Such a conditional statement is part of the Trigger Condition and not the Effect.
Example: Sona, Harmonious reads “At the end of your turn, if I'm at a battlefield, ready up to 4 friendly runes.” Her Trigger Ability’s Condition will be fulfilled in the Ending Step, but the Triggered Ability will only be placed on the chain if she is located at a battlefield when the Condition is fulfilled. If she is removed in reaction to the triggered ability, it will still resolve.
Example: Loose Cannon reads “At the start of your Beginning Phase, draw 1 if you have one or fewer cards in your hand.” The “if you have one or fewer cards in your hand” conditional statement is not immediately after the trigger condition, so it is part of the effect and not the condition.
- 383.2.c.
The Condition of a Trigger is evaluated after a potentially inciting event has been processed.
- 383.2.c.1.
If a Game Object has a Triggered Ability that is active in a specific zone, it is evaluated and subsequently triggered if it enters that zone at the same time that its Trigger’s condition is met.
Example: Immortal Phoenix says “When you kill a unit with a spell, you may pay [1][C] to play me from your trash.” This ability triggers if Immortal Phoenix is in your trash immediately after you kill a unit with a spell, even if the unit you killed with a spell was that Immortal Phoenix.
- 383.2.c.2.
A Game Object will not be able to successfully evaluate its Trigger Condition, however, if it leaves the zone that its Trigger is active from at the same time that its Trigger is satisfied.
Example: Viktor, Leader says “When another non-Recruit unit you control dies, play a 1 [M] Recruit unit token into your base.” This ability triggers if Viktor is on the board immediately after another non-Recruit unit you control dies. It does not trigger if Viktor and another non-Recruit unit you control die during the same game action (for instance, if they are both killed in the same Cleanup due to the damage dealt by Unchecked Power).
- 383.3.
When a Condition is met, a Triggered Ability behaves like an Activated Ability and is placed on the Chain.
- 383.3.a.
If a Triggered Ability says “you may”or “they may” as the first part of its Effect, the controller of its source will choose whether or not to perform the Triggered Ability during finalization.
Example: Tideturner reads “When you play me, you may choose a unit you control at another location. Move me to its location and it to my original location.” This “you may” appears as the first part of its effect, so the choice represents whether or not to perform the triggered ability.
- 383.3.a.1.new
The decision of “may” when it appears in this way is solely whether or not to perform said triggered ability.
- 383.3.a.2.new
If the controller of the Triggered Ability chooses not to perform that Triggered Ability during finalization, it is removed from the chain and considered to have not triggered.
- 383.3.a.3.new
If “you may” or “they may” appears in any later part of the Effect of a triggered ability, it is decided on resolution.
Example: Ornn, Blacksmith reads “When you play me or when I hold, look at the top 4 cards of your Main Deck. You may reveal a gear from among them and draw it. Then recycle the rest.” This “you may” does not appear as the first part of its effect, so the choice is made on resolution. The ability is always finalized to the chain.
- 383.3.b.
If a Triggered Ability contains a cost within instructions at the beginning of the effect or immediately following the “you may” or “they may” that appears as the first part of the effect, that cost is treated as the base cost of the Triggered Ability.
Example: Ekko, Recurrent reads “[Deathknell][>] Recycle me to ready your runes.” In this case, “recycle me to ready your runes” is a cost within instructions that appears at the beginning of the effect of the ability, and thus “recycle me” is taken as the base cost of the triggered ability.
Example: Insightful Investigator reads “When you play me, choose an opponent. They reveal their hand. You may pay 2 XP to choose a card from their hand. If you do, they discard that card and draw 1.” The “pay 2 XP” is a cost within instructions, but because it does not appear in the first part of the effect, it is not taken as the base cost of the triggered ability. Paying 2 XP is performed on resolution.
- 383.3.c.
Triggered Abilities can be put on the Chain during Closed States or Open States on any player's turn.
- 383.3.d.
If more than one Triggered Ability is Triggered simultaneously, then the player that controls the Abilities selects the order to place them on the Chain.
- 383.3.d.1.
If multiple players separately control Triggered Abilities that are Triggered simultaneously, then starting with the Turn Player and proceeding in Turn Order, each player orders their Triggered Abilities on the Chain.
- 383.3.e.1.new
Such a Triggered Ability will only be performed the specified number of times each turn. If its trigger condition would be fulfilled and it has already been performed that many times, it does not trigger.
- 383.3.e.2.new
If the Triggered Ability says “you may” or “they may” as the first part of its effect, its controller has the choice of whether or not it is performed.
- 383.3.e.2.a.new
During finalization of the Triggered Ability, the player who controls the Triggered Ability may choose to perform it.
- 383.3.e.2.b.new
If they do not, it is removed from the chain.
Example: A player controls a unit that reads in part “Once each
turn, when an enemy unit dies, you may banish it.” When an
enemy Recruit token dies, the triggered ability goes on the chain.
If they choose not to perform the ability on finalization, it is
removed from the chain. When a Stalwart Poro dies later in the
turn, they can choose to trigger it then.
- 383.4.
Some Conditions are commonly used and structured in a way that explicitly defines their use and other properties of the Effect that is associated with it.
- 383.4.a.
Play Effects are Triggered Abilities whose Condition includes the Permanent that has the Play Effect being played to the board.
- 383.4.a.1.
These are commonly structured as “When you play me…” for Units and “When you play this…” for Gear.
- 383.4.a.2.
These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Permanent these effects correspond to is finalized and enters the board.
- 383.4.b.
Targeting Effects are Triggered Abilities whose Condition includes a Game Object becoming targeted.
- 383.4.b.1.
These are commonly structured as “When you choose me …” or “When you choose a [Game Object] …”
- 383.4.b.2.
These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after a spell or ability that targets an appropriate Game Object is Finalized.
- 383.4.b.3.
Although these abilities say “choose” in their Condition, they trigger specifically when an appropriate Game Object is Targeted.
See rule 355.6. Targeting for more information on what counts as
Targeting.
- 383.4.c.
Conquer Effects are Triggered Abilities whose Condition includes a Unit participating in, and successfully Conquering a Battlefield.
- 383.4.c.2.
This category of Triggered Abilities encompasses only those that are triggered from Units that were present during the Conquer action, or Abilities that reference the player that performed the Conquer action.
- 383.4.c.2.a.
The Conquer Abilities of Units are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit(s) these effects correspond to are present at a Battlefield when a player gains control of it and gains 1 Victory Point from Conquering.
- 383.4.c.2.b.
The Conquer Abilities of anything that references the player Conquering is put on the Chain as a Pending Item when the Condition that the player that controls the triggering source has performed a Conquer and gained 1 Victory Point.
- 383.4.c.2.c.
If the act of gaining one point from Conquering is negated or replaced in any way, the Conquer Effect will still trigger.
- 383.4.d.
Hold Effects are Triggered Abilities whose Condition includes a Unit being present at a Battlefield during the Beginning phase when a player scores Victory Points from Holding.
- 383.4.d.2.
This category of Triggered Abilities encompasses only those that are triggered from Units that were present during the Hold action, or Abilities that reference the player that performed the Hold action.
- 383.4.d.2.a.
The Hold Abilities of Units are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit these effects correspond to are present at a Battlefield when a player maintains control of it and Gains 1 Victory Point during their Beginning Phase from Holding.
- 383.4.d.2.b.
The Hold Abilities of anything that references the player Holding is put on the Chain as a Pending Item when the Condition that the player that controls the triggering source has performed a Hold and gained 1 Victory Point.
- 383.4.d.2.c.
If the act of gaining one point from Holding is negated or replaced in any way, the Hold Effect will still trigger.
- 383.4.e.
Attack Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit or Player gains the Attacker designation for the first time during a combat.
- 383.4.e.2.
These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit these effects correspond to gains the Attacker designation during Combat.
- 383.4.e.2.a.
These triggers will only have their condition checked once per combat, despite a Unit being able to gain and lose the Attacker designation multiple times in the same combat.
- 383.4.e.2.b.
If the trigger condition contains other requirements besides attacking and if those requirements are not fulfilled when the unit gains the Attacker designation, it will not trigger in that combat.
- 383.4.f.
Defend Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit or Player gains the Defender designation for the first time during a combat.
- 383.4.f.2.
These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit these effects correspond to gains the Defender designation during Combat.
- 383.4.f.2.a.
These triggers will only have their condition checked once per combat, despite a Unit being able to gain and lose the Defender designation multiple times in the same combat.
- 383.4.f.2.b.
If the trigger condition contains other requirements besides defending and if those requirements are not fulfilled when the unit gains the Defender designation, it will not trigger in that combat.
- 383.4.g.1.new
To do so, that player checks the condition of all of the specified effects, as if they had fulfilled the named part of the condition.
Example: Reckoner’s Arena reads “When you hold here, activate the conquer effects of units here.” For each unit at the battlefield, you will check the trigger condition of their conquer effects to see if the condition has been fulfilled, treating the conquer portion of the condition as having been fulfilled. If all of the conditions are fulfilled for a conquer effect, it is placed on the chain as if it had just triggered. If any of the non-conquer parts of the condition are not fulfilled, it will not be placed on the chain.
