============================================================================= Card Rulings Summary (CHANGES ONLY) Updated 01/14/98 ============================================================================= Rulings are collected from many sources. See credits and disclaimer at the end of the file for details. The most recent mtg-l digest used was "13 Jan 1998". These rulings are updated monthly. The most recent version is available on the web (WWW) as either of the following: http://www.activesw.com/~sdangelo/magic.html ftp://ftp.activesw.com/pub/sdangelo/magic/rule-cards.txt The above files are also available via FTP to "ftp.activesw.com" under "pub/sdangelo/magic" as "rule-cards.txt". If you have neither WWW nor FTP access, send e-mail to "dangelo@netcom.com" requesting a copy of the current Rulings Summaries. A '+' is used to mark changes since the last released version on 12/17/97. Thanx, Stephen. ---- Stephen D'Angelo | Official Magic: The Gathering Rules Summary dangelo@netcom.com | Network Representative for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ============================================================================== Printing Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. Card Rulings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - - * - * - A - * - * - - Abduction: + Can be played on an already untapped creature. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] Abeyance: + Does prohibit the abilities of cards which are not in play. For example, the Ashen Ghoul's ability can be played while it is in your graveyard. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] (REVERSAL) Aluren: + Any penalty costs such as Gloom still need to be paid. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] - - * - * - B - * - * - - Barrow Ghoul: + During the upkeep ability, the creature card is removed from the graveyard as a cost, so if you have two Barrow Ghouls, you need one creature card for each if you want to keep them both. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] - - * - * - C - * - * - - Chain Lightning: + Each time Chain Lightning deals damage it happens in a separate damage prevention step. This is because of the "then" in the card text which handles damage prevention and allows mana to be drawn for the next use. [D'Angelo 01/09/98] Coffin Queen: + The activated ability has two parts. First, it puts a creature card into play as a one-time effect. Second, it sets up an ongoing effect that tracks what happens to the Coffin Queen. If this second effect is not ended before the Coffin Queen leaves play or untaps, then the creature is removed from the game when that happens. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] + If the creature brought into play phases out, the tracking effect ends and the creature will no longer be removed if something happens to the Coffin Queen. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Cold Storage: + As errata, the card should read "{3}: Remove target creature you control from the game. Sacrifice Cold Storage: Put into play under its owner's control each creature removed from the game with Cold Storage." [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Cursed Scroll: + As errata, the ability should have you reveal the card that your opponent chooses to all players. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] + You cannot target the player who chose a card from your hand. This is because of a long-standing rule you cannot choose the same target more than once for a single spell/ability. The result is that in a two player game you can only target creatures with this spell. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] There is a chance that this ruling may be changed. - - * - * - D - * - * - - Dingus Egg: + If multiple lands are destroyed at once, each land causes the Egg to do 2 points of damage. These are all from the same source but come in separate damage prevention steps because each land causes a separate triggered effect. [bethmo] Dream Tides: + The text "Each nongreen creature's controller may pay..." means that the controller may pay for each non-green creature. Some people were reading it as saying that if a player controlled a green creature then they could not pay for any of their creatures. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] Dwarven Nomad: + See "Dwarven Warriors" for rulings. - - * - * - E - * - * - - Enraging Licid: + As errata, change "instead of a creature" to "instead of any other type of permanent". [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Escaped Shapeshifter: + This card ignores any other Escaped Shapeshifters in play when checking to see if another creature has the various abilities. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] + Effects, such as the Radjan Spirit's, can remove an ability from the Shapeshifter as if it had that ability naturally. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] Ertai's Meddling: + As errata, the card should state that although the target of the spell is considered successfully cast, it does not resolve at the normal time. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] + If a spell is targeted by more than one Ertai's Meddling, the spell will resolve only once. The other Meddlings will attempt to have the spell resolve, but their effects will be ignored because a spell can resolve only once each time it is successfully cast. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Eye for an Eye: + Cannot be used if there is no damage for it to check against. [D'Angelo 11/08/96] - - * - * - F - * - * - - Field of Souls: + If you have two of these in play, both will trigger when a non-token creature goes to the graveyard. [bethmo 12/19/97] Fireball: + If the damage to creatures is redirected to the player (via Jade Monolith or other effect), the damage from the fireball can all be prevented with one use of a Circle of Protection. The trick is that all damage from one use of a spell/ability can be prevented at once. [WotC Rules Team 10/03/96] Furnace of Rath: + Does double damage (again) when the damage is being redirected from one place to another. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Trample counts as redirection. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] - - * - * - G - * - * - - Gemstone Mine: + Burying this card when the last counter is removed is a triggered effect. It is not part of the last removal. This makes it possible to sacrifice this card to Squandered Resources (which is a mana source ability) after the last counter is removed. [WotC Rules Team 10/06/97] Grindstone: + If the two cards are both colorless, then the effect does not repeat. It only repeats if both cards have at least one color and at least one color is shared between them. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] - - * - * - H - * - * - - Hand to Hand: + Will prevent "pay to be able to attack" abilities such as Propaganda. [D'Angelo 12/18/97] Helm of Awakening: + It also can be applied to buyback costs. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] - - * - * - I - * - * - - Ifh-Biff Efreet: + Each payment counts as a separate use and therefore a separate damage prevention step. [bethmo] It is not an activation cost. - - * - * - J - * - * - - Justice: + If a single source does damage to multiple targets at once, Justice will add up all the damage done and deal damage to the source's controller at one time (not multiple separate damagings). [Duelist Magazine #7, Page 100] - - * - * - K - * - * - - Karma: + Is considered one source of white damage and the damage comes in one effect. [Aahz 07/29/94] - - * - * - L - * - * - - Leeching Licid: + As errata, change "instead of a creature" to "instead of any other type of permanent". [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Living Death: + The creatures which are put in the graveyard cannot be regenerated. [D'Angelo 12/28/97] - - * - * - M - * - * - - Magnetic Web: + As errata, the first sentence should read "Each creature with any magnet counters on it attacks if able if any other creatures with any magnet counters on them attack." [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] The ability is continuous and not triggered. Malignant Growth: + It has one effect of X damage, not X effects of one damage each. [Aahz 03/17/97] Manabarbs: + Each land tapped acts a new trigger for damage, but all damage is from the same source. [bethmo] This means each point of damage arrives in a separate damage prevention step. + You can get all the damage from Manabarbs into a single damage prevention step which is preventable by a single use of a Cicle of Protection by doing the following: tap one land for mana, then in the damage prevention step, tap additional lands for mana. When you do this, the additional damage gets added to the current damage prevention step (such steps do not nest) and all damage from one source in one damage prevention step can be prevented at one time. [Duelist Magazine #17, Page 24] Mana Clash: + All the damage from the coin flips is saved up and happens when the spell is done resolving. All the damage is collected into a single damage prevention step. Thus you need to power a Circle of Protection: Red only once for this. [D'Angelo 10/01/96] Mangara's Tome: + If there are no cards under the Tome, you can still use the ability to turn a draw into a "do nothing". [DeLaney 12/22/97] Monsoon: + The damage is done in a single damage prevention step no matter how many Islands are tapped by the effect. [D'Angelo 10/01/96] - - * - * - N - * - * - - Nurturing Licid: + As errata, change "instead of a creature" to "instead of any other type of permanent". [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] - - * - * - O - * - * - - Ogre Enforcer: + If its toughness falls to zero or less and it is undamaged, it will stay in play until at least 1 damage is successfully dealt to it or unless it already has at least 1 damage on it. [Duelist Magazine #17, Page 47] Note that dealing zero damage to it is the same as not damaging it since there is no such thing as taking zero damage. Oracle en-Vec: + The way the card works is that the target player chooses which creatures will attack on their next turn. Creatures which are chosen to attack, but do not attack, are destroyed at the end of that turn. Creatures which are not chosen to be attackers are not affected in any way. [D'Angelo 12/17/97] - - * - * - P - * - * - - Peace Talks: + Does stop triggered abilities which target a permanent or player from being played. For example, a Nekrataal can be cast, but the "comes into play" triggered ability to bury a creature could not be played. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] Pestilence: + Each activation is considered a new damage effect. An activation can only be 1 point of damage. You cannot multiply pump the effect in one activation. [Duelist Magazine #12, Page 26] Phyrexian Splicer: + If the target which is having the ability removed does not have that ability during the resolution of this effect, then the other target still gains the ability. It was only important for the first target to have the ability during announcement. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] Power Surge: + Is considered one source of red damage and damage comes in one damaging effect. [bethmo] Pyrotechnics: + No matter how much you assign to a target, it is only targeted once, and so damage is assigned once per target regardless of the amount of damage assigned to that target. [D'Angelo 03/02/95] - - * - * - Q - * - * - - Quickening Licid: + As errata, change "instead of a creature" to "instead of any other type of permanent". [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] - - * - * - R - * - * - - Rootwater Matriarch: + The control effect ends if at any time the creature has no enchantments on it. [D'Angelo 12/18/97] - - * - * - S - * - * - - Scragnoth: + Counterspells like Dissipate and Memory Lapse do not have their side effect happen when the countering fails. This is because these spells just are a counter with a "put the card someplace instead of the graveyard after the counter is successful", which cannot happen if the counter is not successful. [Aahz 10/07/97] + Counterspells do have their untargeted parts work since the counter just fails rather than fizzling. So Dismiss lets you draw a card. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] Scroll Rack: + If there are not enough cards in the library, you do not lose. This is not a draw effect. You just get as many cards as are there, even if there are zero cards in the library. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] Soul Echo: + In a multi-player game, you choose a new target player during each of your upkeeps. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] Stench of Evil: + All the damage is done in one effect and not one per land. [bethmo 10/05/95] Stinging Licid: + As errata, change "instead of a creature" to "instead of any other type of permanent". [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Strip Mine: + Was on the Duelists' Convocation banned list (not allowed in a deck) for Standard (Type II) tournaments from 01/01/97 to 04/24/97 and is now banned because it is not in the base set. It was on the restricted list (only 1 per deck) for Standard (Type II) from 10/01/96 to 01/01/97. Has been on the banned list for Classic-Restricted (Type I.5) tournaments since 10/01/96. Has always been banned from Extended tournaments. Has been on the Classic (Type I) restricted list (only 1 per deck) since 01/01/98. Stun: + Must be used before blockers are declared in order to affect blocking decisions. You cannot wait to see what your opponent declares and then try to stop them. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] + You can use it after combat or even on a creature which cannot possibly block this turn because it's that player's turn to attack, but it generally has no effect other than to let you draw a card. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] - - * - * - T - * - * - - Torture Chamber: + As errata, the last ability should read "{1}, Tap, Remove all pain counters from Torture Chamber: Torture Chamber deals 1 damage to target creature for each pain counter removed in this way." [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] [Duelist Magazine #22, Page 27] Tradewind Rider: + It can make use of creatures that have summoning sickness. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] - - * - * - U - * - * - - Unstable Shapeshifter: + If an Unstable Shapeshifter is in play when another Unstable Shapeshifter enters play, the first one gets the second one's auto-shift ability and will auto-shift twice each time a creature comes into play. [Aahz 11/17/97] This has no known effect on the game, however. - - * - * - V - * - * - - Verdant Force: + As errata, the controller of this card payes the upkeep ability and therefore controls the ability and has the Sapproling token put into play under their control. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] Prior to this errata, the card would give the Sapproling token to the current player rather than the controller. - - * - * - W - * - * - - Waterspout Djinn: + The return of a land to your hand is a phase cost, so the land is returned to your hand as a cost. This means if you have two Waterspout Djinns, they must each be pointed at different Islands. [D'Angelo 12/19/97] - - * - * - X - * - * - - - - * - * - Y - * - * - - - - * - * - Z - * - * - - Zirilan of the Claw: + If the Dragon is brought into play and then phases out. The "remove from the game at the end of any turn" will still be on the creature when it phases back in. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] Acknowledgments and Disclaimers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ While this work is not officially issued by Wizards of the Coast, it is the official collected rulings from official sanctioned representatives of and publications by Wizards of the Coast. This summary is collected from rulings made by officials and network representatives of Wizards of the Coast, along with a number of unofficial rulings also collected from the net. Whenever a source for a ruling is known, the name of that person is listed with the ruling. "bethmo" is Beth Moursund, the network representative for the "mtg-l" mailing list. "D'Angelo" is Stephen D'Angelo, the previous "mtg-l" representative. "Peterson" is Paul Peterson, the previous "mtg-l" representative. "bethmo" was also the representative before Paul. "Aahz" is Tom Wylie, the Magic Rules Guru. "DeLaney" is David DeLaney, the network representative for the "rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules" newsgroup. "Snark" is Dave Howell of WotC. Official rulings from the rules team are marked as "WotC Rules Team". Rules from the Mirage rule book are marked with "Mirage Page #". Errata from the Magic Official Encyclopedia are marked with "Encyclopedia Page #". These files may be freely copied and posted anywhere you'd like. The contents can also be included in other formats (such as HTML or databases) or in products, but there are two restrictions. I insist that the files are not sold for profit. Anything you put them in must be available at no more than cost of duplication. Also, you must give credit to me and list the version date your work is derived from. Thanks. Every attempt has been made to make this summary accurate, but errors do creep in. Nothing in this work is guaranteed to be accurate. Use at your own risk. Magic: The Gathering and all of the cards listed herein are copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast.