============================================================================= General 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-general.txt The above files are also available via FTP to "ftp.activesw.com" under "pub/sdangelo/magic" as "rule-general.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. ============================================================================= Table of Contents: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- No changes to this section. Turn Order Rules and Rulings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- No changes to this section. Attack Phase Rules and Rulings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- No changes to this section. Spell and Ability Timing ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Damage Prevention: + If anything happens during this part of damage prevention which causes new damage to occur that damage is added to this damage prevention and dealt with during it. A new damage prevention step is not started. [Mirage Page 45] Also, any automatic damage prevention spells/abilities are immediately re-applied. [D'Angelo 11/07/96] Also, abilities which trigger on damage assignment are applied. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] Glossary of Magic Topics ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Casting Cost: + Any costs which are paid when playing the card are not paid when simply putting the card into play. Optional costs are treated as if you did not choose to pay them, and any X is zero. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] Note that costs paid due to "comes into play" triggers are not avoided this way. Damage Prevention: + Continuous abilities that apply when damage is assigned trigger at the start of damage prevention, or if any new damage appears during damage prevention. Redirection of damage does count as new damage being applied, so abilities such as Furnace of Rath do get applied to the damage when it gets redirected. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] Damage Redirection: + The Trample nature of damage is useless after it is redirected since it only applies to combat damage and damage is no longer combat damage after it is redirected. [D'Angelo 01/06/96] + Redirection of damage does count as new damage being applied for anything which triggers on damage being applied, so abilities such as Furnace of Rath do get applied to the damage when damage gets redirected. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] Licid: + When a Licid becomes a creature enchantment, it loses the Licid ability and gains whatever ability is listed in the card text. It also stops being whatever kind of permanent it was and becomes a local creature enchantment instead. It retains all of its other characteristics including name, color, and so on. You still control the Licid while it is an enchantment. [Tempest Rulebook] [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] + If a Licid targets itself with its ability, the effect turns the Licid into a creature enchantment targeting itself. Because it is no longer a creature, the licid is then destroyed because its target is illegal. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] Regeneration: + You may attempt to regenerate a creature which "cannot regenerate" because of an effect like Bone Shaman. [WotC Rules Team 12/18/97] The attempt fails and no side-effects of regeneration happen. Shadow: + Note that if a Shadow creature bands with a non-Shadow creature, that the Shadow creature may end up being blocked by a non-Shadow creature in the end. This is legal and damage dealing proceeds as normal. [D'Angelo 12/29/97] Trample: + The Trample nature of damage is useless after it is redirected since it only applies to combat damage and damage is no longer combat damage after it is redirected. [D'Angelo 01/06/96] Vanguard Cards: + The Barrin card does not target the creature, so untargetable creatures are not immune. [D'Angelo 01/06/98] + Crovax triggers once per player or creature successfully damaged, and not once per point of damage. [bethmo 01/07/98] + Orim gives the option of blocking as if the creature had Flying. You can choose to block as if you did not have Flying. This is useful with Chaosphere. [bethmo 01/07/98] Tournament Rulings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classic Tournaments: + Some cards are 'restricted' so that only one may appear in the combination of deck and sideboard. These cards are: [Tourney Rules 09/01/97] [Update 10/03/97] Ancestral Recall Fork Mox Jet Balance Ivory Tower Recall Berserk Library of Alexandria Regrowth Black Lotus Maze of Ith Sol Ring Black Vise Mirror Universe Strip Mine Braingeyser Mox Emerald Timetwister Demonic Tutor Mox Pearl Time Walk Fastbond Mox Ruby Underworld Dreams Mox Sapphire Wheel of Fortune Acknowledgements 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.