Example: A spell reads “Activate the play effects of your gear.” For each gear you control, you will treat it as if you had just played the gear and check the other conditions of that gear. If all of the conditions are fulfilled for a play effect, it is placed on the chain as if it had just triggered.
- 384.2.
Triggered Abilities of Permanents are only able to have their Conditions evaluated while on the Board.
- 385.1.
Triggered Abilities on cards outside of the Board rely on the Information Level of the zone they are in.
- 385.2.
Triggered Abilities outside of the Board will self-describe their context.
Example: The triggered ability "When you conquer, you may discard 1 to return this from your trash to your hand." triggers while the card it's on is in the trash, and not anywhere else.
- 387.
Reflexive Triggers are a type of Triggered Ability that create one or more Chain Items when their condition is met.
- 387.1.a.
“Do this” can be followed by “N times.” The Reflexive Trigger will thus be added to the chain N times when its condition is met.
- 387.1.b.new
“Do one of the following” can instead be “Do X of the following” or “Do the following”. The effect will specify which of the related Reflexive Triggers will go on the chain when the condition is met.
- 387.2.
Reflexive Triggers will be preceded by their conditions, if any. If no condition is present in the ability then the Reflexive Trigger will always be added to the Chain.
- 387.3.
If present, the Condition of a Reflexive Trigger will follow the same format as a Triggered Ability.
- 390.
Delayed Abilities are a type of Ability that specifies a window of applicability during which they are active.
- 390.1.
Delayed Abilities can be any other type of Ability, and contain all of the properties of that type in addition to the properties of Delayed Abilities.
- 390.2.
Delayed Triggers are Triggered Abilities that can be recognized by describing a specific time of the turn, or by structuring a Triggered Ability with a specific frame of time as a restriction.
- 390.3.
Delayed Replacements are Replacement Effects that can be recognized by specifying the effect they are replacing at a specific time, or “the [Nth] time” in the description of the effect as it resolves.
- 390.3.a.new
Some Delayed Replacements take the form “then recycle it,” or “then banish it,” in reference to chain items being played by linked abilities or instructions. These are short for “if it would leave the chain after becoming a finalized chain item, and leaving the chain wasn’t instructed by its own execution, perform the specified game action instead.”
- 390.4.
Delayed Passive Abilities are Passive Abilities that are applicable only during a specified window of time. The time that the Delayed Passive Ability applies will be recognized in the effect that initiates it.
- 390.5.
Delayed Linked Abilities are Linked Abilities that are generated by another Ability and reference that Ability or Game Objects it affects instead of a window of time.
- 390.5.a.
If that Ability affects a Game Object, the Delayed Linked Ability’s window will be as long as that Game Object is in an appropriate zone.
- 390.5.b.
If the Delayed Linked Ability references the source of the abilities, its window will be as long as the source is in an appropriate zone.
- 390.5.c.new
The appropriate zones for these Delayed Linked Abilities will be determined implicitly by the Linked Ability that generated them.
- 390.5.c.1.new
If the Linked Ability causes the affected Game Objects to change zone to a non-board zone, the appropriate zone for the Delayed Linked Ability will be the zone the Game Object is moved to.
- 390.5.c.2.new
Otherwise, the appropriate zone is whatever zone the Linked Ability triggered or was played from, or whatever zone the affected Game Object is located in when it is affected.
- 391.
Delayed Abilities will resolve or be active just like the ability they augment, but only during the specified time in the effect that created the Delayed Ability.
Example: Ravenborn Tome reads “The next spell you play this turn deals 1 Bonus Damage.” This is a Delayed Passive Ability that passively adds 1 Bonus Damage to just the next spell played. The next spell is a specific time, and the 1 Bonus Damage is a passive ability.
Example: Noxian Guillotine reads “Choose a unit. Kill it the next time it takes damage this turn.” When the chosen unit takes damage is the specified time, and killing it is the condition for a Delayed Triggered Ability.
- 392.
Delayed Abilities are not associated with Units or Gear; they are created by other Abilities or Spells. As such they are executed when their condition and/or specified time occurs regardless of whether the source of the Delayed Ability is still on the board or not.
- 394.
Linked Abilities are a set of Abilities with one or more of the component Abilities referencing the other Abilities in the set.
- 394.1.new
Component Abilities can reference other Abilities in the set by means of referencing those Abilities directly or by referencing Game Objects affected by or mentioned in another Ability in the set.
- 395.
In order for a set of Abilities to be Linked, they must be present in the printed Effect or Rules Text of the same Game Object, or be granted by the same source to another Game Object.
Example: The Zero Drive is an Equipment gear whose rules text reads in part “[3][B], Banish this: Play
all units banished with this, ignoring their costs.” The Zero Drive’s effect text reads “[Deathnkell][>]
Banish me.” The granted deathknell ability is linked with the Zero Drive’s activated ability.
- 397.
A component Linked Ability that references a Game Object affected by another Ability in the set may only interact with Game Objects affected by the Abilities it is Linked with.
Example: The Zero Drive is an Equipment gear whose rules text reads in part “[3][B], Banish this: Play all units banished with this, ignoring their costs.” Any units banished by effects other than component Linked Abilities in the same set as the activated ability cannot be played when resolving the activated ability.
- 400.
Abilities when added to the Chain become Pending Items until they complete the steps of Playing.
- 401.2.
If there is currently a game effect being resolved, continue resolving the game effect instead of continuing the following steps.
- 402.1.
If the first part of a Triggered Ability’s effect is “you may,” or “they may,” its controller decides whether or not to perform the Triggered Ability now.
- 402.3.was 402.2
If legal options are not available for an Activated Ability, it is not legal to activate it.
- 402.4.new
If there are not enough options to make legal choices for a Triggered Ability that has been put on the chain, remove it from the Chain now. It ceases to be a Pending Item but never becomes a Finalized Chain Item.
- 402.4.b.moved from 402.3.b
If there are legal options to choose, the ability’s controller must choose them. They may not decline this stage of playing a Trigger.
- 403.1.b.
Triggered Abilities will typically not have a base cost associated with them when placed on the chain due to their conditions.
- 403.1.b.1.
If a Triggered Ability has a cost within instructions (e.g. “[do X] to [do Y]”), the cost is taken as the base cost.
See rule 740.2.a. for more information on costs within instructions.
- 404.2.
At this stage, players may decline to pay for Triggered Abilities that have incurred a cost. If they do, the ability will cease being a Pending Item and be removed from the Chain. It never becomes a Finalized Chain Item.
- 406.3.
If there are other Pending Chain Items on the Chain, their controllers perform the remaining steps of playing now.
- 410.1.b.3.
As long as it does not result in any forbidden action being taken or game state being created.
Example: A player can't use the Standard Move discretionary action to move a unit to a Battlefield that's already occupied by Units controlled by two other players.
- 410.2.a.
A Limited Action is a game action that a spell, ability, or circumstance of the turn's progression causes the player to perform. A player cannot perform these actions at-will.
- 410.2.b.
These actions can only be taken when a player is instructed to do so as the execution of an effect or during their specified occasion during the turn.
Example: A player may Draw during the Draw Phase on their turn or when
instructed to do so by a spell or ability. They can't choose to Draw at any other
time.
- 411.1.
Game Actions may be the responsibility of up to one player. The player that performs the Game Action is responsible for it.
Example: Cull the Weak is a spell that reads “Each player kills one of their units.” When the
spell resolves, each player chooses a unit they control and kills that unit. They are
responsible for the death of their own unit.
- 411.2.
In the case where a Game Action is performed by procedures of the game and not by any player, that Game Action is not the responsibility of any player.
- 411.3.
Certain rules assign responsibility to players for Game Actions that they are not normally responsible for.
- 411.4.
If an ability triggers when “you” do something, it triggers when a Game Action that you are responsible for occurs.
Example: A gear reads “When you move an enemy unit, you may exhaust this to [Stun] it.” It will trigger whenever a move game action that you are responsible for causes an enemy unit to move. If an opponent plays a spell that reads “choose a Battlefield. Each player may move a unit they don’t control to that battlefield,” and a player that controls the gear chooses to move an enemy unit, their gear will trigger.
- 411.5.
Note that certain Game Actions, specifically Kill, can be attributed to spells and abilities. This attribution is not the same as the responsibility a given player has for the kill game action.
- 411.6.new
Some Game Effects may check if a player has performed a Game Action “with” a Game Object. In order to do so, the Game Action must be attributed to the spell or ability of that Game Object if necessary, the player must control that spell or the ability of that Game Object, and the player must be responsible for the Game Action.
- 411.6.a.new
Abilities granted via the effect text of a Game Object to another Game Object count for both Game Objects for this purpose.
- 413.4.
If a player attempts to draw more cards than are available in their Main Deck, they do the following:
- 414.2.
"Exhausted" is a state for Game Objects on the board that other game effects and rules can reference.
- 414.3.a.
Most Exhaust actions will be costs for Activated Abilities or Discretionary Actions.
Example: A unit's Standard Move exhausts the unit as a cost.
- 414.4.
When Exhausting is listed as a Cost, then the Action must be able to be completed for the cost to be paid.
Example: A spell says "As an additional cost to play this, you may exhaust a friendly unit." An exhausted friendly unit may not be exhausted again as the additional cost for the spell, and the additional cost has not been paid.
- 414.5.
In abilities, the Exhaust symbol represents the cost "Exhaust this" or "Exhaust me." It resembles a card turning sideways.
- 416.1.
Recycling cards is the action in which a player takes one or more cards from a specific zone and then puts it on the bottom of the corresponding deck.
- 416.1.c.
Each player Recycles cards to their own Main Deck and Rune Deck, regardless of which player is instructed to perform the Recycle action.
- 416.2.a.
The player must Recycle cards from the specified zones when instructed to do so by game effects or costs.
- 416.3.
When Recycling is listed as a Cost, the action must be able to be completed for the cost to be paid.
Example: Vi, Destructive has the ability "Recycle 1 from your trash: Give me +1 [M] this turn." Each time a player activates the ability, they must recycle 1 card from their trash to pay its cost. If they have no cards in their trash, they can't activate the ability, because they can't pay its cost.
- 416.4.
When Recycling is part of an effect, a player must Recycle as many cards as possible from the specified zone or zones.
- 416.5.
If 2 or more cards are Recycled to the Main Deck simultaneously, they are placed on the bottom of that deck in a random order.
Example: Garbage Grabber has the ability "Recycle 3 from your trash, [1], [E]: Draw " To pay the cost of activating this ability, its controller chooses 3 cards from their trash and places them on the bottom of their Main Deck in a random order.
- 416.5.a.
If 2 or more cards are Recycled to the Rune Deck simultaneously, they are placed on the bottom of that deck in the order of their owner's choosing.
- 416.6.
This action, when instructed, is sometimes formatted as "Recycle X from [Zone]." That means to take X cards of the instructed player's choice from the relevant zone and recycle them. Such an instruction does not target the recycled cards.
Example: Dr. Mundo, Expert has the ability "At the start of your Beginning Phase, recycle 3 from your trash." As that ability resolves, its controller recycles 3 cards from their trash. If there are fewer than 3 cards in that player's trash, they recycle as many as they can.
- 417.1.a.
Assigning Damage during the Combat Damage Step is not Dealing Damage, but will cause Damage to be Dealt when assignment is complete.
- 417.1.e.1.
Only Valid Damage is Dealt.
Example: A unit reads “when I take damage, give me +2 [M] this turn.” A spell is played that Prevents the next 3 damage the unit would take. If a player plays Hextech Ray targeting the unit, it will take no damage and its triggered ability will not trigger. If that player had played Void Seeker instead, it would be Dealt 1 and trigger its ability.
- 417.6.a.
If a game effect does not specify a source, the game effect describing the Deal action is the source.
Example: Void Seeker is a spell that reads “Deal 4 to a unit at a battlefield. Draw 1.” The damage that Void Seeker instructs you to deal is dealt by Void Seeker.
- 417.6.b.
If a game effect does specify a source, then that source is what is considered the origin of the Damage for this Deal action.
- 417.6.b.2.a.
When an Ability is the source of Damage for a Deal action, it is in addition to the Spell or Unit that created that Ability.
Example: Iron Ballista is a gear that says “[E]: Deal 2 to a unit at a battlefield.” This damage is dealt both by a gear and by an ability.
- 417.6.b.3.
When a spell or ability specifies a Unit as the source of the Damage for the Deal action, it is not in addition to the spell or ability that instructed it.
Example: Challenge is a spell that reads “Choose a friendly unit and an enemy unit. They deal damage equal to their Mights to each other.” The damage that Challenge causes to be dealt is dealt by the chosen units, not by Challenge.
- 417.6.b.4.new
The controller of the source of a Deal action is responsible for that Deal action unless the player performing the Deal action is otherwise specified.
Example: If a player plays Challenge targeting a friendly unit and an enemy unit, the controller of the enemy unit is responsible for the damage dealt by their unit. Any effects that trigger “when you deal damage” that that player controls will trigger.
- 417.6.c.1.
The Damage assigned, and subsequently Dealt, to attackers has the defenders as the source and vice versa.
- 418.3.a.
Players may only Heal units when game effects instruct them to, or at specific points in the turn.
- 419.2.a.
As long as a player has the resources to pay the costs associated with the card and legal choices to make for their cards, they may Play cards.
- 419.4.
Some Abilities trigger when cards are played or otherwise check whether cards have been played.
- 419.4.a.
Any such triggered abilities trigger when the act of playing the card has been completed by the resolution of the card.
- 419.4.a.1.new
If a game effect prevents the resolution of the card—for example, because the card was countered—abilities that trigger on playing cards will not trigger.
See rule 425. Counter for more information.
- 419.4.b.
Non-triggered abilities that check cards being played do so by means of referencing whether said cards have been Finalized.
Example: A player plays a spell, which is countered by Defy. Any Legion abilities of game objects controlled by that same player will be active.
Example: A player plays a spell, which is countered by Defy. If that player plays Battering Ram and has played no other cards that turn, it will cost [4] Energy.
- 421.3.
Cards that are facedown at Battlefields have their gameplay properties and permissions defined by the effect that put them there.
Example: Cards that players Hide with the Hidden keyword can be Played for [0] on any subsequent turn as a property of the Hidden keyword.
- 422.1.
Discarding a card is moving it from a player's hand directly into their trash without activating or executing its normal rules text.
- 422.3.
When Discarding is listed as a Cost, then the Action must be able to be completed for the cost to be paid.
Example: A card has the ability "Discard 2: Deal 2 damage to a unit at a battlefield." To activate the ability, the card's controller must have at least 2 cards in hand and must be able to discard them.
- 422.4.
When Discarding is part of an effect, then a player must Discard as many cards as possible from their hand. If instructed to discard more cards than they have in their hand, further discard instructions are ignored.
Example: Undercover Agent has the ability "[Deathknell][>] Discard 2, then draw 2. (When I die, get the effect.)" If Undercover Agent's controller has 2 or more cards in hand, they must discard 2. If they have 1 card in hand, they discard 1, and the rest of the discard instruction is ignored. If they have no cards in hand, the entire discard instruction is ignored. Regardless of how many cards they discard, they then draw 2.
- 423.1.a.1.
A Stunned Unit can not be Stunned again.
Example: Eclipse Herald has the ability "When you stun an enemy unit, ready me and give me +1 [M] this turn." Its controller plays a spell that reads "Stun a unit." They may choose a unit that's already stunned, but if they do, Eclipse Herald will not trigger.
- 423.1.c.
A Stunned Unit must still have damage applied to it equal to, or greater than, its full might value to be killed.
- 424.1.
Revealing is the act of presenting a card to all players from a zone that one or more players do not have access to the information of.
- 424.1.a.2.
Cards remain in the zone they are being Revealed from.
Example: If a card is being Revealed from the top of a player's Main Deck, it is still the top card of that player's Main Deck.
- 424.1.a.3.new
The state of being Revealed lasts for the duration specified by the game effect that applied the state; if there is no duration specified and the state was caused by a Reveal action as instructed by a spell or ability, it lasts until the resolution of that spell or ability finishes.
- 424.1.b.
Unless otherwise described, Revealed cards do nothing else beyond become temporarily known information to all players.
- 424.2.a.
Players may only Reveal cards from Private or Secret zones when instructed to do so by Game Effects.
- 424.2.b.
During the course of a game of Riftbound, a player may choose to show Private information to one or more other players. This does not count as revealing and does not trigger any effects that trigger when cards are revealed.
- 424.3.
This action is formatted as "Reveal cards from [zone]." or “Reveal [Zone].”
Example: "Reveal 2 cards from the top of your Main Deck" would be executed by taking the two cards from the top of your Main Deck, and then presenting them to all players to clearly read and understand at the table. Then, when all players have had a chance to understand the revealed information, return them to the top of the Main Deck in the same order.
- 424.3.a.new
When the zone is instructed to be Revealed without indicating a number of cards, that refers to “All cards currently in the specified zone.”
Example: A card reads “Choose an opponent and reveal your hand. That player picks a card in your hand. You may play the rest this turn, ignoring their costs.” When instructed to reveal their hand, that player reveals the cards currently in their hand.
- 424.3.a.1.new
The Revealed state is applied to those cards. Any further cards added to that zone after the instruction has been executed do not become Revealed.
- 424.4.a.
While cards are Revealed, those cards can be further manipulated, or accessed. They can even have their destination modified for when the Reveal ends.
Example: "Reveal 2 cards from the top of your Main Deck. Put one into your hand and Recycle the other" would be executed by taking the top two cards from your Main Deck, presenting them to the table, and once every player present has had a chance to understand them you would make the selection of one of them to add to your hand. The one you did not select would then be Recycled to the bottom of the Main Deck.
- 425.1.
Countering is the act of negating the execution, activation, or otherwise playing of a card or ability by a player.
- 426.1.
Buffing is the action of placing a Buff counter on a Unit.
See rule 701. Buffs for more information.
- 426.1.b.2.new
Some effects may grant a Game Object permission to be Buffed multiple times. Such an effect ignores this restriction.
- 426.1.c.
Units with Buff Counters can still be chosen for actions that Buff units, but will not be Buffed as part of the execution.
Example: A spell reads "Buff a unit. Then, if it was buffed this way, draw a card." It will place a buff counter on a unit that has no buff counter, and then its controller will draw a card. However, if the player chooses a unit with a buff counter on it already, then the card will not be drawn.
Example: A unit reads “When you buff me, ready me.” If that unit is chosen for a game effect that would buff it and it is already buffed, its ability will not trigger.
- 426.3.
This action is formatted as "Buff [one or more units]."
e.g., "Buff a unit."
e.g., "Buff a friendly unit."
e.g., "Buff two friendly units at the same battlefield."
- 427.1.
Banishing is the action of placing a card from any other zone into Banishment.
See 108.6. Banishment for more information.
- 427.3.a.
Separate instances of an object or effect banishing cards do not reference other banished cards by objects of the same name or effects originating from cards of the same name.
Example: A spell reads "Banish the top card of your Main Deck. When you conquer this turn, draw it." This card effect allows you to draw the banished card from banishment if a condition is met. If more than one of these effects is played, each one triggers separately. Each card will be drawn separately. If the turn player passes the turn without playing the card, the card remains in banishment indefinitely. If the same player plays another copy of the same spell, banishes another card, and satisfies its condition, they could play the new banished card, but not the original banished card.
See rule 393. Linked Abilities for more information.
- 427.5.
This action is formatted as "Banish [one or more permanents or cards]."
e.g., "Banish a card from your hand."
e.g., "Banish 2 cards from your trash."
e.g., "Look at the top 2 cards of your Main Deck. Draw one of them and banish the other."
- 428.1.a.1.
Active Kill is when the action is taken when instructed by a game effect or as a cost for a card or ability.
- 428.1.a.1.b.
When a unit with a Deathknell or other ability that triggers on its own death is to be put in the Trash due to a Kill Instruction, it first has any such ability added to the chain as a Pending Item. Note the unit’s location, attributes, and other relevant information to process those abilities when finalized before completing this Kill Instruction.
Example: Draven, Audacious reads in part “When I die in combat, choose an opponent. They gain 1 point.” The ability triggers when Draven himself dies, so it will go on the chain first when a kill instruction is performed on Draven, before he is put in the trash.
- 428.1.a.2.
Passive Kill is when the action is taken as a result of Lethal Damage or as a consequence for any other state.
- 428.5.b.
A spell or ability that contains a Kill instruction is responsible for Killing the Unit or Gear.
- 428.5.c.
When one or more Units is killed due to a Cleanup, that kill action is attributed to the spell or ability that resolved immediately prior to that Cleanup that dealt damage to the Unit or Units.
- 428.5.c.2.new
If the Cleanup that caused the units to be killed was the Combat Cleanup, the sources of the Combat Damage are attributed the kill action, and their controller is responsible for the kill action.
- 428.5.d.
Abilities originating from Game Objects that are attributed Kill Actions are attributed in addition to the Game Object that created them.
Example: There is a spell that says “Do this twice: Deal 3 to a unit.” Immortal Phoenix is a unit that says “When you kill a unit with a spell, you may pay [1][C] to play me from your trash.” A player plays the spell while Immortal Phoenix is in their trash. The “do this” phrasing means that it has a reflexive triggered ability, which places two triggered abilities on the chain. As each of those triggered abilities resolve, it deals damage to the unit chosen for that ability. If one of these abilities deals lethal damage to a unit, both the spell and its ability are considered sources of the damage, and so both the spell and its ability receive attribution for killing the unit. This means that the spell’s controller killed a unit with a spell, so Immortal Phoenix’s ability will trigger.
- 428.6.
This action is formatted as "Kill [one or more permanents]."
e.g., "Kill an enemy unit."
e.g., "Kill this, [2]: Draw 1."
e.g., "Kill all gear."
- 429.2.a.
Priority and Focus will not pass from Add abilities being finalized or resolving, and will resolve before any other outstanding items on the chain are finalized.
- 429.3.
Activated abilities that Add resources and have the Reaction tag can be activated at any time that spells or abilities require resources be paid.
Example: A player can add Energy and Power through any means before initiating the process of playing a spell. After initiating that process, in the Pay Costs step, they may activate Add Reactions to add Energy or Power to pay costs.
Example: A player moves two units to a battlefield where their opponent controls a Mageseeker Investigator. Although they have no window of priority, they may activate Add Reactions to pay for the applied cost from Mageseeker Investigator, and those abilities finalize and resolve immediately.
- 429.3.a.
When an Add ability is activated in this way, it immediately finalizes and resolves, even during the resolution of spells and abilities.
- 429.5.
This action is formatted as "Add [one or more resources]."
e.g., "Add [2]." means "Add 2 Energy."
e.g., "[E]: Add [Y]." means "Add 1 Power of the Order domain."
e.g., "Add [1][G]." means "Add 1 Energy and 1 Power of the Calm domain."
- 430.1.
Channeling is the action of taking one or more Runes from the top of a player's Rune Deck and putting them on the board.
- 430.2.
The Game Effect that instructs a player to channel 1 or more runes may specify the conditions or circumstances under which those runes enter the board.
Example: A spell reads "Channel 1 rune exhausted." As that spell resolves, its controller puts the top rune of their rune deck onto the board and that rune enters the board exhausted rather than ready.
- 430.5.was 430.4
This action is formatted as "Channel X rune(s)," optionally followed by conditions or stipulations.
e.g., "Channel 1 rune."
e.g., "When you play me, channel 1 rune exhausted."
e.g., "Channel 2 runes exhausted. If you couldn't channel 2 runes this way, draw 1."
- 431.1.
Burning Out is an action a player must perform if they attempt to move one or more cards from their Main Deck to any other zone in excess of the number of cards remaining in their Main Deck:
- 431.1.a.
If a player must Draw cards in excess to the number of cards in their Main Deck, they will Draw as many as possible, perform this action, then Draw the remaining amount instructed.
- 431.1.b.
If a player must put one or more cards from their Main Deck in any other zone, such as the Trash, in excess of the number of cards in their deck they will do so as much as possible, perform this action, and then complete the remaining number required by the instruction.
- 431.1.c.
If an instruction directs a player to look at or reveal cards in excess to the number of cards in a player’s Main Deck, that player looks at or Reveals as many as possible, but does not Burn Out, then proceeds with the rest of the instruction.
- 431.1.c.1.
If there are insufficient cards among the looked at or revealed cards to perform subsequent actions to the revealed or looked at cards, any further instructions are ignored. This does not cause a Burn Out, even if those instructions would cause those cards to change zones.
Reminder: Cards are considered in the zone of origin while being looked at or revealed, in this case the Main Deck.
- 431.2.b.
Recycles their trash into their Main Deck.
Reminder: When multiple cards are Recycled to the Main Deck at the same time, those cards must be randomized
- 431.2.d.
Completes the remainder of the action that caused them to burn out.
Example: A player attempts to draw 1 during their Draw Phase while their Main Deck is empty. That player instead recycles their trash into their Main Deck, randomizing it as normal, then chooses an opponent to gain 1 point, and then draws 1.
- 431.3.
A player's Main Deck may remain empty as they Burn Out, usually because their trash is also empty. When they attempt to perform the original action again, it will cause another Burn Out.
- 431.3.a.
Unless some effect intervenes, this will result in them burning out repeatedly, giving 1 point to an opponent each time, until an opponent passes the Victory Score and wins the game.
- 431.3.b.
Points gained after the first Burn Out being processed in sequence cannot be replaced or prevented by any means.
- 431.3.c.new
Points gained after the first Burn Out being processed in sequence that cause a player to reach or surpass the Victory Score for their game mode will cause that player to win the game if they also have more points than any opponent.
Example: If a player has no cards in their deck or their trash and they go to draw 1, they will begin to burn out repeatedly. After the first burn out is processed, any subsequent burnout that brings a player to a number of points greater than the Victory Score and more than any opponent will cause them to win the game.
- 432.1.
Doubling is the act of increasing a numeric attribute by an amount equal to that attribute’s current value.
- 432.1.a.
This creates an effect that modulates that attribute by that specific amount for the duration specified by the Game Effect that instructed the player to perform this action.
Example: A unit with 3 base Might and Shield 2 is in combat as a Defender. Since
Shield applies, its current Might is 5. A player chooses it as the target for Last
Stand, a spell that reads in part “Double a friendly unit's Might this turn.” Its
current Might is 5, so it gets +5 Might this turn, for a current Might of 10. After
combat, Shield no longer applies, but the +5 Might from Last Stand does, so the
unit’s Might is 8.
- 433.1.
Swapping is the act of increasing one numeric value and decreasing another numeric value on some number of Game Objects such that their values are reversed.
- 433.1.a.
Swapping creates two different effects that apply to each attribute. One that Increases one value and one that Decreases the other. These effects last for the duration specified by the effect that instructed the Swap.
- 433.1.b.
To accomplish this, determine the difference between these values and then apply an Increase for that amount to the lower value of the two attributes, and a Decrease of that amount to the higher value of the two attributes.
- 434.1.
Attaching is the act of linking two cards on the board together to combine their effects in some way. This causes one or more cards to become Attached and at least one card to become a Top-Most Card.
See rule 716. Attachment for more information.
- 434.1.a.1.
One card will be designated as the one being Attached, and thus become Attached. The other will become the Top-Most Card.
- 434.1.b.
This is represented by physically laying the Top-Most card on top of the other or others such that all Effect Texts and Might Bonuses are showing, but nothing else from the card or cards Attached.
- 434.1.b.1.
In the situation where there is more than one card attached to the Top-Most card, they should be stacked in such a way that all Effect Text boxes and Might Bonuses are readable. The order of the Attached cards has no bearing on the application of effects.
- 434.1.c.
The Top-Most card has all Effect Text of all cards Attached to it appended to its Rules Text.
- 434.1.f.
Attaching a card to a new Top-Most Card will cause it to Detach from the card to which it is currently Attached.
- 434.1.h.
If a Game Effect instructs a player to Attach a card to its current Top-Most Card, nothing additional happens.
- 434.3.
Attaching cards does not inherently choose or specify a target. However, Game Effects that Attach cards may do so.
- 434.5.new
Attaching a card to another card does not modify either card’s state except in making those cards Attached and the Top-Most Card, and causing the Attached card to change locations.
Example: An exhausted equipment being attached to a unit does not ready the equipment.
- 435.1.
Detaching is the act of unlinking two cards that are currently linked through the act of Attaching. This causes one to cease being Attached, and potentially causes the other to cease being a Top-Most card.
- 435.1.a.1.
Game effects that instruct a player to Detach a card that is currently not Attached to anything will do nothing.
- 435.1.b.1.
To represent this, these cards should no longer be placed under the card they were previously placed under as Top-Most Card.
- 435.1.b.2.
If the Top-Most Card no longer has any cards Attached to it after this, it is no longer a Top-Most Card.
- 435.1.c.
The card being Detached has its Effect Text become Inactive and its Rules Text cease being Inactive.
- 435.1.d.
The Top-Most Card ceases to have the Effect Text of the card being Detached appended to its Rules Text.
- 435.1.e.
The Top-Most Card ceases to have its Might modulated by the Might Bonus of the card being Detached.
- 435.3.
Detaching cards does not inherently choose, or specify a target. However, Game Effects that Detach cards may.
- 435.4.
When a card Detaches from a Top-Most Card, its location is the same as the Top-Most Card from which it Detached.
- 435.4.b.
If the Attached card was Detached because the Top-Most Card changed zones from a board zone to a non-board zone, then the location that the Attached Card will Detach to is the last location the Top-Most Card was at before changing from a board zone to a non-board zone.
- 436.1.
Predicting a card is the act of looking at a single card from the top of the Main Deck and choosing whether or not to Recycle it.
- 436.1.a.
When more than one card is Predicted, the Predicting player looks at that many cards and Recycles any number of them before putting the rest back on top of their Main Deck in any order.
- 436.4.
If a player attempts to Predict more cards than are available in their Main Deck, they will Predict as many as possible instead.
- 436.4.a.
The Player will not perform a Burn Out as a result of Predicting with too few cards in their deck.
- 437.1.a.1.new
Prevent includes any applied Bonus Damage when determining the total damage being prevented.
- 437.1.b.
Prevent appears in statements that define an amount of damage and the source of the damage it will affect, as well as the timespan it will be relevant for.
- 437.1.b.1.
Prevent actions are usually formatted as “Prevent the next X [source] damage that would be dealt to a [unit] this turn.”
- 437.1.b.2.
Prevent will always apply to the next damage that would be dealt to a unit affected by the Prevent action.
- 437.2.
When damage is Prevented, it is replaced with an event where it deals that much damage reduced by the Prevent Value tracked on the Unit specifically.
- 437.2.a.
The damage being dealt as a result of Preventing can never be less than 0, but can be 0. This is equivalent to not dealing damage.
- 437.3.
When damage is dealt this way, reduce the Prevent Value being tracked on the Unit affected by the Prevent action by the prevented amount.
- 437.3.a.
If the Prevent Value is 0 or less, then Prevent is no longer being tracked on the Unit in question, and the effect expires.
- 437.4.
Damage dealt to a Unit that has that all of that damage Prevented is not considered to have been dealt to it at all.
- 437.5.
Damage can still be assigned to Units in combat that are affected by Prevent. The damage dealt as a result of that assignment will be affected by the Prevent action.
- 437.5.a.
Damage can be assigned to a Unit up to a value that would be Lethal considering the Prevent Value of all Prevent Actions on a Unit, following the normal rules for damage assignment. Example: A unit with 2 [M] is being assigned damage in the combat damage step. The unit has “prevent the first 3 damage I would take each combat.” The unit would need to be assigned 5 damage in order to have lethal damage assigned to it.
- 438.1.
Replacing is the act of Creating a token in the place of another card or token without playing it while inheriting all effects or statuses of the game object it replaced.
- 438.1.a.new
The replacing token is treated as the same Game Object as the card or token it replaced for the purposes of Game Effects that target or reference that game object.
Example: A player with Green Father as their legend conquers Navori Fighting Pit. They choose to place the Green Father conquer effect on the chain after the Navori Fighting Pit conquer effect. When the Green Father trigger resolves, Navori Fighting Pit is replaced with Brush. Although the Navori Fighting Pit has been replaced, the “here” in its triggered ability still can have its information referenced, because the Brush inherited all statuses and conditions. The unit Navori Fighting Pit’s triggered ability has targeted will still be a legal target on resolution.
- 438.7.
Tokens that have been Created through a Replace action can be instructed to be “Swapped back.” This may also appear as “replace [the token] with the [Game Object] it replaced.”
- 438.7.b.
To Swap Back, the token stops existing and the original card is returned to the space that the token just occupied, inheriting all current effects and statuses.
- 438.7.b.1.new
Any card that has been Replaced by that token or any tokens it Replaced is eligible to swap back in this way.
- 439.2.
Effects that Create one or more Game Objects will direct where those Game Objects must go - the Game Objects are Created directly to the zones in question.
- 439.2.a.
Prior to being Created, these Game Objects did not exist outside of the zone they were Created to. After being Created, they may change zones as appropriate for Game Objects of their type.
- 439.2.b.
If a zone is not specified by the effect, the Game Object will be created to the appropriate zone for its type.
- 439.2.c.new
The zone a Game Object is created to can be specified implicitly by the Game Action being performed.
Example: “Play a 1 [M] Recruit token” specifies a zone where the token is Created to implicitly, by specifying the token is played and thus created on the chain.
Example: “Create a 1 [M] Recruit token” does not specify a zone, so the Recruit token will be created at any location on the board that it can be played to.
- 439.3.
An effect that Creates a Game Object will specify the state and nature of the Game Object created.
- 439.4.
Unless specified otherwise by the Game Effect that Creates a Game Object, any such Game Object is owned by the player who Created it. Control is established as usual for Game Objects of the appropriate type.
- 439.5.
This action, when instructed, is usually formatted as "Create [X] at [Y]" or “Add [X] to [Y].”
- 440.1.a.new
“When you burn” abilities or other Triggered Abilities that trigger on burning are executed after burning has occurred.
- 441.1.c.new
If a Game Object is instructed to be Empowered when it is already Empowered, nothing additional happens.
- 441.1.c.1.new
Some effects may grant a Game Object permission to be Empowered multiple times. Such an effect ignores this restriction.
- 441.2.
“Empowered” is a state for Game Objects on the board that other game effects and abilities can reference.
- 441.2.a.new
When a Game Object becomes Empowered as a result of the Empower game action, that is an event that can similarly be referenced by game effects and abilities.
- 442.1.a.1.new
Game effects that instruct a player to Disempower a card that is not currently Empowered will do nothing.
- 443.1.a.new
Skip is an action that interacts with events and procedures of the turn. Example: A card reads in part “Choose an enemy unit. Skip the next time that unit would move this turn.” This is a replacement effect that replaces the event of a unit moving with nothing. Example: A card reads in part “Skip your Draw phase.” This is a replacement effect that replaces a player’s Draw Phase with nothing. Example: A card reads in part “Choose a player. They skip their next point from conquering this turn.” This is a replacement effect that replaces the 1 point gained when conquering with nothing.
- 443.1.a.1.new
An event is the singular moment that results from a Game Action being performed or from a Game Object changing state. See rule 367. Replacement Effects for more information.
- 443.2.new
When an event or procedure of the turn is Skipped, it is replaced with nothing. Play proceeds accordingly.
- 443.2.a.new
Anything that triggers on the occurrence of the event or procedure of the turn does not trigger.
- 444.2.
When a player is instructed to Pay a resource, that player may remove that resource from their Rune Pool if it exists there. If they choose not to, the instruction is ignored.
Example: When Diana, Lunari’s triggered ability resolves, if its controller has [1] Energy in their rune pool, they choose whether or not to pay that Energy as instructed. If they choose not to pay the Energy, they will not perform the additional effects of the triggered ability.
- 446.3.b.was 441.3.b
Permanents are either at their Origin before Moving or their Destination after Moving.
- 447.was 442
Moving is defined by the Origin and Destination of the Permanent that is changing locations.
- 447.2.a.new
In Modes of Play with more than two players, Battlefields with Staged Combats or Combats in Progress are Invalid Destinations for Moves of all kinds (Standard Moves or otherwise) by Units controlled by Players not involved in those Combats or who don't already have units at that Battlefield.
- 447.2.b.new
In Modes of Play with teammates, Battlefields occupied by a player’s teammates are Invalid Destinations for Moves of all kinds (Standard Moves or otherwise) by Units that player controls.
- 447.2.c.new
If an action would require a Move that would cause a Unit to become present in a Location where it cannot move for any reason, such as a Battlefield with two players that are not the controller of the Unit performing this Move action are in a Combat or such a Combat is Staged, it instead Recalls.
See rule 454. Recalls for more information.
- 450.
The Destination becomes Contested if it is an Uncontested Battlefield not controlled by the controller of the Unit or Units that moved.
- 455.was 450
A Recall is when a Permanent is relocated from anywhere to its Base without it being a Move.
- 456.3.was 451.3
A Recall cannot be prevented by actions and Game Effects that restrict or block Movement.
- 457.1.
When an un-attached non-Unit Gear is created or played at a battlefield, or is at a battlefield for any other reason, it is Recalled to its controller's base during the next Cleanup.
Example: An Equipment is attached to a unit at a battlefield, so the Equipment is present
at that battlefield. If the unit dies, the Equipment will be recalled during the next cleanup.
- 458.1.new
Unless otherwise stated by the source of the Recall, Damage and statuses of a permanent will all remain unaffected by a Recall.
- 460.was 455
A Combat occurs when a Cleanup occurs, there are no items on the Chain, there is a staged Combat at a Battlefield, and no Showdown or Combat is ongoing at any other Battlefield.
See rule 318. Cleanups for more information.
- 460.1.was 455.1
If there is an ongoing Showdown at the Battlefield where the Combat is staged, that Showdown will become a Combat Showdown and a Combat will be initiated there.
- 461.was 456
Combat is considered Staged if there are units controlled by two opposing players at a Battlefield but the Steps of Combat have not been initiated.
- 461.1.was 456.1
If more than one Battlefield has Units controlled by opposing players at it at the same time, the Turn Player decides which Combat to resolve first.
- 461.2.was 456.2
If Staged Combats stop being Staged before the Steps of Combat are initiated, they are not resolved or executed.
- 461.3.was 456.3
If a Combat and Showdown are staged at the same Battlefield and the turn player initiates the Showdown, it will open as a Combat Showdown.
- 462.1.new
In Modes of Play with more than two players, Battlefields with Staged Combats or Combats in Progress are Invalid Destinations for Moves of all kinds (Standard Moves or otherwise) by Units controlled by Players not involved in those Combats or who don't already have Units at that Battlefield.
See rule 447.2.a. for more information on Invalid Destinations.
- 462.2.new
In Modes of Play with more than two players, Battlefields with Staged Combats or Combats in Progress are Invalid to be chosen as a location to play one or more Units by a player not involved in that Combat by any means.
- 462.2.a.moved from 457.2.a
If an effect would require a Unit be played to a Battlefield with a Staged Combat or a Combat in Progress, where the controller of the played unit is not a participant, instead the Unit is played to its controller's Base.
- 462.2.b.moved from 457.2.b
Any subsequent reference to "here" in the corresponding effect is reassigned to the Controller's Base, where the Unit was played. Any further effects that may be invalidated are invalidated as if the effect was mistargeted.
See rule 355.6. Targeting for more information on Mistargeting.
- 462.3.was 457.3
All choices that would result in a Combat occurring between more than two players simultaneously are invalid and ineligible to be completed.
- 464.1.was 459.1
Combat will open in one of two ways: when a Combat and Showdown are staged at the same Battlefield and the turn player initiates the Showdown; or when the turn is in a Showdown Open State and a Combat is staged at the Battlefield where the current Showdown is ongoing.
See rule 318. Cleanups for more information.
- 464.2.was 459.2
When Combat opens, it either opens with a Combat Showdown, or the current Showdown becomes
a Combat Showdown.
- 464.2.c.1.new
The Attacker is the player whose unit(s) applied the Contested status to the Battlefield.
- 464.2.c.1.a.new
If a showdown opens as part of combat, this player gains Focus as the showdown begins.
- 464.2.c.1.b.new
If a showdown was already ongoing when the combat opens, the player who has Focus maintains their Focus.
- 464.2.c.3.new
The attacker and defender gain the Attacker or Defender designation now, as appropriate. Units at the Contested Battlefield controlled by the Attacker or Defender gain the Attacker or Defender designation now, as appropriate.
- 464.2.c.3.a.new
If a Unit controlled by the Attacker or Defender becomes present at this Battlefield after this moment, it will gain the Attacker or Defender designation during the Cleanup phase following the action that caused it to become present, as appropriate for its controller.
- 464.2.e.new
4. Add items to the Combat Chain if establishing Attacker and Defender has caused Triggered Abilities to become Pending.
- 464.2.e.1.moved from 459.2.d.1
The Attacking player, who has Focus, places Triggered Abilities on the Chain first, followed by all non-Defender players in Turn Order, followed by the Defending Player.
- 465.1.was 460.1
If both Attacking and Defending units remain at this battlefield, the following Tasks become Outstanding, in the specified order:
- 465.2.was 460.2
1. When the Showdown closes, Attackers and Defenders resolve Combat Damage at the Battlefield that was attacked, using their current Might.
- 465.2.c.was 460.2.c
Starting with the Attacker, each player assigns an amount of damage equal to their summed Might among the other's Units.
- 465.2.c.1.a.was 460.2.c.1.a
When all Damage is assigned, it will be Dealt simultaneously. These actions are not synonymous.
- 465.2.c.2.was 460.2.c.2
Abilities or effects may influence the order in which damage is assigned. Reminder: Lethal Damage is non-zero damage equaling or exceeding the Might of a Unit.
- 465.2.c.3.was 460.2.c.3
Units must have lethal damage assigned to them in full before damage is assigned to a different Unit.
Example: If a player has 5 damage to distribute among four 3 Might units, they may not choose to assign 2 damage to one of the units and 1 damage to each of the remaining 3. They must assign at least 3 damage to one, and the remaining 2 to another.
- 465.2.c.4.was 460.2.c.4
Units cannot have more damage assigned to them than the minimum required to constitute lethal damage unless no further units remain to have damage assigned to them.
Example: If a player has 5 damage to distribute among four 3 Might units and those units each have 1 damage already marked on them, that player may not assign more than 2 damage to any of those units.
- 465.2.c.4.a.new
If the damage assigned to a Unit is modified to or replaced by an amount of damage larger than the initial value, the assigning player must choose the minimum applied value such that the unit would take lethal damage.
Example: A unit with 3 [M] is being assigned damage in the combat damage step. There are other units without damage assigned to them with the same controller. The unit has a delayed replacement effect applied to it that reads “Double all damage that would be dealt to it this turn.” When assigning damage, the assigning player can only choose to assign 1 or 2 damage to this unit—when doing so, the assigned damage is doubled to 2 or 4 damage respectively. The minimum applied value such that the unit would take lethal damage in this way is 4 damage.
- 465.2.c.5.new
When assigning damage in this way, replacement effects that would apply to the resulting damage are considered to apply to the assignment instead.
Example: A unit with 2 [M] is being assigned damage in the combat damage step. The unit has “prevent the first 3 damage I would take each combat.” The unit would need to be assigned 5 damage in order to have lethal damage assigned to it.
Example: The attacking player is assigning their 3 [M] worth of damage to two defending units with 2 [M] each. One of the units has a delayed replacement effect applied to it that reads “Double all damage that would be dealt to it this turn.” The attacking player assigns two damage to the other defending unit, then when assigning damage to the unit with the delayed replacement effect they assign 2 damage to it; 1 damage that doubles to 2 damage as it is assigned to the unit. When that damage is dealt, it doesn’t get doubled again—the doubling is considered to have already happened during damage assignment.
Example: The attacking player is assigning their 3 [M] worth of damage to a 2 [M] unit. That unit has a prevent value of two being applied to it, as well as the effect of Lotus Trap, doubling the damage dealt to them. Both of these replacement effects apply to the assignment of damage, in the order of the controller of the 2 [M] unit’s choice. If they choose to order the replacement effects so that the prevent value is applied first, the unit will prevent 2 of the assigned damage, then the last 1 point of damage will be doubled to 2. The unit will have 4 damage assigned to it. When damage is dealt, the unit will take 2 damage. If they choose the other order, the unit will have 6 damage assigned to it, 2 of which will be prevented. When damage is dealt, the unit will take 4 damage.
- 465.2.c.6.was 460.2.c.5
A player must obey all requirements and restrictions on damage assignment if able.
Example: A player is assigning damage to the following units: a unit with Tank ("I must be assigned combat damage first."); a unit with Backline ("I must be assigned combat damage last."); and another unit without any abilities. That player must assign combat damage first to the unit with Tank, then to the unit with no abilities, then to the unit with Backline.
- 465.2.c.7.was 460.2.c.6
If multiple Units have abilities or effects that require a player to assign them damage with the same priority, that player may assign damage to those units in any order.
Example: A player is assigning damage to the following units: two units with Tank ("I must be assigned combat damage first.") and one unit with no abilities. That player chooses one of the units with Tank and assigns combat damage to it. Then they must assign any remaining damage first to the other unit with Tank, then to the unit with no abilities.
- 465.2.c.8.was 460.2.c.7
If a Unit has one or more Abilities or effects applying to it that demand it be assigned damage in a specific way that is exclusionary, then the assigning player chooses only one of those abilities to apply when assigning damage.
Example: Caitlyn, Patrolling with the Backline ability ("I must be assigned combat damage last.") has been given the Tank ability ("I must be assigned combat damage first."). A player is assigning damage to this Caitlyn with Tank and two units with no abilities. That player can’t fulfill both of Caitlyn’s damage requirements, so they may choose to assign damage to Caitlyn first, fulfilling the Tank requirement, or last, fulfilling the Backline requirement. They can’t choose to apply damage to Caitlyn in between the other two units, because that wouldn’t fulfill either requirement.
- 465.2.c.9.was 460.2.c.8
If there is more than one unit in which this situation applies to, each unit is dealt with individually. The assigning player chooses which ability or effect applies, and then resolves the assignment. If this creates a situation where now more than one unit must be assigned with the same priority, those units may be assigned damage in any order as normal within that priority.
Example: Two copies of Caitlyn, Patrolling with the Backline ability ("I must be assigned combat damage last.") have been given the Tank ability ("I must be assigned combat damage first."). A player assigning damage to these two Caitlyns and one unit with no abilities could choose to fulfill both Caitlyns’ Tank requirements by assigning them both damage before the other unit.
- 465.2.c.10.was 460.2.c.9
If a unit cannot be dealt damage, then no amount of damage can be considered lethal. Such a unit is exempt from any considerations of mandatory assignment.
Example: Kayn, Unleashed says “If I have moved twice this turn, I don't take damage.” While Kayn can’t take damage, it is ignored for the purposes of assigning lethal damage in combat.
Example: Counter Strike says “Choose a unit. The next time that unit would be dealt damage this turn, prevent it.” The unit in question has a replacement effect applied to it, but it still can be dealt damage. Thus, it is not exempt from considerations of mandatory assignment.
- 466.1.a.2.new
Insert “3d. Recall Attackers present at the Battlefield if Defenders are still present.”
See rule 454. Recalls for more information.
- 466.2.
The following Task becomes Outstanding:
Reminder: Resolve any items on the chain from dealing combat damage and the Combat Cleanup and associated FEPR before performing this step.
- 466.3.a.was 461.3.a
A Player has won a combat if they received either the attacker or defender designation and are the only Player that has units remaining at this battlefield during this step.
- 466.3.b.was 461.3.b
A Player has lost a combat if they received either the attacker or defender designation and are the only Player that does not have any units remaining at this battlefield during this step.
- 466.3.d.new
There is “No Result” if units were recalled during step 3d of the Combat Cleanup, if both Players have units present during this task, or if neither player has units present during this task.
- 466.3.d.1.new
If “No Result” was reached, and both players have units remaining, stage a Showdown and a Combat at this battlefield.
- 466.4.new
The following Task becomes Outstanding:
Reminder: Resolve any items on the chain from determining combat result and associated FEPR before performing this step.
- 466.5.new
1. If no Showdown or Combat is staged at this location, the player with Units remaining here Establishes Control if they didn’t already control this Battlefield.
- 466.5.b.moved from 461.5.b
If there are no Units remaining here controlled by any player, the Battlefield becomes Uncontrolled.
- 466.5.c.moved from 461.5.c
Remove all Hidden cards from this Battlefield that do not share a controller with the Battlefield.
- 466.5.d.new
Establishing Control results in a Conquer if that player has not yet scored this Battlefield this turn.
See rule 188. Control for more information on Control.
See rule 469.1. for more information on Conquering.
- 466.5.e.moved from 461.5.e
This does not have to be the player that applied Contested to the Battlefield.
- 466.6.new
The following Task becomes Outstanding:
Reminder: Resolve any items on the chain from establishing control and associated FEPR
before performing this step.
- 468.was 463
Scoring is the act of a Player gaining a point through the process of seizing or maintaining control over Battlefields.
- 469.1.a.new
In Modes of Play with teammates, Battlefields under the Control of a teammate during the scoring step of the Beginning Phase of a player’s turn are also disqualified from being Scored through Conquer by any means by that player’s team.
- 469.2.new
Hold: A player maintains Control of a Battlefield they did not yet Score this turn during their Beginning Phase.
- 471.1.a.1.new
Notably, points Gained from sources that are not Conquer are not beholden to these restrictions.
- 471.1.b.new
When a player tries to Gain a Point through a Conquer, and their current Point Total is 1 point from the Victory Score of the Mode of Play or higher, the following occurs:
- 471.1.b.1.new
If the player has Scored every Battlefield this turn, that player Gains the Final Point. If the player has not Scored every Battlefield this turn, that player draws a card instead.
- 471.2.c.was 466.2.c
These will only trigger when the Battlefield is Scored; I.E. These cannot be triggered more than once per turn for a player.
- 472.was 467
When a cleanup occurs and a player has accrued Points greater than or equal to the Victory Score for their Mode of Play, and if they have more points than any opponent, they Win the Game.
- 474.was 469
Layers are the mechanism in which Game Effects alter the Traits, Intrinsic Abilities, or other properties of Game Objects.
- 475.1.was 470.1
Layers only serve to structure the application and order that Game Effects apply to Game Objects to maintain consistency.
- 476.was 471
The layers are applied repeatedly until all effects operating on objects have been applied once and no changes have been processed.
- 476.1.was 471.1
Layers are applied in sequence. Each effect in them is applied as soon as able, and only a single time across all sequences.
- 476.2.was 471.2
When a sequence of applications completes, recur the process, and evaluate each layer again applying any effects that may now be applicable.
- 476.3.was 471.3
The removal or disqualification of an effect is separate from the application of the effect, but still can only be applied once.
Example: Fiora, Victorious has printed Might 4 and says “While I'm Mighty, I have Deflect, Ganking, and Shield.” If a player places a buff on Fiora, her Might is increased in the Arithmetic layer, after the layer for Ability-Altering Effects. The Ability-Altering Effect layer is then re-checked and the abilities Deflect, Ganking, and Shield applied. Since each effect has been applied once and there are no other effects to apply, Fiora’s characteristics are finalized as 5 Might with Deflect, Ganking, and Shield. While a buffed Fiora, Victorious is in combat as a defender, an additional +1 Might will be applied in the Arithmetic layer, giving her 6 Might and the 3 keywords.
Example: A buffed Fiora, Victorious is in combat as a defender when her buff is removed. Reevaluating the layers in sequence, she no longer gains Deflect, Ganking, and Shield during the Ability-Altering Effect layer, so when the Arithmetic layer is evaluated, neither the buff (which is gone) nor Shield (which she no longer has) apply. She goes directly from 6 Might with three keywords to 4 Might with no keywords.
- 477.1.a.was 472.1.a
This layer deals with effects that grant, remove, or replace inherent traits of Game Objects. Name Super Type Type Tags Controller Cost Domain
- 477.1.a.1.was 472.1.a.1
Assignment of Might is dealt with in this layer.
Example: A spell reads "A unit's Might becomes 4 this turn." The unit's Might is set to 4 in this layer.
- 477.1.b.1.new
When one Game Object becomes a copy of another, all copyable traits replace or are added to those of the original Game Object as specified by the Game Effect directing the Copy. This is applied in this layer.
- 477.1.b.1.b.new
Copy effects will copy the copyable traits of a Game Object. By default, those are the printed traits of the Game Object. When a Game Object becomes a copy of something, its copyable traits are updated to the new traits it has received.
Example: A player triggers Leblanc, Deceiver’s hold effect and plays a Reflection token, making it a copy of Honest Broker. That player then plays Mirror Image, targeting the Reflection token. When the Mirror Image Reflection token is played, it copies all of the copyable traits of the original Reflection token - which are currently those of Honest Broker which it is a copy of. That player will have three units named Honest Broker in play, two of which are token Copies with Temporary.
- 477.1.b.2.new
Some Game Effects may specify copying certain traits of a card. Only the traits specified by the Game Effect will be copied.
- 477.1.c.was 472.1.c
Effects for this layer can be identified by the phrase "become(s)", "give," "is," or "are" in the text.
Example: A permanent has the ability "Other friendly units are Yordles." Other friendly units gain the Yordle tag in this layer.
- 477.2.a.new
This layer deals with non-Copy effects that grant, remove, or replace the abilities or rules text of Game Objects. Keywords Passive Abilities Appending rules text Removing rules text
- 477.2.b.was 472.2.b
Effects for this layer can be identified by the phrase "become(s)," "give," "lose(s)," "have," "has," "is," or "are" in the text.
Example: A permanent has the ability "Other friendly units have [Vision]." Other friendly units gain the Vision keyword in this layer.
- 477.3.a.was 472.3.a
This layer deals with the mathematics of increasing and decreasing the numeric values of the traits of Game Objects. Might Energy Cost Power Cost
- 477.3.b.new
When an arithmetic effect from a source that is not a passive ability has a limitation that applies, it is limited at the time of its application, and is “remembered” at that limited level for the duration of its effect. This process is called “snapshotting.”
Example: If an effect gives a unit “-4 [M] to a min of 1 this turn” choosing a unit with 2 [M], then the effect will generate -1 [M] this turn.
Example: A unit reads “Units you control here have their Might increased to 5 [M].”
This is a passive ability, so it will not snapshot.
Example: A spell reads “Increase a friendly unit’s Might to 5 [M].” This effect is
applied once, with an unlimited duration. Because it isn’t from a passive ability, it
will snapshot.
- 477.3.c.new
Players cannot increase a numeric attribute by a negative amount. If an effect would instruct a player to do so, they increase it by 0 instead. Example: A player plays Last Stand, which reads “Double a friendly unit's Might this turn. Give it Temporary.” The player declares a 2 [M] unit as the target during finalization. In reaction to Last Stand, an opponent plays Eclipse targeting the 2 [M] unit. When Last Stand resolves, the unit is -2 [M]. Last Stand instructs its controller to increase the unit’s Might by its current amount, -2, when the double action is performed. This is not possible, so the unit’s Might is increased by 0 instead.
- 477.3.e.1.b.new
If there is a restriction or limitation to this increase and it isn’t from a passive ability, the limitation is “snapshotted” for the duration of the effect.
- 477.3.e.2.b.new
If there is a restriction or limitation to this decrease and it isn’t from a passive ability, the limitation is snapshotted for the duration of the effect.
- 478.was 473
If more than one effect applies to the same Game Object in the Same Layer, or to each other in the same layer, then both effects will apply but their order may be determined by Dependency.
- 478.1.b.new
Applying one of the effects alters the number of objects the other effect can influence; or
- 479.was 474
To determine which effect Depends on another, determine which of the prior criteria applies, and then also which effect’s evaluation is altered by the sequence of applications. That effect is said to Depend on the other.
Example: A unit with 4 [M] is under the effects of a passive ability that reads “Units you control here have their Might increased to 5 [M].” Its controller plays Discipline on the unit, giving it +2 [M]. When applying Layer alterations, both effects are applied in the same layer. If we apply the passive ability first, the passive ability will give +1 [M] while the Discipline effect will give +2 [M]. If we apply them in the other order, the Discipline effect will give +2 [M], and the passive ability will give +0 [M]. The passive ability is altered by the sequence of applications, so it depends on the Discipline effect.
- 479.1.new
If both effects are altered by the application of the other, no Dependency can be established.
Example: A unit with 4 [M] is under the effects of a passive ability that reads “Units you control here have their Might increased to 5 [M].” Its controller plays a spell that reads “Give a unit +2 [M], to a maximum of 5 [M].” If we apply the passive ability first, the passive ability will apply +1 [M] and the spell effect will apply +0 [M]. If we apply the spell effect first, it will apply +1 [M] while the passive ability applies +0 [M]. Both effects are altered by the sequence of applications, so we can’t establish a dependency.
- 479.2.was 474.1
To resolve a dependency, the effects within the same layer that created the dependency must be applied such that: 1. Identify which effect Depends on the other within the Layer. 2. Apply the effect that is depended on first. 3. Immediately apply the effect that Depends on the first effect next.
Example: A unit with 4[M] is under the effects of a passive ability that reads “Units you control here have their Might increased to 5 [M].” Its controller plays Discipline on the unit. As previously established, the passive ability depends on the Discipline effect. We apply the Discipline effect first, giving the unit +2 [M], and then immediately apply the passive ability that depends on it. The unit’s final Might is 6 [M].
- 480.was 475
If more than one effect applies in the same layer but no dependency is established, then Timestamp order is applied to the effects within that layer and sublayer
- 480.1.was 475.1
When an effect begins applying, it establishes a time for which it is compared against other Game Effects for purposes of resolving Layered effects as its Timestamp.
- 480.2.was 475.2
When Rules Text becomes Inactive for any reason, it loses its Timestamp. When it ceases to be Inactive, a new Timestamp is established.
- 480.3.was 475.3
Effects are applied such that the earliest Timestamp within each Layer and Sublayer applies first, followed by other Effects in that Layer and Sublayer in chronological order.
- 483.4.was 478.4
Battlefield Count: Determines how many Battlefields are in play, contributed by players, during play.
- 485.4.a.was 480.4.a
Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building. Only 1 will be used, chosen during setup.
- 485.5.was 480.5
Setup: Each player randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are removed and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously in the Battlefield Zone.
- 485.6.was 480.6
Format: Best of 1. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
- 485.7.was 480.7
First Turn Process: The player going second channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
- 486.4.a.was 481.4.a
Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building. Only 1 will be used, chosen during setup.
- 486.5.new
Setup: Each player selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are set aside and will not be used for this round of play. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously in the Battlefield Zone. After this game, if a player won, the Battlefields that were used are to be removed and not selected again for this Match. One of the remaining Battlefields that were set aside must be chosen instead.
- 486.5.a.new
If no player won a game, the battlefields presented for that game may be reused in a subsequent game.
- 486.6.was 481.6
Format: Best of 3. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the game. The winner of that game earns One Game Win. Players then reset the game state, remove the Battlefields in play from the game, choose new Battlefields from those set aside, and play again. The first player to earn Two Game Wins wins the match.
- 486.6.a.new
This format may be played as best of 5. In such a case, during games 4 and 5 of the match players may present a battlefield that has been removed from the game.
- 486.6.a.1.new
Players may only re-use a battlefield in this way if they have already presented each of their battlefields at least once during the match.
- 486.6.a.2.new
Players may not present a battlefield more than twice in a match when re-using battlefields in this way.
- 486.7.was 481.7
First Turn Process: The player going second channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
- 487.4.a.was 482.4.a
Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building. Only 1 will be used, chosen during setup.
- 487.5.was 482.5
Setup: Each player randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are discarded and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously between the three Players before play and will be used for this game.
- 487.6.was 482.6
Format: Best of 1. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
- 487.7.was 482.7
First Turn Process: The player going first does not draw a card during their first Draw Phase of the game. The player going last channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
- 488.5.was 483.5
Setup: Each player who is not going first randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are removed and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously between the players before play and will be used for this game.
- 488.6.was 483.6
Format: Best of 1. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
- 488.7.moved from 484.7
First Turn Process: The player going first does not draw a card during their first Draw Phase of the game. The player going last channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
- 489.4.a.was 483.4.a
Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building.
- 489.5.a.was 484.5.a
Each player who is not going first randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are removed and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously between the players before play and will be used for this game.
- 489.5.b.moved from 483.4.b
The player who is taking the first turn removes their Battlefields. They will not be used.
- 489.5.c.1.was 484.5.c.1
The first player will be followed by an opponent, then the first player's teammate, then the first opponent's teammate, and so on.
- 489.5.c.2.was 484.5.c.2
If allies are sitting across from each other, turn order proceeds clockwise as normal.
- 489.5.c.3.was 484.5.c.3
If allies are sitting next to each other, turn order is passed across the table.
- 489.6.was 484.6
Format: Best of 1. The first team to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
- 489.7.moved from 483.7
First Turn Process: The player going first does not draw a card during their first Draw Phase of the game. The player going last channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
- 489.8.a.was 484.8.a
Players may play spells or activate abilities during their Teammate's Turn. In order to do so, their Teammate will invite them to play a spell or activate an ability using their own Priority.
- 489.8.b.was 484.8.b
Battlefields controlled during the Beginning Phase of a player's turn by that player's teammate are disqualified from being scored by that Team, that turn.
Example: A player may not induce their partner to retreat, and then conquer a Battlefield their teammate was controlling.
- 489.8.d.3.new
If a spell or ability references or checks a player gaining or losing points, that ability checks whether that player’s team gains or loses points.
- 489.8.e.new
Friendly describes controlled Game Objects by a player or their Teammate.
Example: "When you play me, ready a friendly unit" could target a player's own Units or their teammate's Units.
- 489.8.f.was 484.8.e
Hands are Private Information. Players may show their Private Information to one or more players at any time during play, including their teammate.
- 489.8.f.1.was 484.8.e.1
Revealing Cards is still a game action and cannot be done unless instructed.
See rule 424. Reveal for more information.
- 489.8.g.1.new
When scoring the Final Point from Conquer, a player must Score each Battlefield in the same turn, excepting any that were occupied by their ally during the scoring step of that turn’s Beginning Phase.
See rule 467. Scoring for more information.
- 651.2.
If more than one player remains after a concession, follow the steps for the Removal of a Player.
- 651.3.
Removal of a player involves them no longer being able to make choices or otherwise influence the game.
- 651.4.
If the player has Teammates due to the Mode of Play, that player’s Teammates also lose and are removed from the game.
- 652.1.
Banish all permanents, runes, and facedown cards they currently control and all permanents, runes, and facedown cards they own.
- 652.2.c.
If the removed battlefield was applying any continuous effects, those continuous effects immediately cease, which may cause changes in the characteristics of units or hidden cards there.
Example: A battlefield reads "Units here have +1 [M]." If that battlefield's owner concedes and the battlefield is removed from the game as a result, units there immediately cease to get +1 [M].
- 652.5.a.1.
If the removed player was the Turn Player, play proceeds in Turn Order to the next available player in order.
- 652.5.b.2.
If the player being removed creates a state where all Players have Passed their Focus, the Showdown ends and play proceeds as necessary, E.G. Combat is resolved or a Cleanup is completed.
- 652.5.c.1.
If the removed player had Priority during a Chain, the next Player in order receives Priority.
- 652.5.c.2.
If the player being removed creates a state where all Players have passed Priority, then the most recent spell or ability on the Chain will resolve with Priority being re-established as appropriate for the state after the resolution of that spell or ability.